REGULATIONS UNDER THE POST AND TELEGRAPH ACT 1901.
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the attached Regulations under the Post and Telegraph Act 1901, namely:—
Telegrams Beyond the Commonwealth,
to come into operation on the 24th day of June, 1905.
Dated this twenty-ninth day of May, One thousand nine hundred and five.
NORTHCOTE,
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
S. SMITH.
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TELEGRAMS BEYOND THE COMMONWEALTH.
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REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TRANSMISSION OF TELEGRAMS TO AND FROM PLACES BEYOND THE COMMONWEALTH.
I.—General.
1. The main lines of the Telegraph administrations and private telegraph companies have continuous service; the chief offices are always open, but some of the branch offices have day service only, and limited service on Sunday.
1a. Telegraphic messages for transmission by cable to places beyond the Commonwealth shall be given precedence of Commonwealth ordinary and press telegrams.
2. Telegrams are in all cases accepted subject to the provisions of the International Telegraph Convention and the Service Regulations, made in conformity therewith, including the condition that no responsibility attaches to the Telegraph administrations, or to the private telegraph companies, for delay in transmission or delivery, or for non-transmission or non-delivery, or for mistakes, from whatever cause they may arise.
To provide against errors in transmission telegrams may be repeated by being sent back from the terminal station to the station from which originally sent. One quarter of the usual rate for transmission shall be charged for such repetition.
3. The transmission of telegrams shall take place in the following order, viz.:
(a) Government telegrams;
(b) Service telegrams;
(c) Urgent private telegrams;
(d) Non-urgent private telegrams.
II.—Manner of Writing and Acceptance of Telegrams.
4. The telegram to be transmitted must be legibly written in characters which have their equivalents in the official table of telegraph signals. The name of the sender may be transmitted either in full or in an abbreviated form in customary use, or be replaced by a registered address, or if so desired, need not be transmitted; but the sender or his representative must sign his name at the foot of the telegram form, adding if required, his address.
5. Every interlineation, reference, erasure, or re-written word must be authenticated by the sender or his representative.
6. The different parts forming the telegram must be written in the following order:—
7. A telegram consisting merely of the address, i.e., without text may be accepted for transmission, but a text formed entirely of one or more signs of punctuation shall not be accepted.
8. The address of a telegram must contain at least two words; the first designating the addressee, the second indicating the name of the terminal telegraph office. The address must contain all particulars necessary to insure delivery of the telegram to the addressee without, in the case of private telegrams, search or request for further information; when the name of the terminal office has not yet been published in the Official Nomenclature, the name of the country of destination or of the territorial subdivision must be inserted. In all cases the sender must bear the consequences of insufficiency of address.
9. Any supplementary instructions the sender may wish to give relative to delivery, prepayment of reply, acknowledgment of receipt, &c., must be written immediately before the address of the telegram, and shall be charged for. These instructions may be written in the abbreviated form shown below, when they shall be, respectively, charged for as one word, namely:—
(D) for Urgent.
(RPx) „ Reply paid x words.
(PRDx) „ Reply paid urgent x words.
(TC) „ Collated.
(PC) „ Telegram with telegraphic acknowledgment of receipt.
(PCD) „ Telegram with urgent telegraphic acknowledgment of receipt.
(PCP) „ Telegram with postal acknowledgment of receipt.
(FS) „ To follow.
(PR) „ Post, post registered.
(XP) ,, Express, express paid.
(XPfr. x) „ Express paid x francs.
(XPT) „ Telegraph express paid.
(XPP) „ Express paid letter.
(RO) „ To be delivered open.
(MP) „ To be delivered to addresse only.
(TR) „ Telegraphe restante.
(GP) „ Poste restante.
(GPR) „ Poste restante registered.
(TMx) „ “x addresses”—communicate all addresses.
In the case of a multiple telegram these instructions must be inserted before the address of each addressee to whom they apply; but in the case of an urgent or collated multiple telegram, it will be sufficient if the instructions relative to urgency or collation be written once only before the first address.
10. When a telegram is addressed to one person care of another person, the address must be preceded by one of the indications “chez,”
“care of,” or some other equivalent; its omission will involve the non-delivery of the telegram, and the sender shall be required to pay the cost of a service telegram to correct the address.
11. The sender of a private telegram must prove his identity when required to do so.
12. The text of private telegrams may be in plain or secret language (except to countries which do not admit telegrams in secret language), the latter being subdivided into code and cipher languages. Each of these languages may be employed alone or conjointly with the others in the same telegram.
13. Telegrams in plain language shall mean those of which the text is entirely written in language which offers an intelligible sense in one or more of the languages authorized for international telegraphic correspondence, viz., English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, or Latin, and shall also include commercial marks, letters representing signals of the universal commercial code used in semaphoric telegrams, abbreviated expressions currently used in ordinary or commercial correspondence, as fob, cif, caf, svp, or any other analogous expression.
14. Telegrams in code language shall mean those composed of words not forming intelligible phrases, in one or more of the languages authorized for telegraphic correspondence in plain language.
The words, whether genuine or artificial, must be formed of syllables capable of pronunciation according to the usage of one of the following languages, viz., English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, or Latin.
The words must not be longer than ten characters according to the Morse alphabet.
Combinations not fulfilling the above conditions shall be regarded as language in letters having a secret meaning (cipher language), and shall be so charged for. Those which may be formed by the union of two or more words in plain language contrary to the usage of the language shall not be admitted.
15. Telegrams in cipher language are those which are formed:—
(a) Either of Arabic figures, or groups or series of Arabic figures having a secret meaning, or of letters, groups, or series of letters having a secret meaning.
(b) Of words, names, expressions, or combinations of letters not fulfilling the conditions of plain language (No. 13), or of code language (No. 14).
The mixture in the text of the same telegram of figures and of letters having a secret meaning shall not be permitted.
The groups of letters mentioned in regulation No. 13 (plain language) shall not, however, be considered to have a secret meaning.
16. Government telegrams must bear the seal or stamp of the authority sending them. This formality, however, may be dispensed with when there is no doubt as to the authenticity of the telegram.
The text of Government telegrams may, in all cases, be composed of plain or secret language. These languages may be employed together in the same telegram, provided, however, that the mixture in the same telegram of figures and letters having a secret meaning shall not be permitted.*
The right to send a reply as a Government telegram shall be recognised on production of the original Government telegram.
* Government telegrams which infringe this regulation must not be refused, but a report on this subject should at once be made by the receiving officer to the Deputy Postmaster-General.
A 2
Telegrams from Consular Agents, who are engaged in commerce, shall be considered as Government telegrams only when they are addressed to an Official personage, and when they relate to official affairs.*
Abbreviated Telegraphic Addresses.
17. Where the necessary arrangement has been made between the addressee and the terminal telegraph office, the address may be written in an abbreviated form.
On payment of a fee of 10s. 6d. per annum, payable in advance on the 1st April in each year, or 2s. 6d. for one month, the full address at which telegrams received from places beyond the Commonwealth, and bearing abbreviated addresses, are to be delivered, shall be registered at the Chief Telegraph Office of the State of destination.
The following conditions shall apply to the registration of abbreviated addresses, viz.:—
No address shall consist of more than one word in addition to the name of the town where registration is effected.
The word shall contain not more than ten letters, and must be easy to read and easy to telegraph. Proper names shall only in rare cases be accepted, and in no case shall a proper name be registered for a person of a different name.
The names of professions, trades, countries, States, towns, telegraph stations, well-known streets, and registered newspapers shall not be registered.
Numbers shall not be registered.
[To prevent inconvenience to the public, the Postmaster-General has to reject words which, either in writing or in telegraph symbols, so closely resemble other registered words as to be liable to be mistaken for them. It is desirable, therefore, that any application should not merely offer one word for acceptance, but should give several words, from which a selection may be made.]
All addresses registered for delivery within a city postal area must contain the name of that city. The name of a district in the postal area of a town shall not be substituted for the name of the town.
No address shall be registered in one town for the delivery of telegrams in another town.
A registered address shall be available only for telegrams from places beyond the Commonwealth.
The Postmaster-General reserves to himself the right to cancel any address. In such a case a part of the registration fee proportionate to the unexpired period for which payment has been made, shall be returned, or a new address substituted for the one cancelled.
In the event of a change in the title of a firm for which an address is recorded, the consent, in writing, of all the partners of the firm must be produced before the records can be altered.
[The Postmaster-General does not recommend the use of abbreviated addresses. The references which have to be made in order to supply the corresponding full addresses inevitably lead to delay.]
* Telegrams from Consular Agents, which do not fulfil these conditions must, however, be accepted if required and transmitted as Government telegrams, but a report on the subject should at once be made by the receiving officer to the Deputy Postmaster-General.
Instructions for Rectifying or Completing Telegrams; Repetition or Cancellation of Telegrams, &c.
18. The sender and addressee of a telegram already transmitted, or in course of transmission, may, during the period of preservation of records, and after having proved, if necessary, their identity, cause inquiry to be made, or instructions to be given respecting such telegram by telegraph. They may also, with the object of rectification, have a telegram which they have sent or received, repeated wholly or in part, either by the office of destination or origin, or by a transit office. In either case they must deposit the following amounts:—
(a) The charge for a telegram formulating the request.
(b) The charge for a reply telegram, if a telegraphic answer be required.
These telegrams shall be exchanged exclusively between the Telegraph Offices concerned, and not between the sender and addressee.
Inquiries or instructions relative to telegrams already transmitted may also be made by post and through the intermediary of the telegraph office of origin or destination. In such case, the necessary communications shall be sent under registered cover at the cost of the person who makes the request, who must, in addition, pay the charge for postal reply when he demands one.
Mode of Charging.
19. All that the sender writes on the telegram-form for transmission to his correspondent shall be charged for. Signs of punctuation, apostrophes, hyphens, and dashes which serve to separate the different words or groups of a telegram shall not be transmitted unless expressly desired and paid for.
When signs of punctuation, instead of being employed singly, are repeated one after the other, they are charged for as groups of figures (see Regulation No. 26).
20. The name of the office of origin, the number of the telegram, the date and time of deposit, indications of route, and the words, numbers, or signs which form the preamble to the telegram shall be transmitted free of charge. (Telegrams from North America, viâ the North Atlantic, bear London time, the original time not being signalled by the North Atlantic companies.)
The sender may insert these particulars, wholly or in part, in the text of his telegram. They are then included in the number of words charged for.
Mode of Counting.
The following shall be counted as one word in all languages:—
1. In the address (not in the text of the message):—
(a) The name of the telegraph office of destination written as it appears in the first column of the official nomenclature of offices, and completed by any indications which appear in that column.
(b) The names of countries or territorial subdivisions respectively, if written in conformity with the said nomenclature, or of their alternative names given in the preface.
2. Every code word fulfilling the conditions laid down in regulation No. 14.
3. Every isolated character, letter, or figure.
4. Underline.
5. Parenthesis (the two signs which serve to form).
6. Inverted commas (the two signs placed at the commencement and end of one and the same passage).
7. Supplementary instructions written in the abridged form allowed by regulation No. 9.
22. In telegrams in which the text is written entirely in plain language, each ordinary word and each authorized compound are counted respectively at the rate of one word for each 15 characters, according to the Morse alphabet, plus one word for the excess, if any.*
23. In code language the maximum length of a word is 10 characters Words in plain language inserted in the text of a mixed telegram (i.e., composed of words in plain language, and of words in code language) are each counted at the rate of one word for each indivisible series of 10 characters which they contain.* If the mixed telegram contains, in addition, passages in cipher language, the passages in cipher are counted at the rate of one word for each 5 figures or 5 letters which they contain, plus one word for any excess. If a mixed telegram is composed only of passages in plain language and passages in cipher language, the passages in plain language are counted at the rate of 15 letters to a word, plus one word for the excess, if any, and the passages in cipher language at the rate of one word for each 5 figures or 5 letters which they contain, plus one word for any excess.
24. The address of telegrams, the text of which is wholly or partially written in code language, is charged for in accordance with the provisions of regulations No. 21 and 22.
25. Words joined by a hyphen or separated by an apostrophe shall be counted as separate words.
26. Groups of figures or of letters shall be counted at the rate of one word for each 5 figures or 5 letters which they contain, plus one word for any excess.
27. Full stops, commas, dashes, and bars, indicating fractions shall each be counted as a figure or a letter in the group in which they occur. The same rule shall apply to each letter added to groups of figures to form ordinal numbers, as well as to letters added to figures to designate the numbers of houses in an address.
28. Combinations or alterations of words, contrary to the usage of the language, shall not be allowed. Nevertheless, names of towns and countries; surnames belonging to one person; names of places, squares, boulevards, streets, and other kinds of public places; names of ships; whole numbers, fractions, decimal or fractional numbers written entirely in letters, and English and French compound words (to be found in a standard dictionary), if not joined by a hyphen or separated by an apostrophe, may be counted as one word.
29. If a short charge has been made on a telegram owing to the sender having employed words or combinations contrary to the usage of one of the languages of the country of destination, or for any other reason, the amount short charged must be paid by the addressee, or, in the event of his refusing to do so, by the sender, otherwise the telegram shall not be delivered.
* A diphthong shall be counted and charged for as a single character.
30. The following are Examples for Counting Telegrams:—
* Hanover and Wurttemberg following Emmingen serve to complete the designation of two offices of the same name, and thus appear in the first column of the official nomenclature of telegraph offices.
† In this case the expression “Hydepark” written as a single word counts as one word, because the word “park” forms an integral part of the name of the square.
L’affaire est urgente, partir sans retard (7 words and 2 underlines)------------------------
9
Reçu de vos nouvelles indirectes (assez mauvaises) télégraphiez directement—(9 words and 1 passage between parentheses)
10
* Telegraph instruments cannot reproduce such expressions as 30a, 15 × 6, &c. Senders must be asked to substitute for them the explicit meanings, “30 exposant a” “15 multiplié par 6,” &c.
† These can only be telegraphed AP/M and 3/M respectively.
Payment of Charges.
31. All charges for telegrams must be prepaid, except for telegrams to follow (i.e., those for transmission beyond the first destination) or for express delivery, semaphoric telegrams from ships at sea, or irregular alterations or combinations of words discovered by the delivering office, the charges on which shall be claimed from the addressee before delivery of the telegram; in the event of non-payment by the addressee the sender shall be required to pay the amount due.
Cancellation of Telegrams.
The sender of a telegram may, if in time, and on proving his identity, stop its transmission.
When a sender cancels his telegram before transmission has been commenced the amount paid shall be returned to him. If the telegram has been transmitted by the office at which it was lodged, the sender’s only means of requesting its cancellation shall be by a paid service advice.
33 The telegraph administrations reserve to themselves the power to stop the transmission of any private telegram which may appear dangerous to the security of the State, or contrary to the laws of the country, to public order, or decency. If such power be exercised, the sender of the telegram shall be advised thereof.
Delivery at Destination.
34. Telegrams shall be delivered according to their address—
(a) to the addressee or (except when instructions to the contrary have been given) to any person at the residence of the addressee.
(b) to the addressee or his duly appointed representative—
at the Post Office; or
at the Telegraph Office.
If the door be not opened at the address given, or the messenger finds no one who will consent to take in the telegram, notice shall be left at such address, and the telegram be returned to the telegraph office, to be delivered to the addressee or his nominee upon application. If not applied for in the meantime, the telegram shall be sent out a second time when a messenger passes the address given.
When application to that effect shall be made in writing, telegrams which cannot be delivered to the addressee personally owing to his absence from his office or place of residence when the messenger calls, will be deposited in the letter-box at the office or residence to which the telegram is addressed.
Undelivered Telegrams—Rectification of Address.
35. When a telegram cannot be delivered the delivery office shall advise the sending office of the cause of non-delivery, which advice, if practicable, shall be communicated to the sender. The latter can only complete, rectify, or confirm the address by means of a paid telegram.
Urgent Private Telegrams.
36. The sender of a private telegram addressed to a country in which the “Urgent” system is in operation with respect to international private telegrams, may obtain priority of transmission and delivery at destination by writing the word “Urgent” or the letter “(D)” before the address, and by paying three times the charge for an ordinary telegram of the same length and for the same transit.
Prepaid Replies.
37. The sender of a telegram may prepay the cost of the reply which he requests from his correspondent, and in such case must write before the address the instruction “reply paid” or “R.P.,” and add the number of words paid for the reply, thus, “Reply paid x,” or “R.P. x.” The charge for the reply shall be calculated on the supposition that it will follow the same route as the original telegram.
If the sender wishes to prepay an urgent reply, he must write before the address the instruction “Reply paid, urgent, x,” or “R. P. D. x.,” and pay the corresponding charge.
On delivery of a reply-paid telegram, there shall be handed to the addressee a voucher, which shall entitle him to send free of charge, within the limit of the amount prepaid, and within a period of six weeks from receipt of the voucher, a telegram to any destination whatever from any telegraph office in the country in which such voucher shall be issued.
When the proper charge for a telegram, prepaid by a voucher, shall exceed the value of the voucher, the excess charge must be paid by the sender of the reply. In the contrary case, the difference between the value of the voucher and the amount of the charge actually due shall be refunded to the sender of the original telegram when application is made therefor.
If the addressee of a prepaid telegram shall not make use of the voucher for any reason whatever, or shall refuse it, the amount thereof shall be refunded to the sender of the original telegram at the expiration of three months from its date of issue if the voucher remains in the possession of the administration of destination or at an earlier date if application for refund be made by such sender.
Collated Telegrams.
38. The sender of any telegram may request that it be collated—that is, repeated from office to office—in which case he must write before the address the notice “Collation” or “(TC).” The charge for collation shall be one-quarter of the charge for an ordinary telegram of the same length between the same points.
Acknowledgment of Receipt.
39. The sender of any telegram may request that a notice of the date and time of its delivery to the addressee be transmitted to him as soon as possible after such delivery. When the telegram is forwarded to its final destination by post, this notification shall indicate the date and hour of posting.
If notification by telegraph be required, the sender must write before the address the instruction “Acknowledgment receipt,” or “(PC),” and pay the cost of an ordinary telegram of 5 words for the same destination by the same route. If notice by post be desired, the sender must write before the address the instruction “Postal acknowledgment receipt” or “(PCP),” and pay a fee of 5d.
If the sender desire priority of transmission and delivery for the acknowledgment of receipt, he must write before the address the instructions “Urgent acknowledgment receipt,” or “(PCD),” and pay the charge for an urgent telegram of 5 words for the same destination, by the same route.
Telegrams to follow.
40. The sender of a telegram addressed to New Zealand, European countries, or other countries whose regulations permit, may request, by inserting before the address the instruction “to follow,” or “(FS),” that the office of destination shall cause his telegram to follow the addressee. (The instruction “to follow” shall be charged for as two words and “(FS)” as one word). The sender shall be required to pay, in advance, the charge for transmission of the telegram to the first address, and the cost of further transmission will, if possible, be collected from the addressee on delivery of the telegram. If, however, the addressee refuses to pay the supplementary charges due, or the telegram cannot be delivered, the sender shall be advised thereof, and also be required to pay any charges due thereon.
If the sender of a telegram “to follow” requests a telegraphic acknowledgment of receipt, and the telegram is re-transmitted beyond the limits of the country of destination given in such telegram, he shall be required to pay any sum that may be necessary to complete the cost of the acknowledgment of receipt, according to the distance actually traversed, independently of the charges for re-transmission which the office of delivery may be unable to recover.
Telegrams Re-transmitted by Order of the Addressee.
41. Upon the written request of the addressee, or his authorized representative, arrangements may be made whereby telegrams arriving for such addressee at a telegraph office shall be re-transmitted to him at a new address, to be specified in such request. The person making the request must either prepay the charges for re-transmission or undertake to pay any charges due for the re-transmission of such telegrams which the delivery office may be unable to recover.
If at the residence of the addressee of a telegram not bearing the instruction “(FS)” or “to follow,” a new address is given, the telegram shall, in the absence of instructions to the contrary, be retransmitted by telegraph to such new address if within the Commonwealth, but the addressee shall, before delivery of such telegram, be required to pay the charge for such re-transmission.
Multiple Telegrams.
42. Any telegram may be addressed either to several persons in the same locality or in different localities served by the same telegraph office, or to the same person at several addresses in the same locality, or in different localities served by the same telegraph office, if the instruction “x addresses” or “(TMx)” be written before the address. The name of the office of destination is needed only once, at the end of the address.
For non-urgent multiple telegrams, in addition to the charge per word as in the case of a single telegram, a charge of 5d. for each 100 words, or fraction of 100 words, contained in each copy shall be paid.
For urgent telegrams, in addition to the charge per word as in the case of a single telegram, a charge of 10d. for each 100 words, or fraction of 100 words, contained in each copy shall be paid.
The number of copies is equal to the number of addresses less one.
Note.—Multiple telegrams are not accepted for places in North America.
Telegrams to places beyond the International System.
43. Telegrams addressed to places beyond the International telegraph lines may, if the sender so desire, be despatched to destination by post or express; their despatch by express can, however, only be required when they are for countries which have organized means of delivery of telegrams more rapid than the post.
The address of telegrams to be delivered beyond the International telegraph system must be preceded by the indication denoting the method of transport to be employed, whether post or express.
Telegrams to be delivered by Express.
44. The charges for delivery beyond the radius of the telegraph offices by quicker means than the post, in countries where such a service is organized, are collected, as a general rule, from the addressee, but the sender may, if he so desires, prepay such charges.
The addressee of any telegram received from places beyond the Commonwealth may require that same shall be delivered by express, but shall, before delivery of such telegram, pay the prescribed charges for such service.
Telegrams to be delivered by Post.
45. Telegrams required by the sender to be sent by post are subject to the following supplementary charges, to be paid by the sender or the addressee, viz.:—
(a) Telegrams to be delivered within the limits of the country of destination, 2½d. in the case of those which bear the paid instruction “Registered post” “(PR).”
(b) Telegrams to be re-forwarded to a country other than the country of telegraphic destination, 2½d. or 5d., according to whether the address contains the paid instruction to send by (1) ordinary post or (2) registered post.
Telegrams which have to be sent to destination by post, and which are posted by the telegraph office of destination, are dealt with in the following manner, viz.:—
(a) Telegrams to be delivered within the limits of the country of destination—
1. Those which bear the instructions “Post” or “Poste Restante” (GP), or which do not bear any instructions relating to delivery by post, are posted as ordinary letters without charge to the sender or addressee.
2. Those which arrive with the instructions “Registered post” (PR) are posted as fully prepaid registered letters.
(b) Telegrams to be re-transmitted by post to a country other than the country of telegraphic destination—
If the postal charges have been collected in advance, the telegrams are posted as fully prepaid ordinary or registered letters, as the case may be, but if the postal charges have not been prepaid, they are collected from the addressees.
Semaphoric Telegrams.
46. Semaphoric telegrams, i.e., those exchanged with ships at sea by means of semaphores established on the various coasts, must be written either in the language of the country in which the semaphore station from which they are to be signalled is situated, or in signals of the Universal Commercial Code. When they are for ships at sea, the address must contain, in addition to the ordinary instructions, the name or official number of the vessel for which they are intended and its nationality.
The charge for such telegrams shall be tenpence (10d.) each, in addition to the ordinary cost of transmission by telegraph. The total charges shall be collected from the sender for telegrams addressed to ships at sea, and from the addressee for telegrams from ships at sea.
The sender of a telegram to a ship at sea may indicate the number of days during which the telegram is to be signalled to the ship by semaphore. In this case he must write before the address the instruction x ....... days, indicating the number of days, including that of handing in the telegram.
When the ship to which a semaphoric telegram is addressed does not arrive within the period indicated by the sender, or failing such indication, on the morning of the 29th day the sender shall be advised
accordingly, when he may request, by paid telegraphic or postal service, advice, addressed to the semaphore station, that the semaphore station continue to present his telegram for another period of thirty days, and so on. If this request be not made, the telegram shall be treated as waste paper at the end of the 30th day (day of handing in not included).
Press Telegrams.
47. Press telegrams shall mean those the text of which contains only news relative to politics, commerce, &c., intended for publication in newspapers. Such telegrams must be addressed to newspapers, periodical publications, or news agencies, and solely to the name of the newspaper, publication, or agency, and not to the name of a person connected in any capacity whatever with the management of the newspaper, publication, or agency. The use of abbreviated and registered code addresses is permitted.
Press telegrams must be worded in plain language in the language of the country of origin or of destination. The simultaneous employment of these languages in the same telegram is permitted.
Press telegrams must not contain any passage, advertisement, or communication having the character of private correspondence, nor any advertisement or communication the insertion of which is made in consideration of payment. Stock Exchange and market quotations may be inserted, but the sender shall, if required, furnish proof that groups of figures appearing in a telegram really represent Exchange quotations.
Telegrams not complying with the foregoing conditions shall be charged full ordinary rates, as also shall press telegrams of which use is made for some other purpose than that of insertion in the columns of the newspaper to which they are addressed, viz.:—
(a) Telegrams which are not published by the receiving newspaper (failing a satisfactory explanation), or which the latter has communicated before publication either to private individuals or to establishments, such as clubs, cafés, hotels, exchanges, &c.
(b) Telegrams which the receiving newspaper shall have sold, distributed, or communicated, before publishing them itself, to other newspapers for publication in their columns.
(c) Telegrams addressed to agencies, which are not published in a newspaper (failing a satisfactory explanation), or which are communicated to third persons before being published in the press.
Press telegrams may bear only one supplementary instruction, that relating to multiple address telegrams. The charge to be collected for the copies to be made by the office of destination shall be the same as for ordinary private telegrams. (See regulation No. 42.)
Press telegrams may be transmitted from or to New Zealand, Fiji, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, Canada, Cape Colony, Natal, Orange River Colony, Transvaal Colony, Rhodesia (northern and southern), Ceylon, China, Hongkong, Shanghai, Amoy, Foochow, India, Burmah, Japan, Miquelon, St. Pierre, Newfoundland, Straits Settlement, Singapore, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Such telegrams must be written in English when addressed to British or American stations and in French when addressed to French stations. Their transmission may be deferred, suspended, or interrupted for the transmission of Government or private telegrams.
Press telegrams shall be accepted only from the authorized correspondents of newspapers.
Regarding anything not provided for in the foregoing regulations relating to press telegrams, such telegrams are subject to the provisions relating to telegrams generally and also of any special agreements concluded between Telegraph Administrations.
Certified Copies of Telegrams.
48. The sender and receiver of a telegram, or their authorized representatives, may, on proof of identity and on furnishing full particulars of the telegram, obtain a certified copy of the telegram as handed in, or as delivered at destination, on payment of a fee of 5d. for every 100 words or portion of 100 words.
As all telegrams are destroyed periodically, certified copies of telegrams more than two years old cannot be supplied.
Refunds.
49. Re-imbursement of the following charges, to those who have paid them, shall take place if a claim be made, or in the event of a complaint against the service :—
(a) All charges erroneously collected in excess.
(b) The full charge paid for every telegram which has failed to reach its destination through the fault of the telegraph service.
(c) The full charge paid for every telegram stopped in transmission owing to interruption of a route, and for that reason cancelled by the sender.
(d) The full charge paid for every telegram which, owing to the fault of the telegraph service, is received later than it would have been delivered by post, or has not been delivered to the addressee until after a delay of 48 hours in the case of a New Zealand message, and in the case of an International message, 72 hours, if a private telegram, or 36 hours, if a Government or urgent telegram.
(e) The full charge paid for every collated telegram in secret language, and for every telegram in plain language, which has manifestly been unable to fulfil its object in consequence of errors made in its transmission, unless the errors have been rectified by paid service advice.
(f) The supplementary charge for special services not rendered.
(g) The full charge paid for every telegraphic or postal paid service advice, the sending of which has been necessitated by an error in the telegraph service.
(h) The full amount deposited for a reply when the addressee has not been able to make use of the voucher, or has refused it, and when such voucher remains in the hands of, or within three months from the date of issue has been returned to the office from which it was issued.
(i) The charge in respect of the telegraph section not traversed by the telegram when, owing to interruption of a telegraph route, the telegram has been forwarded to its destination by postal or other means. The expense of replacing the original telegraphic route by any other means of transport shall, however, be deducted from the amount to be refunded.
(j) The charge, when it amounts to 10d. or more, for the word or words omitted in the transmission of a telegram, unless the error has been corrected by paid service advice.
(k) Amounts deposited for paid service advices, requesting the repetition of a passage supposed to be incorrect, and for replies thereto if the repetition does not agree with the first transmission, with the reservation, however, that when some words have been correctly and some incorrectly transmitted in the original telegram, the charge for the words in the request for repetition, and in the reply relating exclusively to words correctly transmitted originally shall not be refunded, unless the mistakes made rendered unintelligible the words which had not been mutilated. No refund is made with respect to words written in a doubtful manner.
(l) The difference between the amount of a reply voucher, and the charge for a reply telegram of less value prepaid by means of such voucher.
(m) The charge for every telegram stopped on the ground that it is considered dangerous to the security of the State or contrary to the laws of the country, to public order, or decency, or owing to the suspension of the telegraph service.
(n) The proportion of charge due on every cancelled telegram.
In the case provided for in paragraphs b, c, d, e, i, and j, the refund only applies to the actual telegrams lost, cancelled, delayed, or mutilated, including any supplementary charges not used, and not to telegrams necessitated or rendered useless by such non-delivery, delay, or mutilation.
In case of a partial refund on account of a multiple telegram, the total charge received shall be divided by the number of copies, and the quotient shall represent the charge appertaining to each copy, the telegram itself counting as one copy.
When errors of the telegraphic service have been corrected by paid service advices, re-imbursement shall only apply to the charges for such service advices. No refund shall be made in respect of telegrams to which such advices relate.
No refund shall be made for rectifying telegrams which instead of being exchanged between telegraph offices as paid service advices have been exchanged direct between sender and addressee.
Every claim for refund must be made under penalty of rejection within five months from the date of deposit of the telegram.
Every claim must be made to the original sending Administration, and be accompanied by documentary evidence, i.e., a written statement from the terminal office or the addressee if the telegram has been delayed or not been delivered; or the copy delivered to the addressee, if the question is one of alteration or omission.
The claim may, however, be presented by the addressee to the office of destination, which shall decide whether it will deal with it, or whether it must be forwarded to the sending Administration.
By Authority: Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne.