Postal_Guide_July_1957 — Page 50

48 Prohibitions

(d) Hides, skins, wool and other external parts of animals, for the protection of animals against contagious disease;

(e) Tobacco, playing cards, salt, as subject to state monopoly.

10. Articles so restricted can, as a rule, be sent if they comply with certain conditions and in some cases a sanitary certificate in a prescribed form is necessary. In general, plants must be packed securely in such a way that they can be easily examined and where a phylloxera or other sanitary certificate is required, the despatch note, customs declarations, and the cover of the parcel should be noted, for example, Phylloxera Certificate Annexed.

If. notwithstanding the information set out above, parcels containing articles known to be prohibited from importation into the country of destination are observed in the post, they are not forwarded but are returned to the senders. Parcels declared to contain articles of which the importation is permitted only under certain conditions will, generally speaking, be accepted and despatched. The onus of ensuring compliance with these conditions rests with the sender; and the Hong Kong Post Office accepts no responsibility for the return or seizure of any parcel through the failure of the sender or addressee to comply with the necessary formalities.

EMBARRASSING PACKETS

Packets embarrassing to the Post Office staff are also prohibited. Embarrassment may be caused by the method of addressing and the affixing of the stamp; the colour, type, shape and dimensions of the envelope, packet or card; and by the use of a badly reconditioned envelope which has already passed through the post.

Addresses. A packet having anything printed or other impressed upon or attached to the address side which, either by tending to prevent the easy and quick reading of the address, or by inconvenient proximity to the postage stamps, or in any other way. is likely to impede the officers of the Post Office in dealing with it. Cards, envelopes. labels and wrappers are, however, admitted if the writing or printing is confined to the left-hand half of the address side, the right-hand half being reserved exclusively for the postage stamps and the address ;

A packet having its address parallel to the breadth instead of to the length of the envelope.

Stamps. A packet bearing on its address side an adhesive label or printed design either resembling a postage stamp in shape or size or in the form of a frame for a postage stamp :

A packet having a postage stamp affixed elsewhere than at the right-hand top corner of the address side.

Colour. Red packets or envelopes, except for letters addressed to a renter of a private box for night use and marked specially Private Box, Night Delivery, or of any other colour likely to cause strain on the eyes of the officers of the Post Office. Cards, labels or envelopes should be white, but there is no objection to pale shades of buff, yellow, green or blue. It is essential, however, that the ink used on coloured paper should be in sharp contrast with the tint of the paper. The foregoing also applies to the visible portion of enclosures in envelopes with transparent or cut-out panels.

Envelopes

Window envelope. A packet enclosed in a window envelope, that is an envelope with a transparent panel which does not conform to the following conditions :-

1. The panel must extend parallel to the length of the envelope;

2. A space of 14 inches must be left above the panel for the postage stamp and the date-stamp impression;

3. No writing or printing other than the address may be displayed through the panel, and the address must appear through the panel in such a manner as to be read with reasonable facility;

4. The enclosures must be so folded that they cannot move about in the envelope, and thus cause the address to be hidden.

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