Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 15.djvu/610

 578 CONVENTION WITH THE NORTH GERMAN UNION. Oor. 21, 1867. Rule of pro- The rule of progression shall always be an additional single rate for 8’°”i°¤· each additional standard weight or fraction thereoi The weight stated by the despatcliing office shall always be accepted, except in ease of manifest mistake. Thclvih equiv- It is, however, understood that so long as the German office employs gil;!;;? the Zoth as its standard for the single weight of letters which it despatches, it shall also be accepted by the United States office as fthe eqfnvglent of 15 grammes, in respect to the mails which it receives rom tie erman office. R*'**°¤ °fP°$*# Axrrcms V. The single rate of postage on the direct correspondence °'g°' exchanged between the two administrations shall be as follows: lst. On letters from the United States via direct line of steamers to Hamburg and Bremen, (conditioned that the sea rate in such case shall not exceed five cents for single letter rate and ten cents per kilogram for other corres ondence, ten cents. 2d. On letteiii from tlie North German Union via said direct line, (sub ject to same condition.) four silber groschen. Bd. On letters from the United States via England, fifteen cents. 4th. On letters from the North German Union via England, six silber groschcn. 5th. Of the international letter postage via England, the ocean sin le letter rate shall not exceed eight cents, nor shall the English and Belgian sin le letter transit rates exceed one cent each. gth. It is Furtherzigreed, that whenever any other regular line of steam communication, acceptable to the two ofliees, may be employed directly between any port of the United States and any port of the north of Europe at such rates that the entire cost of transportation between the two frontiers shall not exceed forcz1ch single letter rate five cents, and for each kilogram of other correspondence ten cents, in that case the international single rate of letter postage by such line shall be reduced to ten cents. 7th. On all other correspondence mentioned in paragraph two of the first article, the rate shall be,fbr the mails despatched, that which the despatching office shall ztdopt,ad:1pted to the convenience and habits of its interior 2\(lKIlilliS[I'2\llOH. But each cilice shall give notice to the other of the rnte it atclo ts, and of any subsequent change thereofi Prepnymentof Anricnxs vii. The prepayment of postage on ordinary letters shall be P°““K°· optional, subject to the conditions in Article VII., mentioned; but on registered letters, and on all other correspondence mentioned in [)l\l'2lgl`H.pll two of the first article, it shall be obligntor. l‘mceedings_ ,AR'l‘ICLlD VII. If] however, the postagg on any correspondence shall “'l‘°'lJ"’“'€‘l¥" ‘? be prepaid insufficiently, it shall nevertheless be forwarded to its destina- giligél- tion, but <>l1:n·ged with the deficient postage. Upon the delivery of any unpaid or insnfliciently paid letter, or of any other insufficiently paid c0rrespo11<le11ce, there shall be levied in the United States en. line not exceeding live cents, and in the North German Union an additional charge not exceeding two silber groschen. This fine, or additional charge, ns well as the deficient postage on all other correspondence tlmu letters, shall not enter into the accounts between the two olfices, but shall be rctnined to the use of the collecting office. forktmulleélnrgf Altl`ICI.l£' VIII. The cerrespondeiice mentioned in paragraph two of mum`? the nrst article shell be despatched under regulations to be established by the .ltesp:1.tc|n11g olhce, but always meluding the tellewing : -— Firgt. N0 packet shall contain anything which shall be closed against inspection, 1101* any written communication whatever, except to state from whom und to whom the packet is sent, and the number and price placed upon each pattern or sample of merchandise. Second. No packet may exceed two feet in length, or one foot in any other dimension. Tliird. Neither office shall be bound to deliver any article theimporta-