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Press, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5363, 2 December 1882, Page 3

P!B~ A T~M—l> UITTEBS.

Sis, —Can yon inform mc xmder what law, or by what regulation made under the Post Office Act, letters axe detained by the postal authorities', or- compnlsory registryatlon of the same can De enforoea fey postmasteiret ? X snail __ glaci- Hariririg _posbe *3L a letter witli a one penny exhibitioxi medal to Dunedin for a certain purpose. Tiie authorities there refused to give up the letter till the registration fee and a fine is paid, because the letter forsooth is supposed to contain coin. I also observe that the letters addressed to "Ada Mantua" from Auckland are being detained. Can the postal authorities do as they lite xvith our letters ? If so, they may go further,! and read the whole lot of them for anything the public knows, and the law possibly may justify them in publishing the said contents from the housetops. So long as the Post Office receives a fair profit from the carriage of letters, and protects itself from carrying dangerous goods or articles which might be sent in the evasion of Customs duties, I consider its. officials either exceed their duty, or the law is clearly overstrained, in dealing with letters in any other way, Some day I have no doubt some enterprising person who uses the Post Office will drop upon the depart- ! ment for heavy damages where it is to be shown the officials have wrongly interpreted ; their duties. Tours, &c., Senex.