Canada: Its Postage Stamps and Postal Stationery

by Clifton A. Howes

It may have been noticed, however, that no ½ cent stamp has appeared in the King's head design. Trouble over this value seems to have begun to brew with the Jubilee stamps. We have already detailed the story as far as that issue is concerned, and also the manner in which the ½ cent "maple leaf" was forced to appear before the authorities reckoned. Primarily intended for prepaying the rate on transient newspapers, this value was supposed to be employed only in that way, though its use had never been so restricted. Its yearly issue to postmasters had gradually increased from some 300,000 in 1869 to 900,000 in 1895. In 1898 the latter number had doubled, and by 1902 had only fallen to about 1,200,000. The trouble seemed to be partly due, at least, to the fact that stamp collectors were buying them up, and using them largely on their letter mail. This came to the attention of the Post Office Department, and resulted in the following Department Circular, published in the Montreal Star for the 6th December, 1902:[181]—

The attention of postmasters is drawn to the fact that the postal necessity for the ½ cent stamp, as such, is now confined to one purpose—prepayment of newspapers and periodicals posted singly, and weighing not more than one ounce each (see Postal Guide, page xii, section 47). As publications of the kind referred to must, in the nature of things, be few, and as in the case of their being mailed to subscribers by the office of publication, the bulk rate of postage would be far cheaper and more convenient for the publisher, the demand for the ½ cent stamp throughout the Dominion must be appreciably diminished as a result of this restriction of its use. While, of course, any number of ½ cent stamps on an article of correspondence will be recognized to the full extent of their aggregate face value, it is not the wish of the Department to supply them except for the sole specific purpose above mentioned, and an intimation to that effect should be given by postmasters to patrons of their office who are in the habit of buying ½ cent stamps for other postal purposes.

This circular seems to have had the desired effect, at least in good measure, for the stamp accounts in the Reports for succeeding years showed an average issue to postmasters of approximately 400,000 ½ cent stamps, being a reduction of two-thirds. Finally, on the 19th May, 1909, an amendment[182] to the Post Office Act was passed which repealed the provision granting the ½ cent rate to newspapers and periodicals weighing less than one ounce, when posted singly. This placed them in the one cent per ounce class and sounded the death knell of the ½ cent stamp. The stamp accounts in the 1910 Report show 1,700 ½ cent stamps on hand April 1, 1909, and 600,000 more received from the manufacturers. These were all issued to postmasters and a foot-note finishes the story: "Discontinued June 10, 1909."

Just why the ½ cent stamp never was issued in the King's head type cannot be stated. All the other values then in use in Canada had made their appearance in this design, the 20 cent and 50 cent even having delayed their advent until the stock of previous types had been exhausted; but the ½ cent Queen's Head with numerals was regularly received from the printers and distributed to postmasters down to the middle of 1909, six years after the King's Heads first made their appearance. With the end of its usefulness at that time, of course, disappeared all hope of ever seeing it in the King's Head set.

In the issue for October 10, 1908, Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News published the following editorial:—

We are enabled to report the existence of the two-cent Canada, current issue, imperforate, a reader having-shown us a sheet of one hundred of these varieties bearing the plate number 18. This is a discovery of momentous interest which must attract much attention not alone from specialists but from collectors, as we may say for the sake of distinction, as well. The fact that the pane bears so early a plate number removes it from any inclusion in the theory that the Canadian authorities propose to issue stamps in imperforate sheets in the manner that has been employed by the United States. Without doubt, the sheet under notice was regularly prepared for issue in the accepted way and it is the belief from information at hand that a sheet of four hundred of the stamps was printed and reached the public.

This announcement created some comment and was made the subject of enquiry of the Post Office Department at Ottawa. The officials repudiated the idea that any such irregularity could have happened, but finally took

steps to authenticate the report. In the issue of February 20, 1909, of the paper already quoted, is the full story of the "find", which has a peculiar interest, as will be seen later.

The sheet as found was not of 400 stamps but of over 200 stamps, as the right hand half of the sheet on which our report was based and which was not before us when we wrote, contained a pane of 100 stamps, plate number 14 and an irregularly torn part of plate number 13, showing about fifteen whole stamps and parts of others. Assuming that the lower pane in the left half was torn approximately in the manner of the right lower pane, or plate number 13, the find consisted originally of 230 stamps, more or less. This reckoning agrees, we believe, with the recollection of the person who rescued the imperforates from oblivion, in a philatelic sense. The plate numbers on the sheet that gave authority for the chronicling of the stamps by the Weekly are 13 and 14, respectively, and not 18 as first printed.

A. N. Lemieux of Chicago is the man who found the stamps. While in Ottawa five years ago or so[183], when he was in business in that city, he saw the stamps just within the iron fence that has been described as surrounding the establishment of the bank note company that prints the Canadian stamps. The day was a rainy one and the sheet had evidently been blown out of the window. Mr. Lemieux apparently attached no value to the sheet of over two hundred stamps which was in a wet, crumpled condition and without gum. Mr. Lemieux was under the impression, no doubt, that, gum had been on the sheet but had been washed off by the rain.... Before he showed the stamps to the Weekly, Mr. Lemieux had disposed of the left half of the sheet or about 115 whole stamps to a collector ... on an exchange basis.... Mr. Lemieux was informed that the stamps still in his possession had no little philatelic interest as curiosities and he sold the specimens to Mr. Severn.