HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE.
403
56.-Registration cannot be carried on up to the very moment of closing the mail. The time fixed for its cessation varies from five minutes up to an hour before that time, Letters for registration should be presented in good time, and, except when it is necessary, persons should avoid presenting correspondence for registry by next mail whilst the officers of the Post Office are busy in closing that one actually going (see also paragraphs 152, 155).
57.—All letters addressed to the United Kingdom or to any port in China, and marked Registered, but dropped into the box, are liable to compulsory registration. That is to say, they are registered and a double fee is charged on delivery,
58.-The Post Office is not legally responsible for the safe delivery of Registered Correspond- ence, but henceforth it will be prepared to make good the contents of such correspondence lost while passing through the Post, to the extent of $10, in certain cases, provided :-
(a) That the sender duly observed all the conditions of Registration required.
(b) That the correspondence was securely enclosed in a reasonably strong envelope. (c) That application was made to the Postmaster General of Hongkong immediately the loss was discovered, the envelope being invariably forwarded with such applica-
tion unless it also is lost.
(d) Tuat the Postmaster General is satisfied the loss occurred whilst the correspondence was in the enstody of the British Postal administration in China; that it was not caused by any fault on the part of the sender; by destruction by fire, or shipwreck; nor by the dishonesty or negligence of any person not in the employment of the Hongkong Post Office. 59.-No compensation can be paid for mere damage to fragile articles such as portraits, watches, handsomely bound books, &c., which reach their destination, although in a broken or deteriorated condition.
60.—& moment's reflection will shew that, if an ordinary letter or packet be once lost, there is almost no chance of its being traced. A registered article, however, is practically beyond risk of loss (except from casualty) and may be looked on as absolutely safe. To register all valuable articles is not only a wise but is also a cheap precaution. The Post Office declines all responsi- bility for unregistered Letters containing Bank netes, &c., and, where Registration has been neglected, will not make any enquiries into alleged losses of such letters,
61. It is particularly recommended that packets of photographs, collections of postage stamps, &c., be registered. These objects often have not only a high intrinsic value, but also it may be impossible to replace them. They offer temptations to theft, and pho raphs frequently attract attention from the way in which they are packed. It is not judicious to risk some guineas' worth of works of art for the sake of a 5d. registration fee.
62.--A redirected Registered article should not be dropped into the box or sent to the Post Office without remark, but the attention of the receiving officer should be called to the fact that it is registered, and the receipt originally signed for it should be obtained and destroyed.
Letters. Unpaid and Loose,
63.-As a general rule, unpaid correspondence bears the mark T. Nothing can be sent on wholly unpaid except letters. The addressce is charged double the deficient postage, unless the despatching office have omitted to indicate it, when he is charged a double union rate. Local postage, however, is not doubled. Persons receiving unpaid letters which they suppose to be wrongly charged, should pay the postage, and keep the cover for the purpose of obtaining a refund (see paragraph 2). To keep or open the letter, whilst refusing to pay the postage, is a course open to many objections. No letter can be treated as Refused if it has been opened.
64-Letters arriving loose on board ship (i.e. not in the Mails) are treated as unpaid, no credit being given for any foreign Postage Stamps they may bear (see paragraph 162). As a general rule, a loose letter may be distinguished by its bearing only one Postmark, viz., that of the office of delivery, and this on the address side, not on the seal side. Consignees' letters, being privileged by law, need not be sent to the lost Office at all, but if they are sent they are liable to ordi ary rates of postage, except that those arriving from other ports, duly marked Consignee's letter, are charged only local rates on delivery.
65.-Figures marked on any correspondence in Red merely denote what has been paid, and therefore nothing more should ever be paid on account of such figures.
66.—But figures in black, or blue, denote postage to pay. Thus a red 5 indicates five cents paid, and the addressee has nothing to pay, but a blue or black 5 means that there is five cents yet to pay.
67-A short-paid letter, directed for a route by which prepayment is compulsory, is returned to the writer (being opened, if necessary, for that purpose) unless there is some other route by which it can be sent. It is not undertaken that such letter will be returned in time to be reposted for the mail. If the writer cannot be found, the letter is advertised as detained for postage and a notice sent to the addressec.
Soldiers' and Sailors' Letters.
68.-Privates in H.M. Army or Navy, Non-commissioned Officers,* Army Schoolmasters (not Superintending or first class), or Schoolmistresses may send half-ounce letters to the United
But not warrant officers, viz., gunner, boatswain, or carpenter.
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