Directory_and_Chronicle_1922 — Page 474

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HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE

Letters

20.-No letter may exceed 2 feet in length, 1 foot in width or depth, unless it be sent locally to or from a Government Office.

21.-The rates of Postage on letters to all destinations are shown on Appendix II. 22.--Local letters on postal business addressed to the Postmaster General need not be stamped.

23. Consignees' letters, being privileged by law, need not be sent to the Post Office at all, but if they are sent they are liable to ordinary rates of postage.

24.-Letters on Savings Bank business if posted in Hongkong or at any of the British Post Office Agencies in China and addressed "Hongkong Savings Bank” will be forwarded free.

Post Cards.

25.-Post-cards must be manufactured of cardboard or of paper of such consistency as not to hinder their manipulation.

26.-Postcards must bear on the face the heading "Postcard", (in French, Carte Postale) or the equivalent of this heading in another language. This is, however, not obligatory for single (i.e. not reply paid) postcards of private manufacture.

27.-The dimensions of the cards may not exceed 53′′ in length and 31⁄2" in width, nor be less than 4" in length and 23" in width.

28.-The postage stamps must, as far as possible, be affixed to the upper right-hand corner of the face. The address of the recipient as well as indications relating to the postal service (registered, advice of delivery, etc.) must likewise appear on the face, of which the right-hand half at least is reserved for these indications. The sender may dispose of the back and of the left-hand half of the face, subject to the stipulations of the following paragraph.

29.-With the exception of stamps for prepayment it is forbidden to attach to postcards any article whatever; nevertheless, the name and address of the recipient, as well as the name and address of the sender, may appear on gummed labels not exceed- ing 23" x 3". It is also permitted to affix on the back and on the left-hand half of the face illustrations or photographs on very thin paper provided that they adhere com- pletely to the card.

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30. Reply paid postcards of private manufacture must display on the face in French "Carte postale avec reponse payee"; on the second half "Carte postale reponse. Each of the two halves must, moreover, fulfil the other conditions laid down for single postcards; one half is doubled over the other and they must not be closed in any manner whatsoever.

31.-The sender of a postcard with reply paid may indicate his name and address on the face of the "Reply" half, either in writing or by affixing a label.

32. The prepayment of the "Reply" half by means of the postage stamp of the country which has issued the card is valid only if the two halves of the reply paid postcard were attached to each other when received from the country of origin, and if the "Reply" half is dispatched from the country wh re it has been received by post to the said country of origin. If these conditions are not fulfilled it, is treated as an unpaid postcard.

33.-A postcard, if intended for transmission as such, must not be folded, cut, or otherwise altered, nor may it be enclosed in a cover of any kind.

34.-Cards bearing the heading "Carte Postale" or its equivalent are admitted at the rate for printed matter provided they conform to the general regulations respecting printed papers. If they do not conform either to these regulations or to the rules applicable to post cards they are treated as letters.

35.-The rates of postage applicable to postcards for all destinations are shown in Appendix II.

Printed Papers

36.-Printed papers include newspapers and periodical works, books, stitched or bound, pamphlets, sheets of music, visiting cards, address cards, proofs of printing with or without the manuscripts relating thereto, papers impressed with points or with characters in relief for the use of the blind, engravings, photographs, and albums containing photographs, pictures, drawings, plans, maps, catalogues, prospectuses, announcements and notices of various kinds, printed, engraved, lithographed or autographed, and, in general, all impressions or copies obtained upon parchment or