Postal_Guide_1929 — Page 19

HONG KONG POSTAL GUIDE

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107. Every article should bear the name and address of the sender on the lower left-hand corner, in order that the Post Office may be able in case of non- delivery, to return it unopened and without delay.

108.-Payment of postage cannot be made by means of imperfect or defaced postage stamps. Stamps are considered defaced when marked on the face with any written, printed, or stamped characters. Stamps may, however, be per- forated with initials (but not with names or trade-marks) provided that perforat- ing holes are no larger than those dividing one stamp from another in a sheet of stamps.

109.-Postage should in all cases be fully prepaid. The general rule as to insufficiently prepaid correspondence is to double the deficient postage. Under the regulations of the Postal Union, printed papers, commercial papers and sample packets must be fully prepaid.

110. Insufficiently paid correspondence must be either accepted and the postage due paid, or forthwith refused. Postmen are not permitted to allow a prior inspection of the contents of unclosed articles.

111.-Hong Kong Postage Stamps over-printed "China" are not available for payment of postage on correspondence posted in Hong Kong.

112.-It is no part of the duties of the Post Office to affix stamps to corres- pondence, or to see that servants purchase or affix the proper amounts, nor can the officers of the Department, in any circumstances, undertake to do this.

113.-Any article of correspondence duly prepaid and posted becomes the property of the addressee, and cannot be returned to the sender, nor can it be detained, without the authority of the Postmaster General on an application stating fully the reasons for the request. The fee payable for the return of an article is $1 which must be prepaid in stamps.

114.-Postal Officials are not bound to make search for any article of cor- respondence once posted, but may do so exceptionally and when the search does not involve delay to the out-going mail. The fee payable is 10 cents for each article searched for.

115.-Postal Officials are not bound to give change, nor are they authorised to demand it; and when money is paid at a Post Office, whether as change or otherwise, no question as to its right amount, goodness, or weight can be entertained after it has been removed from the counter.

116. Postal Officials are not bound to weigh for the public articles brought for the post, but they may do so if their duty be not thereby impeded. This rule does not apply to parcels, which are tested both as to weight and size before being accepted.

117. No information can be given respecting letters or any other postal packets except to the persons to whom they are addressed, and in no other way is official information of a private character allowed to be made public.