This is only one of the numerous complaints made daily against our new issue. Some changes ought to be made.

But the Metropolitan Philatelist in its issue for April 2, 1898, had already given information of an impending change which in the main proved correct. It says:—

Much dissatisfaction is expressed by the French speaking inhabitants of the rural parts at the lack of figures of value on the stamps, the denomination in all cases being printed in English which they are unable to understand. It has, therefore, been decided to alter the new stamps by removing the maple leaves from the lower corners and inserting large numerals of value in their place. The space occupied by the head will also be somewhat enlarged and the value will be placed on a straight band below.

All of which transpired save the placing of the value on the "straight band". In the issue of the American Journal of Philately for June 1, 1898, a Canadian correspondent reported: "I saw yesterday the proof of the new Canadian stamps. The frame is slightly changed and the value in figures is at the bottom on each side of the stamp, in place of the maple leaves." No date is given, but it was doubtless early in May. Finally Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News reported the actual issue of the 1 cent and 3 cent stamps, stating that a Montreal correspondent had purchased them at the post office on June 21st, which was doubtless their approximate date of issue.

No further news of the numeral set is recorded until the issue of the

Weekly Philatelic Era for September 17th, wherein its Toronto correspondent says that "Last week the 2c. purple with numerals in lower corners made its debut, a few days later the ½c arrived similarly altered, followed closely by the 6c." This evidently puts the issue of these three values within the first ten days of September. The 8 cent was recorded in the same paper for October 15th, so that it must have been issued about the first of the month. The 10 cent did not make its appearance until November, being noticed under the "Toronto Letter" in the Weekly Philatelic Era for November 19th, so that again it was doubtless the early part of the month that saw its advent.

For six months nothing further was heard of new "numeral" stamps, when finally the 5 cent, which was the one value lacking to complete the set in its altered form, made its appearance on July 3, 1899, according to a correspondent of Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News.[148]

The new type of stamp, as already stated, was merely an alteration of the preceding "maple leaf" design, due to two criticisms—that no numerals were shown, making it often difficult without a close look to tell the denomination, and bothersome to the large population of French origin who did not speak English; and that the portrait was too large for its oval frame, giving a somewhat cramped effect. In the new design, illustrated as number 40 on [Plate II], the first objection was met by placing the proper numerals in small squares in the lower corners, which necessitated the removal of the maple leaves from the lower spandrels; and the second objection was met by enlarging the oval frame containing the portrait, thus giving a much better effect. To do this the oval was extended to the outside of the stamp, cutting the rectangular border lines instead of lying wholly within them, as in the design it superseded.

The stamps were of course line engraved on steel and printed in the usual sheets of 100, ten rows of ten. The imprint was the same as on the last issue, and the plates again began with No. 1 for each denomination. As far as we have been able to ascertain, the plate numbers are as follows:—

½centNo.1.
1""1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
2""1, 2, 3, 4.
3""1, 2, 3, 4.
5""1, 2, 3.
6""1.
8""1.
10""1.