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153.-Supplementary mails are also closed on board the American packets. The Late Feo is 10 cents. There are moveable boxes on board the British and French Packets for Shanghai and Yokohama* which may be used without Inte fec. The Post Office undertakes no responsibility as to correspondence so posted.
154.—All other mails are closed half an hour before the time of sailing, except the Contract Mails for Shanghai, which close an hour before, half an hour being allowed for the reception of sorrespondenco with late fee of 1') cents. A list of Mils is circulated twice every week day,
155.-Correspondence can be registered for the American. Indian, Torres Straits, Shanghai, or Yokohama Contract Mails up to a quarter of an hour before the time of closing; for all private ship mails up to five minutes before.
Whilst
156.-Whilst making up the Contract Mails for the British, French, American and Torres Straits Packets, it is necessary to keep the office wholly closed for at least ten minutes. sorting the outward Contract Mails the Post Office is closed to the Public excopt for the sale of Stamps. Enquiries, &c. cannot be attended to, nor can correspondence be registered.
157-As to watters in which the public can render the department most valuable co-opera- tion, see paragraph 139.
158.-On mail days two windows are set apart for the sale of Stamps. Large quantities of newspapers, &c., should be brought to the boxholders' window, not dropped through the Letter Blits. Registry is effected in the Money Order office.
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159. The charge for delivery of a letter, newspaper, book, or pattern within Victoria is 2 cents. No delivery is guaranteed to hips lying in the harbour. Local delivery is governed by the following general rules:—
(a.) All correspondence posted before 5 P.M. on any week day for addresses in Victoria will be delivered the same day, and generally within two hours, unless the delivery should be retarded by the contract mails, Information can always be obtained as to when a delivery will take place.
(b.) Where an establishment is wholly closed on Sunday or at night, a letter box for the
delivery of correspondence should be provided, and should be regularly cleared.
(c.) Invitations, &c, can generally be delivered within Victoria at the private houses of the addressees rather than at places of business, if a wish to that effect be expressed by the sender, otherwise all correspondence is invariably delivered at the nearest place of business. No local delivery is attempted outside Victoria, nor within Victoria at houses where ferocious dogs are kept loose.
(d.) Boxholders who desire to send Circulars, Dividend Warrants, Invitations, Cards, &c., all of the same weight, to addresses in Ilongkong, Bangkok, or the Ports of China, may deliver them to the Post Office unstamped, the postage being then charged to the sender's account. Each batch must consist of at least ten. Such local letters may exceed oz. in weight, and are charged 2 cents per ounce. Special accounts can be opened (even with non-boxholders) for the delivery of considerable numbers of unstamped local letters (such as Invita ions, &c.) all of the same weight. (6.) Buxholders may also send Patterns to the same places in the same way. Envelopes containing Patterns may be wholly closed if the nature of the contents be first ex- bibited or stated to the Postmaster General, as he may consider necessary, and approved by him. Printed Circulars may be inserted in such l'attern Packets. (f.) The addresses of covers posted under Rules d and e must be complete. That is to say, on such covers ns are not addressed to heads of houses, the addressec's residence or place of business must be added. If this be not done the correspondence will be returned to be fully addressed.
160. As to excepting the correspondence of individuals from the general delivery, see para- graph 147. Letters for persons whose addresses are known will not be kept Poste Restante except by special permission of the Postmaster General and for satisfactory reasons.
i61.-Registered letters cannot be delivered with the same promptitude as ordinary corres- pondence, though in the case of the British mail the delay is made as short as possible by means of completing the registration at sea. Still, the posturan who delivers them has to wait at each house whilst a receipt is signed. When registered correspondence is required in great baste, the best way is to call for it.
162.-By the Post Office Ordinance (No. 10 of 1876) all transmission of correspondence from or delivery of correspondence in Hongkong, except through the Post Office, is illegal and subject to heavy penalties. Looso correspondence duly stamped may, however, be put on board vessels after the mails are closed at the Post Office. The Statups should be cancelled by the sender. If the Port of destination be one where there is no Hongkong Agency, further Postage will, of
• There is generally a Post Office Agent on board the French packet for Yokohama, who nukes np a 'upplementary Mail. It should be remembered that he does not go on board till nearly the last moment, and if he is not hund there, sanders of correspondence should await his arrival.
+ This applies also to letters directed to Kowloon, the Peak, Aberdeen, &c. Correspondence brought to Post Office just too late for any mail is returned that this may be done. The
sender is of course at liberty to post it again should ho wish to do so,
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HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE.
course, be charged (seo parigraph G1). The Stamps affixed here should nevertheless be cancelled, as, if left clean, they may endanger the safety of the letter. This does not apply to letters posted in recognised moveable boxes. Posting on board should never be resorted to where the route is long and complicated, eg. to Chili, Peru, or a Wost Indian Colony, Cors,dence for such places should always be sent to the Pot Office. A supplementary mail may closed on board at the discretion of the Postmaster General. The penalty for not giving proper facilitics to make it up and to quit the vessel is $500.
163.-Shipmasters umst deliver any mails or correspondence which may be on board to the Post Office without delay, and 1. ake a declaration that they have done so, under penalty of $500. There is always somo person at the Post Office to receivo miils, which need not, however, be landed later than 9 P.M., or earlier than 5.30 A.M., excepting, of course, the Contract Mails.
16.-Shipmasters are entitled to certain gratuitics (seo paragraph 13) on correspondence brought, and the sarae may be paid on correspondence taken.
165. Any person or firin about to despatel a vessel to any place out of the Colony must send It is illegal to advertise, Despatches will close at —— A.M., or the the first notice to the Post O:lice. like. In regard to sailing ships, the rulo practically is that if notice be not specially asked for it is not required.
166.-A shipmaster is bound to take muils and sign a receipt for them, under a penalty of $500, which sum may also be recovered for their non-delivery at destination.
167.-The master of a ship is beyond doubt the person responsible for the due delivery of mails. Every ship should be fitted with a locker or chest for mails, and nothing else should be As soon as a mail comes on board, whoever receives it should place it in the mail locker, and before arrival at any port this locker should be examined.
put in it.