693199-1876-Bills-read-first-time-Deportation-and-Conditional-Pardon-Consolidation-Gambling-Amendment-Piracy-Post-Office- — Page 8

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 18TH NOVEMBER, 1876. 501

Al correspondence which is delivered to the Post Office with the poper postage paid thereon, shall be transmitted from the

Post Office without delay.

XV. All letters received or sent by sailors or soldiers of Her Seamen's and Majesty's sea or land forces shall be charged with such reduction Soldiers' in the rates of postage, as is allowed to them by any Act of the Imperial Parliament.

letters.

[Ibid, sec.13.] XVI. The Governor may, from time to time, provide proper Dies, &c. for postage stamps and proper dies and other implements for denoting, postage stamps. by adhesive stamps or otherwise, the rates of postage payable [Ibid, sec.22.] under this Ordinance, or any regulation thereunder.

XVII. The Postmaster General may, if necessary, open and, if Opening let- possible, return to the sender:-

ters. [Ibid, sec.19.]

(1) Any correspondence upon which the prepayment of pos- Unpaid letters.

tage is compulsory, and which cannot be sent unpaid by any other routs, and upon which the proper postage has not been paid;

(2) Any correspondence which is returned to the General Dead letters.

Post Office for want of a proper address, or from inability

to find the person to whom it is addressed, and which remains unclaimed for ten days after being advertised in the Gazette.

XVIII. When any packet is delivered to the Post Office and Postage may has thereby become liable to postage, and evidence is adduced to be remitted on the satisfaction of the Postmaster General that such packet has packets not

containing been delivered to the Post Office by mistake,, the Postmaster Ge- letters, if sent neral may cause such packet to be opened in the presence of an in mistake. officer of the Post Office, and may return the same without charge [Ibid, sec.21.] to the person interested; unless such packet is found to contain any letter or manuscript liable to postage; in which case the Postmaster General shall retain the packet until he is paid the full rate of postage chargeable upon such letter or manuscript.

XIX. After any correspondence has been delivered to the Warrants for Post Office, no person employed by or under the Post Office shall, opening or except in the cases above mentioned, open the same, or return the returning cor-

respondence. same to any person, or procure or suffer the same to be opened or [Ivid, sec. 20.] returned, unless he is authorised by express warrant in writing under the hand of the Governor, or the British Consul at the port.

The Governor, or the British Consul at the port, may, at his discretion, grant such warrants for opening or returning any specified letter or other article of correspondence.

Despatch and Receipt of Mails.

sels inwards.

XX. Every master of a vessel, shall, immediately on arrival, Gratuities to and before reporting at the Harbour Office, deliver to the Postmasters of ves- Office all letter bags and correspondence on board, except such as' [Ibid, sec. 14.] are exempt by law, and shall make the declaration contained in the schedule C hereto annexed, before an officer of the Post Office.

sels outwards.

XXI. The Postmaster General shall pay to every master of a Gratuities to vessel, not being a contract packet, a gratuity of two cents for masters of ves- every letter, and one cent for every other article of correspondence [Ibid, sec. 12.] delivered by him to the Post Office: Provided always that no gratuity shall be payable,-

(1.) For a second transmission of any correspondence; (2.) On correspondence delivered to any Post Office to be

thence transmitted by contract packet;

(3.) On correspondence the gratuity on which is certified by

the despatching office to have been paid.

XXII. The Postmaster General may pay like gratuities to any master of a vessel leaving Hongkong on every article of corres- pondence delivered to such master from the Post Office, or certified by the Post Office of destination to have been duly received from him.

XXIII. The powers of the Governor in Council as defined and regulated by sections X and XI of this Ordinance, shall equally apply to the rates of gratuity to be paid to ship masters for the delivery of mails, either generally or in particular cases: Provided always, that the gratuities fixed by any order in council under this section, shall not be less on the average, than the sums otherwise required by this Ordinance to be paid.

XXIV. Every master of a vessel who receives such gratuities, shall be held to have made a contract with the Postmaster General that in consideration of the gratuities so paid, he will duly deliver all letter bags and correspondence received from the Post Office unto the persons to whom the same are addressed immediately on his arrival in port, without wilful or unavoidable delay after his arrival, and that if he fail in any respect to perform his said con- tract, he will pay to the Postmaster General the sum of five hun- dred dollars as liquidated damages for the breach of his said con- tract.

XXV. Every person or firm proposing to despatch a vessel to any Persons pro- port or place out of this Colony, excepting vessels plying daily or posing to des-

patch vessels on fixed days to Macao or to places on the Canton River, shall, so