| ½ | cent | black | 3 | cents | vermilion |
| 1 | ” | dull red | 6 | ” | brown |
| 2 | ” | green | 12½ | ” | deep-blue |
| 15 | cents | mauve |
The two lowest values are for newspapers, and are far from being acceptable, notwithstanding their beauty of design, to the journalists. It had been expected that newspapers would be sent throughout the Canadian provinces free of charge; and there has been in consequence, a loud but ineffectual outcry against the general imposition of even a reduced rate of postage, and more especially at the enactment, that the charge must be paid by senders. “Proprietors of journals,” says the Quebec Chronicle, “find it hard enough at present to collect the simple subscription, without demanding postage in advance. People who writhe at present under the payment of their bare paper account, will find forwarding postage, in advance, an excruciating sacrifice.” The 2 cents is no doubt primarily intended for soldiers' letters. The 3 cents pays the new single rate for postage; the 6 cents the charge on letters to the United States. The 12½c represents the postage to England; and the 15c the rate for letters sent via New York. Possibly a 10c will yet be added to the series, but the old 17c will find no substitute in it. The new rates came into operation on the 1st April, and we suppose on that date all the pre-existing stamps of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were withdrawn.
The stamps of this series provide quite an extensive range of shades, especially as regards the 2c, 6c, and 15c. In the case of the latter value the range of tints is so great that it is difficult to know what was its originally intended color. The first shade was evidently mauve, as given in the Stamp Collector's Magazine chronicle, but, as is so frequently the case with mauves, lilacs and violets, tint variations were soon noticed. Shades varying from deep red lilac to grey and blue-grey are known. It is difficult to draw the line, in some instances, between true shades and “fades” but the grey would appear to be undoubtedly a true color variety and one that should be recognised as a provisional, if wholly unintentional, color change. Scott, in fact, lists it as a separate issue under the date 1875-77, but this is an arbitrary classification which has, apparently, no foundation in fact, and the best plan is to include the variety in its logical place with the rest of the 1868 series.
The paper used for this set of stamps is what is generally known as “wove” and it varies, as Mr. Howes states, “from a very thin, almost pelure quality to a quite hard and thick variety.” Mr. King, who was evidently untiring in his efforts to discover varieties of paper, says, “This series is of a most interesting nature, having a very large number of varieties of paper, all quite distinct, and specimens of some are of considerable rarity.” Mr. King then lets himself go and describes some seventeen varieties of paper but, with the exception of two well marked varieties to which we shall make extended reference shortly, they all seem to resolve themselves into minute variations of the wove paper such as can be found in connection with most stamps of the 'sixties and 'seventies with the aid of a micrometer and a well trained imagination! We doubt whether any specialist, however willing and enthusiastic, could follow Mr. King through his intricate listing.
Scott's catalogue lists a sub-variety of all values except the ½c on “watermarked” paper. The watermarked letters found in these stamps were known at least as early as 1870 and much speculation was rife as to their meaning. Mr. John N. Luff finally solved the problem by assembling a large number of the watermarked stamps so that he was able to reconstruct the complete watermark, viz:—
E. & C. BOTHWELL CLUTHA MILLS
The letters are large double lined capitals 12½ mm. high with the exception of the initial letters E, C and B of the upper line, which are 13 mm. high. The “watermark” is, of course, the trademark of the paper manufacturer and, like other watermarks of a similar nature, it is not of very great philatelic importance. It is very generally presumed that the paper watermarked in this manner was used provisionally—an opinion with which Mr. Howes seems to concur by his statement that “the watermarked paper must therefore have been used sometime during the course of the year 1868, probably the middle, when supplies of all values except the ½c were printed.” But we fail to find from any evidence so far adduced that this watermarked paper was in use only during some well defined period. The fact that it is not found in connection with the ½c proves nothing for this value was of a different size from the others and doubtless paper of a different size, but the same quality was used so as to prevent unnecessary waste in cutting into sheets for printing. At best, as we have already stated, it is but a papermaker's trade mark, and it is difficult to understand on what grounds it is included in the catalogue as a variety to the exclusion of similar and well known examples in the stamps of other countries. We must confess that more importance seems to be attached to the variety than is warranted by its philatelic status and we commend to our readers' attention Major E. B. Evans' pertinent comments regarding it, viz:—