Directory_and_Chronicle_1920 — Page 473

HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE

417

160.-No letter, even if addressed in the same way as the parcel in which it is enclosed, may be sent in the parcel addressed to any Foreign Country or to Australia, British Central Africa, Cape Colony, Natal and other parts of South Africa, Fiji, Jamaica, Mauritius, New Zealand, Seychelles, Straits Settlements, Trinidad, the United States. Parcels for other British possessions may contain a letter for the addressee, but packets of letters must not be sent by Parcel Post to any place abroad. An invoice in an open envelope, giving simply particulars of the goods contained in the parcel, may be enclosed in any parcel.

161.-Further, no parcel is admissible which contains base or counterfeit coin, articles infringing trade-mark or copyright laws, any article or substance liable to become offensive or injurious through natural decay during the time ordinarily occupied in transmission (for example, butter, &c., addressed to a tropical or sub-tropical country, or having to pass through the tropics in course of transmission, unless enclosed in a hermetically sealed tin), or any article or substance specially prohibited from im- portation into the country or colony to which the parcel is addressed. For a list of such special prohibitions see Appendix IV. The Post Office can accept no responsibility for the correctness and completeness of this list, although efforts are made to secure accuracy.

162.-It is pointed out that many perishable articles, even though in good condition at the time of posting, may become offensive and worthless owing to the length of the journey, although delivered in proper course of post.

Compensation

163. The Postmaster-General may give compensation for the loss or damage of uninsured parcels sent by Parcels Post between Hongkong and the United Kingdom and the undermentioned British Possessions and Foreign Countries, when such loss or damage takes place while the parcels are in his custody, and does not arise from any fault or neglect of the senders or the nature of the contents:-

British Possessions

Ascension

Bahamas

Barbados

British Guiana

British Honduras Ceylon

Argentine Republic Austria-Hungary

Cyprus Egypt

Falkland

Gambia

Gibraltar

Gold Coast Colony

Grenada India

Labuan

Lagos

Leeward Isands Mauritius

Foreign Countries

Colombia, Republic of Germany Congo Free State Costa Rica

Danish West Indies

German Possessions Greece

Newfoundland New Zealand North Borneo St. Helena St. Lucia

Luxemburg Madeira

St. Vincent Seychelles Sierra Leone Tobago Trinidad

Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Uruguay

FEFFE

Azores Belgium Bosnia Bulgaria Cameroons

Chili

Denmark

Dutch Possessions France

French Possessions

Herzegovina Holland Italy Japan Liberia

Norway Portugal Roumania Salvador Samoa

Servia

164.--The compensation paid will in no case exceed £1. In the case of parcels lost or damaged while under the control of the Post Office of the above-mentioned British Possessions and Foreign Countries, the Postmaster-General will endeavour to obtain compensation for the senders under similar regulations. But in the Parcel Post with France and some other countries the compensation payable in the case of parcels not weighing more than 7 b. is limited to 15 francs.

165.-No compensation is payable for the loss or damage of an uninsured parcel sent to or from any British possession or Foreign country other than those mentioned above.

Customs Declarations

166.-Parcels are subject to Customs regulations, and the sender of each parcel is required to make for Customs purposes-upon a special form or forms, which can be obtained at any Post Office-an accurate statement of the nature and value of the contents and other particulars. Undervaluing the contents or failure to describe them fully may result in seizure of the parcels. The net weight or quantity of the various articles contained in a parcel should, if possible, be stated, and any other particulars which would facilitate the assessment of Customs duty; such as, in the case of clothing, the material of which it is composed, and whether it is new or has been worn. In the case of articles returned to the country where they originated the fact should be stated. The forms for Foreign parcels should, when possible, be filled up in both English and French.