Page 49 - Jamaica Post Office Guide 1938

54 OVERSEA MAILS: PARCELS, INSURANCE.

Application for refund of duty should be made on the form provided for the pur­
pose, which may be had from the Postmaster or Collector.
Applications for refund of duty must be accompanied by that portion of the cover which
bears the address, the duty label and the declaration.
Special R egulations (1), Insurance of Parcels.
'Parcels for places against which a limit of insured value is entered in column 6 in the
Table of Rates on pages 62 to 72 can be insured.
Insured articles have all the safeguards of the registration system; and, subject to the
following regulations, compensation will be paid if an insured article or any part of its
contents is lost or damaged in the post.
An insured article may not be addressed to initials or in pencil.
It may not bear any erasure or correction in the address at the time of posting
A certificate of posting must always be obtained by the sender. Particulars of the
amount for which the parcel has been insured should be entered on the certificate, and
the sender should at once satisfy himself that the entry is correct. He may obtain an
advice of the delivery of an insured parcel, under the conditions shown at page 46.
All the seals on an insured parcel must be of the same kind of wax (or lead or steel in
the case of parcels), and must bear distinct impressions of the same private device. A
coin may not be used for sealing; and the device may not consist merely of straight,
crossed, or iui ved lines which could readily be imitated. Each joint or loose flap of the
covering of a parcel must be sealed; and, if string be used in packing, a seal must be
placed on the ends of the string where they are tied.
If an article tendered for insurance does not, in the opinion of the officer of the Post
Office to whom it is tendered, fulfil the foregoing conditions as to packing and sealing, it is
his duty to refuse to insure it. Nevertheless, the onus of properly enclosing, packing, and
sealing the packet lies upon the sender; and the Post Office assumes no liability for loss
arising from defects which may not be observed at the time of posting,
The amount for which an article is insured must be written by the sender both in
words and in figures, at the top of the address side of the cover, thus;—“ Insured for
fifteen pounds (£15).” The amount must also be entered in the appropriate space on
the despatch note, if one is used. No alteration or erasure of the inscription on the
letter or parcel or on the despatch note is allowed. If the amount is entered on the
despatch note in the wrong place, a fresh despatch note must be prepared.
No parcel can be insured for more than the actual value of the contents and the
packing for more than the sum entered in the Table of Rates (pp. 60 to 70, col. 6) against
the name of the Country or Colony to which it is addressed; but it may be insured for
part of its value.
A parcel containing coin or bullion or jewellery (see footnote*) cannot be sent to any
Foreign Country or British Possession included in the insurance system unless it is
insured for as much of the journey as the regulations permit, and for at least part of its
value. Every such parcel must be enclosed in a strong box or case (measuring, if the
contents are jewellery exceeding £100 in value, at least 3 feet 6 inches in length and
girth combined), must be sewn up, or otherwise fastened in a wrapper of linen, canvas,
strong paper, or other substantial material, and must have the address written on its
actual covering. The seals must be placed along the edges of each joint or loose flap at
distances of net more than three inches apart.
Special attention is directed to the fact that coins of a value higher than £5
(except with a declaration indicating that they are intended to serve as ornaments),
gold in ingot of a value higher than £ 5, and silver in ingots or silver partially worked
of a value higher than £20 may not be sent to Great Britain or to any country via
Great Britain by Parcel-post Mail under any circumstances. See “ Prohibitions,”
pages 58-59.

*The term “jewellery” means and includes—
(а) Gold, silver, or platinum in a manufactured state; that is to say, a state in
which value is added to the raw material by skilled workmanship; and in this
definition are included any coins used or designed for the purposes of ornament;
(б) Diamonds and precious stones;
(c) Watches, the cases of which are entirely or mainly composed of gold, silver or
platinum; and
(d) Any article of a like nature which, apart from workmanship, has an intrinsic
or marketable value