CO129-423 - Governor Sir May - 1915 [7-8] — Page 94

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Report of an Ordinance intituled

An Ordinance to amend the Post Office Ordinance, 1900.

The main object of this Ordinance is to enable evasions

the postal censorship to be punished, though the matter is

approached from the standpoint of the Postmaster General's excl

sive privilege.

Section 6 of the Post Office Ordinance, 1900, is not in a

very satisfactory form, and owing to the fact that "corresponde

is defined in section 2 of that Ordinance as meaning any articl

"transmitted" by post, instead of "transmissible", it would see

that the Postmaster General's privilege under the section in

question, as regards letters which are being transmitted by pos

is confined to "letters from out of the Colony".

This Ordinance accordingly provides that no letter may be

sent out of the Colony except through the post. The case of

letters originating in the Colony and not intended for transmis

sion out of the Colony has not been dealt with in this Ordinance

partly because the matter seems of little importance and partly

because the question of allowing certain exceptions would have

to be considered and it was thought desirable not to introduce a

matter which might have delayed the passing of the Ordinance. will be seen that a "letter "in this Ordinance means every articl

which is capable of being transmitted by post other than a new

paper or parcel.

The power of search and seizure given by section 4 of this,

Ordinance has also been introduced mainly with a view to stres then the postal censorship.

Section 5 was inserted for the same reason, but as the effect of section 7(1) of the Principal Ordinance is to except

newspapers from the Postmaster General's exclusive privilege,

section was drawn in such a form as to give the Governor in Co

power to decide to what cases the provision is to apply.

It is

intended in the first instance to make the section apply only

In

case of China, where it is understood that the exclusive

privilege of the Post office does extend to newspapers.

case however of a serious influx of seditious newspapers from

some other country, there will be power to make the section

apply if the circumstances are sufficiently serious to justify

that action.

Section 6, besides providing a penalty for contravention

of this Ordinance, increases the penalties for contraventions

of section 6 of the Principal Ordinance to imprisonment for any

term not exceeding twelve months and a fine not exceeding $500.

In my opinion this is an Ordinance to which His Excellency

the Governor may properly assent and in the name of His Majesty

and on His behalf.

Attorney General.

4. 7. 15.