Rural-line Rates.

32. Subject to the provisions of Regulation 36, the annual rental of a rural-line station shall be determined by multiplying the subscriber's pole-line distance from the exchange by the relative rural mileage rate as prescribed in Regulation 34, and adding thereto the service rate applicable to the class of exchange with which the subscriber's station is connected : except that in no case shall the rental of a rural-line station be less than £3 per annum.

33. Subject to the provisions of Regulation 36, the service rates in respect to rural-line stations shall be as follows:—

34. Rural-line mileage rates shall be as specified hereunder :- Per Annum.

Per station, per quarter-mile or fraction thereof—

| 5-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 4 0 |
| 6-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 3 4 |
| 7-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 2 10 |
| 8-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 2 6 |
| 9-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 2 3 |
| 10-party line .. .. .. .. .. .. | .. 2 0 |

35. The mileage charge for each rural-line station shall be computed on the pole-line route measurement between the subscriber's premises and the exchange with which the line is connected.

36. In cases in which the stations on a rural line are so distributed that the aggregate rental of the line, computed on the basis prescribed in Regulation 32, would not produce an annual return of £l 5s. per quarter-mile or fraction thereof, the service rate payable by each subscriber shall be increased on a flat-rate basis by such an amount as will produce in the aggregate an annual return of £l 5s. per quarter-mile or fraction thereof of circuit.

37. If desired, the rental for rural-line service may be paid monthly in advance, in which case the monthly charge shall be one-twelfth of the computed annual charge, plus 5 per centum. Any fraction of a penny in the monthly rentals shall be regarded as one penny.

Special Conditions of Party-line Service.

38. Party-line service shall be provided in base-rate areas only when the subscribers desiring to be connected with the same line can conveniently be served from the same point of distribution, or when the subscribers are located within a reasonable distance of each other or of the line. The reasonableness shall be determined by the Department in each case.

39. The Minister may regroup the subscribers on party lines, and [or] may make additional connections to party lines without the consent of the existing subscribers, provided that the existing subscribers shall not be required to pay a higher rate of rental.

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

41. When in the opinion of the Minister the number of calls originated or received by any subscriber connected with a party line precludes a reasonable use of the line by the other parties, the Minister may require such 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-, three-, 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 will provide for each station a telephone, lightning-arrester, earthplate, and inside wiring free of expense to the subscriber, and these will remain the property of the Department. No extra telephones or items of equipment, other than those for which rental is paid, may be connected with a private telephone-line. The Department will, upon application, supply material for renewing batteries, and will also repair or replace a defective instrument free of charge if it is sent in to the telephone exchange by the subscriber.

Alternatively, subscribers on privately-owned sections of exchange lines may arrange to have their telephone instruments maintained on their premises by the Department by undertaking to pay the cost of the workman’s travelling-time and transit expenses beyond the point of connection with the departmental system. The Department will not, however, undertake the maintenance of a private telephone-line.

44. Where an exchange line is metallic circuit, any private telephone-line connecting therewith shall also be metallic circuit. Where, however, in the opinion of the Secretary, an earthworking private telephone-line may be used without detriment to the service, such line may be connected to a departmental metallic circuit provided the subscriber pays the cost of the transformers and any other apparatus that may be necessary for making the connection. The cost of maintaining all such additional apparatus shall be paid by the subscriber.