This article was originally published by the United States Government Printing Office in 1929. It should be of great interest to postal historians of West Africa, who may be interested in understanding the formalities governing the postal arrangements between the Gold Coast (Ghana) and the United States.

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For the purpose of concluding arrangements for the exchange of parcel-post packages between the United States of America (including Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico, Guam, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands of the United States) and the Gold Coast Colony, the undersigned Walter F. Brown, Postmaster General of the United States of America, and Samuel Bucknell Gosling, Postmaster General of the Gold Coast Colony, by virtue of authority vested in them, have agreed upon the following articles:

I. LIMITS OF WEIGHT AND SIZE
1. No parcel shall exceed twenty-two pounds (ten kilograms) in weight, three feet six inches (one hundred and five centimeters) in length, or six feet (one hundred and eighty centimeters) in length and girth combined.

2. As regards the exact calculation of the weight and dimensions of parcels, the view of the dispatching office shall be accepted, save in cases of obvious error.

II. POSTAGE AND FEES
1. The Administration of origin is entitled to collect from the sender of each parcel such postage and fees for requests for information as to the disposal of a parcel made after it has been posted, as may from time to time be prescribed by its regulations.

2. Except in the case of returned or redirected parcels, the postage and such of the fees mentioned in the preceding section as are applicable, must. be prepaid.

III. PREPARATION OF PARCELS
1. The name and address of the sender and of the addressee must be legibly and correctly written in every case when possible on the parcel itself, or on a label gummed thereto, and, in the case of parcels addressed by tag only because of their shape or size, must also be written, on a separate slip which slip must be enclosed in the parcel, but such address slips should be enclosed in all parcels. Parcels will not be accepted when sent by or addressed to initials, unless the initials are the adopted trade name of the senders or addressees.

Addresses in ordinary pencil are not allowed, but copying ink or indelible pencil on a surface previously dampened may be used.

2. The sender shall prepare one customs declaration for each parcel sent from either country, upon a special form provided for the purpose, which customs declaration shall give a general description of the parcel, an accurate statement in detail of its contents and value, date of mailing, the sender’s name and address, and the name and address of the addressee, and shall be securely attached to the parcel.

3. The Administrations accept no responsibility for the correctness of the customs declarations.

4. Every parcel shall be packed in a manner adequate for the length of the journey and for the protection of the contents. Ordinary parcels may be closed by means of wax, lead seals, or otherwise, but the country of destination shall have the right to open them (including the right to break the seals) in order to inspect the contents. Parcels which have been so opened shall be closed again and sealed parcels shall be officially resealed.

5. Any liquid or any substance which easily liquefies must be packed in a double receptacle. Between the first receptacle (bottle, flask, pot, box, etc.,) and the second (box of metal, strong wood, strong corrugated cardboard or strong fibreboard or receptacle of equal strength) shall be left a 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.

6. Powders and dyes in powder form must be packed in lead-sealed metal containers which containers must be enclosed in substantial outer covers, so as to afford the utmost protection to the accompanying mail matter.

IV. PROHIBITIONS
1. The following articles are prohibited transmission by parcel post:

(a) A letter or a communication having the nature of a letter. Nevertheless it is permitted to enclose in a parcel an open invoice, confined to the particulars which constitute an invoice, and also a simple copy of the address of the parcel, that of the sender being added.

(b) An enclosure which bears an address different from that placed on the cover of the parcel.

(c) Any live animal.

(d) Any article of which the admission is not authorized by the Customs or other laws or regulations in force in either country.

(e) Any explosive or inflammable article, and, in general, any article of which the conveyance is dangerous.

2. When a parcel contravening any of these prohibitions is handed over by one Administration to the other, the latter shall proceed in accordance with its laws and its inland regulations.

3. The two Postal Administrations shall furnish each other with a list of prohibited articles; but they will not thereby undertake any responsibility whatever towards the police, the Customs authorities, or the senders of parcels.

V. CUSTOMS DUTIES
The parcels shall be subject in the country of destination to all Customs duties and all customs regulations in force m that country for the protection of its customs revenues, and the customs duties properly chargeable thereon shall be collected on delivery, in aacordance with the customs regulations of the country of destination.

VI. METHOD OF EXCHANGE OF PARCELS
The parcels shall be exchanged, in sacks duly fastened and sealed, by the Offices appointed by agreement between the two Administrations, and shall be dispatched to the country of destination by the country of origin at its cost and by such means as it provides.

VII. BILLING OF PARCELS
1. The entries on the parcel bills shall show in respect to each parcel the serial number of the entry, the name of the office of origin, the name and address of the addressee, and the contents and value as shown on the customs declaration.

2. Two copies of each parcel bill shall be sent to the office of exchange of the country of destination.

3. The entry on the bill of any returned parcel must be followed by the word “Returned.”

4. Each dispatching office of exchange shall number the parcel bills in the upper left-hand comer, commencing each year a fresh series for each office of exchange of destination. The last number of the year shall be shown on the parcel bill of the &st dispatch of the following year.

5. The exact method of advising parcels or the receptacles containing them sent by one Administration in transit through the other together with any details of procedure in connection with the advice of such parcels or receptacles for which provision is not made in this Agreement, shall be settled by mutual agreement through correspondence between the two Administrations.

VIII. CERTIFICATES OF MAILING
The sender may receive a certificate of mailing from the post office where the parcel is mailed, on a form provided for the purpose, in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Administration of origin.

IX. RESPONSIBILITY NOT ACCEPTED FOR ORDINARY PARCELS
Neither the sender nor the addressee of any parcel shall be entitled to compensation for the loss of the parcel or for the abstraction of or damage to it’s contents.

X. TRANSIT PARCELS
1. Each Administration guarantees the right of transit over its territory, to or from any country with which it has parcel post communication, of parcels originating in or addressed for delivery in the territory of the other contracting Administration.

2 Each Administration shall inform the other to which countries parcels may be seat through it as intermediary.

3. To be accepted for onward transmission, parcels sent by one of the contracting Administrations through the service of the other Administration must comply with the conditions prescribed from time to time by the intermediary Administration.

XI. CHECK BY OFFICE OF EXCHANGE
1. On the receipt of a Parcel Mail, the receiving Office of Exchange shall check it. Any discrepancies or irregularities noted shall be immediately reported to the dispatching office of exchange by means of a bulletin of verification. If report is not made promptly, it will be assumed that the Mail and the accompanying bills were in every respect in proper order.

2. In the case of any discrepancies or irregularities in a Mail, such record shall be kept as will permit of the furnishing of information regarding the matter in connection with any subsequent investigation which may be made

3. If a parcel bill is missing a duplicate shall be made out and a copy sent to the dispatching office of exchange from which the dispatch was received.

XII. FEES FOR DELIVERY AND FOR CUSTOMS FORMALITIES. DEMURRAGE CHARGES
1. The Administration of the country of destination may collect from the addressees for delivery and for the fulfilment of Customs formalities a charge not exceeding ten cents gold for each parcel, and an additional delivery charge of like amount for each time a parcel is presented at the residence of the addressee after one unsuccessful presentation.

2. Each Administration may impose reasonable storage or demurrage charges in case the addressee fails to accept delivery of any parcel within such reasonable time as is prescribed by the Administration of the country of destination. Any such charges shall be cancelled in the event of the return of the parcel to the country of origin.