1917

HONGKONG POSTAL GUIDE
Directions as to Packing
. 154.—Parcels containing any fragile or perishable article must be so packed as to
ensure their safe,handling, and their causing no injury or damage to the mails, j
155. —Parcels generally must be so packed and enclosed in a reasonably strong case,
wrapper, or cover, fastened in a manner calculated to preserve the contents from loss or
■damage in the post, and to prevent any tampering therewith. The packing of a parcel
must also be such as to protect other postal packets from being damaged in any way by
it. Any parcel not so packed will, if tendered for transmission, be refused, a.nd if dis¬
covered ini transit will be liable to be detained.
Parcels for Greece, Persia, Roumania and Russia must be packed in some material
stronger than paper or cardboard. No compensation is paid for damage to articles in¬
sufficiently packed.
156. —For parcels containing liquids and substances which easily liquify the
following method should be adopted :—Two receptacles should be used, and between
the inner one, which contains the liquid, and the outer one, which should be'of wood
or metal, space should be left all round, and this space should be filled with bran,
sawdust, or other absorbent material.
157. —Further, a parcel for a Foreign Country must be so sealed by the sender that
it cannot be opened without breaking the seals or leaving an obvious trace of violation.
The seals must bear the impression of a private mark of the sender.
Forbidden Articles
158. —No article may be sent by Local or Foreign Parcel Post with any enclosure
which bears an address different from that placed on the cover of the parcel.
159. —No even if addressed in the same way as the parcel in which it is
•enclosed, may be sent in the parcel addressed to any Foreign Country or to Australia,
British Central Africa, Cape Colony, Natal and. other parts of South Africa, Fiji,
Jamaica, Mauritius, New Zealand, Seychelles, Straits Settlements, Trinidad, the United
States. Parcels for other British possessions ma-y contain a letter for the addressee,
but packets of letters must not be sent by Parcel Post to any place abroad. An
invoice in an open envelope, giving simply particulars of the goods contained in the
parcel, may be enclosed in any parcel.
160. —Further, no parcel is admissible which contains base or counterfeit coin,
■articles infringing trade-mark or copyright laws, any article or substance 1 able to
become offensive or injurious through natural decay during the time ordinarily occupied
in transmission (for example, butter, &c., addressed to a tropical or sub-tropical
■country, or having to pass through the tropics in course of transmission, unless enclosed
in a hermetically sealed tin), or any article or substance specially prohibited from im¬
portation into the country or colony to which the parcel is addressed. For a list of
such special prohibitions see Appendix HI. The Post Office can accept no
responsibility for the correctness and completeness of this list, although efforts are
made to secure accuracy.
16L—It is pointed out that many perishable articles, even though in good condition
at the time of posting, may become offensive and worthless owing to the length of the
journey, although delivered in proper course of post.
Compensation
162.—The Postmaster-General will (not in consequence of any legal liability, but
“voluntarily, as an act of grace) give compensation for the loss or damage of uninsured
parcels sent by Parcels Post between Hongkong and the United Kingdom and the
undermentioned British Possessions and Foreign Countries, when such loss or damage
•takes place while the parcels are in his custody, and does not arise from any fault or
neglect of the senders or the nature of the contents :—
Ascension
Bahamas
Barbados
British Guiana
British Honduras
Ceylon
British Possessions
Cyprus
Falkland Islands
Gambia
Gibraltar
Gold Coast Colony
Grenada
Labuan
Leeward Islands
Mauritius
Newfoundland
North Borneo
St. Helena
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
Seychelles
Sierra Leo’ e
South Australia
Tobago
Trinidad