been liable if they had been addressed directly from the point of origin to the place of new destination.

6. At the time of forwarding, the redispatching office applies its date stamp on the front in the case of articles in the form of cards, and on the back for all other classes of mail.

7. Ordinary or registered articles which are returned to the senders for completion or correction of the address are not considered as redirected correspondence when returned to the service; they are treated as new correspondence, and are therefore liable to new postage charges. 8. The customs duties and other non-postal charges whose cancelation it has been impossible to obtain upon redirection or return to origin (Article 138 hereafter) are recovered, through the C. O. D. service, from the Administration of new destination. In that case, the Administration of original destination attaches to the article an explanatory note and a C. O. D. money order (Form R 3 of the Agreement concerning collect-on-delivery articles). If the C. O. D. service is not in operation between the Administrations concerned, the charges in question are recovered through correspondence.

9. In the event that the attempt to deliver an article at the addressee's residence by special messenger has been unsuccessful, the redispatching office shall cross out the label or the notation Exprès (special delivery) by means of two heavy transverse lines.

ARTICLE 137.

Forwarding envelopes and collective envelopes.

1. Articles of ordinary correspondence to be forwarded to one and the same person who has changed his residence may be inclosed in special envelopes conforming to Form C 6 hereto appended, furnished by the Administrations, on which shall be written only the name and new address of the addressee.

2. Articles subject to customs examination or articles whose form, volume or weight gives rise to risks of tearing may not be included in such envelopes; the total weight of an envelope and its contents shall in no case exceed 500 grams.

3. The envelope shall be presented open to the reforwarding office, to permit it to collect such additional charges, if any, as may be due on the articles which it contains, or to indicate on such articles the charges to be collected on arrival when the additional postage has not been prepaid. After verification, the forwarding office seals the envelope and applies the T-stamp to it if necessary, indicating in francs and centimes the total amount of the charges to be collected.

4. On arrival at destination, the envelope may be opened and its contents verified by the office of delivery, which collects the additional charges not already paid, if any.

5. Ordinary articles of correspondence addressed either to seamen and passengers on board one and the same ship, or to persons taking part in a joint voyage, may likewise be treated in accordance with the provisions of Sections 1 to 4. In that case, the collective envelopes shall be marked with the address of the ship, navigation or travel agency, etc., to which they are to be delivered.

ARTICLE 138.

Undeliverable articles.

1. Before returning to the Administration of origin correspondence which has not been delivered for any reason, the office of destination shall indicate in a clear and concise manner, in the French language, and when possible on the front of such articles, the cause of the non-delivery, in the following form: Inconnu (unknown), Refusé (refused), En voyage (traveling), Parti (removed), Non réclamé (unclaimed), Décédé (deceased), etc. In the case of post cards and prints in the form of cards, the reason for the non-delivery is indicated on the right half of the front.

2. That indication is furnished by applying a stamp or affixing a label. Each Administration has the option of adding a translation in its own language of the cause of non-delivery, and any other indications which may be convenient for it.

3. The office of destination shall cross out the indications of place which concern it, and place on the front of the article the note Retour (return), beside the indication of the office of origin. It shall also apply its date stamp to the back of letters and the front of post cards. 4. Undelivered articles are returned either singly or in a special bundle labeled Rebuts (undeliverable mail matter).

5. Registered articles which are undeliverable are returned to the exchange office of the country of origin as if it were a question of registered correspondence to be sent to that country.

6. Correspondence of the domestic service which is undeliverable and must, for return to the senders, be sent to a foreign country, is treated in accordance with the provisions of Article 136.

7. Correspondence for seamen and other persons addressed in care of a Consul and returned by him to the post office as unclaimed shall be treated as undeliverable. The amount of the charges collected on such correspondence shall be refunded.

ARTICLE 139.

Withdrawal. Change of address.

1. Requests for withdrawal of correspondence or for change of address give rise to the preparation, by the sender, of a form in conformity with Form C 7 hereto appended; a single form may be used for several articles mailed simultaneously at the same office by the same sender addressed to the same addressee. In submitting the request to the post office, the sender shall prove his identity and produce the certificate of mailing, if necessary. After he has proved his identity, for which the Administration of the country of origin assumes responsibility, the procedure is as follows:

(a) If the request is intended to be sent by mail, the form, accompanied by a perfect facsimile of the envelope or address of the article, is sent directly, under registered cover, to the office of destination;

(b) If the request is to be made by telegraph, the form is turned over to the telegraph service, which is charged with transmitting the terms thereof to the post office of destination. The telegram is worded in the French language.

2. On receipt of the Form C 7 or the telegram taking its place, the office of destination searches for the correspondence in question and takes the necessary action.

3. If the search is fruitless, if the article has already been delivered to the addressee, or if the telegraphic request is not explicit enough to permit the article to be surely recognized, the fact is reported at once to the office of origin, which advises the applicant accordingly. The same applies when the customs examination reveals an irregularity.

4. Any Administration may request, by a notification addressed to the International Bureau, that the exchange of requests concerning it be effected through the intermediary of its central Administration or an office specially designated.

5. In the event that the exchange of requests is effected through the intermediary of the central Administrations, account shall be taken of requests sent directly by the offices of origin to the offices of destination, to the extent that the correspondence in question is withheld from delivery pending the arrival of the request from the central Administration.

6. Administrations which avail themselves of the option provided for by Section 4 assume any expense which may be incurred by the transmission, in their domestic service, by mail or telegraph, of the communications to be exchanged with the office of destination. Employment of the telegraph service is obligatory when the sender

himself has made use of that service, and when the office of destination cannot be advised in time by mail.

ARTICLE 140.

Inquiries. Ordinary articles.

1. Every inquiry relative to an ordinary article gives rise to the preparation of a form in conformity with Form C 8 hereto appended, which must be accompanied, whenever possible, by a facsimile of the envelope or of the address of the article.

2. The office which receives the inquiry sends that form directly, without letter of transmittal, in a sealed envelope, to the corresponding office. The latter, after having obtained the necessary information from the addressee or from the sender, as the case may be, returns the form in the same manner to the office which has prepared it.

3. If the inquiry is seen to be well founded, the latter office sends the form to its central Administration, for purposes of further investigation.

4. A single form may be used for several articles mailed simultaneously at the same office by the same sender addressed to the same addressee.

5. Any Administration may request, by a notification addressed to the International Bureau, that inquiries concerning its service be transmitted to its central Administration or an office specially designated.

6. Form C 8 shall be returned to the Administration of origin of the article inquired about in accordance with the provisions of Article 141, Section 8, hereafter.

ARTICLE 141.

Inquiries. Registered articles.

1. Every inquiry relative to a registered article is made on a form in conformity with Form C 9 hereto appended, which shall be accompanied, as far as possible, by a facsimile of the envelope or address of the article.

2. If the inquiry concerns a C. O. D. article, it shall also be accompanied by a duplicate of the money order R 3 of the Agreement concerning collect-on-delivery articles, or by a transfer bulletin, as the case may be.

3. A single form may be used for several articles mailed simultaneously at the same office by the same sender addressed to the same addressee.

4. The inquiry is, as a general rule, sent directly by the office of

origin to the office of destination; such transmission takes place without letter of transmittal and in a sealed envelope. If the office of destination is in a position to furnish information as to the final disposal made of the article, it completes the form and returns it to the office of origin.

5. When the disposal of the article cannot be established by the office of destination, the latter states the fact on the form and returns it to the office of origin, attaching thereto, whenever possible, a declaration of the addressee stating that he has not received the article. In that case, the Administration of origin completes the form by indicating thereon the particulars of dispatch to the first intermediate Administration. It then transmits it to the latter Administration, which enters its observations thereon and transmits it to the next Administration, if any. The inquiry thus passes from one Administration to another until the disposal of the article inquired about is established. The Administration which has effected delivery to the addressee, or which cannot prove either delivery or regular transmission to another Administration, as the case may be, shows the fact on the form and returns it to the Administration of origin.

6. However if the Administration of origin or of destination requests it, the inquiry is transmitted from the very first from office to office, following the same route as the article. In that case, the investigations are continued from the Administration of origin as far as the Administration of destination, observing the procedure indicated in Section 5.

7. Any Administration may request, by a notification addressed to the International Bureau, that inquiries concerning its service be transmitted to its central Administration or an office specially designated.

8. The Form C 9 and the papers attached thereto shall in all cases be returned to the Administration of origin of the article inquired about within the shortest period possible, and at the latest within a period of three months, counting from the date of the inquiry. That period is extended to six months in relations with distant countries.

9. The foregoing provisions do not apply to cases of rifling of mails, shortage of a dispatch or other similar cases which involve more extended correspondence between the Administrations.

ARTICLE 142.

Requests for information.

Requests for information concerning ordinary or registered articles are treated in accordance with the provisions fixed by Articles 140 and 141, respectively.