2080
Damages for non-delivery of mail.
Persons proposing to despatch vessels to give notice to the Postmaster General.
Making up mails on board.
ORDINANCE No. 1 OF 1887.
Post Office.
22. Every master of a vessel who receives such gratuities or to whom such gratuities have been credited in the accounts of the Postmaster General shall be held to have made a contract with the Postmaster General that, in consideration 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.
23. 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 manner, 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 for transmission by such vessel.
Every alteration of the hour of departure of any vessel plying daily or on fixed days to Macao or to places on the Canton River, shall, in like manner, be intimated to the Postmaster General by the person despatching such vessel.
24. The Postmaster General, or any officer of the Post Office authorised by him, may attend on board any 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 mails, and to leave the vessel on her departure.
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 fully prepaid by the postage stamps of the Colony, and shall deliver the same at the Post Office on arrival at his destination.