RURAL MAILS

Otago Witness, Issue 3557, 16 May 1922, Page 44

RURAL MAILS

THE NEW REGULATIONS. Regulations governing the new rural mail scheme are published in last week’s Gazette. The most important are as follow : No person who resides within the postman’s delivery limits of a town where such delivery is in operation, or who resides within hai,f a mile of any post office, shall be eligible to purchase and erect a rural mail-box. . Unless the circumstances are exceptional, no rural delivery shall be established unless there is an average of four families to be served for each mile covered, and in the case of a route lees than 10 miles in length, the average number of families to the mile must be not less than six. No rural mail-box can be held in the joint names of a number of persons, unless it is known that the applicants are in business partnership. Private persons are not permitted to join in renting a rural mail-box. Subject to the above restrictions, any person to whom exception is not t.ken by the Postmaster-general, and who is willing to j>ay the appointed fee, may have a rural mail-box. Not more than one family shall use the same box, but guests and employees of any 6uch family shall bo entitled to have their correspondence placed therein without any additional fee. No rural mail-route shall be extended to include delivery to any person whose residence is within one mile of a rural mailroute, and no rural mail delivery shall be established except where the route is maintained in good condition, is unobstructed by gates (unless they are made to open automatically), and is open for traffic throughout the year. Except in special circumstanoes no mailroute shall be arranged over which the carrier will lie required to retrace, or travel over, the same road twice in the same day. The fee payable to enable any person to participate in a rural delivery shall be £1 per annum for a service having a frequency greater than thrice weekly, and 10s per annum for a service having a frequency of thrice weekly or less. The" fee shall be payable annually in advance, and once paid shall not be returned; but a fresh fee‘shall not be required in the same year from any settler to whom a rural mail-box has been transferred. Mail matter addressed to a person residing on a rural mail-route for rural delivery shall not be delivered * loose. Such person must erect a standard box and pay the proscribed fee.