CONTENTS

Page
Key to Plates[4]
Foreword[9]
Introduction[11]
ChapterI.Preliminary Matters[18]
"II.The Issue of 1851[28]
"III.The Remaining Pence Issues[46]
"IV.The Perforated Pence Issues[68]
"V.The Cancellations of the Early Issues[77]
"VI.The Issue of 1859[82]
"VII.The Dominion of Canada—Preliminary[94]
"VIII.The Issue of 1868[106]
"IX.The Small "Cents" Issue, 1870-1882[122]
"X.The Supplementary Values of 1893[138]
"XI.The Jubilee Issue of 1897[145]
"XII.The "Maple Leaf" Issue of 1897[161]
"XIII.The "Numerals" Issue of 1898-1902[167]
"XIV.The "Christmas" Stamp of 1898[179]
"XV.The "King's Head" Issue of 1903-1908[188]
"XVI.The "Tercentenary" Issue of 1908[199]
"XVII.The "Registration" Stamps[205]
"XVIII.The Postage Due Stamps[215]
"XIX.The Special Delivery Stamp[217]
"XX.The Officially Sealed Labels[221]
"XXI.The Stamped Envelopes[224]
"XXII.The Wrappers[243]
"XXIII.The Post Cards[249]
"XXIV.The Letter Cards[263]
"XXV.Official Stationery[267]
"XXVI.Precancellation and Permits[272]
Reference List[277]

KEY TO PLATES

[Plate I].

[Plate II].

[Plate III].

[Plate IV].

[Plate V].

[Plate VI].

[Plate VII].

[Plate VIII].

[Plate IX].

The above blocks were selected from the Pack and Worthington collections and some in the possession of the New England Stamp Co.

[Plate X].

The above blocks of imperforates were from the same sources as noted for Plate IX.

[Plate XI].

The above are all from the Worthington collection.

[Plate XII].

Nos. 123 and 127 are from the Worthington collection and the other three from the Pack collection.

[Plate XIII].

[Plate XIV].

Both the above were in the Seybold collection.

[Plate XV]. (Frontispiece).

A page of six pennies from the collection of Charles Lathrop Pack.

FOREWORD

Twenty years ago the Philatelic Society, London, brought out their work on "The Postage Stamps, Envelopes, Wrappers and Post Cards of the North American Colonies of Great Britain." This, of course, included Canada, but since that time no special work, treating exhaustively of the postal emissions of this important Colony, has been placed before the philatelic public. It seems opportune, therefore, particularly in view of the general popularity of the stamps of the Dominion, to present this volume for the favor of the stamp collecting fraternity and especially of that considerable portion which is interested to the extent of specializing in the beautiful issues that Canada has given us.

This work had its inception in the now popular handbook idea, but in looking over the ground it was soon realized by the author that there was need of and material enough for a much more extended treatment of the subject than could be encompassed in the limits of the usual brochure. Plans were therefore laid for a thorough study of all available material, and in furtherance of this it was found necessary to make a special trip to Ottawa, where, in the library of the House of Commons, is to be found the only complete set available of the Reports of the Postmasters General of Canada. These naturally proved a mine of first hand information which was availed of to its full extent; and in this connection must be expressed the deep appreciation of the assistance rendered the author by his friend M. Henri R. Landry, through whose influence and untiring interest the way was made easy for convenient and rapid examination of these invaluable files. Thanks are also due Mr. Edward Y. Parker of Toronto, for notes and specimens furnished, as well as Mr. A. McKechnie of Ottawa.

But documents and descriptions are not enough for the thorough study of any subject which concerns tangible objects, and three famous collections were inspected for first hand information upon the stamps themselves. To Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack of Lakewood, N. J., Mr. George H. Worthington of Cleveland, Ohio, and the lamented Mr. John F. Seybold, late of Syracuse, N. Y., are due not only the author's fullest thanks for opportunities freely given to examine their magnificent collections of Canada, but the debt extends to philatelists in general for thus being enabled to share, through study, description, listing and pictorial reproduction, in the results of their specializing. Mr. Pack's wonderful array of rarities, beautiful copies and

remarkable series of shades has been largely used in the compilation of the stamp lists. This collection though since much enlarged and improved, obtained the gold medal at the International Philatelic Exhibition in London, 1906. Mr. Worthington's fine collection has also been used in the same way and has furnished much information concerning plate numbers and marginal imprints. Mr. Seybold's covers were particularly interesting in showing the actual use of the stamps, the cancellations employed, and various other features to be gleaned from the study of original covers, particularly of early date. Selections for illustrative purposes were made from all three collections, as will be noted.

Mr. John N. Morse and Mr. Edwin F. Sawyer, both of Boston, have very kindly placed their collections of post cards and envelopes, respectively, at our disposal for purposes of study.

Again, the philatelic press has been diligently searched for articles, stray notes, etc., which would illumine the pathway, particularly by throwing side lights on various phases of the subject. Prominent among these were the articles on Canada by Messrs. C. B. Corwin, D. A. King and J. R. Hooper in the Metropolitan Philatelist for 1890-91, and by Mr. Donald A. King in Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal for 1896-97.

It can readily be seen from the foregoing that the limits of a handbook were soon passed, and the question really became one of a pretentious volume which should be all that thorough research could offer and ample means produce. A glance at the present work shows that this was no small proposition, and to any one with experience in philatelic publishing it was apparent that the desired production would mean a heavy balance on the wrong side of the ledger. The author does not pose as a philanthropist, but he feels he has discovered such in the publishers of this volume. With the broad-minded policy that whatever helps Philately benefits all, even indirectly, the New England Stamp Company of Boston, having become greatly interested in the monograph, accepted the burden and became responsible for the publication of the work. The advantages of the co-operation of such a well-known firm are manifest, and the author takes great pleasure in acknowledging his indebtedness to this Company, through whose munificence it has been possible to produce this volume in its present form.

C. A. HOWES, B. Sc., F. R. P. S. L.
Boston, U. S. A.
December, 1910.

INTRODUCTION

The Dominion of Canada, as we know it to-day, is a confederation of the former British Colonies and unorganized territories of North America which lie to the northward of the United States. The single exception is the Colony of Newfoundland, which so far has resisted all overtures looking to its absorption. The Dominion was formed in 1867 by the union of the then Colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to which the others were added subsequently. At that time the Colony of Canada consisted of two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, known also as Upper and Lower Canada respectively. It is with these two provinces that our philatelic story of Canada begins.

But first let us delve a bit into earlier times and trace the development of the territory we are going to consider, as it may prove interesting for its historical value. Passing by the claims of the Norsemen in the tenth century to a somewhat vague exploration of the eastern American coast, we come to the discovery of Newfoundland by John Cabot in 1497, and it is upon this fact, in part, that England subsequently based her claim to the whole of North America. But for the most part the territory included within the well populated portion of the present Dominion was explored and settled by the French. In 1534 Jacques Cartier entered the St. Lawrence River and took possession of the country in the name of France, and in 1608 the first permanent settlement was made at Quebec by Samuel de Champlain. The name of the colony was apparently furnished by the Indians, for in the manuscript narrative of Cartier's second voyage,[1] under "Vocabulary of the natives," is found: "They call a town—Canada." Baxter says: "There can be no doubt that the word Canada is derived from Kannata, which in Iroquois signifies a collection of dwellings, in other words a settlement."[2] French control continued until the middle of the eighteenth century when, in the war with England, the decisive victory of Wolfe over Montcalm at Quebec, in 1759, practically brought it to a close, and by the treaty of Paris in 1763 Canada was permanently ceded to Great Britain.

Tracing the development of the Colony under English rule, we find that by the so-called "Quebec Act" of 1774 it was placed under the administration of a Governor and Legislative Council appointed by the Crown. Following the American Revolution, however, there was a large immigration of former colonists into Ontario, and because of their English stock, while Quebec was French, a separation was deemed advisable. By the "Constitutional Act" of 1791 this was effected and two Colonies, Upper Canada (or Canada West) and Lower Canada (or Canada East) were constituted, each with its own separate government. Just fifty years later, in 1841, they were reunited under the single name of Canada. This brings us near the opening of our philatelic history. The united provinces had an area of about 350,000 square miles and a population, in 1850, of some 1,800,000 people. The Governor was appointed by the Crown and chose his own Executive Council; a Legislative Council of life members was also appointed by the Crown; and a Legislative Assembly was elected consisting of an equal number of representatives for each province. The Governor was made Governor-General of British North America.

The advantages of the union of Upper and Lower Canada gradually became so manifest, that a convention was held at Quebec in 1864 for the purpose of considering the advisability of uniting all the provinces. The result bore fruit in the passage of an Act of Union by the British Parliament on March 29, 1867, under which Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formally united as the Dominion of Canada, the actual event being consummated on July 1, 1867. Subsequently, on July 20, 1871, the Colony of British Columbia, and on July 1, 1873, the Colony of Prince Edward Island, were added to the Dominion. In 1869 the vast territories of the Hudson's Bay Company were acquired by purchase, and out of them the province of Manitoba was formed and admitted to full privileges in the Dominion on July 15, 1870.

The absorption of the Company's Territories is interesting for, as we all know, this was a trading concern whose sole commodity was fur. The Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of the continent were the mecca of hunters and trappers, and their chief prey from the time the first French explorers began to search the Canadian lakes, and later when the Hudson's Bay Company succeeded to the French domain, was the beaver. In fact the early history of Canada was largely bound up with beaver catching and the sale of the skins, and for nearly a century the northern territories, both under French

and English rule, were organized with a view to this traffic. In the early days of the Company the "standard of trade" of the Northwest was a beaver skin. Thus the beaver naturally became emblematic, which resulted later in its use as the "crest" of the Canadian coat-of-arms, a place that it retains to the present day over those of the Dominion. In this connection it would be unjust to omit a mention of that other symbol dear to the Canadian heart—the maple leaf. Like the rose, the thistle and the shamrock of the Mother land, the beautiful tree of the Colony, so widespread, so useful, and so gorgeous in its autumn coloring of red and gold—the blazon of the English arms—became a favorite emblem of the people. The particular variety that is so used is of course the rock or sugar maple (acer saccharinum).

Turning now to early postal history, it is necessary to go back to the reign of Queen Anne, although Canada was not then under British dominion. In the year 1710 an Act was passed by the British Parliament "For establishing a General Post-Office in all Her Majesty's Dominions," which not only repealed all previous enactments but placed the postoffice establishment on a new basis. A "General Post and Letter-Office" was established in London "from whence all letters and packets whatsoever may be with speed and expedition sent into any part of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to North America and the West Indies, or any other of Her Majesty's dominions, or any country or kingdom beyond the seas," and "at which office all returns and answers may be likewise received." For the better "managing, ordering, collecting, and improving the revenue," and also for the better "computing and settling the rates of letters according to distance, a chief office is established in Edinburgh, one in Dublin, one at New York, and other chief offices in convenient places in Her Majesty's colonies of America, and one in the islands of the West Indies, called the Leeward Islands." "The whole of these chief offices shall be under the control of an officer who shall be appointed by the Queen's Majesty, her heirs and successors, to be made and constituted by letters patent under the Great Seal, by the name and stile of Her Majesty's Postmaster-General." "The Postmaster-General shall appoint deputies for the chief offices in the places named above." The rates to New York under this Act were fixed at 1 shilling per single letter. Other rates were charged to other parts of the American continent according to the distance from New York.

In 1753 Benjamin Franklin received the royal commission as Deputy Postmaster-General for the American Colonies. No man in America had

been so identified with the interests of the Colonial postoffice as he, and from 1737 he had been postmaster of Philadelphia. All his energies were devoted to his new work and when Canada passed by treaty to Great Britain in 1763, as already mentioned, his jurisdiction was extended to cover the new territory. It is thus curious to record that the (afterwards) first Postmaster-General of the United States was also the first Postmaster-General of Canada.

In the evidence given by Franklin before the House of Commons in the year 1766, in regard to the extent of the post-office accommodation in North America, he made the following statement:—

The posts generally travel along the sea coasts, and only in a few cases do they go back into the country. Between Quebec and Montreal there is only one post per month. The inhabitants live so scattered and remote from each other in that vast country, that the posts cannot be supported amongst them. The English Colonies, too, along the frontier, are very thinly settled.

By 1774, however, Franklin, then in England as the Representative of the Colonies, had become obnoxious to the British Government, and on January 31st of that year was removed from his office. After the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Hugh Finlay, who had previously been postmaster at Quebec, received the appointment of "Deputy Postmaster-General of His Majesty's Province of Canada." He had in 1791 eleven post-offices under his management, one as far west as Mackinaw and one as far east as the Baie des Chaleurs. There was a weekly mail between Quebec and Montreal and a monthly mail for the Western country. From a Quebec almanac of 1796 it appears that there were seven post-offices in Upper Canada and five in Lower Canada. At that time mails were despatched monthly to England, and semi-weekly between Quebec and Montreal, or Halifax. At the Baie des Chaleurs the visits of the postman must have been few and far between, as they were only favored with a mail "as occasion offered."

In 1800 Mr. George Heriot succeeded Mr. Finlay. At this time New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were all under the authority of the Canadian administration. The number of post-offices was increased to twenty-six.

The following is taken from the advertising column of the Upper Canada Gazette in 1807:—

The mail for Upper Canada will be despatched from the post-office at Montreal, on the following days, to wit:

Monday, 14th January.

Monday, 12th February.

Monday, 10th March.

Monday, 7th April—the last trip.

A courier from Kingston may be looked for here in 14 or 15 days from the above periods, where he will remain 2 or 3 days, and then return to Kingston.

Another courier will proceed from this with the Niagara mail, via Messrs. Hatts', where the Sandwich [So. Essex] letters will be left, both from Niagara and this, 'till the courier comes from there to return with them.

Letters put into the post-office will be forwarded any time by

W. ALLAN,
Acting Deputy-Postmaster.

Mr. Heriot resigned in 1816 and was succeeded by Mr. Daniel Sutherland who, on his accession to office found Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island withdrawn from Canadian charge. New Brunswick, however, continued to be included, but appears to have been withdrawn in 1824, so that from that year until the federation of the Provinces in 1867 the Postmaster-General was concerned only with Canada proper. Mr. Sutherland established a daily mail between Quebec and Montreal and a weekly mail between Montreal and Toronto. In 1827 there were 101 post-offices and 2,368 miles of established post-route, the number of miles of mail-travel being 455,000 per annum. The letters that year were estimated at 340,000 and the newspapers at 400,000.

The following extract from the Quebec Mercury, published on July 18, 1829, conveys some idea of the postal communication with England at that period:—

No later advices have been received from Europe since our last. Some further extracts from the London papers, to 31st May, inclusive, brought to New York by the Corinthian, will be found in another part of this number.

In the Montreal Courant, dated September 2nd, 1829, was the following paragraph, showing the improvement which had been effected in the communication between Prescott and that city:—

Expeditious Travelling:—On Saturday last, the Upper Canada line of stages performed the journey from Prescott to this city in about 17 hours, leaving the former place at a little before 3 a. m., and arriving here a few minutes before 8 in the evening. Not many years ago this journey occupied two, and sometimes three days, but owing to the great improvements made by Mr. Dickinson, the enterprising proprietor, by putting steam-boats on the lakes St. Francis and St. Louis, and keeping his horses in excellent condition, it is now performed in little more than one-third of the time.

Even so late as 1833, newspaper proprietors found it (particularly in the Upper Province) better to employ their own couriers. As a proof of this we transcribe from the Queenstown (Niagara) Colonial Advocate of that year, the following advertisement:—

Post-Rider Wanted Immediately.

The proprietor of this newspaper wishes to contract with a steady man (who can find and uphold his own horse) to deliver it to the subscribers once a week during the winter, on the route between York and Niagara, viâ Ancaster.

Mr. Thos. A. Stayner succeeded Mr. Sutherland in 1831, at which time there were 151 post-offices. Through Mr. Stayner's recommendation a uniform rate of 1s. 2d. sterling, per half ounce, was adopted in 1841 between any place in Canada and the mother country. This resulted from the establishment of regular steam communication across the Atlantic in 1840, by means of the Cunard Line between Liverpool and Halifax.

During all this period the carrying of letters was a profitable business. There was, for example, a profit of $21,000 in 1824 and of $47,000 in 1831, all which sums were duly remitted to England to swell the Imperial revenue. The rates, however, were exceedingly high. It cost eighteen cents to send a letter from Toronto to Kingston, and thirty cents to send one to Montreal. The charge for sending a weekly paper through the mails was a dollar a year, as much as the paper now costs, and the postage on a daily was over two dollars a year.[3]

The net revenues of the post-office given for 1831 must have dropped considerably, for we find that in 1845 the surplus of the Canadian Post-office was but £7184 ($35,000) against the $47,000 given above for fourteen years earlier. This amount rose to £22,188 ($110,000) in 1848, fell to £15,725 ($78,500) the next year, and had risen again to a basis of £20,000 ($100,000) in the year previous to the introduction of postage stamps and the reduction of rates. The inland postage rates then in force, as charged under the Imperial Laws, were, for a letter not exceeding ½ ounce in weight:

For any distance not exceeding 60 miles,4d.
For any distance exceeding 60 miles and not exceeding 100 miles6d.
For any distance exceeding 100 miles and not exceeding 200 miles8d.
And for every additional 100 miles or fraction an additional2d.

For one hundred and forty years Great Britain had managed her colonial posts, or at least directed them, when on 28th July, 1849, the British Parliament passed an "Act for enabling Colonial Legislatures to establish Inland Posts."[4] This was the signal for the voluntary withdrawal of most of the colonial postal systems then under Imperial direction, and for the establishment of local systems where none had previously existed. Because of its historical interest we quote from the provisions of the Act as follows:—

Whereas under or by virtue of [various Acts] Her Majesty's Post Master General has, by himself or his Deputies, the exclusive Privilege of establishing Posts, collecting, conveying, and delivering Letters, and collecting Postage, within Her Majesty's Colonies, and the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury have Authority from Time to Time to fix the Rates of Postage to be charged within such Colonies: And whereas the said Postmaster General and Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury respectively have, in exercise of such Privilege and Authority, established Posts and fixed Rates of Postage in certain of such Colonies: And whereas it is expedient to Authorize the Establishment of Posts and Postage Rates in Her Majesty's Colonies by the Legislatures of such Colonies: Be it enacted, therefore.... That it shall be lawful for the Legislatures or proper Legislative Authorities of Her Majesty's Colonies, or any of them, by Acts, Laws, or Ordinances to be from Time to Time for that Purpose made and enacted in the Manner and subject to the Conditions by Law required in respect of Acts, Laws, or Ordinances of such Legislatures or Legislative Authorities, to make such provisions as such Legislatures or Legislative Authorities may think fit for and concerning the Establishment, Maintenance, and Regulation of Posts or Post Communications within such Colonies respectively, and for charging Rates of Postage for the Conveyance of Letters by such Posts or Post Communications, and for appropriating the Revenue to be derived therefrom.

II. [Where the Postmaster General has actually established posts and his power has not "determined," such colonial acts, etc., shall not take effect until approved by Her Majesty and Privy Council, nor until such time as the assent may be proclaimed in the Colony, or such subsequent time as may be signified.]

III. [After the establishment of Posts by Colonial Legislatures the powers of the Postmaster General shall cease.]

IV. [The Acts of Colonial Legislatures are to apply only to Posts within the limits of the Colony and to rates of postage within such limits.]

Canada lost no time in taking advantage of the above Act, and in the next year (1850) passed the required ordinances for the transfer of its domestic postal system to the control of its own Government. The next chapter will therefore start the Canadian postal history proper.

[1] In the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.

[2] A Memoir of Jacques Cartier, by J. P. Baxter, p. 135.

[3] Most of the foregoing information is taken from extracts from the Canadian Postal Guide, published in the Stamp Collector's Magazine for Aug. 1, 1868, and the Halifax Philatelist, II: 138.

[4] 12o & 13o Vict. Cap. LXVI.

CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY MATTERS

The most important of the British North American Colonies in 1850 were Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Though not united politically, they yet had the common bonds of fatherland, of race, of mercantile interest, and the mutual dependence that comes, or should come, from propinquity under these conditions. It is not surprising, therefore, that all three should make provision for assuming control of their domestic postal systems in the same year, nor that they should adopt practically identical ordinances for this purpose, and should make common postal rates for their internal and inter-colonial mail matter. Still less surprising is it when we recall that it was but the breaking up into sections of what had previously been a homogeneous postal system for the whole of British North America, operated under the Imperial Laws as detailed in the last chapter.

While the project of turning over local postal systems to the colonies was taking shape in the British Parliament, Canada "took time by the forelock" and made preparations for obtaining its own postage stamps.

"In the Journal of May 21, 1849, there is a message to the legislative assembly of Canada relating to the establishing of a general post-office for the Province, when handed over by the Imperial government. A resolution was brought up in the assembly on May 22, 1849, 'That postage stamps for prepayment be allowed and that Colonial stamps be engraved.' This finally passed the assembly on May 25, 1849, and received the assent of the legislative council on the 26th."[5]

A year later, after the passage of the enabling act by the British Parliament, which has been already quoted, the Canadian Parliament took up the consideration of the main subject and on the 10th August, 1850, passed what is known briefly as The Post Office Act, the provisions of which that are of most interest to us being such as follow:

—

13o & 14o Victoriae., Cap. XVII.

An Act to provide for the transfer of the management of the Inland Posts to the Provincial Government, and for the regulation of the said Department.

Whereas by the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in the Session held in the twelfth and thirteenth years of Her Majesty's Reign, and intituled, An Act for enabling Colonial Legislatures to establish Inland Posts, the Legislatures or proper legislative authorities of Her Majesty's Colonies are empowered ... to make such provisions as [they] may think fit for and concerning the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of Posts and Post Communications within such Colonies respectively, and for charging rates of postage for the conveyance of letters by such Posts and Post Communications, and for appropriating the Revenue to be derived therefrom: ... And whereas it is expedient that a uniform and cheap rate of postage should be established throughout the several Colonies of British North America, and with a view to the establishment thereof, the Local Governments of the said Colonies have agreed upon certain conditions hereinafter mentioned and forming a part of the provisions of this Act, and it is therefore expedient to exercise the powers so vested as aforesaid in the Legislature of this Province: ...

II. And be it enacted, That the Inland Posts and Post Communications in the Province shall, so far as may be consistent with the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in force in this Province, be exclusively under Provincial management and control; the Revenue arising from the duties of postage and other dues receivable by the Officers employed in managing such Posts and Post Communications shall form part of the Provincial Revenue, unless such moneys belong of right to the United Kingdom or to some other Colony, or to some foreign state; and the expenses of management shall be defrayed out of Provincial Funds....

* * * * *

V. And be it enacted, That the Provincial Post Master General shall be appointed by Commission under the Great Seal of the Province, and to hold his office during pleasure, but the Post Masters and other Officers of the Department shall be appointed and may be removed by letter from the proper Officer communicating the Governor's pleasure.

VI. [All privileges, powers and authority of Her Majesty's Deputy Post Master General are transferred to and vested in the Provincial Post Master General.]

* * * * *

VIII. And in conformity to the agreement made as aforesaid between the Local Governments of the several Colonies of British North America, Be it enacted, That the Provincial Postage on letters and packets not being of Newspapers or Printed Pamphlets, Magazines or Books, entitled to pass at lower rate, shall not exceed the rate of three pence currency, per half ounce, for any distance whatsoever within this Province, any fraction of a half ounce being chargeable as a half

ounce: that no transit postage shall be charged on any letter or packet passing through this Province or any part thereof to any other Colony in British North America, unless it be posted in this Province and the sender choose to pre-pay it; nor on any letter or packet from any such Colony if pre-paid there: that two pence sterling the half ounce shall remain as the rate in operation as regards letters by British Mails, to be extended to Countries having postal conventions with the United Kingdom, unless Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom shall see fit to allow this rate to be changed to three pence currency:

That the pre-payment of Provincial Postage shall be optional:

That all Provincial Postage received within the Province shall be retained as belonging to it, and that all Provincial Postage received within any other of the British North American Colonies, may be retained as belonging to such Colony:

That the British Packet Postage and other British Postage collected in this Province shall be accounted for and paid over to the proper authorities in the United Kingdom; but the Colonial Postage on the same letters or packets shall belong to the Colony collecting it, or if pre-paid to the British Post Office, it may be credited to the Colony to which such letters or packets are addressed:

That no privilege of franking shall be allowed as regards Provincial Postage:

That Provincial Stamps for the pre-payment of postage may be prepared under the orders of the Governor in Council, which stamps shall be evidence of the pre-payment of Provincial Postage to the amount mentioned on such stamp, and that such stamps prepared under the direction of the proper authorities in the other British North American Colonies, shall be allowed in this Province as evidence of the pre-payment of Provincial Postage in such other Colonies respectively, on the letters or packets to which they are affixed, and which have been mailed there:

That the Provincial Postage on Newspapers, Pamphlets, Magazines and Printed Books, shall remain such as it now is until it be altered by regulation under this Act.... Provided always, that one copy of each newspaper published in this Province may be sent free from postage to any Publisher of another Newspaper in this Province, that all printed documents addressed to the Publisher of any Newspaper in this Province shall be delivered to him free, and that all Newspapers published in this Province and addressed to Subscribers in the United States, shall pass free to the Provincial line, under such regulations as the Governor in Council shall make to prevent the abuse of the privileges hereby granted:

And, subject to the foregoing provisions of this section and to the other express provisions of this Act, the Governor in Council shall have full power and authority ... for establishing the rates of postage on Newspapers and Printed Pamphlets, Magazines and Books, and for declaring what shall be deemed such, or directing that in any case or class of cases they be free of postage, either in the first instance or the case of their being re-mailed, ... for the preparing and distributing of Provincial stamps for pre-payment, for limiting the weight and dimensions of letters or packets to be sent by Post ...

for prescribing the conditions and circumstances under which letters, accounts and papers relating solely to the business of the Post Office, and addressed to or sent by some officer thereof, shall be free from Provincial Postage, ... for providing, when he shall think it expedient, means for avoiding the risk of transmitting small sums of money through the Post, by establishing a system of money orders to be granted by one Post Master or officer of the Department on another, and fixing the terms on which such orders may be obtained, for establishing a system for the Registering of letters and the charge[6] be made for such registration, ... for the delivery of letters and packets in the larger and more populous Cities and Towns, at the residences of parties to whom they are addressed, and fixing the limits within which such delivery shall take place, and the rates to be paid by the parties who shall prefer to have their letters and packets so delivered, rather than apply for them at the Post Office: ... and generally to make such regulations as may be deemed necessary for the due and effective working of the Post and Postal business and arrangements, and for carrying this Act fully into effect:

IX. And be it enacted, That subject always to the provisions and regulations aforesaid, the Provincial Post Master General shall have the sole and exclusive privilege of conveying, receiving, collecting, sending and delivering letters within this Province; and that any person or party who shall (except in the cases hereinafter excepted) collect, send, convey or deliver, or undertake to convey or deliver any letter within this Province, or who shall receive or have in his possession any letter for the purpose of conveying or delivering it, otherwise than in conformity with this Act, shall for each and every letter so unlawfully conveyed or undertaken to be conveyed, received, delivered or found in his possession, incur a penalty not exceeding five pounds currency: [exceptions are letters taken by friends journeying, by special messengers, Court Commissions, etc.]

* * * * *

XI. And be it enacted, That as well the Colonial, British or Foreign as the Provincial Postage on any letter or packet shall (if not pre-paid) be payable to the Provincial Post Master General by the party to whom the same shall be addressed, or who may lawfully receive such a letter or packet, which may be detained until the same be paid: ... and if any letter or packet be refused, or if the party to whom it is addressed cannot be found, then such postage shall be recoverable by the Provincial Post Master General from the sender of such letter or packet: ... and that all postage may be recovered with costs, by civil action in any Court having jurisdiction to the amount, or in any way in which duties are recoverable.

XII. And for avoiding doubts, and preventing inconvenient delay in the delivery of letters, Be it declared and enacted, That no Post Master shall be bound to give change, but the exact amount of the postage on any letter or packet shall be tendered or paid to him in current coin or in Provincial Postage stamps.

* * * * *

XIV. [Letters of Soldiers, Seamen, etc., shall be charged a certain fixed sum in place of all British or Provincial postage.]

XV. [Posted letters to be property of party addressed.]

XVI.... To forge, counterfeit or imitate any Postage Stamp issued or used under the authority of this Act, or by or under the authority of the Government or proper authority of the United Kingdom, or of any British North American Province, or of any Foreign Country, or knowingly to use any such forged, counterfeit or imitated stamp, or to engrave, cut, sink or make any plate, die or other thing whereby to forge, counterfeit or imitate such stamp or any part or portion thereof, except by the permission in writing of the Provincial Post Master General, or of some officer or person who under the regulations to be made in that behalf, may lawfully grant such permission, or to have possession of any such plate, die or other thing as aforesaid, without such permission as aforesaid, or to forge, counterfeit or unlawfully imitate, use or affix to or upon any letter or packet, any stamp, signature, initials, or other mark or sign purporting that such letter or packet ought to pass free of postage, or at a lower rate of postage, or that the postage thereon or any part thereof hath been pre-paid or ought to be paid by or charged to any person, department or party whomsoever, shall be felony, punishable by imprisonment in the Provincial Penitentiary for life.

The passage of the above Act and its approval by the Queen in Council gave opportunity for preparations to be made to carry out its provisions, the date being set for the 6th April, 1851. Three weeks previous to the appointed time the following notice was sent out to postmasters in anticipation of the transfer.

NOTICE TO POSTMASTERS.

GENERAL POST OFFICE,
Montreal, 14th March, 1851.

Sir:—

I am commanded by His Excellency the Governor General, to communicate to you the following Instructions, for your guidance in the performance of your duties, under the New Post Office Law of the 13th and 14th Vict., chap. 17, passed at the last Session of the Provincial Parliament, which will take effect, and supersede the Imperial Post Office Acts, hitherto in force in Canada, on and from the 6th day of April next:

1. From the above date, all Letters transmitted by the Post in Canada, with the exception of Packet Letters to and from the United Kingdom, will be liable to a uniform rate of Three Pence, currency, per half-ounce, for whatever distance conveyed: pre-payment will be optional: the charge increasing according to the weight of the Letter, one single rate for every additional half-ounce, counting the fraction of a half-ounce as a full rate, thus:

A Letter, weighing not exceeding ½ ounce, will be liable to 3d. Postage.

A Letter, weighing more than ½ ounce, and not exceeding 1 ounce, will be liable to 6 d. Postage.

A Letter, weighing more than 1 ounce, and not exceeding 1½ ounces, will be liable to 9d. Postage.

A Letter, weighing more than 1½ ounces, and not exceeding 2 ounces, will be liable to 1 s. Postage.

A Letter, weighing more than 2 ounces, and not exceeding 2½ ounces, will be liable to 1 s., 3 d. Postage, and so on.

It will be observed that the above scale differs from that now followed, in advancing one rate for each half-ounce after the first ounce.

2. The single Packet rate for Letters by the Atlantic Steam Packet Mails to and from England, viâ the United States, of 1s. 2d. sterling, if un-paid, and 1s. 4d. currency if pre-paid, as also the rate on Letters by those mails, viâ Halifax, of 1s. [missing value] sterling, if un-paid, and 1s. 1½ d. currency, if pre-paid, remain unaltered, and the present scale of weights is to remain in force as regards such Letters.

Post Masters must be very careful to observe this distinction when taxing Letters, weighing over one ounce, intended for the English Mails.

3. The regulations now in force with regard to Letters to and from Soldiers and Sailors in Her Majesty's Service, by which under certain conditions such Letters pass through the Post on pre-payment of a penny only, will remain unaltered.

* * * * *

5. Letters addressed to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, or Newfoundland, are to be rated with the uniform rate of 3d. per half-ounce.

6. Letters to and from the United States will be liable to the uniform rate of 3d. per half-ounce, between the Frontier Line and the place of posting or place of destination in Canada; and until further arrangements can be made, this charge on Letters from Canada to the United States must be pre-paid at the time of posting.

7. [Rates and regulations for Newspapers, Pamphlets, etc., to remain as at present.]

8. [Printed matter addressed to Editors is free.]

9. The charge on Letters posted at an Office for delivery in the same City, Town, or Place, and any additional charge made on Letters delivered at the residences of parties to whom they are addressed, are to remain as at present, until further instructions.

10. No Franking Privilege is allowed under the New Act except with regard to Letters and Packets on the business of the Post Office, addressed to or transmitted by the Post Master General.

* * * * *

13. Stamps for the pre-payment of Postage are being prepared, and will be distributed for the use of the public at an early date.

* * * * *

16. [Letters, etc., to Deputy Post Master General to pass free.]

T. A. STAYNER.
Deputy Post Master General.

Meanwhile, under the authority given the Governor in Council by The Post Office Act, an agreement had been drawn up between the post office Departments of Canada and the United States for the purpose of establishing and regulating the interchange of mails between the two countries. This was signed on the 25th March, 1851, and was communicated to the Canadian post-masters by the first department order, as follows:—

DEPARTMENT ORDER [NO. 1.]

LETTERS, ETC., BETWEEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA AND OREGON.

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
TORONTO, 2nd April, 1851.

Commencing on and from the 6th instant, Letters, Newspapers, &c., will pass through the Mails between Canada and the United States, including California and Oregon, at the Rates of Postage and under the Regulations herein mentioned.

1. Letters posted at any Office in Canada, addressed to any place in the United States, except California and Oregon, are to be rated with a uniform rate of six-pence, currency, per half-ounce.

2. Letters posted in any part of the United States, except California and Oregon, addressed to Canada, will be rated there with a uniform charge of ten cents, equal to six-pence, currency, per half-ounce.

3. The Postage Rate on Letters passing between Canada and California and Oregon, will be a uniform charge of nine-pence, currency, equal to fifteen cents per half-ounce.

4. It is to be understood that the above rates include the whole charge for the transmission of a Letter between any place in Canada and any place within the United States, including California and Oregon.

5. The scale for computing the charge upon Letters weighing more than ½ ounce, will be the same as that for Letters passing within the Province.

6. Pre-payment of Letters passing between Canada and any place within the United States, including California and Oregon, will, in all cases, be optional.

7. Newspapers, Pamphlets, &c., posted in Canada, addressed to the United States, including California and Oregon, are, ... to be forwarded through the Post at the same rates of charge as if addressed to a place within the Province; the said rates must, however, be pre-paid—as, if the ordinary Canada Rate is not paid at the time of posting a Newspaper or Pamphlet, &c., it cannot be forwarded to the United States.

8. United States Newspapers, Pamphlets, &c., addressed to places in Canada, will be received in the Province with the American Postage thereon pre-paid—leaving the ordinary Canada Rate of charge from the Frontier Line to the place of destination, to be ... collected by the Post Master who may deliver the same in Canada.

9.-10.-11. [Copies of newspapers or printed documents sent by or to publishers or editors are free of Canadian postage.]

12. The Canada Postage Stamps, when used, will be taken in the United States as evidence of pre-payment of Postage on Letters going from Canada to the United States, and in like manner the United States Postage Stamps on Letters coming into Canada, are to be taken by Post Masters in this Province as evidence of pre-payment having been made in the United States.

13. The following are appointed to be the Offices in Canada through which the Post communication with the United States will be maintained, and to which Post Masters are to forward their Mail matter for the United States, according to the relative position of their several Offices:

PORT SARNIA,
WINDSOR,
FORT ERIE,		 KINGSTON,
BROCKVILLE,
PRESCOTT,
MONTREAL,
ST. JOHN'S,
DUNDEE,
STANSTEAD,
QUEENSTON, { Intended in the mean time tobe the Channel of Communicationwith the United States for theCountry West of Toronto.
NIAGARA,TORONTO,
COBOURG, { A Communication during Summeronly, by Steamer to Rochester.

By Command,
W. H. GRIFFIN.

Both the Post Office Act and the above Department Order treat of the disposition of periodicals and other printed matter without giving the rates of postage required thereon. A subsequent Order gives us these rates:—

DEPARTMENT ORDER, [NO. 3.]

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
TORONTO. 17th April, 1851.

Printed Circulars, Price Currents, Handbills, Pamphlets, Periodicals, Books, and other Printed Matter transmitted by Post in Canada.

1. Upon each Printed Circular, Price Current or Handbill, and other Printed matter of a like description, when unconnected with any manuscript or written communication and of no greater weight than one ounce, there shall be charged One penny; and for each additional ounce or fraction of an ounce, One penny additional.

2. Upon each Periodical or Magazine, Pamphlet and Book, bound or unbound, there shall be charged a rate of One half-penny per ounce.

3. Pre-payment of the foregoing rates will be optional, except when the Printed matter is addressed to the United States, and in that case the charge must invariably be pre-paid.

4. On such Printed matter received into Canada by Mail from the United States, the above Canada Rates will always remain to be collected on delivery in this Province.

5.[Exchange of one copy between publishers is free.]

6. [Must be unsealed; if writing is enclosed will be treated as a letter.]

7. No Book or packet of Periodicals, Magazines, &c., can be forwarded through the Post, if exceeding the weight of forty-eight ounces.

JAMES MORRIS. Post Master General.

It is of course understood that the above does not apply to newspapers, which were charged to a nominal rate of ½d. each, the term newspaper being considered to aply to periodicals issued not less often than once a week.

A supplementary order was issued, a couple of days later than the preceding, which announces a book post with England. It is a bit curious as prohibiting the use of postage stamps in prepayment of the charges, at a time when their introduction was supposed to be an improvement in the postal service.

SUPPLEMENTARY ORDER.

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

TORONTO, 19th April, 1851.

Book Post with England.

Under the authority of Her Majesty's Government, an arrangement will take effect on the fifteenth day of May next, under which Printed Books, Magazines, Reviews, or Pamphlets, whether British, Colonial, or Foreign, may be sent through the Post, between Canada and the United Kingdom, at the Following Rates of Postage:

SterlingCurrency
For a single volume, i.e., Book, Magazine, Review, or Pamphlet,
not exceeding half lb. in weight		6d.Equal to 7½d.
For a single volume, &c., exceeding half lb. and not exceeding one lb.1s.Equal to 1s. 3d.
For a single volume, &c., exceeding one lb. and not exceeding two lbs.2s.Equal to 2s. 6d.
For a single volume, &c., exceeding two lbs. and not exceeding three lbs.3s.Equal to 3s. 9d.

The above charge must always be pre-paid, on printed Books, &c., &c., sent to the United Kingdom under this Regulation, at the time of posting in Canada; and the pre-payment must be made in money, and cannot be taken in Canada Postage Stamps.

Postmasters, as with pre-paid Letters for England must rate the Books, &c., posted under this Regulation, in red ink, with both the sterling rate and its equivalent in currency, ...—thus, a Book, &c., weighing 3½ pounds, will be rated:—

"Paid 4s. sterling—equal to 5s. currency."

* * * * *

JAMES MORRIS, Post Master General.

The Department Circular No. 5, published from Toronto on 20th June, 1851, contains but one paragraph of interest to us.

Post Masters are informed that the transfer of the Post Office in the Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to Provincial control, will take place on the 6th July next, and that from that date the uniform rate of 3d. per ½ ounce will form the sole charge on a Letter transmitted between any place in Canada and any place in New Brunswick, or Nova Scotia. Pre-payment will be optional.

On the 30th August, 1851, the Canadian Parliament passed an Act to Amend the Post Office Act. The only section of any particular interest to us is the following:—

14o & 15o Vict. Cap. LXXI.

* * * * *

XV. And be it enacted, That the Post Master General shall be authorized, whenever the same may be proper for the accommodation of the public in any city, to employ Letter Carriers for the delivery of letters received at the Post Office in such city, excepting such as the persons to whom they are addressed may have requested, in writing addressed to the Postmaster, to be retained in the Post Office, and for the receipt of letters at such places in the said city as the Postmaster General may direct, and for the deposit of the same in the Post Office; and for the delivery by Carrier of each letter received from the Post Office, the person to whom the same is delivered shall pay not exceeding One Penny, and for the delivery of each newspaper and pamphlet One Halfpenny, and for every letter received by a Carrier to be deposited in the Post Office, there shall be paid to him, at the time of the receipt, not exceeding One Half-penny:—all of which receipts, by the Carriers in any city, shall, if the Postmaster General so direct, be accounted for to the Postmaster of the said city, to constitute a fund for the compensation of the said Carriers, and to be paid to them in such proportions and manner as the Postmaster General may direct.

But in the meantime the postage stamps, which will now be our main study, were issued to the public, and we will therefore turn back to the period of their birth and trace their history, together with the development of the post that accompanies it, through the nearly sixty years that have since elapsed.

[5] Metropolitan Philatelist, I: 253.

[6] sic.

CHAPTER II
THE ISSUE OF 1851

According to all good catalogues, the date of the first issue of stamps for Canada is the year 1851. If we find some more precise statement put forth in a special article on the subject, the date is apt to be given as the 6th April, 1851. If we go back into the dusty archives of the Canadian Post Office Department, we find the circular announcing the forthcoming stamps is dated a fortnight later than the hitherto supposed correct date for their issue. We reproduce it here in its entirety:—

DEPARTMENT ORDER [NO. 4.]

POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT,
TORONTO, 21st April, 1851.

Stamps for the pre-payment of Postage on Letters.

Postage Stamps are about to be issued, one representing the Beaver, of the denomination of Three pence; the second representing the head of Prince Albert, of the denomination of Six pence; and the third, representing the head of Her Majesty, of the denomination of One shilling; which will shortly be transmitted to the Post Masters at important points, for sale.

Any Post Master receiving Stamps from this Department will, by the next mail, acknowledge the receipt of the amount. At the expiration of each Quarter, and with his Quarterly Postage Accounts, he will render an account of Stamps on a form which will be hereafter supplied, charging himself therein with any amount which remained on hand at the close of the preceding Quarter, and with the amounts received during the Quarter just ended, and crediting himself with the amount then remaining on hand. The balance of the account so stated, representing the amount of Stamps he has sold or disposed of, the Post Master will add to the balance due on his Return for the same Quarter of Postages.

Any Letter or Packet, with one or more Stamps affixed, equal in amount to the Postage properly chargeable thereon, may be mailed and forwarded from any office as a pre-paid Letter or Packet; but if the Stamps affixed be not adequate to the proper Postage, the Post Master receiving the Letter or Packet for transmission will rate it with the amount deficient in addition.—This Regulation concerning Letters short paid has reference only to Letters passing within the Province.

Stamps so affixed are to be immediately cancelled in the office in which the Letter or Packet may be deposited, with an instrument

to be furnished for that purpose. In Post Offices not so furnished, the stamps must be cancelled by making a cross [X] on each with a pen. If the cancelling has been omitted on the mailing of the Letter, the Post Master delivering it will cancel the stamp in the manner directed, and immediately report the Post Master who may have been delinquent, to the Department. Bear in mind that Stamps must invariably be cancelled before mailing the Letters to which they are affixed.

Letters and Packets pre-paid by Stamps must be entered in the Letter-Bill separately from other pre-paid Letters,—and in like manner in the Monthly Sheets.

J. MORRIS, Post Master General.

From the above it is plainly evident that the new stamps were not placed in use on April 6th, the day of the transfer of the Post Office to Provincial control, as is usually stated. Furthermore, as this order announcing them states that the stamps are "about to be issued," it is evident that they did not appear concurrently with the order, which is dated April 21st.[7] As a matter of fact the first supply of the 3 pence stamps was only received by the Department from the manufacturers on April 5th, the day before the transfer, and the second supply on April 20th, the day before the above circular was issued; while the 6 pence and 12 pence stamps did not arrive until May 2nd and May 4th, respectively.[8] In a letter to Mr. Donald A. King,[9] dated 2d March, 1904, from Mr. William Smith, Secretary of the Department at Ottawa, the latter states "that postage stamps were issued to the public for the first time on 23rd April, 1851." This agrees with the other known facts, and can doubtless be taken as the correct date for the 3d. stamp. The 6d. stamp we have no further details for, but it was doubtless in use by the middle of May. For the 12d. stamp we have, fortunately, all the details, as will appear subsequently, and can give the exact date of issue as June 14, 1851.

At the time of the transfer, the Postmaster General issued a lengthy set of Regulations and Instructions for the Government of the Post Office Department in Canada, and it is perhaps best to reproduce here such sections as may prove of interest in connection with the use of the stamps, various rates of postage, etc., etc.

* * * * *

20. Letters posted to be sent by Mail are to be carefully postmarked on the face or address side, with the name of the Post Office,

the month and the day of the month in which they are posted, and, except when they are Prepaid by Postage stamps, with the Rate of Postage in plain figures. In performing these operations great care must be used to avoid interference with the address.

* * * * *

22. If the Postage is Paid in Money when the Letter is posted, stamp or write the word "Paid" against the Postage rate, and mark the rate in red ink; but if the Letter is "Unpaid" the rate is to be marked in black ink.

* * * * *

42. Should the Receiving Postmaster find that any of the Letters have been under-rated, that is, not charged with sufficient Postage,—if for example, a Letter weighing an ounce has only been charged with one rate, he will mark the additional Postage with the words "More to pay," and his initials on the Letter.

* * * * *

44.... Letters are to be postmarked on the back or seal side with the date of the day on which they arrive....

* * * * *

58. On Letters not exceeding ½ oz. in weight between any place in Canada and any other place in British North America, including Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton, the rate is a uniform charge of 3d.

For every additional weight of half an oz., or any fractional excess of half an oz., there shall be charged an additional rate of 3d.

59. On Letters deposited at an Office for delivery in the same place, called Drop or Box Letters, the rate is One half-penny each, to be brought to account by Postmasters.

60. On Letters between any place in Canada and any part of Great Britain or Ireland, if conveyed in the Weekly closed Mails through the United States, the rate is a uniform charge of 1s. 2d. sterling, equal to 1s. 4d. currency, on a Letter not exceeding ½ oz., in weight.

* * * * *

62. On Letters between Canada and the United Kingdom, conveyed by the semi-monthly Mails by way of Quebec, New Brunswick and Halifax, the rate is:

On Letters not exceeding ½ oz., 1s. 0d. sterling equal to 1s. 1½d. currency.

On Letters not exceeding 1 oz., 2s. 0d. sterling equal to 2s. 3d. currency.

On Letters not exceeding 2 oz., 4s. 0d. sterling equal to 4s. 6d. currency.

63. On Letters between any place in Canada and any part of the United States, except California and Oregon, the rate is a uniform charge of 6d., equal to 10c. per ½ oz. weight.

64. On Letters to California and Oregon, the rate is 9d., equal to 15c. per ½ oz.

* * * * *

67. Letters to Newfoundland may be sent via Quebec and Halifax at a Postage rate of 7½d. per ½ oz.

68. Letters to British West Indies via Quebec, Halifax and Bermuda will be charged the Canada rate of 3d. and in addition the

Packet rate for sea conveyance between Halifax and Bermuda of 4½d. currency, making on a letter not weighing more than ½ oz. a rate of 7½d.

69. Letters may also be sent from Canada to the British West Indies and Havanah by the ordinary United States Mails to New York, and from thence by British Steam Packet to destination, on Prepayment in Canada of 9d. equal to 15c. per ½ oz.

70. Mails are made up at Montreal every fortnight for Halifax, Nova Scotia, and despatched for conveyance to Halifax with the Mails by the Royal Mail Steamers from Boston to Halifax and Liverpool by which Letters may be sent to the following places at the rates mentioned:

Letters to Halifax and Nova Scotia7½d. currency.
Letters to Newfoundland1s. currency.
Letters to Bermuda and British West Indies1s. currency.

* * * * *

74—75—76. [Almost identical with first three paragraphs of Department Order No. 4. describing and prescribing use of postage stamps. Vide supra.]

77. If the Stamps affixed to a Letter addressed to any place in British North America or to the United Kingdom be not adequate to the proper Postage, the Post Master receiving the Letter for transmission will rate it with the amount deficient in addition.

78. On Letters for the United States when Stamps are affixed representing less than the amount of Postage to which the Letters are liable, the Stamps are to be cancelled and the Letters rated with the full rate as Unpaid.

79—80—81. [Identical with last two paragraphs of Department Order No. 4. concerning cancelling, omission of same, and accounts of stamped letters.]

82. Stamps affixed to Letters coming from either of the British North American Provinces, the United Kingdom or the United States, and recognized as equivalent to pre-payment at the Office where the Letter has been posted—are to be allowed in Canada as evidence of pre-payment accordingly, on the Letters to which they have been affixed.

* * * * *

84. [Postage Stamps must be taken when offered in payment of postage on delivery of Unpaid Letters.]

* * * * *

88. [Non-Commissioned Officers, Embodied Pensioners, Seamen and Soldiers, while employed in Her Majesty's Service, can send and receive letters at a rate of 1d. each, which must be paid at time of posting, and letter must not exceed ½ oz. in weight.]

* * * * *

95. [Rate on circulars, price currents, hand bills, etc., 1d. per ounce or fraction.]

96. [Rate on pamphlets, periodicals, magazines and books, ½d. per ounce.]

* * * * *

100. [Limit of weight for periodicals, etc., (§96) is 48 oz.]

* * * * *

103. [Book post to England is 6d. sterling (7½d. currency) for ½lb., 1s. sterling (1s. 3d. currency) for 1 lb., and at 1s. per lb., rate thereafter.]

* * * * *

112. [Postage on newspapers in Canada is ½d. except on exchange copies, which are free.]

It strikes one as curious, in glancing over the above, to note the several half penny and one penny rates, as well as two at 7½ pence, and to realize that no stamp of the lowest value, at least, should have been arranged for whereby these amounts could have been prepaid by means of stamps. To be sure, the 7½d. rate could be obtained by halving a three penny stamp in conjunction with a 6d. stamp as was the common practice in Nova Scotia, but no such combination is known on a Canada cover.

Of the three stamps issued, the first and most typical of Canada was the 3d. which was designed, so Mr. C. N. Robertson of Ottawa tells us, by Sir Sanford Fleming, a civil engineer and draughtsman. The central feature is a representation of the beaver in its native haunts, above which is the royal crown of England resting on a rose, thistle and shamrock, with the letters V and R (Victoria Regina) at either side. A reference to figure 6 on [Plate I] makes further description unnecessary. The normal color was a bright red.

A quite marked variety of this stamp occurs in what is generally known as a "double strike" or "shifted transfer." It is not due to accidental light contact of the sheet in printing, previous to the heavier impression in a slightly changed position, as is often suggested, but is a true plate variety, caused by a slight impression of the transfer roller in the wrong position on the plate previous to the heavy impression sunk in the proper position. This fact is shown by its being found in pairs and blocks with the normal stamp. It is recognized by the letters EE PEN being "doubled" at the top, making it appear as if a line had been drawn through the words and giving it the name, occasionally used of the "line through threepence" variety. The figure 3 also appears doubled at the bottom. Its position in the sheet has not been determined, but it occurs on all papers.

The 6d. stamp is in the usual upright form, containing a portrait of Albert, the Prince Consort. It has been impossible to trace the original of the picture, though diligent search has been made. The rose, thistle and shamrock again appear on the stamp, at either side of the oval frame and separating the inscriptions. Figure 1 of [Plate I] gives an excellent reproduction of this value. The normal color may be said to have been a slate violet.

The 12d. stamp is very similar in design to the 6d. stamp, but contains a portrait of Queen Victoria. This beautiful head, so often seen upon the early British Colonial stamps, was taken from the full length painting by Alfred Edward Chalon, R. A., which was ordered by the Queen for her mother, the Duchess of Kent, as a souvenir of Her Majesty's first visit to the House of Lords. The occasion was the prorogation of Parliament, on July 17, 1837, and the Queen is portrayed in her robes of state, because of which fact the painting is sometimes described as "in Coronation Robes," but this is erroneous.[10] The stamp is illustrated as figure 2 on [Plate I], and it will be noticed that the inscriptions in the oval frame are this time separated on either side by the royal crown. The color is black.

The peculiarity in the expression of the value of this stamp as "Twelve Pence" instead of "One Shilling," which would seem to be the natural form for such an amount in English money, was long a moot question amongst collectors. It was even suggested as an "error" of the American manufacturers of the stamp! But the controversy has been practically settled by reference to the monetary conditions of the period. A glance back at the rates of postage we have already quoted will show that it was generally necessary to give them in two forms, "currency" and "sterling." The somewhat depreciated Canadian currency required fifteen pence, as will be noted, to equal the shilling sterling—a point that is brought out on the two stamps issued subsequently for the British Packet rates. Add to this the fact that in New England the "shilling" was a current expression for 16⅔ cents (10 pence currency), while in New York it represented 12½ cents (7½ pence currency) and we can readily see that in Canadian territory contiguous to these sections the number of pence to a "shilling" might often be a debatable quantity. As a matter of fact the French Canadians of Lower Canada made general use of the "shilling" as reckoned at 10 pence (20 cents) in the old currency, while the "York shilling" was extensively used in Upper Canada.[11] "Twelve pence" was without doubt wholly intentional, therefore, as the designation of the stamp, and was a happy solution of any ambiguity in its use, even if it has proved a stumbling block to the understanding of latter day collectors.

An interesting essay for this stamp is in existence, being a companion for the 3 pence "beaver," inasmuch as the shape of the stamp and the central design are the same, though on a larger scale; the inscriptions, however, are

on an octagonal frame around the picture instead of an elliptical one, and the value is expressed as "one shilling," with "1s" in each spandrel. It was doubtless also a conception of Sir Sanford Fleming, the designer of the 3 pence, and it would be interesting to know what the companion 6 pence may have been.

The three issued stamps were ordered from and engraved on steel by Messrs. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch and Edson of New York, who, it will be interesting to note, were the engravers of the 1847 issue of United States stamps—a fact which very likely may have had its influence on the Canadian authorities. The stamps were printed in sheets of 100, ten rows of ten, and had eight marginal imprints, two on each side. The imprint reads, "Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New York.", in minute letters of the size known as "diamond" in the printing office, and it is placed opposite the third and eighth stamps of the horizontal or vertical row, as the case may be, but always with the bottom of the imprint next the stamps. This causes the imprints to read up on the left, down on the right, and upside down on the bottom margins of the sheets.

We have found but one item in the departmental accounts for the fiscal year 1851-2 referring to the stamps. This reads:—

Rawdon, Wright & Co., for engraving postage stamps, £31.8.2

This was doubtless simply a bill for printing, as it is altogether too small an amount to account for the engraving of three stamp dies and the making of three printing plates.

The first delivery of the stamps from the manufacturers took place on April 5, 1851, according to a valuable summary from official records, published in the Metropolitan Philatelist,[12] when 100,000 of the 3 pence value were received by the Canadian Government. A second lot, numbering 150,200 of the 3 pence, arrived on April 20th. The 6 pence value followed on May 2nd, to the number of 100,400; and the 12 pence two days later, on May 4th, when the only consignment ever received from the printers, numbering 51,400, was delivered.

The paper on which the stamps were printed was a thin, tough, grayish white variety which we should probably call bond paper, but which at that time is said to have been known as bank note paper. It was doubtless handmade, and therefore varies considerably in thickness, the two extremes being usually listed as medium or ordinary, and very thin or almost pelure.

It has been the custom to assume that the first deliveries of the stamps were probably all upon laid paper, which was borne out by dates on covers or postmarked specimens of the stamps used during the first year of issue. But by June of 1852, at least, according to Messrs. Corwin and King,[13] the stamps were beginning to appear on paper which was simply wove, without any trace of the laid lines, though in all other respects similar to the first supplies. Of course a minor detail of manufacture like this would have no official cognizance, so there is nothing for us to go by in determining the quantities printed on one or the other kind of paper, or the dates of issue, save for what can be gleaned from dated covers and deductions to be drawn from them. The two varieties of paper, however, have been as productive of controversy in the case of the 12 pence stamp as the peculiar expression of its value proved.

But before discussing this question, let us see what we have to work on. The first annual report of the Postmaster General, for the year ending 5th April, 1852, contains the following information concerning the new stamps:—

Postage Stamps for the pre-payment of letters of the respective values of 3d., 6d. and 1s. were procured and issued immediately after the transfer, and have been kept for sale to the public at all the principal Post Offices in the Province; the demand, however, has not been great, as will be seen by the following statement, and the sales of the last quarter of the year would seem to demonstrate that the use of these Stamps in pre-payment of letters, is rather diminishing than gaining ground in the community. There were procured from the manufacturers, Messrs. Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Co., of New York, during the year ended 5th April 1852:

Value.
250,2003d. Stamps£3127100
100,4006d. Stamps251000
51,0001s. Stamps255000
401,600£8187100

Of these have been issued to Postmasters for sale, to the same date:

Value.
217,3003d. Stamps£271650
63,4006d. Stamps158500
8201s. Stamps4100
281,520 £434250

The succeeding annual reports of the Postmaster General, for the years

ending 31st March, 1853-6, give the following table of postage stamp statistics:—

Postage stamps issued for sale as follows:—

REPORT OF 31ST. MARCH, 1853.
3d. Stamps6d. Stamps1s. Stamps
On hand 5th April, 185232,90037,00050,180
Since received from Manufacturers250,000
282,90037,00050,180
Issued for sale during year163,0002,575100
On hand 31st March, 1853119,90034,42550,080
REPORT OF 31ST. MARCH, 1854.
Received from Manufacturers250,000......
369,90034,42550,080
Issued for sale during year240,70010,825325
On hand 31st March, 1854129,20023,60049,755
REPORT OF 31ST. MARCH, 1855.
Received from Manufacturers250,00050,000...
379,20073,60049,755
Issued for sale during year355,00025,800265
On hand 31st. March, 185524,20047,80049,490
REPORT OF 31ST. MARCH, 1856.
Received from Manufacturers600,300......
624,50047,80049,490
Issued for sale during year368,70038,419...
On hand 31st. March, 1856255,8009,38149,490

In this annual report of 31st March, 1856, is the last account of the 12d. stamp, from which it appears that none were issued to postmasters during the fiscal year. It does not mean that none were sold or used during that period, however, for with the increasing use of stamps this was quite probable. But it is evident from the tables given that the stamp was disbursed from headquarters in very limited quantities during the four years from 1851 to 1855 only; and we are quite fortunate in being able to give the exact details of this

distribution. An anonymous article was published in the Metropolitan Philatelist in 1902,[14] from which we have already quoted, that contained a "Valuable summary of the first issue of postage stamps used in this Colony." The statement is made that "it is taken from official records and is absolutely accurate." We quote here the information concerning the