The Postmaster-General shall have the general administration of this Division of this Act.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time enter into any contract with any person for or in respect of the conveyance of mails by sea, inland waters, or land upon such terms and conditions in all things as the Postmaster-General thinks fit.

In the case of a contract for the conveyance of mails by sea or inland waters, such terms and conditions may include provisions fixing maximum rates of. freight and passenger fares to be charged in respect of cargo and passengers carried by the vessel conveying the mails.

All postal packets shall be posted, forwarded, conveyed, and delivered subject to the provisions, conditions, prohibitions, and restrictions contained in this Division of this Act.

For the purposes of this Act the following provisions shall apply with respect to postal packets of every description:—

Subject to such provisions, conditions, prohibitions, and restrictions as are specified in regulations, the Postmaster-General may from time to time, either generally or in the case of any particular person, authorise—

The Governor may from time to time, as he thinks fit,—

May appoint Post-masters and other officers.

Power of delegation.

Every Postmaster and other Post officer shall, before the exercise by him of the duties of his office, take and subscribe a statutory declaration in the form in the Second Schedule hereto.

Such declaration may be taken and subscribed before any person empowered by law to take statutory declarations, or before any Post officer whom the Governor authorises to take declarations under this Act.

Every person appointed under this Division of this Act may be required by the Governor to give such security as he directs for the due and faithful discharge of the duties of the office to which such person is appointed.

The Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations—

Postmasters may sell stamps without license.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time cause to be made and sold postage-stamps of such denominations of value as he thinks fit.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time cause to be made and sold envelopes or wrappers of various sizes and forms bearing thereon printed, engraved, or lithographed stamps of such denominations of value as he thinks fit.

Such stamp may be so placed on the envelope or wrapper as to permit of the address thereon being written on or across the face of the stamp, and every stamp on or across which the address is written shall be deemed sufficiently defaced without any other obliterating mark.

All the provisions of this Act relating to postage-stamps shall extend and apply to such envelopes or wrappers, and to any die, plate, or stamp made or used therefor under this Act.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time furnish and issue post-cards and letter-cards for transmission by post between places either within or beyond New Zealand.

Such cards shall have a stamp of the postage rate impressed, engraved, or printed upon them, and be manufactured of paper of such quality, form, and size as the Postmaster-General thinks fit.

The postage rate for such cards respectively,—

Private cards may be furnished and issued by the Post-master-General subject to such regulations as the Governor in Council from time to time makes as to the size and weight thereof, the manner of impressing or printing the stamps thereon, and any other conditions which may be necessary.

Any person may use as a private card, and affix thereto an adhesive stamp of the proper value, any piece of paper which conforms to the aforesaid regulations as to size, weight, and otherwise.

All such private cards shall be deemed to be post-cards.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time, on receiving such security as he thinks fit, cause or permit to be issued to any person recording-machines for impressing upon postal packets and other documents the sign of postage or stamp values, and recording the amount of such values.

Such impressions shall be valid for the prepayment of postage and of charges on telegrams in the same manner as if adhesive stamps were used.

The amount of postage and stamp values so recorded shall be collected, at such intervals as the Postmaster-General determines, from the persons to whom such recording-machines are issued, and the sums so collected shall form part of the postal revenue.

The Minister of Stamp Duties is hereby authorised to pay commission on the amount so collected at the same rate as if adhesive stamps of the same value as the amount so collected had been sold, and to make refunds of the amount represented by impressions made and recorded in error and not used.

Notwithstanding anything contained in “The Stamp Duties Act, 1908,” a receipt as defined in section one hundred and sixteen of that Act shall be deemed to be duly stamped in accordance with that Act if, before the person giving such receipt delivers it out of his hands, there is impressed upon it by any such recording-machine as aforesaid an impression indicating a stamp-value of one penny, and cancelled in the manner prescribed for the cancellation of adhesive stamps by section fifty-five of that Act.

In every action or other proceeding in which any receipt is offered or received as evidence it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that any impression appearing on such receipt and purporting to indicate a stamp-value of one penny was duly impressed thereon by a recording-machine issued and used under the authority of this Act.

Every person commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding one year, who impresses or causes to be impressed upon any postal packet, telegram, receipt, or other document any impression with intent that it shall be mistaken by any person for an impression duly made by a recording-machine issued under the authority of this section.

On payment of a registration fee of five shillings the proprietor or printer of a newspaper as defined in section two hereof may register the same under this Act in such manner and subject to such conditions as are prescribed by regulations.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time revise the register and remove therefrom any publication which in his opinion is not a newspaper or has ceased to be a newspaper as defined.

The decision of the Postmaster-General on the admission to or removal from the register of a publication shall be final, save that the Governor in Council may, on the application of any person, reverse or modify the decision.

Any publication for the time being on the register shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a registered newspaper.

The postage and other charges payable within New Zealand upon postal packets posted within New Zealand for delivery within or transmission beyond New Zealand shall be levied according to such respective scales and at such respective rates as are fixed from time to time by the Governor in Council.

The Governor in Council may from time to time, as he thinks fit, exempt from payment of postage—

Postal packets addressed to or sent by institutes for the blind or public libraries, containing matter prepared in raised characters for the use of the blind, shall not be subject to postage.

No letter shall be sent or carried for hire or reward otherwise than by post.

Every person who so sends any letter, or carries it or takes charge of it for the purpose of its being so sent or carried, is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds in respect of every such letter.

The sending, carrying, or taking-charge of any letter to be carried otherwise than by post shall be deemed to be done for hire or reward until the contrary is shown.

Nothing in the last preceding section shall extend to any letter—

Any person sending any postal packet by post shall be entitled to have the same registered, and to obtain a receipt for the same, upon the payment of such registration fee, in addition to the ordinary postage, as is prescribed:

Provided that such registration or receipt shall not confer on any person any right to compensation or otherwise, or impose upon His Majesty any liability, for the loss of any such postal packet or of the contents thereof:

Provided also that the Postmaster-General may, in his discretion and subject to regulations, pay out of the Post Office Account any sum not exceeding two pounds as compensation for the loss of any registered postal packet on production of evidence which will satisfy him of such loss.

Every postal packet addressed to any person at any premises licensed under “The Licensing Act, 1908,” or at any shipping office, or public or private lodginghouse, and delivered to or received by the licensee of such premises, or the person apparently in charge of such office or lodginghouse, or any one acting as the agent or servant of any such licensee or person, shall be deemed to be under the control of the Postmaster-General until delivered to the person to whom the same is addressed.

If the same is not so delivered within two months after the receipt thereof by or on behalf of such licensee or other person as afore-said, and if instructions to the contrary are not received from the person to whom the same is addressed, the licensee or other person as afore-said shall return the same to the nearest post-office, with the reasons therefor.

Every such postal packet shall be transmitted to the Dead Letter Office, and shall be there dealt with as undelivered.

If any such licensee or other person as aforesaid omits or fails to return any such postal packet as aforesaid he is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

This section shall extend and apply to telegrams transmitted by electric telegraph.

If the postage of any postal packet is not paid by the sender thereof, and the person to whom the same is addressed refuses to receive it, or on receiving it rejects it, the sender thereof is liable to pay such postage, and also the additional postage (if any) of returning the postal packet:

Provided that nothing herein shall operate to release the person to whom any such postal packet is originally addressed from his liability to pay the postage thereof upon the delivery of such postal packet to him.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds who knowingly sends to or puts into, or causes to be sent to or put into, any post-office—

In any action or other proceeding for the recovery of any postage—

Who doomed the sender.

Evidence of postage due.

The Governor, by warrant under his hand, may direct the Postmaster-General or any Post officer to open, detain, or delay any postal packet for any purpose in such warrant mentioned; and every such direction shall be duly obeyed.

If the Postmaster-General has at any time reasonable ground to suppose any person in New Zealand or elsewhere to be engaged—

then the Postmaster-General may, by notice under his hand in the Gazette, order that no postal packet addressed to any such person (either by his own or any fictitious or assumed name), or to any address without a name, shall be either registered, forwarded, or delivered by the Post Office.

Such notice shall specify every such name, whether real, fictitious, or assumed, and every such address in respect of which such order is made.

Until such order is in like manner revoked no such postal packet shall be registered, forwarded, or delivered, nor shall any money-order be issued in such person’s favour or be paid to him.

The Postmaster-General and every Postmaster shall be entitled to examine any postal packet (other than a letter) sent by post as exempt from postage, or as entitled to be sent at less than the proper rate of postage, without a cover or in a cover open at the side or end, in order to discover whether it is in conformity with law.

Every question which arises as to whether any such postal packet is entitled to be sent free or at the rate of postage paid for the same shall be decided by the Postmaster-General, whose decision shall be final.

Where the Postmaster-General or any Postmaster has reason to suspect that any postal packet (other than a letter or a letter-card) addressed to any person (either by his own or any fictitious name or assumed name), or to any address without a name, posted in New Zealand or elsewhere, contains or is supposed to contain any printed or written matter of any kind, or any enclosure of any kind—

he may cause such postal packet to be detained and opened, and if it is found to contain any such matter or enclosure he shall cause the postal packet and the contents thereof to be destroyed.

If any Postmaster has any doubt as to whether the provisions of this section should be enforced in any particular case, he shall refer the matter to the Postmaster-General, whose decision shall be final.

Where the Postmaster-General or any Postmaster has reason to suspect that, in respect of any postal packet the proper postage rate is fraudulently evaded or avoided by the use of defaced or previously used stamps, he may refuse to deliver the postal packet unless the person to whom it is addressed discloses the name, occupation, and address of the sender, and, after opening the postal packet and retaining the enclosures, delivers up the envelope or wrapper containing the defaced or previously used stamps.

Where the Postmaster-General or any Postmaster has reason to suspect—

That any postal packet has been posted or contains any enclosure in fraud or violation of this Act or the Customs Acts,—

he may detain such postal packet, with its enclosures, and the same shall be opened, examined, and dealt with in manner hereinafter mentioned.

Every postal packet which is opened and examined under the provisions of this Act shall be opened at a post-office—

Every newspaper opened under the provisions of this Act may be forthwith sold, destroyed, or used for any public purpose, unless before such sale, destruction, or use thereof the same is claimed, and the postage (if any) due thereon is paid by the person to whom such news-paper is addressed.

Every postal packet opened and examined under the provisions of this Act, and found to contain any valuable or saleable enclosure, shall, together with its contents, be safely kept, and a list of such postal packets, together with a memorandum of such contents, shall be made and preserved.

The Postmaster-General shall cause notice of such postal packet and of its contents to be sent to the person to whom the postal packet is addressed if he is known, or otherwise to the sender thereof if he is known.

On demand by the first-mentioned person if known, or if unknown, then by the last-mentioned person if known, and on payment of all charges in respect of postage rates, Customs duties, and otherwise due and payable thereon, but subject in every case to the provisions of the next succeeding section, such postal packet and its contents shall be delivered to the person so making demand.

If neither of such persons is known, or if no demand is made within six months after the sending of such notice, such postal packet shall be destroyed, and its contents shall be forfeited and sold as herein-after mentioned.

If on any such examination such postal packet or enclosures are found to be in fraud or violation, or to have been posted in fraud or violation, of this Act or the Customs Acts, or with intent to evade payment of the proper postage or the proper Customs duties, then, without affecting any liability to penalty or punishment to which the sender is thereby exposed, such postal packet shall be destroyed or otherwise, disposed of as the Postmaster-General directs, and such enclosures shall be forfeited and may be sold as hereinafter mentioned:

Provided that, in lieu of such forfeiture and sale, the Governor, if he thinks fit, may direct—

If such notice is sent, and such charges are duly paid within the said period of two months, such enclosures shall be delivered up in terms of the notice to the person paying the same, but otherwise they shall be sold.

If the enclosures of any postal packet opened and examined as aforesaid are to be sold, they shall be sold or converted into money in such manner as the Postmaster-General directs, and the proceeds thereof, and such of the enclosures as consist of money, shall be paid into the Post Office Account and form part of the postal revenue.

Any such enclosure which consists of any valuable security or order for money shall, for the purpose of procuring payment thereof, be deemed to be the property of the Postmaster-General.

Except as by this Act expressly provided, no postal packet whatever shall be returned to the writer or sender thereof without the authority of the Governor:

Provided that letters of an official character sent from or to any Department of the Government, or sent by any such Department to any person, and also postal packets (other than letters) by or to whomsoever sent, may be so returned under the sole authority in writing of the Post-master-General.

No person shall have any right to compensation or other-wise, nor shall any liability be imposed upon His Majesty or the Post-master-General, by reason of the detention, opening, or destruction of a postal packet or its enclosure under the powers in that behalf conferred by this Act.

The detention or destruction of a postal packet or its enclosure shall not relieve any person from his liability for any offence against this Act or any other Act.

The Governor in Council may from time to time determine the amount of gratuities to be paid to the masters of vessels for the conveyance of mails, and the several Postmasters throughout New Zealand shall pay such gratuities accordingly.

Such gratuities may be either a fixed sum or at such rate as the Governor in Council from time to time determines.

The master or agent of every vessel about to proceed from any one port to any other port in New Zealand or beyond New Zealand—

Every such notice shall, when practicable, commence and expire between the hours of nine o’clock in the forenoon and five o’clock in the afternoon:

Provided that in special cases the notice may be for such shorter period as from time to time is prescribed by the Post officer at such port.

Every such master or agent who refuses, fails, or neglects to duly give any such notice is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

The Post officer to whom any notice is given under this section shall, on demand, deliver to the person giving such notice a certificate in writing of the day and hour when the. notice was given.

The proper officer of Customs may refuse a clearance of the vessel in respect of which no such certificate is produced to him, or when it appears to him from any such certificate that any such notice has not been duly given.

The master or agent of every vessel which is about to proceed from any port situate within three miles of any post-office—

shall give timely notice at such first-mentioned post-office of such intended departure, so as to enable the Postmaster to forward mails by such first-mentioned vessel to the port or vessel to which such first-mentioned vessel is about to proceed.

Every master or agent who refuses, fails, or neglects to give such notice is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds:

Provided that the Postmaster may exempt any vessel from the operation of this section for such time or on such conditions as he thinks fit.

The master of every vessel about to sail from any port in New Zealand—

Every master who offends against any of the provisions of this section is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

All mails (other than such as are included among the exceptions enumerated in section twenty-one hereof) which at the time of the arrival of any vessel at any port in New Zealand are on board such vessel directed to any person within New Zealand shall be delivered on demand to the Postmaster or other Post officer at such place, who is hereby authorised to give a receipt for the same.

Every master or other person belonging to any such vessel who, having charge of any such mail, refuses or neglects to deliver the same on demand as aforesaid, or detains or permits the detention of the same on board such vessel, or does not use due diligence in the delivery of the same, or does not take due care for the secure and dry custody of the same so long as it is in his charge, is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Every master, passenger, or other person who knowingly or negligently detains or delays on board such vessel, or keeps in his possession, any such mail after the master has sent to the post-office any of the mails brought by such vessel is liable in respect of each mail so detained, delayed, or kept as aforesaid to a fine not exceeding ten pounds if the offence is committed before demand made as mentioned in section forty-two hereof, and to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds if the offence is committed after such demand.

The master of every vessel arriving at any port in New Zealand at which there is any post-office shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, subscribe a declaration, in the presence of and attested by a witness, in the form or to the effect following, that is to say:—

I, A. B., master of the [State the name of the vessel], arrived from [State the place], do solemnly declare that I have, to the best of my knowledge and belief, delivered to C. D., the person duly authorised to receive delivery thereof, every mail that was on board the said vessel, except such postal packets as arc not required by law to be sent by post:

and shall deliver such declaration to the person duly authorised to receive the mail for the Postmaster or Post officer at such port.

Such person shall thereupon grant a certificate under his hand of the making and delivery of such declaration.

Until such certificate is produced to the Collector or other proper officer of Customs at such port he shall not permit such vessel to report.

Every master who fails or refuses to make such declaration, or makes a false declaration, is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time make arrangements with the postal authority of the United Kingdom or of any British possession or foreign country for all or any of the following purposes, that is to say:—

In the event of the Commonwealth of Australia or the Colony of Fiji not agreeing with the Postmaster-General to contribute to the maintenance of any line of mail-vessels plying between New Zealand and the United Kingdom or any British possession or foreign country, and subsidised by the Government of New Zealand (hereinafter called “subsidised mail-vessels”), the Postmaster-General may from time to time order that the Commonwealth or colony so refusing (hereinafter referred to as a “non-contributing country”) shall be prohibited from availing itself of such line of subsidised mail-vessels for the purpose of transmission of mails, and every such order shall be gazetted.

For the purposes of this and the next succeeding seven sections the expression “Commonwealth of Australia” or “Commonwealth” shall be deemed to include all such States as for the time being are parts of the said Commonwealth, including the northern territory of South Australia and every other part of such Commonwealth.

All mails which at the time of the arrival at any port in New Zealand of any subsidised mail-vessel are on board such vessel, whether directed to any person in New Zealand or not, shall be delivered on demand to any Postmaster, Customs officer, or Harbour officer of such port, or to any other person duly authorised in writing under the hand of the Postmaster-General or officer in immediate charge of the post-office at such port.

This and the six following sections shall not apply to letters concerning goods on board such vessel and to be delivered with such goods, or sent by way of introduction only, or concerning the bearer’s private affairs.

Every master or other person belonging to any subsidised mail-vessel who, having charge of any mail, knowingly or negligently detains or keeps in his possession, or neglects or refuses to deliver the same or any part thereof after such demand made as aforesaid, is liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds for every mail so detained, kept, or not delivered.

The provisions of sections forty-four and forty-five hereof shall apply to all mails on board any subsidised mail-vessel arriving in New Zealand from any non-contributing country, whether they are directed to any person in New Zealand or not.

The principal officer of Customs at every port in New Zealand may search any subsidised mail-vessel for mails on board or supposed to be on board in breach of the provisions of this Act, and may seize the same and forward them to the nearest post-office.

Where a subsidised mail - vessel arrives at any port in New Zealand from any British possession or foreign country with any mail on board addressed to any person in any non-contributing country, or intended to be carried to or to be delivered at any port or place therein, the Postmaster-General may, if he thinks fit, instead of permitting the transmission of such mail to such country, send back the same by the first convenient opportunity to the Post Office of the possession or country from which the same was brought.

Where a subsidised mail - vessel arrives at any port in New Zealand from any non-contributing country with any mail on board addressed to any person in any country other than New Zealand, or intended to be carried to or delivered at any port or place in any such last-mentioned country, the Postmaster-General may, if he thinks fit, instead of permitting the transmission of the same to such last-mentioned country, send back the same by the first convenient opportunity to the Post Office of the non-contributing country from which the same was brought.

The Governor in Council may from time to time make regulations for the purpose of preventing and prohibiting any person from posting any postal packet to be sent by post in any of the cases following, that is to say: if any person in New Zealand—

and may provide by such regulations for the imposition of a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds for any offence against any of such regulations.

New Zealand parcels and foreign parcels may be sent by post, subject to the provisions of this Act and also to the terms or conditions of any contract or arrangement that may be made by the Postmaster-General under the powers hereinafter contained.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time enter into any convention, agreement, or arrangement with any postal authority for the conveyance of foreign parcels, subject to the provisions of this Act.

Subject to any exceptions or modifications made under this Act, the provisions of the Customs Acts shall apply to goods contained in foreign parcels in like manner, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, as they apply tc any other goods; and persons may be punished for offences against the Customs Acts, and goods may be examined, seized, and forfeited, and the officers examining them and seizing them shall be protected, and legal proceedings in relation to the matters aforesaid may be taken accordingly, under the Customs Acts.

With respect to foreign parcels the following provisions shall apply:—

Right of recovering Customs duties. Ibid, sec. 56

Breach of regulations a breach of Customs Acts.

Regulations for application of Customs Acts.

Act not to authorise differential duties.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time exercise the following powers, or any of them, for the purpose of giving effect to this Part of this Act:—

Until the making of any contract with any railway or tramway authority under this Part of this Act, every such authority shall be bound to render and perform for the Postmaster-General the services hereinafter set forth, and upon such terms and conditions, and for such rate of remuneration as may from time to time be fixed by the Governor in Council: that is to say, from time to time, and as occasion requires,—

The Governor in Council may from time to time make regulations prescribing the respective duties to be performed by Post officers, and by the officers and servants of any railway or tramway authority, in respect of the receipt, conveyance, or delivery of New Zealand parcels and foreign parcels.

Every railway or tramway authority shall have full power to enter into any contract for the purposes of this Part of this Act, not-withstanding that such contract may be beyond the scope of or not included within the objects or purposes of any such railway or tramway authority; and any such contract shall be made and executed, and may be varied or altered, in like manner as any other lawful contract of such railway or tramway authority.

In respect of any railways belonging to His Majesty the Governor shall, on behalf of His Majesty, have full power from time to time to enter into any such contract.

No railway or tramway authority shall be required to carry under this Act, or any contract made in pursuance thereof, any explosive or dangerous article, or any other article or parcel which, independently of this Act, such authority might refuse or by its by-laws be forbidden to carry.

Subject to the terms of such contract as aforesaid (if any), and except in so far as such contract expressly provides, all and singular the provisions of sections thirty-nine to forty-five hereof shall extend and apply to every railway or tramway authority, and every officer and servant thereof, and to every vessel, and the master or other person belonging thereto, in respect of the conveyance and delivery of New Zealand parcels and foreign parcels.

The Governor may from time to time make regulations for the following purposes, or any of them:—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, money may be transmitted, either within or beyond New Zealand, through the medium of the Post Office or the electric telegraph by means of money-orders and postal notes.

The Governor in Council may from time to time—

Regulations.

All such arrangements and regulations shall be binding and conclusive upon the persons for whom or in favour of whom such money-orders and postal notes are issued, and upon all persons interested through or claiming under those persons, and upon all holders of money-orders and postal notes.

No person shall have any claim or right to compensation or otherwise, nor shall any liability be imposed on His Majesty, by reason of the payment of any money-order or postal note being delayed or refused, or by reason of any neglect, omission, or mistake in the issue or payment thereof.

After any money-order or postal note has been once paid to any one whomsoever, His Majesty shall not be liable for any further claim in respect thereof.

No interest or stamp duty shall be payable in respect of a money-order or postal note.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time appoint post-offices to be offices of the Post-Office Savings-Bank for the purposes of this Act, and may authorise and direct Post officers to receive deposits and to repay such deposits together with the interest accrued thereon:

Provided that, except in the case of the savings-banks and societies mentioned in section seventy-seven hereof, no deposit of less than one shilling or a multiple of one shilling shall be received.

The Post officer receiving a deposit shall, at the time when he receives it, enter the amount thereof in the depositor’s book, and attest the entry by his initials and the dated stamp of his office.

He shall also report the amount of such deposit to the Chief Postmaster under whose control he is, and the Chief Postmaster shall report the same to the Postmaster-General, who shall acknowledge the same to the depositor.

The acknowledgment of the Postmaster-General, signified in the prescribed manner by the officer whom he appoints for that purpose, shall be forthwith transmitted by post to the depositor by that officer, and such acknowledgment shall be conclusive evidence of the fact and amount of the deposit:

Provided that in the case of a deposit of less than one pound the entry in the depositor’s book shall be conclusive evidence of title in the same manner as an acknowledgment by the Postmaster-General of a deposit is evidence of title under this subsection, and it shall not be necessary to transmit any such acknowledgment in the case of such a deposit.

A depositor desiring to withdraw any money from his account may be required to give at least seven days’ previous notice in the prescribed form to the Chief Postmaster of the postal district in which the account is kept, and in such notice shall specify the amount to be withdrawn and the Post-Office Savings-Bank office at which he desires the payment to be made.

Upon receipt of such notice the Chief Postmaster shall forward to the depositor a warrant in the prescribed form authorising the payment to be made in terms thereof.

Forthwith upon the expiration of such notice (or earlier if the Postmaster-General thinks fit) the depositor, on presentation of his deposit-book and the aforesaid warrant at the Post-Office Savings Bank office where the amount to be withdrawn is payable, shall be entitled to receive payment thereof.

Subject to regulations, the payment may be arranged by electric telegraph.

Any depositor whose account has been opened in any Post-Office Savings-Bank office in any postal district for at least three months may in the prescribed manner transfer his account from that office to any Post-Office Savings-Bank office in another postal district.

The officers engaged in the receipt or payment of deposits shall not disclose the name of any depositor, nor the amount deposited or withdrawn, except to the Postmaster-General or to such of his officers as are appointed to assist in carrying this Division of this Act into operation:

Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to exempt any officer from disclosing in evidence any matters in obedience to the process of any Court of justice, or on an examination before any person having authority to take evidence in any proceeding under any law for the time being in force relating to bankruptcy or to old-age pensions.

All deposits shall be paid into the Post Office Account, and all sums withdrawn by depositors, or by parties legally authorised to claim on account of depositors, shall be paid to them out of the said account.

If at any time the funds paid into the Post Office Account under this Part of this Act, and the interest arising therefrom, are insufficient to meet the lawful claims of all depositors, it shall be the duty of the Minister of Finance to issue the amount of such deficiency out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation than this Act, and to report such deficiency to Parliament.

If any dispute arises between the Postmaster-General, or any person acting on his behalf, and any depositor or any person claiming in right of such depositor, the matter in dispute shall be referred to arbitration, and for that purpose this section shall be deemed to be a submission within the meaning of “The Arbitration Act, 1908,” and the reference shall be deemed to be to two arbitrators.

The interest payable to depositors shall be at a rate per annum to be from time to time determined by the Minister of Finance not exceeding, in the case of each depositor,—

Provided that in the case of savings-banks under “The Savings-banks Act, 1908,” and legally constituted friendly, charitable, or provident societies, and such other non-mercantile societies as the Governor from time to time by Order in Council prescribes, the aforesaid limit of six hundred pounds shall not apply.

Except in the case of the aforesaid savings-banks and societies no interest shall be allowed to any depositor on more than six hundred pounds.

Every person to whom the aforesaid limitation of interest-bearing deposits applies shall, before opening an account in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, make and deliver to the Post officer at the office where the first deposit is made a statutory declaration in the form numbered (1) in the Third Schedule hereto or to that effect.

Every savings-bank or other society claiming to be exempt from the aforesaid limitation of interest-bearing deposits shall, before opening an account in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, make by its trustee or other responsible officer, and deliver as aforesaid, a statutory declaration in the form numbered (2) in the said Third Schedule or to that effect.

Any such declaration shall be exempt from stamp duty, and may be made before and taken by any person who is empowered by law to take statutory declarations, or any Post officer who is authorised to receive deposits.

Every person who, in breach of any such declaration as afore said,—

At any time possesses or is directly or indirectly interested in interest-bearing deposits exceeding in the whole the sum of six hundred pounds, whether in his own name or the name of any other person, and whether in the same account or in different accounts,—

is liable to the punishment imposed by law on any one making a false declaration, and is also liable under this Act to a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred pounds, besides the forfeiture of all interest paid or payable in excess of the prescribed limit.

Interest shall in the case of each deposit be computed from the first day of the month next following the day on which a complete pound, either in one sum or in several sums of less amount, has been deposited, and, as to moneys withdrawn, shall cease on the first day of the month in which they are withdrawn:

Provided that when any such deposit is duly made on the first day of any month interest for that month shall be computed and allowed in respect of such deposit.

Interest shall be calculated to the thirty-first day of December in every year, and shall then be added to and become part of the principal money.

Interest shall in no case be payable on any sum less than a pound or a multiple of a pound.

The moneys paid into the Post Office Account under this Part of this Act, and the interest accruing thereon, or such part thereof as the Governor in Council directs, shall be from time to time invested in the manner prescribed in “The Public Revenues Act, 1908,” for the investment of moneys lying to the credit of the Post Office Account.

The Postmaster-General may from time to time enter into reciprocal arrangements with any Government Savings-bank authority either in Great Britain or in any British possession or foreign country for the transfer of sums standing to the credit of depositors in such Government Savings-bank to the Post-Office Savings-Bank in New Zealand, or from the Post-Office Savings-Bank in New Zealand to such Government Savings-bank, and may make regulations under the authority of this Act to give effect to transfers authorised in pursuance of this section.

The Governor in Council may from time to time make regulations for—

1900, No. 21, sec. 80 1906, No. 31, sec. 4

An annual account of all deposits received and paid by the Post-Office Savings-Bank, and of interest paid thereon, and of the expenses incurred in carrying this Part of this Act into operation, during each year ending on the thirty-first day of December, together with a statement of the total amount due at the close of the year to all depositors in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, shall, not later than the thirty-first day of March in every year, be laid by the Postmaster-General before Parliament if sitting, or if not, then within fourteen days from the commencement of the next ensuing session.

All expenses incurred as aforesaid, including all sums payable to depositors, shall, without further appropriation by Parliament, be paid out of the moneys received under the authority of this Part of this Act and available for that purpose.

Every person who—

is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds; and, in case of conviction under paragraph (a) hereof, is also liable to pay to the Postmaster-General compensation for any injury done (including injury done to the contents of such pillar or box), to be assessed by the adjudicating Court.

Every person who—

Posts or causes to be posted, or sends or causes to be sent, or tenders or delivers in order to be sent, by post, any postal packet containing any explosive, dangerous, or destructive substance or fluid—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour, or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or both; and no such postal packet shall be forwarded by post.

Every person who—

Puts into any post-office, or into any post-office letter-box or pillar box, fire, or match, or light, or any explosive, dangerous, or destructive substance or fluid, or any matter or thing likely to injure any postal packet or any person,—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding seven years with or without hard labour.

Every person who—

is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months with or without hard labour.

Every postage-stamp, die, plate, instrument, or materials found in the possession of any person in contravention of this section shall be seized and forfeited.

For the purposes of this section “fictitious postage-stamp” means any fac-simile or imitation or representation, whether on paper or otherwise, of any postage-stamp or other stamp for denoting any rate of postage of New Zealand or of any other part of His Majesty’s dominions, or of any foreign country.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds who—

In any proceeding in respect of any offence under this section the onus shall lie on the defendant to prove the absence of fraud or of the intent to defraud.

In any proceedings against any person in respect of any offence under this Act every postage-stamp or other stamp purporting to denote a rate of postage of any part of His Majesty’s dominions or of any foreign country shall, until the contrary is proved, be deemed to be a postage-stamp used for postal purposes in such part of the said dominions or of such foreign country respectively.

Every person who,—

With intent to defraud, obliterates, adds to, or alters any such lines or words on a money-order or postal note as would, in the case of a cheque, be a crossing of that cheque, or knowingly offers, utters, or disposes of any money-order or postal note with such fraudulent obliteration, addition, or alteration,—

is liable on indictment to the same punishment as if such money-order or postal note were a cheque:

Provided that any person, being a banker, who, in collecting in such capacity for any principal, has received payment or been allowed a credit by the Postmaster-General in account in respect of any money-order or postal note, or of any document purporting to be a money-order or postal note, shall not incur liability to any one except such principal by reason of having received such payment or allowance, or of having held or presented such order or note or document for payment:

Provided also that this section shall not relieve any principal for whom such order, note, or document has been so held or presented from any liability in respect of his possession of the same or of the proceeds thereof.

For the purposes of this Act all enactments providing for the punishment of offences relating to stamp duties shall apply in like manner as if the commission on money-orders and poundage on postal notes were a stamp duty.

A money-order or a postal note shall be deemed to be—

Every person who,—

Contrary to his duty, opens, or procures or suffers to be opened, a postal packet, or wilfully delays or detains a postal packet, or procures or suffers the same to be detained or delayed,—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour, or to a fine of fifty pounds, or to both.

Nothing in this section shall extend to the opening, or detaining, or delaying of a postal packet under any special provision of this Act.

Every Post officer who—

Steals, or for any purpose whatever secretes or destroys, a postal packet of any description other than that comprised in the next succeeding section—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment with hard labour for any term not exceeding six years; and if such postal packet contains therein any chattel or money whatsoever, or any valuable security, he is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding fourteen years with hard labour.

Every Post officer who—

Steals, or for any purpose whatever secretes or destroys, or wilfully detains or delays in course of conveyance or delivery thereof by post, any printed newspaper, or any other printed paper whatever, sent by post without covers or in covers open at the ends or sides—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour, or to a fine of fifty pounds, or to both.

No offence punishable under this section shall be punishable under any other of the provisions of this Act.

Every person who steals from or out of a postal packet any chattel, or money, or valuable security is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding fourteen years with hard labour.

Every person who—

Steals a mail bag, or a postal packet from a mail-bag, or a postal packet from a post-office, or from a Post officer, or from a mail, or stops a mail, with intent to rob or search the same,—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding fourteen years with hard labour.

Every person who unlawfully opens any mail-bag is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding five years with hard labour.

Every person who—

Receives any mail-bag or postal packet, or any chattel or money or valuable security, the stealing or taking or secreting whereof is punishable under this Act with imprisonment or fine, knowing the same to have been stolen, taken, or secreted, or to have been sent or to have been intended to be sent by the post,—

is liable to the like imprisonment or fine, and by the same procedure.

Every Post officer who grants or issues any money-order or postal note with a fraudulent intent is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six years with hard labour.

Every Post officer who reissues a money-order or postal note previously paid shall be deemed to have issued the note with a fraudulent intent.

Every person who—

is liable on indictment to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour, or to a fine of fifty pounds, or to both.

Every person who by means of any false pretence or misstatement induces any Post officer to deliver to him any postal packet sent by post, and not addressed to or intended for such person, is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Every Postmaster or Post officer who wilfully neglects or fails to deliver or who wilfully retards the delivery of any mail or postal packet is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Every person employed in the carrying, conveying, or delivering of any mail or postal packet who negligently loses any such mail or postal packet whilst in his charge, whether the same is or is not afterwards recovered, is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Every driver of any carriage or vehicle whatsoever used for the conveyance of a mail, and every person in charge of a mail (whether such mail is conveyed by a carriage or vehicle, or on horseback, or on foot),—

Who loiters on the road or wilfully misspends or loses time so as to retard the arrival of the mail at the proper destination, or does not in all cases, unless prevented by unavoidable circumstances, convey such mail at the speed fixed by the Postmaster-General for the conveyance thereof,—

is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds who,—

Without the authority of the Postmaster-General or of some person deputed by him in that behalf (the proof of which authority shall rest on the person claiming to act under the same), places or erects, or permits to be placed or erected, or permits to continue after the original authority has been revoked,—

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds who, without due authority, affixes or attempts to affix any placard, advertisement, notice, list, document, board, or thing on, or to paint or disfigure, any post-office, or any post-office letter-box or pillar box, or any telephone or telegraph office or post, or any other real or personal property whatsoever belonging to or used by or on behalf of His Majesty or the Postmaster-General for the purposes of this Act.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds who, without due authority,—

Every Post officer who—

Offends against or wilfully neglects or omits to comply with any of the provisions of this Division of this Act, in respect of which no penalty is elsewhere specifically provided in this Act,—

is liable to a tine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Every person who—

Abettors of offences.

is liable to the like fine and punishment as by this Act is attached to such offence, and by the same procedure.

Nothing in this Division of this Act shall be construed to exempt any person from any proceeding for any offence which is punishable by any other Act, provided that he is not punished twice in respect of the same offence.

In any indictment, information, or complaint against any person for any offence against this Division of this Act, and on the trial thereof, it shall be sufficient—

The Postmaster-General may from time to time cause post-office pillar boxes to be erected and maintained in any road or street, reserve or public place, under the jurisdiction of any local authority.

No claim or demand against His Majesty or the Post-master-General shall arise by reason of any default, delay, omission, or loss in relation to any postal packet posted or received under this Division of this Act.

No claim or demand against the Postmaster-General or any Post officer shall arise by reason of anything lawfully done by him under this Division of this Act.

The Postmaster-General shall incur no personal liability under any contract or arrangement entered into by him under this Division of this Act; and all the rights and liabilities under any such contract or arrangement shall vest in and devolve upon the Postmaster-General for the time being, who may sue and be sued in respect thereof in his official name.

No action shall lie against any person for anything done in pursuance of this Division of this Act unless the action is commenced within six months after the cause of action arose, nor unless notice in writing of the action and of the cause thereof is given to the defendant one month at least before the commencement of the action.

In any such action the defendant may give this Act and any special matter in evidence for the defence, and the plaintiff shall not recover if the defendant tenders sufficient amends before the commencement of the action, or pays the same into Court at any time thereafter:

Provided that if the defendant pays into Court as aforesaid, the plaintiff shall, unless the Court otherwise directs, be entitled to costs up to the time of such payment.

If the plaintiff does not succeed in his action, or fails to recover more than is paid into Court, the defendant shall (subject to the last preceding subsection) be entitled to full costs as between solicitor and client.

Notwithstanding anything in “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908,” or any other Act, any information or complaint to be heard in a summary manner in respect of any offence under this Division of this Act may be laid at any time within three years next after the date of the offence.

Except in the case of indictment, all fines imposed by this Division of this Act or by regulations thereunder shall be recoverable in a summary way.

In all cases in which any fine is paid under this Division of this Act the Governor may, when any person appears to have been active in or towards the procuring of the conviction, award to such person such portion of such fine, not exceeding in the whole one-half thereof, as the Governor thinks fit.

Moneys received for transmission by money-order postal note, or British postal order, or for deposit in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, together with all moneys received under or by virtue of this Division of this Act in respect of any rates, duties, or fines, or on any other account whatsoever, shall (unless otherwise directed by the Governor in Council in relation to fines imposed upon Post officers or Telegraph officers for breaches of regulations) be kept at the bank at which the Public Account is for the time being kept, in a separate account called the “Post Office Account.”

Such account shall be operated on only by cheque signed by the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, or, in his absence, by some other officer duly authorised by the Postmaster-General, and countersigned by the Audit Office.

All such moneys (other than fines imposed upon Post officers or Telegraph officers as aforesaid, deposits in the Post-Office Savings-Bank, the interest on those deposits, and the principal moneys received in respect of money-orders, postal notes, or British postal orders, and all moneys collected on behalf of other Government Departments, or in trust for other States, companies, or persons) shall form part of the postal revenue.

The Postmaster-General shall, at the end of each month, or oftener if required to do so by the Minister of Finance, pay over to the Consolidated Fund all sums received during such month as postal or other revenue.

It shall, notwithstanding, be lawful for any Postmaster, when so directed by the Postmaster-General or by any regulations in that behalf, to pay, out of any balances in his hands, any money-order, postal note, British postal order or withdrawal from the Post-Office Savings-Bank which he may be so directed to pay, duly accounting for the same to the Postmaster-General.

It shall be lawful for any Postmaster to pay, out of any balances in his hands, any claims upon the Government which he may be directed by the Postmaster-General to pay:

Provided that the total amount of such payments by Postmasters shall not at any time exceed the balance of moneys in the hands of the Postmaster-General imprested to him for the purpose of making such payments, together with the amount of postal or other revenue in the Post Office Account. Such postal or other revenue shall not be held in any way to include the Post-Office Savings-Bank deposits.

At the end of each calendar year the Postmaster-General shall prepare an account showing the total profit accrued on the Post Office Account during that year after deducting all working-expenses, including rent and cost of new buildings and sites, and shall, on or before the end of the then financial year, pay over the balance, after making full provision for all liabilities to depositors or otherwise thereon, to the Consolidated Fund.

The Postmaster-General is authorised to transfer from the Post Office Account to the credit of the Public Account a sum not exceeding two hundred thousand pounds:

Provided that in computing the said sum of two hundred thousand pounds there shall be taken into account all sums heretofore transferred under the authority of section two of “The Post-Office Savings-Bank Funds Investment Act, 1907.”

The Minister of Finance is empowered to issue to the Post-master-General debentures for the said sum so transferred to the Public Account, and to pay interest thereon at such rate as the said Minister from time to time determines, being not less than the maximum rate of interest for the time being payable to depositors in the Post-Office Savings-Bank as determined in accordance with subsection one of section seventy-seven hereof.

All such debentures shall be issued in accordance with “The New Zealand Loans Act, 1908,” and shall be subject to the provisions of that Act accordingly.

All moneys transferred to the Public Account under the authority of this section shall form part of the Public Works Fund, and shall from time to time, be applied in the erection of new post-office buildings in Auckland and Wellington, or in the acquisition of suitable sites for the same, and to reimburse to the Public Works Fund so much of the expenditure made therefrom for the acquisition of sites and erection of buildings for post-office purposes as the Minister of Finance may determine.

All regulations made under this Division of this Act shall be gazetted, and a copy thereof shall, within fourteen days after the gazetting thereof, be laid before Parliament if sitting, or if not, then within fourteen days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

Except where otherwise specifically provided by this Division of this Act, such regulations may impose any fine not exceeding fifty pounds for any breach thereof.

In this Division of this Act, if not inconsistent with the context.—

Every electric line constructed before the coming into operation of this Act, and now in operation for the purposes of communication by telegraph or telephone, shall be subject to the provisions of this Act and of any regulations in force thereunder.

The Minister holding the office of Postmaster-General shall without further appointment be deemed to be the Minister of Telegraphs, and as such shall have the administration of this Division of this Act.

The Governor may from time to time appoint a fit person to be the Superintendent of Electric Lines, who shall act under the directions and instructions of the Minister; and in like manner the Governor may also appoint all such other officers, clerks, and other persons as are requisite for the purposes of this Division of this Act.

All works authorised by or under this Division of this Act to be constructed by the Governor or the Minister of Public Works, and for which appropriation is made by Parliament, shall be constructed under the provisions of “The Public Works Act, 1908,” subject to any particular provisions contained in this Division of this Act.

The Governor may from time to time—

Every such contract shall be entered into in the name of His Majesty, and may be executed by the Governor on his behalf, and may be varied and discharged in the same manner.

Notwithstanding anything contained in “The Wellington City Sanitation Loan Empowering Act, 1892,” the Corporation of the City of Wellington shall be liable to His Majesty the King for all damage which may at any time be proved to be done to any submarine telegraph cable now lying in Lyall Bay, in Cook Strait, or which may hereafter be laid in the said bay by or on behalf of His Majesty, by, through, or in consequence of the discharge of the sewage and drainage of the City of Wellington into or in the vicinity of the said bay.

The amount of such damage, together with the cost of raising, repairing, or renewing and replacing any such cable as aforesaid, may be recovered from the said Corporation as a debt due to the King.

For any of the purposes of this Division of this Act the Minister of Public Works—

The Minister of Public Works may from time to time, by himself or his agents, enter on any Crown lands or private land for the purpose of constructing, placing, or maintaining any electric line, or of examining, repairing, altering, or removing any line so placed, and may there remain for such reasonable time, and execute and do all such works and things, as may be necessary or convenient for the purposes of this Division of this Act: and—

Where the Minister of Public Works places any electric line—

and in maintaining, repairing, altering, or removing any such line no obstruction shall be caused to the traffic along or the use of any road or navigable waters.

Except as hereinafter provided, the Minister of Public Works or his agents shall not enter on any land not being Crown lands for the purpose of constructing any line, except by day, nor, unless with the consent in writing of the owner or occupier of such land or his authorised agent, until after one week’s notice to such owner or occupier or agent of the intention to construct such fine on such land.

If the owner or occupier of any land cannot after reasonable inquiry be found, then it shall be sufficient if the Minister of Public Works causes one week’s notice in writing of his intention to enter on such land or any part thereof for the purposes of this Division of this Act to be published in some newspaper circulating in the district where such land is situated, and to be posted in some conspicuous place on the ground so proposed to be taken as aforesaid.

After the expiration of the time mentioned in such notice the Minister of Public Works or his agents may exercise all the powers hereby vested in him as effectually as if notice had been served on the owner or occupier of such land or his authorised agent.

The Minister of Public Works, or any officer or other person employed under this Division of this Act, may at all reasonable times enter on any land whatsoever, without giving any notice, for the purpose of inspecting, repairing, or altering any line wholly or in part constructed, or any part of such line.

In the exercise of the foregoing powers the Minister of Public Works or his agents shall do as little damage as may be; and every person having any estate or interest in lands taken for the purposes of this Division of this Act, or injuriously affected thereby, or suffering any damage from the exercise of the said powers, shall be entitled to full compensation for the same, to be ascertained in manner provided by “The Public Works Act, 1908,” unless such act or thing is done with the consent of such person, in which case no compensation shall be made.

The Governor may from time to time, on behalf of His Majesty, enter into contracts with any person—

All the provisions of this Division of this Act, and any regulations for the time being in force thereunder, shall extend and apply to any works undertaken in pursuance of any such contract, and to the telegrams or communications sent or received upon any line constructed or maintained thereunder; but in the case of any line constructed or maintained for the use of any private person the contract may provide that the provisions of this Division or any such regulations may be negatived or modified in such manner as the Minister of Telegraphs thinks expedient.

The Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations for the following purposes:—

Such regulations when gazetted shall have the force of law, and a copy thereof shall, within fourteen days thereafter, be laid before Parliament if sitting, or if not, then within fourteen days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

All telegrams relating to matters affecting the Government or the public service of New Zealand presented for transmission by or on behalf of the Governor, or any member of the Executive Council, or the Speaker or Chairman of Committees of either House of the General Assembly, or any Judge of the Supreme Court, or by any officer in the public service duly authorised to transmit such telegrams, and all telegrams relative to the arrest of criminals or accused persons, the discovery or prevention of crime, or matters connected with the administration of justice, may be transmitted in priority to any other telegram.

Subject as last aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Minister, and of all officers or other persons employed in the working of any electric line, to transmit all telegrams which may be lawfully transmitted under this Act or any regulations for the time being in force there-under in the order in which they may be received, and every officer or person who offends against this provision is liable to a fine of not less than one pound nor exceeding twenty pounds.

In case of interruption or partial interruption to the electric lines, all telegrams received for transmission for or. on account of the public Press may, between such hours as is fixed by the Minister, be transmitted in precedence of all private telegrams, without reference to the order in which they were originally received for transmission at the office of origin; but such precedence shall not be permitted except by the authority of the Superintendent, or some other officer duly authorised in that behalf, and unless in his opinion the actual delivery of such private telegrams would not thereby be delayed.

Except for the purposes mentioned in subsection one of section one hundred and thirty-four hereof, or unless otherwise directed by any regulation, no person shall be bound to transmit any telegram unless the fee or rate for transmission and delivery of such telegram, if demanded, has been previously paid.

In case of refusal or neglect of payment of any fee or rate authorised to be charged or received by or under this Division of this Act, or any part of any such fee or rate, on demand, to the person appointed or authorised to receive the same, such person may sue for and recover the same in any Court of competent jurisdiction in his own name.

No claim or demand against His Majesty shall arise by reason of errors, omissions, or delays in the transmission of telegrams, nor for delays in the delivery nor for the non-delivery of any telegram, nor for omitting to send or receive any telegram, from whatever cause the errors, omissions, delays, or non-delivery may arise.

Except as hereinafter provided, no officer or other person employed in or about the working of any telegraph shall, on the trial of any issue, whether civil or criminal, or of any matter or question, or on any inquiry in any Court of justice, or before any person having by law or by consent of parties authority to hear, receive, and examine evidence, be competent or compellable to give evidence of the contents of any telegram transmitted or conveyed, or presented to be transmitted or conveyed, by any such telegraph, nor to produce under any writ of subpoena, summons, or order the original of any such telegram signed by or on behalf of the sender.

The provisions of the last preceding section shall not apply—

The transcript of every telegram after transmission shall, before the delivery thereof to the person to whom the same is addressed, be stamped or initialled by the officer receiving the same for delivery.

Such transcript purporting to have been so stamped or initialled shall be admissible in every Court of justice, and in every judicial or ministerial examination or proceeding, as prima facie evidence of the matter therein contained being the same as that stated in the original telegram left for transmission, and of such original telegram having been duly signed and delivered for transmission by the person by whom the same purports to be signed.

It shall not be necessary to prove the signature of the person purporting to have signed such original telegram, or that the same was left at any telegraph-office for transmission, nor to prove the stamp or initials of the officer receiving such transcript for delivery.

No officer or other person employed in or about the working of any telegraph shall be liable to any indictment, information, or other criminal proceedings, or to any action for damages, by reason of his having, as such officer or other person, transmitted or conveyed, or taken part in transmitting or conveying, by any such telegraph any defamatory libel.

Any communication transmitted by any telegraph, which would be deemed a privileged communication if published only to the person to whom it is addressed, shall not be deemed to have been maliciously published by reason merely of its having been published to any officer or other person employed as aforesaid for the purpose of being transmitted by such telegraph to the person to whom it is addressed.

On any inquiry before any Committee either of the Legislative Council or of the House of Representatives, or any Joint Committees of such Council and House, or before any Commission duly appointed by the Governor in Council or the Governor, touching the divulging of the contents of any telegram or the publication of any telegram improperly divulged, every person who is examined as a witness and gives evidence on such inquiry, and who thereon makes a true discovery to the best of his knowledge touching all things on which he is so examined, shall be free from all penal actions, forfeitures, punishments, disabilities, and criminal prosecutions to which he may have been or become liable at the suit of His Majesty or any other person for anything done by such person in or about the divulging of any telegram which is the subject of such inquiry or connected therewith.

No person shall be excused from answering any question put to him by such Committee, Joint Committee, or Commission on the ground of privilege or on the ground that the answer to such question may criminate or tend to criminate him.

When any such witness is so examined he shall not be indemnified under this Act unless he receives from the Chairman of such Committee, Joint Committee, or Commission a certificate in writing stating that such witness appears to have made full disclosure touching all things whereon he has been examined.

The production in any Court of law of such certificate shall be a full bar to any action or prosecution against such witness for any act in or about the divulging of any telegram which is the subject of the inquiry revealed by the evidence of such witness; and the Court in which such action or prosecution is brought may award to such witness such costs as he may have been put to by such action or prosecution.

Any officer or other person employed in the working of any telegraph who improperly divulges the contents of any telegram transmitted or presented for transmission by any such telegraph, or the purport of such telegram, is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to imprisonment with hard labour for any period not exceeding six months.

Nothing herein shall prevent the person duly authorised in that behalf from giving copies of any telegram to the person entitled thereto.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding one year, or to both fine and imprisonment who—

The term “notice,” when used in this and the five next succeeding sections, means any notice or other document which by law or the agreement of parties is required to be served on any person, or at his house or place of abode or business, in order that such person may be affected thereby.

The Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations—

A copy of the Gazette containing any regulation purporting to be made hereunder shall be proof of such regulation.

Any person who desires to serve within New Zealand any notice upon another, or at the place of abode or business of another, may do so by depositing such notice with any telegraph officer at any of the telegraph-offices in New Zealand, in the manner prescribed by or under this Act, and requesting that the same may be served by a telegraph officer under this Act.

A certificate purporting to be signed by any such officer in the manner prescribed by or under this Act, and indorsed on the original notice deposited as aforesaid, shall be received in and before all Courts and other tribunals, and on all occasions and for all purposes, as evidence that such service of a telegraphic copy of such original notice has been effected and of the time and manner thereof.

If the name and address of the officer purporting to sign any such certificate correspond with the name and address of a person specified in any notice published in the Gazette, purporting to be signed by the Minister, and declaring that the persons named therein are authorised to sign such certificates as aforesaid, the production of a copy of such Gazette with such notice therein shall be evidence that the person purporting to sign such certificate is authorised to do so.

A telegraphic copy of a notice served in the manner prescribed by or under this Act on a person, or at his place of abode, or at his place of business, shall have the same force and effect as if the original notice were served on such person personally or at his place of abode or place of business, as the case may be.

Where any person, in the manner hereinafter mentioned, publishes in any newspaper or other printed paper published in New Zealand any telegram lawfully received by such person from any place outside New Zealand for publication, no other person shall, without the consent in writing of such first-mentioned person or his agent thereto lawfully authorised, print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, such telegram or the substance thereof or any extract therefrom until after the period of eighteen hours from such first-mentioned publication.

Such period shall not extend beyond twenty-four hours, or, if Sunday intervenes, beyond forty-eight hours, from the time of receipt of such telegram; and the publication of the whole or any part of such telegram, or of the substance thereof, or (excepting the publication of any similar telegram in like manner sent from the same place) of the intelligence therein contained shall be deemed to be a publication of the same.

For the purposes of this section the time of publication of morning newspapers shall be deemed to be eight o’clock in the forenoon, and the time of publication of evening newspapers shall be deemed to be five o’clock in the afternoon.

The simultaneous publication of the same telegram in two or more newspapers shall not be deemed to authorise the republication of the same in any other newspaper without the consent in writing of one of the original receivers as hereinbefore provided, or in case such telegram has been furnished to such papers by any company or association, and has printed above it words showing that it has been so supplied, then the written consent of such company or association.

Every telegram published under the protection of this Part of this Act shall be printed with the heading “By Electric Telegraph Copyright,” and shall bear the date and hour of its receipt, and such statement shall be prima facie evidence of the time of receipt of such telegram.

Every person who wilfully prints and publishes any matter contrary to this Part of this Act is liable to a fine of not less than one pound and not exceeding five pounds for a first offence, and to a fine of not less than five pounds and not exceeding twenty pounds for any subsequent offence;

Provided that any proceedings under this Part of this Act shall be commenced within one month after the date of the commission of the alleged offence.

In any prosecution under this Part of this Act the production of any document which purports to be a telegram, and which contains the intelligence published in the newspapers as aforesaid, and which has been delivered to some person entitled to receive the same by the proper officer of the Department, shall be prima facie evidence that the telegram published as hereinbefore described in any newspaper is a telegram within the meaning of this Part of this Act; and proof that any person is, or is acting or appears to be acting as, editor, sub-editor, or manager of any newspaper in which there has been any publication contrary to this Part of this Act shall be prima facie evidence that such person has wilfully caused such wrongful publication.

The Governor may from time to time establish electric lines of communication by telephone in any part of New Zealand.

All powers, duties, and authorities contained in or exercisable under Part VII of this Division of this Act in relation to the construction and maintenance of electric lines of communication by telegraph and the regulation thereof, and all other powers and authorities therein contained, shall, so far as applicable, mutatis mutandis, extend and apply to electric lines of communication by telephone; and all other provisions of this Division of this Act, so far as applicable, shall apply to such last-mentioned lines when constructed or being constructed.

It shall not be lawful for any person to erect, construct, establish, or maintain for hire or profit any electric line of communication by telephone, unless the sanction of the Governor in Council is first obtained for that purpose.

Every person who offends against this section is liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day whereon he so offends.

The Governor may from time to time establish stations for the purpose of receiving and transmitting telegraph messages within New Zealand or between New Zealand and parts beyond New Zealand by what is commonly known as “wireless telegraphy,” including in that expression every method of transmitting messages by electricity otherwise than by wires, whether such method is in use at the time of the coming into operation of this Act or is hereafter discovered or applied.

The provisions of Part VII of this Division of this Act shall, so far as applicable, mutatis mutandis, extend and apply to stations established under, this Part of this Act, and to communications by wireless telegraphy.

Every person who erects, constructs, or establishes any station or plant for the purpose of receiving or transmitting communications by wireless telegraphy without having first obtained the consent of the Governor in Council is liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds, and any plant, machinery, instruments, and material used by him for such purpose may be forfeited and dealt with as the Minister directs.

The Governor in Council, or any person appointed by the Governor in Council in that behalf, is hereby authorised to do whatever he deems necessary in order to give effect to the resolutions set forth in the Fourth Schedule hereto:

Provided that New Zealand shall not be committed to any liability in respect of the cost of construction of the therein-mentioned cable, or of the raising of the therein-mentioned capital, until the scheme of management and other preliminaries to be arranged by the therein-mentioned provisional Board have been approved by Parliament:

Provided also that New Zealand’s proportion of the guarantee referred to in the said resolutions shall not exceed one-ninth of the whole cost as provided in number seven of those resolutions.

If at any time the Pacific Cable Board desires to construct any extension or deviation of the Pacific cable authorised by “The Pacific Cable Authorisation Act, 1899,” or this Act, and such extension or deviation is approved by Parliament, as signified by resolution of both Houses, it shall be lawful for the said Board to construct such extension or deviation on the basis that the Government of New Zealand shall contribute its proportion (not exceeding one-ninth) of the cost thereof.

The term “lighting purposes” means the lighting with electricity of any public street or place, or any yard, alley, or court, or any building, premises, or works of any kind, whether of a public or private nature, and whether the same are or are not occupied or used for any purpose, or are only in course of erection or construction.

The Governor may from time to time construct and maintain electric lines for lighting purposes in or connected with public offices or buildings under the control of the Governor in any part of New Zealand.

Any local authority having power by law to construct public works within the district under its jurisdiction may construct and maintain electric lines for lighting purposes within such district as a public work, in like manner and with the like powers, authorities, and liabilities as may by law be exercised in respect of or as are attached to the construction of such public works, but subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act.

All the provisions of Part VII of this Division of this Act in relation to the construction and maintenance of electric lines of communication by telegraph shall, so far as applicable, mutatis mutandis extend and apply to the construction and maintenance of electric lines for lighting purposes under this section; and all other provisions of this Division of this Act, so far as applicable, shall apply to such last-mentioned lines when constructed or being constructed.

No local authority, company, or person shall, whether with or without the consent of the owner or occupier of any building or erection of any kind, lay, put up, or in any way erect or place any electric line for lighting purposes which passes over, along, or across any other electric line, whether used for purposes of communication or for lighting purposes, or for any other purpose connected with electricity, without a license to be obtained as hereinafter provided.

Every person who offends against this section is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds for every such offence.

The Minister, or any officer of his Department appointed by him from time to time for that purpose by a notification in the Gazette, may grant and issue licenses under this Part of this Act in any case where the applicant desires to lay, or put up or erect and maintain an electric line for lighting purposes; or where an electric line for lighting purposes has already been erected, and the applicant desires to continue and maintain the same; subject as follows:—

Conditions of license.

The Governor may from time to time, by Order in Council gazetted, make regulations for the use, management, and control of any works used for electric-lighting purposes, and the conduct of persons employed in such works, and for securing the safety of the public form personal injury, or from fire or otherwise by reason of the exercise of any of the powers contained in this Part of this Act, and in and by any such regulations may impose any fine not exceeding twenty pounds for any breach thereof.

Any such regulations shall, from and after the date of the gazetting thereof, have the like effect in every respect as though they had been originally inserted in every license granted under this Part of this Act.

Except in respect of lines constructed by the Governor or a local authority as aforesaid, no person shall lay, construct, put up, or place any electric line for lighting purposes as an undertaking of a public nature, except under the authority of a special Act.

This provision shall not extend to any case where the electric line used or intended to be used is not laid, conveyed, or placed, or intended to be laid, conveyed, or placed, beyond the limits of the building or premises in which the electricity is generated for such lighting purposes.

If any electric line whatever, which passes over, or across, or along any other electric line, in the opinion of the Minister, at any time endangers or is likely to endanger human life, or any telegraph or works erected under the authority of this Division of this Act or under the control or management of the Minister, or any building or erection of any kind, any Magistrate may, on complaint made to him by or on behalf of the Minister, in a summary way, under “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908,” order the owner of such first-mentioned electric line, or any person having or appearing to have the control thereof, or any such person or persons as hereinafter mentioned, within a time to be specified in the order, to remove such line or any part thereof, or so to arrange the same or any part thereof that it shall not pass over, along, or across such other electric line or works as aforesaid.

Every person being a director, or the secretary, manager, agent, or other officer of any company, association, or body corporate owning, possessing, or using any electric line, shall be deemed to be the owner of such electric line for the purposes of this section, and liable to its provisions accordingly; and any order made under this section against or in respect of any such company, association, or body corporate may be served on any one of such persons as the Court making the order directs.

The person so served shall be bound to obey the order made, and shall be liable for any neglect in that behalf as if he were personally the owner of the electric line affected thereby and had been a party to any proceedings before the Court.

Every person in respect of whom any order is made under the last preceding section shall forthwith take all necessary steps to obey and comply therewith, and in case default is made therein such person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every day during which such default continues.

In any proceeding under either of the two last preceding sections the production by any officer or person on behalf of the Minister of a certificate in writing, purporting to be signed by the Minister or the [Superintendent, to the effect that any electric line] is so laid, placed, or constructed as to contravene this Act or any provision thereof, or as to be dangerous, or, in cases where a license is necessary, that no license under Part XII of this Act has been issued or is in force, shall be prima facie evidence of the matter therein stated, without any proof of the signature of such certificate as aforesaid.

If, on the report of the Superintendent, the Minister is of opinion that any electric line is in any manner injured or prejudiced, or that any obstruction is caused or likely to be caused to such line, by any tree or shrub, whether ornamental or otherwise, growing or being on any land adjoining such line, or through which any such line may pass or be carried, he may cause notice to be given to the owner or occupier of such land to remove such tree or any part thereof.

In default of such removal within three days after the service of such notice, the Minister may apply to any Magistrate or two Justices, who, after summons duly served on the owner and occupier, or on the occupier only if the owner cannot be found, of the land on which such tree or shrub is, may make an order for the removal of such tree or shrub, or any part thereof, by such owner or occupier, or order the same to be dealt with in such manner as the Magistrate or Justices think fit.

Such owner or occupier, as the case may be, shall, in default of compliance with such order within eight days after a copy thereof has been served on him personally or by leaving the same at his last known place of abode, be liable for such default to a fine not exceeding five pounds, and the Minister may remove such tree or shrub, or such part thereof, so ordered to be removed, but so that no unnecessary damage is done or incurred.

Every person who by negligence, carelessness, or other mis-conduct causes any injury to or destroys any electric line or works, or any part thereof, or of the material or property relating thereto, is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

If any damage is caused to any electric line by any vehicle, or anything loaded on any such vehicle, coming in contact with any such line, or any part thereof, the driver or person in charge of such vehicle shall prima facie be deemed to have been guilty of an offence under the last preceding section, without any proof of carelessness or misconduct; but such person shall be entitled to rebut such presumption.

Any person whosoever may, with or without warrant, apprehend any person found offending against the provisions of the two last preceding sections, and deliver him to some constable, or convey him before some Justice to be dealt with according to law; and any person resisting any other person acting in execution of this provision shall be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for any period not exceeding two months.

Every person who causes damage to any electric line or any works connected therewith, although he may have been fined or imprisoned under this Division of this Act, shall also be liable to make good the damage done by him, the amount of which damage shall be determined by the Magistrate or the Justices adjudicating, and such amount when determined may be levied by distress of the goods and chattels of such person in the manner provided by law for the levying of a fine.

All offences against this Division of this Act may be prosecuted and all lines and other moneys payable under this Division may be recovered in a summary way, as provided by “The Justices of the Peace Act, 1908,” before a Magistrate or any two Justices.

All fees and other moneys recovered under or by virtue of this Division of this Act or any regulations thereunder, for the use of or on behalf of His Majesty, shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

Nothing in this Division of this Act shall be deemed in any way to affect—

Any provisions of “The Legislature Act, 1908,” relating to the transmission by telegraph of the substance of any document relating to parliamentary elections; or

Any Act conferring any power upon His Majesty or the Governor, or any person on his behalf, to erect, construct, or maintain any line of electric telegraph or other electric line on any railway or tramway, or on any land of any kind, without payment of compensation.

The several branches of the public service constituted under Division I and Division II of this Act are hereby declared to be combined into one Department, called the “Post and Telegraph Department” (elsewhere in this Act called “the Department”), which shall be administered by the Minister holding the offices of Postmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs (hereinafter called “the Minister”).

The Governor may from time to time appoint a fit person to be the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department.

The Secretary shall, under the direction of the Minister, have the control of the Post and Telegraph Department, save in so far as the Superintendent of Electric Lines (hereinafter called “the Superintendent”) has the administration of Division II of this Act; and the Governor may from time to time define the respective functions of the Secretary and the Superintendent.

The Department shall be divided into three divisions, the First Division, the Clerical Division, and the Non-clerical Division, according to the classification thereof set forth in the Fifth Schedule hereto.

In each of such divisions there shall be a maximum and a minimum limit of salary, as mentioned in the said Schedule, and every officer therein mentioned shall be entitled to receive in every year, by way of increase to his salary, the increment set forth in such Schedule:

Provided that any officer or class of officers who on the coming into operation of this Act are paid a salary or salaries equal in amount to the maximum rate of salary mentioned in such Schedule shall not have such salary diminished by virtue of this Act.

Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding section, the right to receive increment in any year shall depend upon the good and diligent conduct of the officer to whose salary such increment is attached, and a certificate thereof shall in each such case be given by the permanent head of the Department; and if in the opinion of such permanent head the officer is not entitled to such increment, he may issue an order depriving such officer of the increment for that year, which shall in that case not be paid:

Provided that an appeal shall lie from the decision of the permanent head to the Minister, and his decision thereon shall be final.

The Governor in Council may from time to time, on the recommendation of the Minister, fix the amount of salary to be paid to an officer at any sum within the maximum limits of the class or grade in which such officer is placed under the provisions of this Act, and such amount shall be the salary payable to such officer or in respect of the office which he holds, without annual increment.

In the event of the transfer or promotion of an officer being made from the Non-clerical Division to the Clerical Division such transferred or promoted officer, if then receiving a higher salary than the minimum salary of the class to which he is so transferred or promoted, shall continue to receive such first-mentioned salary until he is entitled to a further increment, or is further promoted or transferred, but subject to the provisions of this Act and any regulations from time to time in force thereunder.

This provision shall extend to any distributor who is promoted or transferred to the Clerical Division.