Page 44 - Jamaica Post Office Guide 1938

OVERSEA MAILS: INSURANCE. 49
Conditions of Registration.—No postal packet addressed to initials or in pencil (except
copying ink pencil) is admitted to registration.
Every letter presented for registration must be enclosed in a strong envelope securely
fastened, preferably in one of the registration envelopes sold by the Post Office.
It is recommended that the name and address of the sender be written on the outside
of every registered postal packet.
Registered packets must be prepaid as regards both postage and registration fee.
Packets to be registered must be given to an officer of the Post Office, and a receipt
obtained for them; they must on no account be dropped into a letter box.
If it is proved to his satisfaction that a letter or packet duly admitted to registration has
been entirely lost whilst in his custody the Postmaster undertakes to pay an indemnity of
50 francs, except in cases beyond control (e.g., tempest, shipwreck, earthquake and war).
No compensation, however, is payable except in the case of the loss of the entire letter or
packet; and no claim will be admitted if made more than a year after the letter or packet was
posted.
The Postal Administration of all countries and colonies included in the Postal Union
give the same undertaking in respect of registered letters or packets lost whilst in their
custody.
If it is desired to obtain compensation in the case of abstraction of contents of a letter, or
to provide for a higher maximum than 50 gold francs, recourse must be had to the
insurance system. See “ Insurance” below.
The fee chargeable for registration to places abroad is 2d.
Advice of Delivery.—The sender of registered or insured correspondence addressed to any
foreign country or British Colony in the Postal Union, may obtain an acknowledgment
of its receipt by the addressee on payment of an extra fee of 2d., in addition to other fees.
INSURANCE— LETTERS (ONLY).
A letter for a place against which a limit of insured value is entered in column 3 of the
Table of Rates on pages 62 to 72, can be insured, subject to the following provisions.
The letters to which the insurance system is applicable are those which contain
valuable paper (bank notes, currency notes, bonds, coupons, securities, etc.), or valuable
documents (plans, estimates, contracts, etc.). Such articles, if liable to Customs duty,
may only be sent in insured letters to those countries which admit dutiable articles
by letter post (see pages 40 and 62 to 72). PosUcards, packets of printed papers or
commercial papers, sample packets or letters which contain articles other than those
above-mentioned, such as coin, jewellery, etc., cannot be insured. An object of value
which cannot be sent in an insured letter may generally be sent in an insured parcel.
(See pp 53-55.)
A letter intended for insurance must be presented at the counter of a Post Office. It
cannot be posted at a railway station and must not be dropped into a letter box or
handed to a postman or mail cart driver.
Every letter tendered for insurance must be enclosed in a strong cover made up in
one piece, which must be securely fastened by means of identical seals in fine wax with
spaces between, reproducing a private mark, and affixed in sufficient number to hold
down ail the folds of the envelope. An envelope with a black or coloured border or a
transparent panel must not be used. The make-up of every letter must be such that its
contents cannot be got at without external and visible damage to the envelope or the seals.
Space must be left between the postage stamps used for prepayment, and between the
postal labels, if any, so that they cannot serve to hide injuries to the envelope. They
must not be folded over the two sides of the envelope so as to cover the edge.
No labels may be affixed except those of the postal service. If the packet is tied round
with string or tape, a seal must be placed on the ends where they are tied. The seals
on an ordinary envelope should be placed as shown below.—