E.—No. 8.

4

TELEGRAPH REGULATIONS.

Payment for Telegrams. 16. All telegrams must bo prepaid. 17. Special arrangements can be made with the General Manager or General Superintendent alone for the payment of telegrams by deposit, or by furnishing written authority covering the cost of transmission and other expenses. 18. When the sender of a telegram desires it, the reply to such telegram may be prepaid, and the messenger will be instructed to wait for such prepaid reply for the space of ten minutes, after which time the reply must be forwarded to the Station by the receiver of the original telegram. 19. Should the sender of a telegram desire to have the telegram repeated to insure accuracy, such repetition will be made at a charge of half the rate of the original telegram. The telegram is usually repeated back from the receiving Station. 20. On special occasions when the Stations are kept open beyond the usual hours of business, a double charge will be made on all telegrams presented for transmission. Secrecy of Telegrams. 21. All telegrams will be held as strictly confidential, and any violation by officers or servants in this respect is punishable by " The Electric Telegraph Act, 1865." 22. In the administration of justice, telegrams may be produced in Court on a Judge's order alone. Tariff" of Rates and Hours of Business. 23. The tariff rates and hours of business will be published from time to time in the New Zealand Gazette, and posted in the various Stations. Responsibility. 24. The Government will not be held responsible for errors, omissions or delays in the transmission of telegrams, nor for the non-transmission of any telegram, nor for delays in tho delivery, nor for the non-delivery of any telegram, from whatever causes the same may arise. Customs Telegrams. 25. No message or communication relating to the Customs shall be transmitted by any officer or other person employed in working any telegraph line belonging to the New Zealand Government or be allowed by him to be transmitted by such line during anj r period which shall be specified in any order from the Honorable the Commissioner of Customs, unless under the written authority of tho said Commissioner or of some person authorized under his hand in that behalf. Eules and Eegulations for the Guidance of Officers and Servants engaged in the Electric Telegraph Department of the General Government of New Zealand. General Duties of Officers, Operators, Assistants, Clerks, Messengers, Workmen, and Linemen. 1. All persons engaged in the service of the Electric Telegraph Department, whether holding a temporary or permanent appointment, are considered as officers or servants of the department holding situations of trust, and they will, upon accepting their appointments, engage faithfully to comply with the following rules and instructions : — 2. Every Manager or Operator having charge of a Station will be held responsible for the order and efficient performance of the several duties thereof in conformity with the following rules and instructions, and all officers and servants are expected and bound to use all possible celerity in the receipt, transmission, or delivery of telegrams committed to the care of the department. 3. Every station must be open and ready for the transaction of business at the hours appointed, which will be published in the New Zealand Gazette. And no Station must close until the appointed hour; nor even then, except when the lines are broken down and the transmission of telegrams is impossible, until the business of the Station is cleared out, and the whole of the telegrams on hand have been transmitted. In cases of emergency the General Manager or General Superintendent may extend the hours of business at any Station or Stations, and officers and servants will attend to the business of their respective Stations during such extra hours. 4. All officers and servants shall conform to and as far as possible enforce these rules and instructions, whenever they shall be present at the various Stations of the department, or engaged in their respective duties. 5. No stranger or strangers shall, under any pretence whatever, be admitted to the Instrument Eoom of any Station of this department without a special authority from the General Superintendent. 6. No officer or servant is to enter the Instrument Eoom of any Station of the department unless for the performance of his duties connected with the service of the department. 7. No officer shall leave his Station during the time he is on duty, nor shall he hold communication or conversation with strangers beyond what is strictly necessary for the transaction of business legitimately connected with the service of the department. 8. No officer or servant shall knowingly and wilfully divulge or communicate to any stranger the contents of any telegram coming to his knowledge in his official capacity, save and except to the sender or receiver of such telegram, under pain of incurring the penalties laid down in " The Electric Telegraph Act, 1865;" and no officer or servant shall communicate to any other officer or servant the contents of any telegram coming to his knowledge solely in his official capacity, save and except for the transaction or furtherance of the business of the department. 9. No officer or servant shall read or peruse any telegram confided to the care of the department unless in the discharge or performance of his official duties.