May 25.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1593

Minute Guns at Civil Funerals.

812. Upon the authority of the Governor-General, at the funeral of Civil functionaries the same number of guns as they were entitled to as salutes when living will be fired as minute guns while the procession is going to the burial-ground. Civil functionaries not entitled to salutes of cannon when living are not to have salutes fired at their funerals.

Salute to Remains of Distinguished Foreigners, &c.

813. Should a vessel carrying the remains of any foreigner of high distinction, foreign General, or foreign flag officer arrive during the saluting-hours at any of the authorized saluting-stations, the same number of minute guns will be fired on its arrival as the deceased was entitled to as a salute under para. 801 when living.

SECTION XI.—OFFICE-WORK, CORRESPONDENCE, DOCUMENTS, RETURNS, BOOKS, RECORDS, AND STATIONERY.

OFFICE-WORK AND CORRESPONDENCE.

General Instructions.

814. An officer will only in exceptional circumstances refer to higher authority matters which he has power to decide himself. Senior officers will impress on their subordinates the desirability of dealing promptly with correspondence, and will suppress any tendency to unnecessary correspondence.

815. An officer is responsible for the correctness of documents submitted by him. He will record his opinion or recommendation on any correspondence referred to higher authority, adding such observations, based on local knowledge, as may enable a final decision to be arrived at.

816. Correspondence will usually be dealt with as indicated below :—

(a.) Important matters requiring the individual opinion of every officer in the chain of command should be passed through the hands of those officers to the O.C. Command, and, if necessary, to General Headquarters (vide Appendix IV).

(b.) Other matters which do not require the individual opinion of each officer in the chain of command may be transmitted direct to the authority who has power to dispose of the case, copies or precis of correspondence being sent to any officer in the chain of command whom it is considered desirable to keep informed on the subject, but through whose office the correspondence has not actually passed.

(c.) Routine matters on which it is not necessary for the intermediate officers to be informed, and regarding which direct communication is authorized, will be dealt with under (b).

As no rules can be laid down classifying correspondence under (a), (b), or (c), the responsibility in deciding the course to be adopted will rest with the officer originating the correspondence. Where it happens that correspondence passes from one of the above categories to another, the officer in charge of the papers at the time will be responsible that they are passed through the proper channel.

817. Each subject must be treated in a separate letter, and is to be briefly indicated in a heading, thus: “Discipline,” “Equipment,” “Transport,” “Routine,” &c. Paragraphs are to be numbered, and enclosures described in the margin or in a separate schedule. Unnecessary enclosures are to be avoided, and blank leaves removed. The rank, unit, and appointment of officers are to be added after their signatures. Signatures are to be manuscript, and not stamped. When a communication has reference to previous correspondence the registered number and dates of such correspondence are to be quoted. Where it is not possible for a responsible officer to sign the correspondence himself he may depute a subordinate to sign for him, who shall sign his own name and rank, thus:—

B. Smith, Lieut., for*
Lt.-Col. Commanding 1st Bn.,
Auckland Regt.

818. Correspondence, returns, &c., for General Headquarters will be addressed “General Headquarters, N.Z. Military Forces, Wellington.” Local correspondence will not ordinarily be forwarded. If the matter cannot be clearly elucidated in the letter a precis of the local correspondence, bringing out the salient points, will usually suffice. Replies to General Headquarters’ letters must quote the General Headquarters registry number. All envelopes containing periodical returns are to be inscribed “Returns” in the left-hand upper corner.

The words “B. Smith, Lieut., for” to be in manuscript.

819. When documents (other than periodical returns or statements), plans, or other articles are forwarded to General Headquarters in a separate parcel they will be accompanied by a memorandum identifying them with the letter to which they refer.

820. Official communications intended for General Headquarters are to be transmitted through command headquarters, except as provided in para. 816.

821. All communications with the office of the Minister of Defence must pass through General Headquarters.

822. The General Officer Commanding will himself sign letters intended for the Minister of Defence or other Government Departments which initiate questions of principle or are important in their character. All other letters on administrative matters will be signed by the responsible staff officer of the branch or directorate concerned. In the absence of the General Officer Commanding urgent letters will be signed for him by the Chief of the General Staff.

823. An O.C. Command will himself sign all important letters for superior authority. Routine correspondence may be signed by the G.S.O. (1) of the command. The same principle will apply in correspondence from units and departmental services. When an O.C. Command is absent letters of an urgent and important character will be signed “for” him by the senior officer of the staff.

824. Letters for the O.C. Command and other staffs are to be addressed as follows: “Headquarters, . . . . . . . . . . Command, [Place].”

825. Direct correspondence between General Officers, Commanding Officers, and Heads of Departments will be signed by such officers themselves. The general rule to be observed is that official correspondence will be conducted between equals in rank, and that any officer of junior rank corresponding with an officer of the senior rank will do so through the staff officer of the latter.

826. Communications from Commanders to subordinates may be signed by a staff officer.

827. Applications from other ranks of the Permanent Forces will be submitted through the officers of the Permanent Forces under whom they are serving.

828. Applications from officers of the Permanent Forces will be submitted as follows:—

(a.) Area officers and Adjutants, through the Staff Officer i/c Regimental District to command headquarters:

(b.) Officers of detachments, cadres, and depots, through the detachment, &c., commander to command headquarters.

(c.) Officers on command staffs, through the G.S.O. (1) of the command.

(d.) Officers at General Headquarters or General Headquarters establishments, through the head of their branch or director to the Adjutant General.

829. An application from a regimental officer of the Territorial Force is to be submitted to the Commanding Officer through the Adjutant. An application from a non-commissioned officer or man is to be made to his company, &c., commander, who, if necessary, will lay it before the Commanding Officer of the unit.

830. Letters not on public service are not to be enclosed under official covers.

831. Where a decision cannot be conveyed within a reasonable time an acknowledgment shall be sent to the writer.

832. Telegraphic communications are not to be made use of when correspondence by letter will be equally satisfactory.

833. A diagram showing the channels of correspondence emanating from units of the N.Z. Military Forces is given in Appendix IV.

DOCUMENTS AND MAPS MARKED “SECRET,” “CONFIDENTIAL,” OR “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY.”

834. A document or map marked “Secret” is intended only for the personal information of the individual to whom it is officially entrusted, and of those officers under him whose duties it affects. He is personally responsible for its safe custody, and that its contents are disclosed to those officers, and to them only. The existence of such a document or map is not to be disclosed by him or them to any other person without the sanction of superior military authority. Confidential documents issued by the Admiralty, marked “Not to be communicated to officers below the position of Commanding Officer of His Majesty’s ship,” are to be treated as secret if issued to officers of the Army, and must be so endorsed on receipt.

835. A document or map marked “Confidential” is of a privileged nature. The contents are to be disclosed only to authorized persons, or in the interests of the public service.

836. The information contained in a document or map marked “For official use only” is not to be communicated to the Press or to any person not holding an official position in His Majesty’s Service.

837. Documents and maps classed as secret or confidential are not to be referred to in any catalogue or publication which is not itself a document marked “Secret” or “Confidential,” as the case may be. The only legitimate use an officer or soldier may