Towns > Glasgow > 1828-1912 - Post-Office annual Glasgow directory > 1870-1871

20
POST OFFICE REGULATIONS.
printed. Entries, however, merely stating who sends
the book, &c, or to whom it is given, are not re-
garded as a letter. Indeed, as respects the name
and address of the sender, not only is the writing
permitted, but recommended ; so that if the cover
come off, or for any other reason the packet cannot
be forwarded, it may be returned.
§ 6. No book packet must exceed two feet in
length, nor one foot in width or depth ; and if any
packet of greater dimensions be presented at a post
office, it cannot be received.
§ 7. Any packet which is not open at the ends or
sides, or has any letter or communication of the
nature of a letter written in it, or upon its cover, is
charged with the " unpaid " letter postage.
§ 8. If a packet be found to contain any letter
not wholly printed, whether closed or open, or any
inclosure sealed or otherwise closed against inspec-
tion, or any other unauthorized inclosure, the letter
or inclosure is taken out and forwarded to the address
on the packet, charged with the full postage as an
unpaid letter, together with an additional rate ; and
the remainder of the packet, if duly prepaid with
stamps, is then forwarded to its address.
§ 9. If a packet be not sufficiently prepaid with
stamps, but nevertheless bear a stamp of the value
of one rate, it is forwarded, charged with the defi-
cient book postage, together with an additional rate ;
but any packet which bears no postage stamp is
charged with double the book postage.
§ 10. In every case in which the postage charge-
able under these regulations is greater than the letter
rate, the latter postage is substituted.
§ 11. The main business of the Post Office being
the transmission of letters, the forwarding of books
and newspapers, though an important, is only a
secondary object, for which no arrangement can be
made which would interfere with the quick and
regular conveyance and delivery of letters. Books,
therefore, which would be injured by being thrust
into a bag and hurriedly pressed down like a bundle
of letters, should not be sent through the Post.
§ 12. To prevent obstacles to the regular trans-
mission or delivery of letters, a Head-postmaster
may, when necessary, keep back book-packets until
the next despatch or delivery.
12. Colonial and Foreign Book Posts. — Except
that the rates of postage are higher, books can be sent
to all British colonies, and to other foreign places, on
the same conditions as those of the Inland Book
Post. For exceptional rates, and modification of
rules affecting certain countries, the British Postal
Guide, published quarterly, ought to be consulted.
13. Inland Pattern and Sample Post. — The fol-
lowing are the rules of the Inland Pattern and
Sample Post : —
§ 1. Rates of Postage. The postage is Id. for
every J lb. or fraction of a J lb.
§ 2. The postage must be prepaid by means of
postage stamps.
§ 3. No packet of patterns or samples must exceed
12 oz. in weight, nor two feet in length, by one foot
in breadth or depth. Any packet exceeding these
limits will be sent to the Returned Letter Office.
§. 4. There must be no writing or printing on the
packet in addition to the address ef the person for
whom it is intended, except the address of the sender,
a trade mark and numbers, and the prices of the
articles; these particulars may be given on small
labels attached to the samples, or the bags contain-
ing them. If this rule be infringed the packet will
be treated as a letter. For the future it will be
permitted to inclose in a sample packet a printed or
written description of the samples, but there must be
no other inclosure. Any unauthorized inclosure will
be taken out and forwarded to the address on the
packet, charged with the full postage as an unpaid
letter, together with an additional rate of a penny.
§ 6. The patterns or samples must be sent in
covers open at the ends, so as to be easy of exami-
nation. Samples, however, of seeds, &c, may be
inclosed in boxes, or in bags of linen or other mate-
rial fastened in such a manner that they may be
readily opened ; or in bags entirely closed, provided
that they are transparent, so that the officers of the
department may be able to satisfy themselves as to
the nature of the contents. Non-compliance with
this rule will subject the packet to be treated as a
letter.
§ 7. If a packet of patterns or samples be posted
altogether unpaid, it will be charged with double the
postage which should have been prepaid. If a por-
tion of the postage be prepaid, the packet will be
charged with the amount of the deficiency, together
with an additional rate of twopence.
§ 9. The rule which forbids the transmission
through the Post of any article which might injure
the contents of the mail bags, or the officers of the
Post Office, is so far relaxed as to permit the trans-
mission of scisriors, knives, razors, forks, steel pens,
nails, keys, watch machinery, metal tubing, pieces
of metal or ore, and such like, as samples, provided
that they be packed and guarded in so secure a man-
ner as to afford complete protection to the contents
of the mail bags and the officers of the Post Office,
while at the same time the samples may be easily
examined. If any packet containing such articles as
these be posted which is found not to be sufficiently
guarded, it will be stopped, and a notice of its deten-
tion will be sent to the person to whom it is addressed,
or to the sender, who may then obtain it on personal
application, but the packet will be charged with a fine
equal in amount to the postage to which it was liable
as a packet of patterns.
§ 10. In every case in which the postage charge-
able under these regulations is greater than the letter
rate, the latter postage is substituted.
14. Colonial and Foreign Pattern and Sample Post.
— Patterns and samples can be sent, at the rates in-
serted in the Table of Colonial and Foreign Postage,
to such colonies and foreign countries as are marked
in that Table with the letter " P." The conditions
in these cases are for the most part the same as in
the case of the Inland Pattern and Sample Post, the
following being the only important exceptions: —
1. The limit of 12 oz. in weight and two feet by-
one in dimensions is not applicable to patterns sent
to the Colonies or to Foreign parts.
§ 2. A packet of patterns or samples sent to
France, Portugal, Madeira, the Azores, or Cape de
Verds, or to Turkey, Syria, or Egypt, by French
packet, must not exceed 18 inches in length, width,
or depth; a packet to any other place abroad must
not exceed 24 inches in length, or 12 inches in
breadth or depth.
§ 3. A packet of patterns or samples sent to Ger-
many or Belgium, or any country via Belgium, or
via Austria, must not exceed 8 ozs. in weight;