The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-25 00:00:00

New Postal Regulations•

The following regulations were yesterday issued
by command of the Postmaster-General :-
A new postal convention having been concluded with
Belgium, which will come into operation on the Ist of
August next, the following alterations in the rates of
postage, &c., applicable to the correspondence exchanged
between the United Kingdom and Belgium will take effect
on and from that date, when prepaid letters will be charge-
able as follows :-By direct packet-not exceeding -}oz. in
weight, 3d. ; above toz. and not exceeding loz., 6d. ; above
loz. and not exceeding lion., 9d.; above lioz. and not
exceeding 20z., Is, ; via France-not exceeding ioz. in
weight, 4d.; above ioz. and not exceeding loz., Bd. ; above
loz. and not exceeding lioz., is. ; above lioz. and not ex-
ceeding 20z., is. 4d. ; and so oil, adding one rate for each
additional half-ounce, or fraction of half an ounce. When
posted unpaid lefters by either route will be chargeable on
delivery with the above rate and an additional sum of 3d. ;
and letters insufficiently prepaid will be chargeable as un-
paid letters, deducting the value of the postage stamps
affixed to them. The foregoing rates comprise both the
British and foreign charges. Letters addressed to Bel-
gium, superscribed by the writers with the word " Urgent,"
will be delivered at the place of destination by special
means. All such letters must be registered, and they will
be liable in this country to the same charge as other re-
gistered letters-viz., 6d. each letter in addition to the
postage. An extra charge for the special delivery will be
levied in Belgium. Upon every newspaper, duly regis-
tered for transmission abroad, and posted within 15 days
from the date of publication, addressed to Belgium postage
must be paid in advance, by means of postage-stamps
at the following rates :-By direct packet, not exceed-
ing 4oz. in weight, ld. ; above 4oz. and not exceeding
21; via Franco, not exceeding 4oz. in weight, 2d.;
above 4oz. and not exceeding alb., 4d. ; adding, 2d. or 4d. for
each additional Vb. Under the term "Book Packets" may
be forwarded, not only stitched or bound books, pamphlets,
and sheets of music, but also printed proof-sheets, with ordi-
nary corrections in writing, and manuscripts attached to such
proofs and having reference to them ns well as legal and other
documents in manuscript, photographs, and drawings (so long
as those articles are not on glass or placed under glass),
prints or maps, printed, engraved, or lithographed, and
whether on paper, parchment, or vellum ; but no letter, or
communication of the nature of a letter, must be forwarded
in such packets or in or upon their covers. Further, all
legitimate binding, mounting, or covering of a book, pub-
lication, &c., or of a portion thereof, will be allowed, whe-
ther such binding, &c., bo loose or attached, as also rollers
in the case of prints or maps, markers (whether of paper
or otherwise) in the case of books, and, in short, whatever
is necessary for the safe transmission of literary or artistic
matter, or usually ayportains thereto. Patterns or samples
of merchandise may also be sent to Belgium, subject to fol-
lowing regulations :-1. The patterns or samples must not
be of intrinsic value. This rule excludes all articles of a sale-
able nature, and, indeed, whatever may have a value of its
own apart from its more use as a pattern or sample, and the
quantity of any material sent ostensibly as a pattern or
sample must not be so great that it can fairly be considered
as having on this ground an intrinsic value. 2. There
must bo no writing or printing in addition to the address
of the person for whom the packet is intended and the ad-
dress of the sender, other than a trade mark and numbers,
and the prices of the articles ; and these particulars must
in all cases be given, not on loose pieces of paper, but
on small labels attached to the samples or the bags con-
taining them. 3. The patterns or samples must be sent in
covers open at the ends, so as to be easy of examination.
Samples, however, of seeds, drugs, and so forth, which
cannot be sent in open covers, may be enclosed in bags of
linen, or other material, tied at the neck; or the bags may
be entirely closed, provided that they be transparent, so that
the officers of the Post-office may be able to satisfy them-
selves as to the nature of the contents. 4. No article likely
to injure the contents of the mail-bags, or the person of
any officer of the Post-office, may be sent through the
post as a pattern. The following are the rates of
postage, to be paid in advance by means of postage-stamps,
upon all book packets addressed to Belgium :-By direct
packet, not exceeding 4oz. ih weight, 3d. ; above 4oz. and
not exceeding ilb., 6d. ; above ilb. and not exceeding 11b.,
ls. ; above 11b. and not exceeding lilb., is. 6d. ; above
lilt). and not exceeding 21b., 2s. ; for every additional jib.,
6d. ; via France, not exceeding 4oz. in weight, 4d. ; above
4oz. and not exceeding ilb., Bd. ; above ilb. and not ex-
ceeding 11b., Is. 4d. ; above 11b. and not exceeding
25.; above lilb. and not exceeding 21b., 2s. Bd. ; for every
additional ilb., Bd. Upon packets of patterns or samples
the same rate of postage must be prepaid, but no such
packet, if exceeding Boz. in weight, can be forwarded to
Belgium. No book pattern, or packet of patterns or
samples, must exceed 2ft. in length, or lft. in breadth or
depth. In order to prevent any interruption to the re-
gular transmission of letters, a book packet or packet of
patterns, or samples, may, when it is necessary, be kept
back by any head postmaster for 24 hours beyond the
time when, in the ordinary course, it would be forwarded
A new line of French mail packets has been established to
run once a month between St. Nazaire and Colon, and, in
connexion therewith, the Postmaster-General has made
arrangements with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company
to sot up an additional British packet service between
Panama and Valparaiso-thus (with the two existing lines
of British packets) affording a third regular mail communi-
cation in each month between this country and the Pacific
ports. The first packet of the new line is appointed to be
despatched from St. Nazaire on the 6th of August next,
and thenceforward a packet will leave on the 6th of each
month, reaching Colon about the 30th, and the correspond-
ing British packet will sail as soon as the mails reach
Panama. To reach St. Nazaire in due time for conveyance
by these packets, letters, &c., must be despatched from
London at the lateEit by the morning mail of the sth of each
month, or, wheh that date falls on Sunday, on the evening
of the 4th. Letters and newspapers for Columbia (New
Granada) and the States of the Pacific intended for con-
veyance by the French packets will bo liable to the same
rates of.postage as by the present British packets, and such
rates must, in all cases, be paid in advance. Any corres-
pondence intended to be forwarded by this route must be
specially addressed "By French Packet." On the Ist of
August, and thenceforward, money-orders will be issued
at all money-order offices in the United Kingdom on the
Post-office at Basseterre, in the colony of St. Kitts, at the
same rates of charge and under the same regulations as
those already in force with respect to other colonies with
which money-order business is transacted. Money-orders
will also be issued at that office on all money-order offices
in the United Kingdom.

THE DRAMATIC COLLEGE FETE.—The accounts of
the Dramatic College festival are not balanced as yet, but
though there was a considerable falling off of the attendance
on Monday as compared with former years, the receipts, it
is understood, are thoroughly satisfactory, averaging about
4000. The largest contributors were Mrs. Stirling and
Mr. Toole. The prize for impudence is with a young lady,
name not to be mentioned, who, after persuading the kindly
manager of the Palace to get her some flowers, stuck one
in his button-hole and charged him 2s. Od. for it.