68 Miscellaneous
EXCEPTIONAL DETENTION
The Post Office has power to delay the despatch or delivery of all other postal packets when it is necessary to do so in order to secure the due despatch or delivery of letters.
INQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS
Any inquiry or complaint should be addressed to the Controller of Posts, Hong Kong or Kowloon as appropriate, and if it concerns the delay or misdelivery, etc., of a postal packet, it will greatly facilitate investigations if the relevant cover of the postal packet is enclosed.
INQUIRIES concerning the name of a ship or number of an aircraft conveying a parcel should be accompanied by postage stamps to cover the fee of:-Sc. per parcel, minimum 40c. per name of ship or number of flight.
LETTER-BOXES
The door of every building at which letters are delivered should have a letter-box; this saves trouble to all concerned. For private houses it is recommended that the size of the aperture should be 8 inches by 11 inches.
LIABILITY OF SENDER FOR PAYMENT OF POSTAGE
The sender is legally liable for any charges properly made upon a postal packet which has been posted either unpaid or underpaid, and, if the addressee cannot be found, or if he refuses to pay the charges or accept the packet, the charges can be recovered from the sender by legal process. See page 58 regarding charges on undelivered parcels.
LOSS, DAMAGE, DELAY, NON-DELIVERY, MISSENDING OR MISDELIVERY OF A POSTAL PACKET
The Post Office is not legally liable for any loss or inconvenience which may arise from damage, delay, non-delivery, missending, or misdelivery of a postal packet, but claims for actual loss or damage are admitted on certain conditions in the case of registered and insured packets.
POSTAL PACKETS ADDRESSED TO A GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT
As a general rule, every letter or other postal packet addressed to a Government Department, or an officer of the Government (except the Postmaster General on postal business) should be prepaid just as it were addressed to a private person.
The following letters are not subject to any postage:
(1) Letters on official business, posted in the Colony by Government Department locally addressed and marked "On Her Majesty's Service" and signed in the lower left-hand corner with the usual signature of the Head or Assistant Head of the depart- ment of origin;
(2) Letters on postal business posted in the Colony to the Postmaster General; (3) Letters on Hong Kong Savings Bank business for addressees within the Colony, posted by, or addressed to the Hong Kong Savings Bank,
RECALL, DETENTION OR DIVERSION OF POSTAL PACKETS
No letter, parcel or other postal packet can, when it has been posted in a post office receptacle or handed to any officer of the Post Office in the course of his duty, be taken out of the post, even if application be made for it by a person who can prove that he is the sender. Nor can it be detained or delayed even if a request to that effect appears upon the cover, It must be forwarded to its address, and cannot be diverted to any other address at the request of the sender. Similarly, applications to enclose articles inadvertently omitted from a postal packet cannot be entertained; nor can search be made for a letter, postcard or printed paper packet on which postage has not been fully paid.
REFUND OF POSTAGE
Full information regarding articles that can and that cannot be sent by post is published, under the proper heads in this Guide, and no application will be