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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 22ND MARCH, 1884.
Digrainy.
Jamages for Tien-delivery of mail.
Persons pro posing to des- utch vessels To give notice to the Posi- mater Gene- ral.
Making up
Jailson beard
Penalties on Master of vessels.
22. The powers of the Governor in Council as defined and regulated by sections 9 and 10 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 enses: Provided always, that 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.
23. Every master of a vessel who receives such gratuities or to whom such gratuities have been credited in the necounts of the Postmaster General shall be held to have made a con- tract with the Postmaster General that, in consideration of the gratuities so paid, he will duly deliver all letter bags and cor- respondence received from the Post Office unto the persons to whom the same are addressed immediately on his arrival in port, without wilful or avoidable delay after his arrival, 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.
24. Every person or firm proposing to despatch a vessel to any port or place out of this Colony, excepting vessels plying daily or on fixed days to Macao or to places on the Canton River, shall, so soon as he has arranged the time for the departure of such vessel, give the first intimation of such proposed departure to the Postmaster General, and shall, in like mauner, intimate to the Postmaster General any alteration in the day or hour of departure of the said vessel, and the Postmaster General shall, on receiving such intimation, give notice to the public of the day and hour for closing the mails, if any are to be made up by such vessel.
Any person or firm failing to give such intimation to the Postmaster General huli, for every such offence, on con- viction thereof, be liable to a penalty not exceeding five Lundred dollars.
Every alteration of the hour of departure of any vessel plying daily or on fixed days to Macao or to places on the Castors River, shall, in like manner, be intimated to the Postmaster General by the person despatching such vessel, who shall, for any default, be liable on conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars.
25. The Postmaster General, or any officer of the Post Office authorised by him, may attend on board any vessel, after the time for closing the mail by such vessel, and may receive all fully prepaid correspondence which is brought on board up to the time of departure to be transmitted by such vessel.
The master of every such vessel shall give all proper facilities to such officer of the Post Office to enable him to discharge his duties and to make up such late mails, and to leave the vessel on her departure, and any master of a vessel failing to give any such facilities shall be liable, on con- viction thereof, to a penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars.
If there be no officer of the Post Office in attendance on board any vessel, the master of such vessel may receive all correspondence which is brought on board to him prepaid by stamps; and shall deliver the same at the Post Office on arrival at his destination.
Offences.
26. Every master of a vessel which is not a contract packet, who commits any of the following offences, shall, on conviction thereof, be liable to a penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars, that is to say :-
Refusal to take a letter bag delivered or tendered to him
by an officer of the Post Office for conveyance. Refusal to sign a receipt for a letter bag delivered to him by an officer of the Post Office for conveyance. Negleet without reasonable exense to deliver all corres- poulence to the Port Office on his arrival in the Colony.
Refusal or wilful neglect to make, or making any untrue statement in the declaration hereby required of his having delivered his letters to the Post Office. Refusal or wilful neglect, if in quarantine, to deliver all correspondence in his possession to the person appointed to receive it.