AGREEMENT FOR THE EXCHANGE OF POST PARCELS BETWEEN THE POSTAL ADMINISTRATION OF THE GILBERT AND ELLICE ISLANDS AND THE POSTAL ADMINISTRATION OF NEW ZEALAND

(Tarawa – Wellington, 15 December & 22 October 1952)

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 1 DECEMBER 1952 (ARTICLE 26)

To establish a regular exchange of ordinary and insured parcels between New Zealand and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, the undersigned, duly authorised for that purpose, have agreed upon the following articles: - 

Article 1

Limits of weight and size

A parcel shall not exceed 22 lb. in weight, 3 feet 6 inches in length or 6 feet in length and girth combined.

Article 2

Transit Parcels

The two Postal Administrations agree to accept parcels in transit over their territory to or from any country with which they respectively have parcel-post communication. Transit parcels shall be subject to the provisions of this Agreement and to the Detailed Regulations so far as these are applicable. 

Article 3

Prepayment of postage – Rates

1. The prepayment of the postage on a parcel shall be compulsory, except in the case of a redirected or returned parcel. 

2. The postage shall be made up of the sums accruing to each Postal Administration taking part in the conveyance by land, sea or air. 

Article 4

Territorial Rate

For parcels despatched from one of the two countries for delivery in the other, the territorial rates shall, subject to mutual agreement as to change, be (a) in respect of New Zealand – 1/-., 1s.9d., 2s,6. and 3s.6d. – and (b) in respect of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands – 7d., 1s.3d., 1s,11d, and 3s,9d. for parcels not exceeding 3, 7, 11 and 22 lb. in weight, respectively, payable by the Administration of origin to the Administration of destination.

Article 5 

Sea Rate

Each of the two Postal Administrations shall be entitled to fix the rate for any sea service which it provides.

Article 6

Customs fees and other non-postal Charges

1. Each of the two Administrations may collect in respect of delivery to the Customs and clearance through the Customs such fee as it may from time to time fix for similar service in its parcel-post relations with other countries generally.

2. Customs charges and all other non-postal charges shall be paid by the addressees of parcels.

Article 7

Warehousing Charges

For parcels which are addressed “post restante” or which are not claimed at the office of destination within the prescribed period of free delivery, the country of destination is authorised to collect the warehousing charge fixed by its legislation.  In the case of undelivered parcels, accrued warehousing charges, if any, shall be claimed from the Administration of origin. 

Article 8

Prohibition

1. Postal parcels must not contain any letter, note or document having the character of an actual personal correspondence. It is, however permissible to enclose in a parcel an open invoice confined to the particulars which constitute an invoice.

2. It is also forbidden to enclose in a postal parcel:-

(a) articles which from their nature or packing may be a source of danger to the officers of the Post Office or may soil or damage other parcels;

(b) explosive, inflammable, or dangerous substances (including loaded metal caps, live cartridges and matches); 

(c) live animals (except bees which must be enclosed in boxes so constructed as to avoid all danger to postal officers and to allow the contents to be ascertained);

(d) articles the admission of which is forbidden by law or by the Customs or other regulations;

(e) articles of an obscene or immoral nature;

(f) It is moreover forbidden to send coin, bank-notes, currency-notes or any kind of securities payable to bearer, platinum, gold or silver, whether manufactured or unmanufactured, precious stones, jewels or other precious articles in uninsured parcels addressed to countries which admit insurance.

3. A parcel which has been wrongly admitted to the post shall be returned to the country of origin, unless the Postal Administration of the country of destination is authorised by its legislation to dispose of it otherwise. 

Nevertheless, the fact that a parcel contains a letter or communications which constitute an actual and personal correspondence shall not, in any case, entail its return to the country of origin.

4. Explosive, inflammable or dangerous substances and articles of an obscene or immoral nature shall not be returned to the country of origin;  but they shall be disposed of by the Postal Administration which has found them in the mails in accordance with its own internal regulations.

5. If a parcel wrongly admitted to the post is neither returned to origin nor delivered to the addressee, the Postal Administration of the country of origin shall be informed in a precise manner of the treatment accorded to the parcel in order that it may take such steps as are necessary. 

Article 9

Redirection

1. A parcel may be redirected in consequence of the addressee’s change of address in the country of destination. The Postal Administration of the country of destination may collect the redirection charge prescribed by its internal regulations. Similarly, a parcel may be redirected from one of the two countries to another country provided that the parcel complies with the conditions required for its further conveyance and provided as a rule that the extra postage is prepaid at the time of redirection or documentary evidence is produced that the addressee will pay it.

2. Additional charges levied in respect of internal redirection and not paid by the addressee or his representative shall not be cancelled in case of further redirection or of return to origin except in cases where the parcels are returned to the senders as unclaimed or refused, but shall be collected from the addressee or from the sender as the case may be, without prejudice to the payment of any special charges incurred which the country of destination does not agree to cancel. 

Article 10

Missent Parcels

Parcels received out of course, or wrongly allowed to be despatched, shall be retransmitted or returned in accordance with the provisions of Article 11, sections 1 and 2 of the Detailed Regulations. 

Article 11

Non-delivery

1. The sender may request at the time of posting that, if the parcel cannot be delivered as addressed it may be either (a) treated as abandoned, or (b) tendered for deliver at a second address in the country of destination. No other alternative is admissible. If the sender avails himself of this facility his request must appear on the cover of the parcel, and must be in conformity with, or analogous to, one of the following forms:-

“If not deliverable as addressed, abandon.”

“If not deliverable as addressed, deliver to …………..”

2. In the absence of a request by the sender to the contrary, a parcel which cannot be delivered shall be returned to the sender without previous notification and at his expense after retention for the period prescribed by the regulations of the Postal Administration of destination.

Nevertheless, a parcel which is definitely refused by the addressee shall be returned immediately.

3. The charges due on returned undelivered parcels shall be recovered in accordance with the provisions of Article 22. 

Article 12

Sale – Destruction

Articles of which the early deterioration or corruption is to be expected, and these only, may be sold immediately, even when in transit on the outward or return journey, without previous notice or judicial formality. If for any reason a sale is impossible the spoilt or putrid articles shall be destroyed. 

Article 13

Abandoned Parcels

Parcels which cannot be delivered to the addressees and which the senders have abandoned shall not be returned by the Postal Administrations of the country of destination, but shall be treated in accordance with its legislation. 

Article 14

Enquiries

Enquiries as to parcels shall be admitted only within the period of one year from the date following the date of posting. 

Article 15

Insured Parcels – Rates and Conditions

1. Parcels may be insured up to a limit of £50 in the currency of the country of despatch. 

2. An insurance fee, to be fixed by each Administration, shall be charged for each £12 or part thereof of insured value.

3. A receipt must be given, free of charge, at the time of posting to the sender of an insured parcel. 

4. The insured value may not exceed the actual value of the contents of the parcel and the packing, but it is permitted to insure only part of this value.

5. The fraudulent insurance of a parcel for a sum exceeding the actual value shall be subject to any legal proceedings which may be admitted by the laws of the country of origin. 

Article 16

Responsibility for loss or damage

1. Except in the cases mentioned in the following article the two Administration shall be responsible for the loss of parcels and for the loss, damage or abstraction of their contents or part thereof.  However, in no case may the amount of compensation for uninsured parcels exceed the sum of £1 local currency. For an insured parcel the amount of compensation shall not exceed the amount for which it was insured. 

Compensation is paid to the sender when he claims it, or to the addressee if he proves that the sender as waived his rights in his favour. 

2. In calculating the amount of compensation, indirect loss or loss or profits shall not be taken into consideration. 

3. Compensation shall be calculated on the current price of goods of the same nature at the place and time at which the goods were accepted for transmission. 

4. Where compensation is due for the loss, destruction or complete damage of a parcel or for the abstraction of the whole of the contents, the sender is entitled to the return of the postage also. 

Article 17

Exceptions as to the Principles of Responsibility

The two Administrations shall be relieved of all responsibility – 

(a) in cases beyond control (force majeure); 

(b) when, their responsibility not having been proved otherwise, they are unable to account for parcels in consequence of the destruction of official documents through a cause beyond control (force majeure);

(c) when the damage has been caused by the fault or negligence of the sender, or when it arises from the nature of the article;

(d) for parcels of which the contents fall under the ban of one of the prohibitions mentioned in Article 8;

(e) for parcels which have been fraudulently insured for a sum exceeding the actual value of the contents;

(f) in respect of parcels regarding which the sender has not made inquiry within the period prescribed by Article 14;

(g) in respect of any parcels containing precious stones, jewellery or any article of gold, silver or platinum, or any other precious objects not packed in the manner laid down in Article 5, section 4, of the Detailed Regulations. 

Article 18

Termination of Responsibility

The two Administrations shall cease to be responsible for parcels which have been delivered in accordance with their internal regulations and of which the addressees or their agents have accepted delivery without reservation. 

Article 19

Period of payment of compensation

1. Compensation shall be paid as soon as possible and, at the latest, within one year from the day following the date of the inquiry.

2. The Administration of the country of origin or of destination, as the case may be, is authorised to pay compensation to the persons entitled to receive it on behalf of the Administration concerned which, after being duly informed of the application, has let nine months pass without giving a decision in the matter.

Article 20

Incidence of Cost of Compensation

1. Until the country is proved, responsibility shall rest with the Postal Administration which, having received the parcel from the other Administration without making any reservation and having been furnished with all the particulars for investigation prescribed by the regulations, cannot establish either proper delivery to the addressee or his agent, or regular transfer to the following office as the case may be. 

2. If in the case of a parcel despatched from one of the two countries for deliver in the other, the loss, damage or abstraction has occurred in course of conveyance without its being possible to prove in the service of which country the irregularity took place the two Administrations shall bear in equal shares the amount of compensation. 

3. The same principle shall, as far as possible, be applied when other Administrations are concerned in the conveyance of a parcel. 

4. Customs and other charges which it has not been possible to cancel shall be borne by the Administration responsible for the loss, damage or abstraction. 

5. By paying compensation the Administration concerned takes over, to the extent of the amount paid, the rights of the person who has received compensation in any action which may be taken against the addressee, the sender or a third party. 

If a parcel which has been regarded as lost is subsequently found, in whole or in part, the person to whom compensation has been paid shall be informed that he is at liberty to take possession of the parcel against repayment of the amount paid as compensation. 

Article 21

Credit for Conveyance

For each parcel despatched from one of the two countries for delivery in the other, the despatching Administration shall allow to the Administration of destination the rates which accrue to it by virtue of the provisions of Articles 4 and 5.

For each parcel despatched from one of the two countries in transit through the other, the despatching Administration shall allow to the other Administration the amount required for the conveyance and insurance of the parcel according to the provisions of Article 3 of the Detailed Regulations.

Article 22

Claims in case of Redirection or Return

In case of the redirection or of the return of a parcel from one country to the other, the re-transmitting Administration shall claim from the other the charges due to it and to any other Administration taking part in the redirection or return. The claim shall be made on the parcel-bill relating to the mail in which the parcel is forwarded.

Article 23

Charge for Redirection in the Country of Destination

In case of redirection to another country or of return to the country of origin, the redirection charge prescribed by Article 9 section 2 shall accrue to the country which redirected the parcel within its own territory. 

Article 24

Insurance Fee

In respect of insured parcels, each country shall allow to the country of destination for territorial service a rate of ld. For each £12 or fraction of insured value. 

Article 25

1. Parcels shall not be subjected to any postal charges other than those contemplated in this Agreement except by mutual consent of the two Administrations.

2. In extraordinary circumstances either Administration may temporarily suspend the parcel post, either entirely or partially, on condition of giving immediate notice, if necessary by telegraph, to the other Administration.

3. The two Administrations have drawn up the following Detailed Regulations for ensuring the execution of the present Agreement. Further, matters of detail, not inconsistent with the general provisions of this Agreement and not provided for in the Detailed Regulations may be arranged from time to time by mutual consent. 

4. The internal legislation of New Zealand and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands shall remain applicable as regards everything not provided for by the stipulations contained in the present Agreement and in the Detailed Regulations for its execution. 

Article 26

Duration

The present Agreement shall be deemed to have taken effect on the first December 1952. It shall then continue in force until it shall be modified or determined by mutual consent of the contracting parties or until one year after the date on which one of the contracting parties shall have notified the other of its intention to determine it.

IN WITNESS THEREOF the undersigned duly authorised for that purpose have signed the present Agreement.

Executed in duplicate and signed

At Tarawa, the 12th December 1952

[Signed]

Chief Postmaster
Gilbert & Ellice Islands	At Wellington, the 22nd October 1952

[Signed]

Director-General
Posts and Telegraphs
New Zealand	

DETAILED REGULATIONS FOR CARRYING OUT THE AGREEMENT COVERING THE PARCEL-POST SERVICE BETWEEN THE POST OFFICE OF NEW ZEALAND AND THE POST OFFICE OF THE GILBERT AND ELLICE ISLANDS COLONY

Article 1

Circulation

1. Each Administration shall forward by the routes and means which it uses for its own parcels, parcels delivered to it by the other office for conveyance in transit through its territory.

Article 2

Method of Transmission

1. The exchange of parcels between the two countries shall be effected by the offices appointed by agreement between the two Postal Administrations.

2. Parcels shall be exchanged between the two countries in bags duly fastened and sealed.

In the absence of any arrangement to the contrary, the transmission of parcels sent by one of the two contracting countries in transit through the other shall be effected a decouvert.

3. A label showing the office of exchange of origin and the office of exchange of destination shall be attached to the neck of each bag, the number of parcels contained in the bag being indicated on the back of the label. 

4. The bag containing the parcel bill and other documents shall be distinctively labelled.

5. The neck label attached to any bag containing one or more insured parcels shall be marked with any distinctive symbol that may from time to time be agreed upon by the two Administrations.

6. The weight of any bag of parcels shall not exceed 70 pounds avoirdupois. 

7. Unless used for return mails, surplus bags must be returned empty by the next mail. The number of empty bags so forwarded shall be advised on the parcel bill. Responsibility for the loss of bags shall be determined on the principles prescribed for the loss of parcels in Article 20 of the Agreement. 

Article 3

Information to be furnished

1. Upon request, each Post Office shall communicate to the other:-

(a) the names of the countries to which it can forward parcels handed over to it;

(b) the routes available for the transmission of the said parcels from the point of entry into its territory or into its service;

(c) the total amount to be credited to it by the other office for each destination;

(d) the number of Customs declarations which must accompany each parcel; and

(e) any other necessary information. 

2. Each Post Office shall make known to the other the names of the countries to which it intends to send parcels in transit through the other, unless in any particular case the number of parcels concerned is insignificant. 

Article 4

Make-up for Parcels

Each parcel shall: - 

(a) bear the exact address of the addressee in Roman characters.

Addressees in pencil shall not be allowed provided that parcels bearing addresses written with copying-ink pencil on a surface previously damped shall be accepted.  The address shall be written on the parcel itself or on a label so firmly attached to it that it cannot become detached. The sender of a parcel shall be advised to enclose in the parcel a copy of the address together with a note of his address;

(b) be packed in a manner adequate for the length of the journey and for the protection of the contents. Articles liable to injure officers of the Post Office or to damage other parcels shall be so packed as to prevent any risks. 

(c) be sealed with some special mark or impress of the sender, if it is an insured parcel;

(d) have sufficient space to take necessary service instructions as well as stamps and labels.

Article 5

Special Packing

1. Liquids and substances which easily liquefy shall be packed in two receptacles. Between the first receptacle (bottle, flask, pot, box, etc.) and the second (box of metal or of stout wood) shall be left space which shall be filled with sawdust, bran or some other absorbent material in sufficient quantity to absorb all the liquid contents in the case of breakage. 

2. Dry colouring powders such as aniline blue, etc., shall be admitted only if enclosed in stout metal boxes placed inside wooden boxes with sawdust between the two receptacles. Dry non-colouring powders must be placed in boxes of metal, wood or cardboard; these boxes must themselves be enclosed in a cover of linen or parchment. 

3. Parcels containing films, raw celluloid or articles made of celluloid must be furnished, on the address side, with a distinct white label bearing in heavy black characters “Celluloid keep away from fire and light”. Additionally cinematograph films must be enclosed in a tin box which, in turn, must be enclosed in a strong outer wooden box, or be wrapped in a stout material which is not a good conductor of heat. 

4. Every parcel containing precious stones, jewellery, articles of gold or silver, platinum or any other precious object shall be packed in a strong case of wood or metal with an outer covering of cloth or stout paper. 

Article 6

Customs Declarations

1. Each parcel must be accompanied by a Customs declaration which shall be affixed to the parcel.

2. The two Post Offices accept no responsibility in respect of the accuracy of Customs declarations.

Article 7

Indication of Insured Value

Every insured parcel shall bear an indication of the insured value in the currency of the country of origin without erasures or corrections, even if certified.

Article 8

Insurance Labels, etc.

Every insured parcel shall bear a small red label with the indication “Insured” or “valeur declare” in large letters.

When a parcel contains coin, bullion or other precious objects, the wax or other seals, the labels of whatever kind and any postage stamps affixed to it shall be spaced so that they cannot conceal injuries to the cover. Moreover, the labels and postage stamps, if any, shall not be folded over two sides of the cover so as to hide the edge. 

Article 9

Sealing of Insured Parcels

Every insured parcel shall be sealed by means of wax or by lead or other seals, with some special uniform design or mark of the sender, the seals being sufficient in number to render it impossible to tamper with the contents without leaving an obvious trace of violation. 

Article 10

Indication of weight of Insured Parcels

The exact weight in pounds and ounces of each insured parcel shall be entered by the office of origin on the address side of the parcel. 

Article 11

Re-transmission

1. The office re-transmitting a missent parcel shall not levy Customs or other non-postal charges upon it.

When an Administration returns such a parcel to the country from which it has been directly received, it shall refund the credits received and report the error by means of a verification note.

In other cases, the re-transmitting office shall allow to the Administration to which it forwards the parcel the credits due for onward conveyance; and if the amount credited to it is insufficient to cover the expenses of re-transmission which it has to defray, it shall then recover the amount of the deficiency by claiming it from the office of exchange from which the missent parcel was directly received. The reasons for this claim shall be notified to the latter by means of a verification note.

2. When a parcel has been wrongly allowed to be despatched in consequence of an error attributable to the postal service and has, for this reason, to be returned to the country of origin, the Administration who sends the parcel back shall allow to the office from which it was received the sums credited in respect of it. 

3. The charges on a parcel redirected, in consequence of the removal of the addressee or of an error on the part of the sender to a country with which the Gilbert and Ellice Islands or New Zealand has a parcel-post communication shall be claimed from the Administration of the country to which the parcel is forwarded, unless the charge for conveyance is paid at the time of redirection, in which case the parcel shall be dealt with as if it had been addressed directly from the re-transmitting country to the new country of destination.

4. A parcel shall be re-transmitted in its original packing. If the parcel, for any reason whatsoever, has to be repacked, the name of the office of origin of the parcel and the original serial number shall be entered on the parcel. 

Article 12

Return of Undeliverable Parcels

1. If the sender of an undeliverable parcel has made a request not provided for by Article 11 Section 1 of the Agreement, the office of destination need not comply with it, but may return the parcel to the country of origin, after retention for the period prescribed by the regulations of the country of destination.

2. The office which returns a parcel to the sender shall indicate clearly and concisely thereon the cause of non-delivery. This information may be furnished in manuscript or by means of a stamped impression or label. 

3. A parcel to be returned to the sender shall be entered on the parcel bill with the word “Rebut” or analogous terms in the “Observations” column. It shall be dealt with and charged like a parcel redirected in consequence of the removal of the addressee.

Article 13

Sale – Destruction

1. When a parcel has been sold or destroyed in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of the Agreement, a report of the sale or destruction shall be prepared.

2. The proceeds of the sale shall be used in the first place to defray the charges upon the parcel. Any balance which there may be shall be forwarded to the Administration of the country of origin for payment to the sender, on whom the cost of forwarding it shall fall.

Article 14

Parcel-Bills

[1.] Insured, returned, and unpaid redirected parcels shall be entered individually by the despatching office of exchange on a parcel-bill. The advice of other parcels except transmit parcels may, by mutual consent, consist of a statement of the number of parcels at the several steps of the weight scale. Transit parcels shall be entered individually provided that two or more transit parcels, addressed to the same country for which the same amount of credit has to be allowed, may be entered in bulk. 

2. Each despatching office of exchange shall number the parcel-bills in the top left hand corner in an annual series for each office for exchange of destination, and as far as possible shall enter below the number the name of the ship *(if any) conveying the mail. A note of the last number of the year shall be made on the first parcel-bill of the following year. 

Article 15

Check by Offices of Exchange – Notification of Irregularities

1. On receipt of a mail, whether of parcels or empty bags, the office of exchange shall check the parcels and the various documents which accompany them, or the empty bags as the case may be, against the particulars entered in the relative parcel-bill and, if necessary, shall report missing articles or other irregularities by means of a verification note. 

2. Errors in the credits and accounting shall be notified to the despatching offices of exchange by verification notes.

Article 16

Accounting for Credits

An annual account shall be prepared in duplicate by the New Zealand Post Office for all parcel mails exchange between the two Administrations. This account shall be verified and accepted on both sides, and the balance in respect of the account shall be settled in a manner mutually agreed upon by both Administrations.

Article 17

The present Detailed Regulations shall be brought into operation on the day on which the Agreement for the exchange or parcels comes into force. They shall have the same duration as the Agreement. 

Executed in duplicate and signed.

At Tarawa, the 15 December 1952

[Signed]

Chief Postmaster,
Tarawa,
Gilbert & Ellice Islands	At Wellington, the 22nd October, 1952

[Signed]

Director-General,
Post and Telegraph Department,
New Zealand