TELEGRAPH REGULATIONS. (SCHEDULE OF)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1900 Session I, F-03

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1900. NEW ZEALAND.

TELEGRAPH REGULATIONS. (SCHEDULE OF)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 of " The Electric Lines Act, 1884."

AMENDED CHARGES FOR LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONING.

Ranpuely, Governor. Oedeb in Council. At the Government House, at Wellington, this twenty-ninth day of January, 1900. Present: His Excellency the Govebnoe in Council. Whebeas by Order in Council dated the twenty-third day of October, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, and published in the New Zealand Gazette of the twenty-sixth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, amended regulations were made providing for the use of Government telephones for the purpose of conversing between certain telegraph-offices within the colony: And whereas it is desirable to further amend such regulations in respect of the fees to be charged for such use of Government telephones : Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the powers conferred upon him by "The Electric Lines Act, 1884," and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and acting by and the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby revoke the regulations set forth in the Schedule to the aforesaid Order in Council, and in lieu thereof doth hereby make the regulations set forth in the Schedule hereto, providing for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned, and doth declare that such last-mentioned regulations shall have effect on and from the date of the first publication of this Order in Council in the New Zealand Gazette.

Schedule. . Begulations. Foe the purposes of these regulations the expression "long-distance wires" shall mean wires ordinarily used for telegraph purposes of a length from office to office of not less than twenty miles. 1. Government telephones may only be used by the public for the purpose of conversing over long-distance wires at such times as may be fixed and notified by the Electric Telegraph Commissioner. 2. The following are the charges to be paid by the public for the use of Government telephones at such times and for such purposes as aforesaid : — (a.) When the conversation takes place through exchanges which are open continuously, or through other exchanges or bureaux during the ordinary hoars of attendance of switchboard or bureau attendants : For a period not exceeding six minutes, 2s. 6d.; and a further charge of 2s. 6d. for every additional period of six minutes or portion of six minutes. (b.) When special attendance of switchboard or bureau attendants out of ordinary hours of attendance is required, then for each such switchboard or bureau attendant called upon to make the necessary wire-connections: For every hour or less, 2s. 6d., in addition to the charges set forth in subsection (a). Alex. Willis, Clerk of the Executive Council.

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REGULATION FOR TRANSMISSION OP PRESS TELEGRAMS ON (SUNDAYS.

Ranpubly, Governor. Obdee in Council. At the Government House, at Wellington, this eighth day of August, 1899. Present: His Excellency the Govebnob in Council. Wheeeas by Order in Council, dated the twenty-eighth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, and published in the New Zealand Gazette of the twenty-ninth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, regulations were made under the authority of " The Electric Lines Act, 1884 " (hereinafter termed " the said Act"), for the transmission of telegrams, inter alia, to newspapers on Sundays: And whereas it is expedient to extend such regulations in the manner hereinafter provided : Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the powers vested in him by section fifteen of the said Act, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby make the regulation and fix the fee set forth in the Schedule hereto for the purposes therein mentioned, and doth order and declare that such regulation and fee shall have effect on and from the date of the first publication of this Order in Council in the New Zealand Gazette.

Schedule. Evening newspapers will be allowed to receive on Sundays Press telegrams not exceeding in the aggregate 300 words, at a rate or fee of Is. per 100 words or fraction thereof, of news of important events occurring between the closing of telegraph offices on Saturday and their reopening on Sunday. Such telegrams to be marked " Special Sunday-rate " in the instructions, and to be transmissible during the session of Parliament only. Alex. Willis, Clerk of the Executive Council.

REGULATIONS AND CHARGES FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF TELEGRAMS.

Ranfubly, Governor. Obdeb in Council. At the Government House, at Wellington, this twenty-fifth day of June, 1900. Present: His Excellency the Govebnob in Council. Wheeeas by section fifteen of "The Electric Lines Act, 1884" (hereinafter termed "the said Act"), it is provided that the Governor in Council may from time to time make, alter, amend, and revoke regulations for the transmission of telegrams by means of any electric line, and for the delivery thereof, and for the disposal of all unclaimed or undelivered telegrams, for fixing and determining the fees and rates to be demanded and received for the transmission of any telegram, and for the other purposes in such section mentioned : And whereas by Order in Council dated the twenty-eighth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, and published in a supplement to the New Zealand Gazette, of the twenty-ninth day of May, one thousand ei°ht hundred and ninety-six, regulations and charges were made and fixed for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned: And whereas it is expedient to revoke such regulations and charges, and to make others in lieu thereof: Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the powers vested in him by the said Act and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby revoke the regulations and charges made by the aforesaid Order in Council, and in lieu thereof doth hereby make the regulations set forth in the Schedule hereto for the transmission of telegrams, for fixing the fees and rates to be demanded for such transmission, and for the other purposes hereinbefore recited, and doth further order and declare that these regulations shall have effect on and from the twenty-sixth day of June, one thousand nine hundred.

SCHEDULE. Regulations undee which Telegeams ace Authobized to be Teansmitted on the Telegeaph Lines belonging to the Govebnment op New Zealand. Non-liability for Errors, &c. 1. Neither Her Majesty the Queen nor the Government of the colony shall be responsible for errors, omissions, or delays in the transmission of any telegram, or for the non-delivery or nontransmission of any telegram. Charges. 2. The charges for transmission of a telegram within New Zealand are : For twelve words or less, including address and signature: Urgent, one shilling; ordinary, sixpence. Extra words, 2d. and Id. each respectively. On Sundays these rates are doubled. When more than one tele-

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gram, apparently part of a message previously lodged, is presented by the same sender during any one day, such telegrams may be treated as one continuous telegram, and charged for accordingly, unless it be shown to the satisfaction of the Officer in Charge that they have no connection with each other. 3. Postage stamps must be used for payment, and any person sending a telegram is required to stamps to the message forms. Receipts for Charges. • 4. Receipts for the amounts paid for international and intercolonial telegrams may be obtained by the sender free of charge at the Telegraph Office at the time of presenting such telegrams for transmission. A receipt for the amount paid for an inland telegram will be given at the time of presenting such telegram for transmission on payment of a fee of twopence. How and upon What to be written. 5. Inland telegrams presented for transmission shall be written either in ink, or with pencil, or in manifold, in a clear and legible manner; cable telegrams shall be written in ink, or in manifold. All telegrams shall contain a proper address, and bear a genuine signature in the usual handwriting of the sender, or in that of his authorized agent, but when written by the agent the latter shall add his name or initials, not for transmission, but for the information of the Post and Telegraph Department. 6. In order to prevent errors in the transmission of telegrams, all words must be written in full, and no abbreviations will be allowed that are not in general use and in accordance with the usage of the language. All numbers should be written in words in full, and not in figures. 7. Printed forms upon which telegrams should be written may be obtained at all telegraphoffices on application ; but all telegrams, whether written upon the prescribed form, upon any other printed form, or upon plain paper, shall (subject to the provision hereinafter stated), be considered as presented for transmission under the several conditions contained in these regulations: Provided that telegrams written upon printed forms other than those supplied by the Government shall be first approved of by the Electric Telegraph Commissioner, or the same, may be refused when presented for transmission. How to be signed. 8. When it is not intended or desired that the sender's signature should be telegraphed, it must.be written on the back of the message. The message may then be transmitted without a signature, or with any signature known to the receiver, such as " Kate," " Harry," " Mamma," which the sender may insert for transmission ; but the receiver may have the full signature telegraphed by paying for the necessary telegrams. Special Instructions. 9. When the sender desires that special instructions, such as " Private," " Confidential," " To be opened at once," " Per Te Anau," " Post," " By first steamer," or the like, shall be written on the envelope of the message, he shall write those instructions immediately after the address of the receiver, and pay for them as part of the message. The words shall also be written in the space for instructions. Cipher Telegrams. 10. Telegrams may be written in cipher, which will be counted according to the following scale, whether for figures or letters : Separate ciphers count as one word ; groups of five ciphers, or fractional part of five ciphers, count as one word; groups exceeding five ciphers are counted at the rate of five ciphers to the word, and any fractional portion remaining is to be counted as one word. 11. The use of a cipher address is prohibited on messages for transmission within the colony. Telegrams may be dropped into a Letter-box. 12. Persons not wishing to send to a telegraph-office may post a telegram in an envelope addressed " Telegram Immediate," in a wall- or pillar-box, or at a receiving office or sub-post-office. Telegrams so posted are sent on by the next collection or the next mail to the telegraph-office to which the letters included in the collection are taken, and are thence transmitted and delivered free of extra charge, provided the proper amounts for transmission and for porterage (if any) have been prepaid. The time of arrival at the telegraph-office is regarded as the time of receipt from the public. Telegrams may also be posted not enclosed in envelopes, and when so posted they will be treated in the same manner. Order of Priority of Transmission. 13. All telegrams are required to be sent forward so as to reach the office of destination in New Zealand on the day of despatch. In any case where by accident this does not happen, the dates of despatch and receipt are plainly stated. Telegrams will be transmitted in the following order of priority : (1.) Telegrams from members of the Executive. (2.) Government telegrams marked urgent. (3.) Service telegrams. (4.) Urgent private telegrams. (5.) Non-urgent (ordinary) private telegrams. Replies may be prepaid. 14. The cost of a reply may be prepaid, and a reply-form will then be delivered to the addressee, who will be at liberty to send another telegram of the value prepaid, from any telegraph-office, at any time within six weeks. If the form be not used its value will be refunded on application being made within six weeks to the Acountant, General Post Office, and on the production of the form. A reply-form need not necessarily be used for a reply, but may be used to prepay any single inland message.

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Collect Telegrams — Sender responsible for Transmission Charges. 15. Telegrams may be taken from the sender with the word " Collect" written thereon in the space for instructions, and in such case the value of the telegram will be collected from the receiver ; but, in the event of the department being unable to collect the amount, the sender will be held responsible for the due payment thereof, and. in such case, if the sender fails to pay the charges upon being requested to do so, the Officer in" Charge of the telegraph-office at which the telegram was delivered for despatch may in hiß own .name, in any Court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover from the sender of such telegram all charges due for the transmission thereof. 16. The.sender of a " Collect " telegram shall, if requested to do so, lodge the cost of it. Any difference between the sum required and that lodged will be settled, or any refund will be made, upon delivery of the telegram. The sender of a " Collect " telegram is at liberty to direct that delivery shall be conditional on the addressee first paying the charges. In such cases the words "Delivery conditional " must be inserted in the instructions and paid for. Repetition at Bequest of Sender to Insure Accuracy. 17. Telegrams may be repeated, if the sender desires it, by being signalled back from office to office. No copy is, in such case, given to the sender. The charge for repetition is one-half the ordinary tariff, a fraction of a penny being reckoned as a penny. Telegrams containing mercantile quotations or figures, and telegrams written in cipher, or according to a preconcerted code, should always be repeated. Repetition at Request of Addressee to Detect Errors. 18. If the receiver of a telegram doubts its accuracy, he may have it repeated by paying half the amount paid for its transmission to him, fractions of a penny being recokened as a penny. Should he require only a portion of the message to be repeated, a payment must be made at the rate of a halfpenny for each word embraced in the repetition. For example, if fifteen words in a message of thirty words are to be repeated the payment would be eightpence. The minimum charge, however, for repetition (even of a single word) is threepence. The money will be refunded if it should happen that .the telegram has been incorrectly transmitted. Readdressed Telegrams. 18a. The sender may direct that a telegram be readdressed, paying an extra fee for the new address. Inland Multiple Telegrams. 19. Prepaid telegrams addressed on one form to several persons in the same town, or to one person at different residences in the same town, may be accepted for transmission within the colony. If the telegrams be addressed to different towns, or are written on separate forms, both or all will be treated as distinct messages, and charged full rates. Bach address will be complete in itself; consequently the office of destination will appear as many limes as there are names of addressees. The text, and all the addresses, and the signature will be counted and charged for as a single message, with an additional fee of 3d. per address for each copy excepting the first. " Urgents " may be accepted at double the above tariff. The number of addresses will be indicated to the office of address by the insertion of " Multiple [No. of addresses] " in the " Instructions " ; but this information will be omitted from the messages actually delivered, which will show one address only unless the sender has inserted and paid for the instruction " Communicate all addresses." Multiple telegrams cannot be sent " Collect." Extent of Free Delivery. 20. Except as notified in the printed list of telegraph-offices published from time to time in the Post and Telegraph Guide, all telegrams will be delivered free of charge within a distance of one, mile by the nearest practicable road of the office to which they may be transmitted by wire. s. d. ]?or any distance not exceeding half a mile beyond the free delivery ... 0 6 For any distance over half a mile but not exceeding one mile beyond the free delivery ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 0 For any distance over one mile but not exceeding two miles beyond the free delivery ... ... ... ... ... ... 1 6 The foregoing charges provide for ordinary delivery only. For telegrams to be delivered by special messenger, the cost of such delivery shall be added and paid for. If required to be delivered beyond the distance of three miles, all moneys disbursed in payment of cab-fares, omnibus-fares, horsehire, porterage, or any other expenses incurred in delivery, shall be charged and paid. AH telegrams shall bear any expenses incurred to defray ferriage and tolls. To prevent the non-delivery or detention of telegrams, when the sender of a telegram neglects or refuses to pay the above charges, or any of them, the telegram will be posted immediately on its arrival at the office to which it is transmitted by wire. Sender responsible for Delivery Charges. 21. The sender of a telegram shall be responsible for the payment of all charges incurred in the delivery, and if the sender fails to pay the charges upon being requested to do so, the Officer in Charge of the telegraph-office at which the telegram was delivered for despatch may, in his own name, in any Court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover from the sender thereof the charges due on such telegram.

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Bedirected Telegrams. 22. Telegrams redirected to a corrected address are liable to an additional charge of 6d.»if delivery can be effected from the original receiving office, but if the corrected address requires T the message to be re-telegraphed from the receiving office a charge will be made equal to the original amount paid. Fee for Search. 23. On the application, within six months of the date of its presentation, of the sender or the addressee of any telegram, search will be made by the department for the copies'thereof in its possession. A fee of five shillings shall accompany each application for search, or for search with copies, so as to cover cost of the search and the copy or copies required. Any excess or insufficiency in this amount, determined by the length of time occupied in the search, will be adjusted before copies are handed to applicants. The rate of payment for search is two shillings and sixpence per hour or fraction thereof. For copies of inland, telegrams a charge of sixpence each will be made, and for copies of cable telegrams fivepence for every hundred words or fraction thereof. No application is entertained unless at the request of the sender or of the person to whom any telegram is addressed. 24. In the case of allegation of error on the part of the department in the transmission of any telegram, no inquiry will be made unless the telegram was a repetition-paid telegram, or unless a fee equal to half the cost of the original message is paid. Accidents to Lines. 25. In the event of serious delays occurring through accident to the lines, which may prevent the transmission of a telegram within a reasonable time, or may destroy the value of any telegram, the acceptance of telegrams may be refused for the time being; and, in the case of a telegram already accepted, the sender may, on an application to the Officer in Charge of the station at which such telegram was presented and paid for, receive back the amount paid thereon," and the telegram will be cancelled. In the event of partial interruption of the lines by accident or stress of weather, the department may refuse to accept all telegrams except urgent telegrams. Monopoly of Line forbidden. 26. The transmission of telegrams presented in quantity, or of telegrams of great length, may be delayed when their transmission would give an undue monopoly of the line to the sender or addressee. Prohibitions. 27. Telegrams which are indecently or obscenely worded, or which appear to contain matter of a treasonable, seditious, libellous, or grossly offensive character, will not be transmitted. Urgent Telegrams. 28. Telegrams marked " Urgent" are received at any telegraph-office and transmitted in the order of their priority with other messages of the like code. Urgent telegrams take precedence of all ordinary messages. The fee for an urgent telegram is double of that for an ordinary telegram. Urgent telegrams lodged on Sunday are charged four rates. When the sender of an urgent telegram desires to pay for an urgent reply, the words " Urgent, reply paid urgent" must be inserted in the instructions. When the reply required is not to be urgent the instruction should be " Urgent, reply paid." Charges for Messages relating to Sickness or Death. 29. Telegraphic messages relating to sickness or death or other urgent matters may be accepted and transmitted from any to any telegraph-office at any time outside the ordinary hours of business on week-days or Sundays (provided the attention of the terminal office can be obtained), on payment of the following rates and fees :— For the first twelve words or less, including address and signature, Is., and 2d. for each additional word after twelve. Such telegrams must be inscribed with the words " Extra fee " in the instructions. For calling upon a postmaster or operator in charge to transmit a message after his ordinary hours of duty, and when the office is closed, 2s. 6d., to be paid even if the telegram fails to reach its destination, but in the latter case the tariff rates collected will be refunded. In addition to the foregoing charges a further fee of 2s. must be paid for delivery within a mile from the office. 30. Charges for ferries, tolls, or for any extra cost incurred for delivery beyond the ordinary limits must also be paid by the sender at time of presenting the telegram. The sender shall also be liable for short charges, should it be subsequently found that the amount collected for carriage was insufficient. Weather Telegrams for Shipping. 31. Masters of vessels are permitted to forward messages at one uniform rate of sixpence for each message (including reply) to the Harbourmasters of the several ports seeking information as to the state of the weather, &c, at the port to which they are bound, or from any port which may lie in their route. These telegrams must be concise, and should be filled in in accordance with the directions to be seen at telegraph-offices. In no case will a larger number of words in the body of the telegram than twelve be allowed.

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Transmission of Telegrams by Telephone. 32. (1.) Subscribers to telephone exchanges may, by prearrangement in writing with the tele-graph-office, have telegraphic messages which are addressed to them forwarded by telephone from the office of destination to their business or private address. Such messages will, after transmission, be posted for delivery to such address, and be marked on the front " Transmitted by telephone." (2.) If desired, short Press messages up to fifty words may be telephoned to newspapers, the proprietors of which are subscribers to a telephone exchange, and who agree to pay the fee for so doing. After being telephoned such messages will be delivered by messenger, when their values (if collect), together with the fee for telephoning, will be collected. (3.) This system may be availed of during the ordinary hours for attendance of officers at the telegraph-office, except in the case of offices where officers are on duty until 10 p.m., when the telegrams may be telephoned up to that hour. (4.) The charges for transmitting telegrams as above shall be as follows : — s. d. A fee of £5 ss. per annum, paid in advance; or, in other cases, for each separate transmission, provided the telephone conversation does not exceed three minutes ... ... ... ... ... 0 6 For each additional three mimjtes or fraction thereof ... ... 06 When the fee is paid by time, one conversation may include two or more messages, including any referred to in the next succeeding section. The fee is to be affixed in stamps to a docket which will be provided, and presented to the telegraph-office immediately after the message has been telephoned. (5.) Telephone exchange subscribers who have signed the usual form of application may also telephone to any telegraph-office connected with a telephone exchange, during the ordinary hours of telegraph attendance, if the exchange is open, any messages, not exceeding fifty words in length, to be further transmitted from the telegraph-office to the respective destinations of such messages as telegrams, provided the usual cost of such telegrams is paid in addition to the above rates. (6.) Prior to telephoning any such message the sender shall have reduced such message to writing, and, immediately after transmission, if telephoned before 5 p.m., deliver the written message to the telegraph-office, with the charges affixed in stamps. Messages telephoned after 5 p.m. and before 8 p.m. must be handed in to the telegraph-office not later than 10 o'clock the following morning. (7.) The department reserves the right to exclude any person from the privilege of sending or receiving telegrams by telephone under this system until any arrears of fees which may be due are fully paid, and to demand a deposit before registering any application. (8.) The transcribed copies of messages telephoned by subscribers will, so far as the department is concerned, become the original telegrams, and the department will not assume or be subject to any liability by reason or on account of any failure, delay, or mistake in or about the transmission, receipt, or delivery of any telegram under this system, from whatever cause the same may arise. (9.) On payment of a fee of 6d. and the charge for the transmitting—at the prescribed rates for urgent or ordinary telegrams, as the case may be—of such words as may be required to convey the direction hereafter mentioned, the sender of a telegram may insert in the place for instructions thereon the direction " To be telephoned," and thereupon such telegram, upon arrival at the telegraph-office of destination, shall be forthwith telephoned through the Telephone Exchange to the addressee, if such addressee be a subscriber to such Exchange; and in olher respects the provisions made for the transmission of telegrams to addressees through Telephone Exchanges at their own request shall, as far as applicable, apply to such telegrams. Taeiff Bates in New Zealand. Ordinary Telegrams. From any station to any station : — For the first 12 words or less, including address and signature ... Sixpence. For every additional word ... ... ... ... ... One Penny. On Sundays, double the above rates. [For telegraph-fees for repayment of Post-Office Saving-Bank deposits by telegraph, see Eepayment of Deposits, page 154, 155, New Zealand Post and Telegraph Guide.] Urgent Telegrams. For the first 12 words or less, including address and signature ... One Shilling. For every additional word ... ... ... ... ... Twopence. On Sundays, double the above rates. [See also charges for Telegrams relating to sickness and death.] Press Telegrams. Day Rates. From any station to any station, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (week-days),— For the first 12 words or fraction of 12 words ... ... ... os. 6d. For every additional word ... ... ... ... ... os. -|d. No charge shall be made for address and signature, up to six words, on any Press telegram. In assessing the total amount due, fractions of a penny are reckoned as a penny.

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Special Day Bate for Morning Papers. From or to stations not reopening in the evening, telegrams not exceeding 300 words and lodged not later than 4.30 p.m.:— For each 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... .... Is. od. Every such telegram must have the words " Special Day Bate " in the instructions, and be lodged on the day next before the day of publication of the newspaper addressed; otherwise ordinary day-rates will be charged. Not more than one telegram for any paper will be accepted at any office on any one day at the above rates. This concession does not apply to sub-offices situated in a city or town where the central office reopens in the evening. Evening Bates. Between the hours of 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. (week-days), exclusive of Saturdays, when offices close at 8 p.m. (except during the sitting of Parliament, when the closing hour is 10 p.m.),— For every 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... ... os. 6d. Between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight,— For every 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... ... os. Bd. After midnight, if kept open by special arrangement, — For every 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... ... Is. od. On Sundays. From 5 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. (morning newspapers),— For every 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... ... os. Bd. After 5.30 p.m., if kept open by special arrangement of the United Press Association, — For every 100 words or fraction of 100 words ... ... ... Is. od. Evening newspapers may receive short Press telegrams on Sunday at a rate of Is. for every 100 words or fraction thereof. Such telegrams may not exceed an aggregate number of 300 words for any one newspaper, and must be confined to news of events which occur between the time of closing of the telegraph-office on Saturday night and its reopening on Sunday. Postage stamps are to be used for payment, and when the rates are prepaid the senders should affix the stamps on the message-form in the space provided for the purpose. Telegraph forms and envelopes, having the words (printed in red) "Telegram for transmission to the Officer in Charge Telegraph-station, ," can be procured at post-offices in towns where there is no telegraph station. Exceptions to the above Scale of Charges. Evening newspapers publishing before 5 p.m. are allowed to receive, at any period of the day of publication, telegrams amounting in the aggregate to 1,000 words during the recess of Parliament, and 1,500 words during the session, at evening rates; 500 additional words are also allowed on the day the San Francisco mail reaches Auckland for telegrams containing news received by the mail-steamer. When the San Francisco mail arrives at Auckland on Sunday, the 500 additional words are allowed on the day following. During the session of Parliament, Press parliamentary reports are accepted until 1 a.m. at the 6d. rate, and between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. at the Bd. rate, for all offices open during these hours for Press messages from Wellington. During the war in South Africa, evening newspapers will be allowed to receive 500 additional words on one day at evening rates from the United Press Association on the occasions on which the Association distributes the contents of letters received from its correspondents respecting experiences of the New Zealand contingents in South Africa. No other than the special news named is to be included to make up the 500 words. Cable News. Press messages lodged at any telegraph-office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. repeating news received by cable from beyond the colony, and bearing the words " Cable news" in the instructions, are chargeable with the evening rates for Press messages if sent on the day of publication of the newspaper addressed. Every such message must be charged separately. Day-rates are payable on such messages if sent otherwise. Charges when Office reopened by Special Bequest. Individual Bate. —Press messages lodged by or on behalf of individual persons or newspapers at a telegraph-office specially re-opened after the usual closing hour are charged as under : At the rate of 2s. per 100 words up to 1,000 words, the minimum collections on account of messages presented by any one person to aggregate 7s. 6d. For every additional 100 after the first 1,000 words, at the rate of 6d. per 100 words or fraction thereof. Press Association Bate. —Messages lodged and forwarded on behalf of the United Press Association are liable to the following charges: At the rate of 6d. per 100 words or fraction thereof, together with a fee of 7s. 6d. for reopening the office, and all charges in respect of overtime at offices other than the original forwarding office. The additional payment to be made in all cases by the applicant. At least six hours' notice should be given the General Post Office, Wellington, of the desire to have an office specially reopened for Press news. Charges for Press Telegrams relating to Extraordinary Events, &c. Press telegrams containing intelligence of extraordinary events, such as collisions, wrecks, large fires, explosions, &c, may be accepted for transmission between offices open for the midnight cable service, after those offices are closed for the receipt of other Press messages, on the following

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conditions :No message must exceed 100 words. The rate of Is. to be charged for each message. The Officer in Charge may refuse to accept any such message which in his opinion does not contain news of an urgent nature. These messages will not be permitted to interfere with or delay the transmission of the midnight cable news. Telegrams forwarded by Members of General Asssembly. Members of the General Assembly may send telegrams at the following rates, viz.:— s. a. For the first thirty-six words or any fraction thereof, including address and signature ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 6 For every four words or fraction of four words after the first thirty-six words ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 1 Such telegrams shall be restricted to domestic, public, or parliamentary business during the session of Parliament, and a period of fourteen days immediately before and fourteen days immediately after the session of Parliament, respectively. During the remainder of the recess they shall be restricted to public or parliamentary business entirely. Any disregard of these conditions will render the telegram presented liable to be treated and charged for as an ordinary telegram, or refused acceptance. " Collect " telegrams addressed to a Minister by any member of Parliament shall not be accepted for transmission at any telegraph-office unless the Minister has by telegram requested such member to send him a reply "free," and proof thereof be given to the transmitting officer. In such "collect" telegrams, the instruction " M.Gr.A. Collect" must be written in the proper place at the head of the form. Alex. Willis, Clerk of the Executive Council.

INLAND RATE ON CABLEGRAMS.

Banfubly, Governor. Obdbe in Council. At the Government House, at Wellington, this ninth day of July, 1900. Present: His Excellency the Goveenoe in Council. Wheeeas under the authority of " The Electric Lines Act, 1884" (hereinafter termed "the said Act"), the Governor in Council is empowered from time to time to make, alter, amend, and revoke regulations fixing and determining the fees and rates to be demanded and received for the transmission of any telegram : And whereas the fees heretofore received for the transmission over electric lines belonging to the Government of New Zealand of telegrams despatched for delivery at places beyond New Zealand, or received from such places for delivery in New Zealand, have been levied in respect of telegrams to or from places in New Zealand and Australia or Tasmania at the rate of sixpence for ten words or any number of words less than ten, and in respect of telegrams to or from all other such places at the rate of one penny for each word : And whereas it is desired to alter the fees for such transmission in the manner hereinafter mentioned: Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, m pursuance and exercise of the powers and authority vested in him by the said Act, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said colony, doth hereby abolish the fees aforesaid, and in lieu thereof doth make the regulations and fix the fees set forth in the Schedule hereto for the purposes hereinbefore mentioned, and doth order and declare that such regulations and fees shall have effect on and from the first publication of this Order in Council in the New Zealand Gazette.

Schedule. The inland rate, to be known as the " New Zealand terminal rate," to be levied on telegrams transmitted to or received from places beyond New Zealand, to be called " cable telegrams," shall be fixed at Id. per word. Alex. Willis, Clerk of the Executive Council. Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, not given; printing (1,300 copies), £i ss. 6d.

By Authority : John Mackay, Government Printer, Wellington,—l9oo, Price, 6d.]