2454
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 69

40. A conversation over any party line shall not exceed six minutes in duration if the line is required by any other subscriber connected with the line.

41. When in the opinion of the Minister the number of calls originated by any subscriber connected with a party line is sufficient to warrant it, the Minister may require the subscriber either to rent an individual line or to be transferred to a line with which there will be a lesser number of parties connected.

Private Telephone-lines connecting with Departmental System.

42. Persons who construct, own, and maintain private telephone-lines to a pre-arranged point of connection with the departmental system may be furnished with individual, two-, four-party, or rural-line service by paying the rates specified for those services. (See Regulations 143–148.)

43. For the equipment of a private telephone-line which forms part of a telephone-exchange circuit the Department shall supply for each station a telephone, lightning-arrester, earthplate, and inside wiring free of expense to the subscriber, but these shall remain the property of the Department, and shall not be maintained except at the expense of the subscriber, nor shall the Department maintain any part of the private telephone-line. The Department will, however, upon application, supply material for renewing batteries, and will also repair or replace a defective telephone if it is sent in to the telephone exchange by the subscriber. Otherwise such subscriber shall have all the privileges of ordinary subscribers. No extra telephones or items of equipment, other than those for which rental is being paid, shall be connected with a private telephone-line.

44. Where an exchange line is metallic circuit, any private telephone-lines connecting therewith must also be metallic circuit, except in cases where in the opinion of the Secretary private telephone-lines may be used without detriment to the service, in which case the subscriber shall pay the cost of transformers or other apparatus as may be necessary to enable the connection to be made.

Telephone Connections with Street Stands and Wharves.

45. (1.) A telephone-exchange connection with a street stand over which a local authority has jurisdiction shall be made only on the application and at the charge of the local authority controlling the street. In such cases the telephone connection shall be entered in the telephone directory by stating the situation of the stand and the class of vehicle, &c., using it. Authority to sublet such telephone connections to the users of the stand shall be vested in the local authority concerned, except that certain conditions regarding the accommodation and use of the telephone may be imposed by the Department.

(2.) Harbour Boards or other local authorities controlling wharves may have telephone connections installed on wharves for the purpose of providing steamers, &c., berthed thereat with means of telephone communication on payment of the usual charges for individual lines, and any additional charges for miscellaneous equipment. Authority to sublet such telephone connections to shipping companies shall be vested in the local authority concerned.

Telephone Connections with Public Hospitals and Charitable Institutions.

46. Public hospitals and benevolent and charitable institutions, having for their object the relief of poor, destitute, or afflicted persons in New Zealand, and which are supported wholly or partly by voluntary subscriptions, or from the funds of a local body, may, with the Minister’s approval, be charged the rates prescribed for residential stations.

Temporary Telephone Service.

47. Temporary telephone service shall be granted provided the applicant pays, in addition to the estimated cost of the labour and any perishable material involved in establishing the service, a charge pro rata equal to 50 per cent. greater than that for a permanent connection, with a minimum charge of 15s. for the first fortnight and 7s. 6d. for every subsequent week. The estimated cost of establishing the service, and the minimum charge shall be payable at the time of application, and after the first fortnight the rental shall be payable weekly in advance. In the event of the subscriber ultimately deciding to have the temporary service converted to an ordinary permanent one, the usual contract shall be executed, and the prescribed charge shall take effect from the date of completion of the contract. In such a case the cost of making the connection shall be refunded, but the usual service connection fee must be paid.

Joint Use of Telephone.

48. Any subscriber may, with the approval of the Secretary, obtain the right to allow the use of his telephone instrument to any person occupying an office in the same building, or occupying the same private residence, within which the telephone instrument is placed, upon payment to the Department, in addition to the prescribed charges for an exchange connection, of a fee of £3 per annum in the case of each connection for which business rates are charged, and £2 per annum in the case of each connection for which residential rates are charged in respect of each person having the joint use of his telephone. In such cases the subscriber shall sign the contract and be responsible for all service charges and toll accounts, but may charge to the person or persons having the joint use of the telephone any agreed portion of such charges. The fee of £3 or £2 per annum shall include the free insertion of the joint subscriber’s name in the telephone directory. If additional instruments are required, subscribers shall pay the rates prescribed for party lines.

Removals.

49. Subject to the approval of the Department, subscribers may have their telephones and apparatus removed to other premises, or the positions of their telephones and apparatus altered, upon giving notice as follows: (a.) For the removal of telephones to other premises, fourteen days; (b) for altering the position of telephones or apparatus within the same premises, three days; and paying in advance the fees specified hereunder.