THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 19TH FEBRUARY, 1887.
(2) Any correspondence which is returned to the General Post Office for want of a proper address, or from inability to find the person to whom it is addressed, and which remains unclaimed for ten days after being advertised in the Gazette.
16. When any packet is delivered to the Post Office and has thereby become liable to postage, and evidence is ad- duced to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General that such packet has been delivered to the Post Office by mis- take, the Postmaster General may cause such packet to be opened in the presence of an officer in the Post Office, and may return the same without charge to the person inter- ested; unless such packet is found to contain any letter or manuscript liable to postage; in which case the Postmaster General shall retain the packet until he is paid the full rate of postage chargeable upon such letter or manuscript.
17. After any correspondence has been delivered to the Fost Office, no person employed by or under the Post Office shall, except in the cases above mentioned, open the same or delay its transmission, or return the same to any person, or procure or suffer the same to be opened, delayed, or re- turned, unless he is authorised by express warrant in writing under the hand of the Governor, or the British Consul at the port.
The Governor, or the British Consul at the port, may at his discretion grant such warrants for opening or returning any specified letter or other article of correspondence.
Despatch and Receipt of Mails.
18. Every master of a vessel shall, immediately on arrival, and before reporting at the Harbour Office, deliver to the Post Office all letter bags and correspondence on board, except such as are exempt by law. Should such vessel be put in quarantine the master shall deliver all such letter bags and correspondence to any person authorised by the Postmaster General to receive them, or may deliver them to the Health Officer.
19. The Postmaster General shall pay to every master of a vessel, not being a contract packet, a gratuity of two cents for every letter, and one cent for every other article of correspondence delivered by him to the Post Office; No gratuity shall be payable
(1) For a second transmission of any correspondence; (2) On correspondence delivered to any Post Office to
be thence transmitted by contract packet; (3) On correspondence the gratuity on which is certi- fied by the despatching office to have been paid. (4) The gratuity payable on letters transmitted between Hongkong, Canton, and Macao, in either direc- tion, shall be one cent only.
20. The Postmaster General may pay like gratuities to any master of a vessel leaving Hongkong on every article of correspondence delivered to such master from the Post Office, or certified by the Post Office of destination to have been duly received from him.
21. The powers of the Governor in Council as defined and regulated by sections 8 and 9 of this Ordinance, shall equally apply to the rates of gratuity to be paid to ship masters for the delivery of mails, either generally or in particular cases. The gratuities fixed by any Order in Council under this section shall not be less on the average than the sums otherwise required by this Ordinance to be paid.
22. Every master of a vessel who receives such gratuities or to whom such gratuities have been credited in the ac- counts of the Postmaster General shall be held to have made a contract with the Postmaster General that, in con- sideration of the gratuities so paid, he will duly deliver all letter bags and correspondence received from the Post Office to the persons to whom the same are addressed immediately on his arrival in port, without wilful or avoidable delay, and that if he fail in any respect to perform his said contract he will pay to the Postmaster General the sum of five hundred dollars as liquidated damages for the breach of his said contract.
Dead letters,
Postage may be remitted on packets not containing letters if sent in mistake.
Warrants for opening or returning cor- respondeuce.
Delivery of mails.
Gratuities to masters of Tessels inwards.
Gratuities to masters of
outwards.
Rates of gratuity.
Damages for non-delivery
of mall.
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