630565-1899-Exchange-of-Insured-Letters — Page 1

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE. 16гa SEPTEMBER, 1899. 1197

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION. ---No. 512.

The following Rules for the Exchange of Insured Letters under, and pursuant to, the Washington Postal Convention of 1897, to take effect from the 1st October, 1899, are published for general information:

1. Letters containing paper money, &c., on which a value has been declared, may be sent from Hongkong to any of the following places, insured to the amount of the declared value:--

Great Britain.

Greater Republic of Central America.

Argentine Republic.

Brazil.

Chile.

Dominican Republic.

Germany.

German Protectorate.

Bosnia Herzegovina.

Denmark and Danish Colonies.

Norway and Sweden.

Belgium.

Bulgaria.

Egypt.

Turkey.

Spain.

France.

French Colonies.

Portugal.

Portuguese Colonies. Tunis. Roumania. Austria-Hungary.

Russia.

Servia.

Switzerland. Italy.

2. The maximum amount for which a letter packet may be insured is $1,200. 3. The rates of insurance are:-

$120,

$240,

$360,

$480,

$600,

(The dollar being taken at 1/11d.) .....fee 25 cents.

$720,

.............fee 75 cents.

35

$840,

85

""

45

$960,

$1.00

55

$1,080,

$1.10

""

""

65

$1,200,

1)

>>

$1.20

4. The fee for insurance is in addition to postage and fee for registration.

5. Insurance to an amount greater than the real value of the contents of a letter is prohibited.

6. The infringement of the above rule with intent to defraud, deprives the sender of any right to compensation.

7. It is forbidden to enclose in insured letters:

(a.) Coin:

(b) Articles subject to Customs' duty, except paper money;

(c.) Articles of gold or silver, precious stones, jewellery, and other articles of a similar nature.

8. The sender of a letter containing insured articles, receives gratis at the time of posting a summary receipt for his letter.

9. The sender of a letter containing insured articles can have sent to him an acknowledgment of the delivery of the packet to the addressee, or can, subsequent to the posting of a packet, ask for information as to its disposal, under the same conditions as for registered articles,

10. An application for an indemnity for loss of an insured letter is only entertained if made within a year of the posting of the insured letter.

11. Letters containing insured articles can only be accepted if enclosed in an envelope fastened by means of seals in fine wax, with spaces between, reproducing a private mark, and affixed in suffi cient number to hold down all the folds of the envelope. The employment of envelopes with coloured borders is forbidden.

12. The condition of every letter must be such that its contents cannot be got at. without exter- nal and visible damage to the envelope or the seals.

13. Space must be left between the postage stamps used for the prepayment, so that they cannot serve to hide injuries to the envelope. They must not be folded over the two sides of the envelope so as to cover the edge.

14. Letters containing insured articles addressed to initials or directed in pencil are not accepted. 15. The amount of the value insured must be expressed in francs and centimes, or in dollars and cents, and must be written by the sender on the cover of the packet in words and in figures, without erasure or correction, even if certified on the left-hand upper corner.

16. The sender's name and address must be endorsed on the left-hand lower corner on the face of the cover.

By Command,

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 16th September, 1899.

J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,

Colonial Secretary.