We have gone thus into detail in the matter in order to make it evident why the violet stamp was so short lived, and why the change was made. This seems necessary because such a furor was created at the time, when it became known that the issue of violet envelopes was small, and speculation ran high; the Government was accused of speculating in them and of putting them in the hands of favored ones, and finally, as in the case of the alleged speculation in the Jubilee stamps, the matter came up in Parliament. The following is an extract from the official report of the debates in the House of Commons at Ottawa:[215]—
ISSUE OF STAMPED ENVELOPES.
Mr. Hughes asked: 1. When will the present 2 cent purple stamped envelope cease to be issued, and the red issued in its place? 2. How many 2 cent purple envelopes were issued, and how many distributed? At what offices were they distributed, how many at each office? Are there any more to be distributed, and if so, where will they be distributed? 3. Is it the intention of the Government to issue an entire new set of stamped envelopes to replace those at present in use? If so, when? * * *
The Postmaster-General (Mr. Mulock): The issue of 2 cent purple-stamp envelopes ceased when the supply thereof in the department became exhausted, the last issue having been made on the 7th January, 1899. The subsequent issue of 2-cent stamped envelopes was in red, in accordance with the recommendation of the Postal Convention. *
* * The schedule hereto annexed shows the names of the post offices supplied with such purple-stamp envelopes and the respective quantities so supplied them.
List of Post Offices to which 2c. purple envelopes were issued, and the quantity in each case.
| Post Office. | Quantity. |
|---|---|
| Belleville, Ont. | 500 |
| St. Catherine's, Ont. | 500 |
| Toronto, Ont. | 2000 |
| Corinth, Ont. | 100 |
| Haliburton, Ont. | 100 |
| Mount Albert, Ont. | 100 |
| Tamworth, Ont. | 500 |
| Hagersville, Ont. | 100 |
| Hamilton, Ont. | 500 |
| Loring, Ont. | 100 |
| Newton, Ont. | 100 |
| Ottawa, Ont. | 700 |
| St. Casimir, Que. | 100 |
| Sherbrooke, Que. | 500 |
| Montreal, Que. | 1000 |
| Rigaud, Que. | 100 |
| Maitland, N. S. | 100 |
| Truro, N. S. | 100 |
| Yarmouth, N. S. | 100 |
| Andover, N. B. | 200 |
| Centreville, N. B. | 100 |
| Shoal Lake, Man. | 100 |
| Winnipeg, Man. | 2000 |
| New Westminster, B. C. | 100 |
| Greenwood, B. C. | 200 |
Further questioning by the same gentleman, in an effort to show that "inside" information had been given concerning the remainder of the 2 cent green envelopes at Toronto and the limited issue of the so-called "purple" ones, in order that favored parties might "corner" them, resulted in nothing definite except that in replying to the question "Was the issue of the 2c. purple stamped envelopes done by mistake?" the Postmaster-General said: "There was no mistake whatever made in the issue of said envelopes, but, on the contrary, the issue took place in the ordinary course of business, and was made on requisitions in the usual way, coming from postmasters." Considering the date of their issue, the cause of the change in color and the above reply of the Postmaster-General, in connection with an examination of the table of distribution of the 2c. violet envelopes, we must say that it seems clear that the whole business, as far as the Department was concerned, was legitimate and straightforward, and the aspersions cast upon the issue of this envelope were only animated by a spirit of jealousy or revenge on the part of those who unfortunately did not happen to get any, whether "tipped off" by friends in or out of the post-office, or not.
The 2 cent envelope in red may have been issued on the 8th January, 1899, or within a day or two of that date, and corresponds of course with the one in violet and the 1 cent envelope in all respects. It was sold at $2.20 per hundred.
We have already spoken of the 3 cent envelope, issued in April, 1898, as having been surcharged. This was due, of course, to the same reduction in the domestic rate of postage that operated to change the 2 cent envelope from violet to red, and which also rendered the 3 cent envelope practically useless. In order to utilize the stock of the latter envelopes, therefore, the Department decided on surcharging them down to a 2 cent value. This was done sometime during the week of 6-11 February, 1899, and we can do no better than quote the letter of a Canadian correspondent in the Weekly Philatelic Era[216] for details concerning it.