This Agreement made the Fifth day of September 1947 between the Postmaster General of Palestine (hereinafter called the Postmaster General) of the one Part which expression shall include his duly authorised representative and Messrs. Haim Nathaniel / Haifa. (hereinafter called the Contractor) of the other part which expression shall include any person acting on his behalf.
Witnesseth :-

Definitions.

Clause I.          

In this Agreement except where the contrary is specified, the term "mails" includes all bags, boxes, baskets and other packages of letters and other postal packets including parcels without regard either to the country or place in which they may have originated or to the country or place to which they may be addressed and also all empty bags, boxes, baskets or other receptacles and all stores and other articles, used to be used in carrying on the Post Office service, and the term "parcel" shall mean any packing sent by parcel post.

Clause II.         

The Contractor hereby agrees to convey for the Postmaster General all mails for Iraq and beyond from Jaffa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Haifa as may be required by the Postmaster General by a route via Trans-Jordan approved by the Postmaster General and deliver the same at Baghdad and intermediate stations at the cost of the Contractor.

Clause III.        

The service shall be carried out by means of mechanical vehicles and journeys shall be made twice weekly or as may be otherwise mutually agreed upon the departure of such vehicles to be on such days and at such hours as the Postmaster General shall from time to time appoint. The mails shall be delivered by the Contractor at such places en route and at Baghdad within the times specified in the Schedule to this Agreement.

Clause IV.        

All mails shall be conveyed between the Post Office of departure in Palestine and the Post Office, Baghdad, within the period specified in the Schedule to this Agreement which period shall include the times for stoppages at the intermediate stations en route, and each transit shall be deemed to commence at the time entered upon the Way-Bill by the Post Office of departure at the time of handing over the mails to the Contractor, and each such transit shall be deemed to have been completed at the time when the mails are delivered at the Post Office of destination: provided always that the times of commencement and completion of each period of transit shall be ascer­tained and recorded and all calculations in connection therewith and with the weighing of the mails shall be made by the officers and agents of the Postmaster General.

Clause V.        

The Postmaster General may at his discretion at any time in the in­terests of the public service by writing under his hand order that any vehicle shall delay its departure from any Post Office for such period as may be necessary, provided that in any case such order shall be handed either to the agent of the Contractor or to the driver of the vehicle to be detained.

Clause VI.        

(1)   The mechanical vehicles to be used by the Contractor for the carriage of mails under this Agreement shall not be of lesser capacity than 30 cwt. lorry type and shall be suited in all respects to the service required of them. They shall at all times be kept by the Contractor at his own expense in efficient and serviceable running order and in a proper state of repair, and shall be capable of attaining and maintaining under full load on the level a speed of not less than thirty five miles per hour. They shall be fitted with twin rear wheels and adequate waterproof coverings, capable of being securely fastened all round to afford protection to the mails from rain and theft.  

Oil or any similar substances capable of damaging or soiling mail bags or their contents shall not be conveyed "inside the bodies of the vehicles. The interiors of the bodies of the vehicles shall be kept clean and entirely free of articles which are likely to chafe or otherwise damage the mail bags.

 The Contractor shall not convey passengers inside or on any vehicle in which mails are being conveyed.         

 (2)   All vehicles employed in the service together with their equipment and drivers shall at all times be subject to inspection by the Postmaster General, and should the Postmaster General at any time consider that any vehicle or part thereof or any driver is unfit or unable satisfactorily to carry out the service under this Agreement he may by notice in writing delivered to the Contractor require the Contractor to show cause why such vehicle or driver should not be withdrawn from the service and unless the Contractor shall within reasonable time show good cause to the contrary to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General the Postmaster General may by notice in writing to be given to the Contractor declare such vehicle or driver unfit for further service under this Agreement, and upon such declaration the Contractor shall not employ such vehicle or driver in the performance of this Agreement, until he has obtained the sanction in writing of the Postmaster General to do so.

(3)   All vehicles employed in the service shall at all times carry water and provisions in accordance with such scale as may be prescribed by the British Resident Trans-Jordan.

Clause VII.    

The cost incurred in the loading or unloading of mails to and from the vehicles of the Contactor or any vehicle chartered by him for the service, shall on all occasions are borne by the Contractor who shall also be responsible for all arrangements in this connection.

Clause VIII.   

(1)   The Postmaster General and the Contractor hereby agree to furnish clear receipts to each other when handing over mails to or receiving mails from the other in good condition and the Contractor shall be absolutely responsible and liable for the protection, safe custody and due delivery in good order of all mails received by him for conveyance and delivery and for all losses, damages or injuries to either the mail bags or their contents sustained from any cause whatsoever during the period when the mails are in his custody for conveyance from the office of departure until the mails have been safely delivered by him to the proper authority on the completion of the journey.

(2)   The Contractor hereby further agrees to indemnify the Postmaster General against any loss arising from any claim for compensation in respect of any mails or part thereof while in the custody of the Contractor and the amount of the indemnity shall be equal to the amount which may have been awarded and paid by the Postmaster General as compensation for loss of or damage to mails, and the Contractor shall pay to the Postmaster General such amount of indemnity upon the production to him by the Postmaster General of certificates of payments of compensation paid by the Postmaster General to third parties: provided always that no such indemnity shall in any case exceed the limit prescribed in the Universal Postal Convention, the Agreement concerning Insured Letters and Boxes and the Parcel Post Agreement together with the regulations thereunder in each case and that the Contractor shall not be called upon to indemnify the Postmaster General in respect of losses, damages or injuries due to acts of God or ascribable to "force majeure".

(3)   If in any case the Contractor shall fail to indemnify the Postmaster General for any payment of compensation paid by the Postmaster General to a third party in accordance with the terms of this Clause within a period of one month from the date of any request made to the Contractor by the Postmaster General the right is hereby reserved to the Postmaster General to deduct any such sum due from any moneys owing to the Contractor for services under this Agreement.

Clause IX.        

This right is hereby reserved to the Postmaster General at any time to alter at his discretion the days, times and hours appointed for the departure and arrival of vehicles employed in the service under this Agreement, provided that save in the case of ordering delays to departure of vehicles under Clause V of this Agreement he shall give the Contractor reasonable notice not being less than 7 days in writing of his intention to do so.

Clause X.        

In consideration of this Agreement and of the due observance thereof on the part of the Contractor there shall be paid by the Postmaster General to the Contractor during the continuance of this Agreement conveyance charges at the following rates ;-

provided always that should the cost of transdesert conveyance rise or fall appreciably between the 1st of January,1947, and 31st December,1947, the rates payable to the contractor during 1947 shall be subject to such adjustment as may be deemed equitable in the light of the rise or fall of transportation cost.                       

The gross weight of the Letter Mails shall be computed by applying a mutually accepted average weight per bag according to office of origin and destination of the mail and by multiplying the average weight per bag by the number of bags des­patched by the said Office of Origin for the said Office of Destination and conveyed by the Contractor during the quarter. From time to time the actual weight of the bags shall be checked over a period of not less than 28 days and any variation which may be found in the average weight shall entail consideration and, if deemed necessary by the Postmaster General, the adjustment of the mutually accepted average weight figure.

The amount payable in respect of parcel mails shall be based on the number of parcels of each category of weight conveyed in the mails during the quarter as certified by the Postmaster General.

The Postmaster General will from time to time afford the Contractor facilities for checking the numbers of parcels contained in the mails should the Contractor so desire

Notwithstanding the provisions of this clause, the Contractor shall convey free of charge between Baghdad, and any intermediate stations and Jerusalem or Haifa as the case may be, the empty bags belonging to the Administrations whose mails are conveyed by the Contractor between Palestine and Iraq.

The number of such empty bags to be carried free shall not exceed the number of bags conveyed with contents in the reverse direction. Such empty bags may be conveyed by the Contractor by slower vehicles than those used for the conveyance of the mails.

Clause XI.        

 There shall be forfeited and either paid by the Contractor to the Postmaster General or deducted by the Postmaster General from the amounts payable by the Postmaster General to the Contractor under this Agreement the following sums in the events following that is to say :-

(1)   If the Contractor shall fail to commence any journey within two hours of (a) the time appointed for departure or of (b) the time of handing over to him of the mails to be conveyed, whichever is the later hour, the right is reserved to the Postmaster General to make such alternative arrangements as he may deem necessary for conveying the mails to their destination in the shortest possible time and for that purpose he may hire air motor or other transport and recover all the costs and expenses incurred by him in so doing from the Contractor. Any period of delay ordered by the Postmaster General under Clause V of this Agreement shall not be included in the period of two hours aforesaid.

(2)   In the event of the period of transit exceeding the maximum specified in the Schedule to this Agreement the Contractor shall be liable to pay a penalty to the Postmaster General not exceeding LP3 (three pounds) for every three hours or part thereof in excess of the period allowed.

Provided always that the Contractor shall not be liable to any penalty under this Clause if the Contractor shall prove to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General that any default, delay or failure on his part arose wholly or in part from any cause or causes altogether beyond the control of the Contractor or his duly authorised Agents.

Clause XII.       

All accounts between the Postmaster General and the Contractor in relation to the conveyance charges under this Agreement, and any deductions therefrom as hereinbefore provided shall be made out quarterly up to the 31st of March, the 30th of June, the 30th of September, and the 31st of December in each year and the amount or balance which shall be due to the Contractor on each such quarterly account shall be paid by the Postmaster General to the Contractor at Jerusalem as conveniently and as expeditiously as may be after the abovementioned dates.

Clause XIII.      

The Contractor hereby agrees that he will not assign or transfer his interest in this Agreement or any part thereof to any person without the previous consent of the Postmaster General in writing.

Clause XIV.     

Except as provided in Clause XI hereof the Postmaster General hereby agrees that he will not during the currency of this Agreement appoint any other person to carry mails by road from any place in Palestine to any place in Iraq via Trans-Jordan.

Clause XV.      

This Agreement shall be for a period of one two year commencing from the 1st January 19478: provided always that the right is hereby reserved to the Postmaster General to at any time terminate the Agreement with or without notice should the contractor fail to carry out the service to the satisfaction of the Postmaster General in accordance with all or any of the conditions hereinbefore provided or should circumstances arise which in the opinion of the Postmaster General render the service no longer necessary. The Contractor may terminate the Agreement on giving written notice of six calendar months of his intention to do so to the Postmaster General.

Clause XVI.     

It is hereby agreed between the parties that should any claim, doubt or dispute arise upon or concerning (a) the true construction of' any clause or expression contained in this Agreement or (b) any act or thing done or omitted to be done hereunder or (c) any damage sustained by reason of any such act thing or omission or (d) any liability of the Contractor hereunder the same shall be referred to the High Commissioner for Palestine whose decision in the matter shall be final and binding on both parties.

Clause XVII.     

For the purpose of this Agreement any notice, order, demand or letter addressed by the Postmaster General by ordinary post to the registered office of the contractor, shall be deemed to have been duly sent to or served upon the Contractor.

Clause XVIII.    

For the due and faithful performance of all terms, conditions, clauses and agreements hereinbefore contained which on the part of the Contractor are to be observed, performed, fulfilled and kept the Contractor does herby bind himself in the sum of £1500 (one thousand five hundred pounds sterling) such sum to be deposited and kept deposited by the Contractor during the Postmaster General's pleasure in a Bank approved by the Postmaster General and such sum shall be forfeited on the part of the Contractor to the Postmaster General in the case of failure on the part of the Contractor in the due performance of his part of this Agreement or any part thereof.

In witness whereof the parties hereto have hereunto set their signatures the day and year first above written.

Signed by the Postmaster General

in the presence of            sgd. D. H. Mackay

Signed by the Contractor

in the presence of  

SCHEDULE TO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE

POSTMASTER GENERAL OF PALESTINE

 AND

 HAIM H. NATHANIEL OF HAIFA.

--------------------------------------------------------

Maximum times of transit vide Clauses III and IV.