Outside of the Dead Letter Office seals the Canadian Government has issued no official adhesive stamps. An attempt, however, to foist a series of official stationery upon an unsuspecting philatelic public was made by one Henry Hechler, a stamp collector and dealer, who thought he saw his opportunity in the Indian troubles which broke out in the Canadian Northwest in 1884-5. Mr. Hechler belonged to the Militia and accompanied the troops that were sent to quell the disturbance. He took it upon himself to have a quantity of envelopes, post cards and wrappers surcharged OFFICIAL or SERVICE and evidently expected they would be accepted without question.
The first news of these surcharges seems to have come, very strangely, from Germany. The Philatelic Record for December, 1884,[241] says:—
Der Philatelist chronicles, on the faith of a correspondent, Herr Von Jerzabek, of Temesvar, a set of the adhesives with Queen's head ..., two envelopes, and the 1 cent post card, all surcharged in black, with the word OFFICIAL. It is alleged that they were prepared and issued in 1877, but after a short time were called in again. The surcharges are in some cases oblique, and in others perpendicular. It is at least strange that, considering our intercourse with Canada, our first knowledge of the issue of official stamps so far back as 1877 should reach us from Temesvar, wherever that may be.
The Secretary of the Philatelic Society, London, whose official journal the Philatelic Record then was, wrote direct to the Canadian Government to inquire into the authenticity of these so-called official issues, and received the following reply:[242]—
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CANADA.
OTTAWA, 18th May, 1885.
Sir:—I am directed by the Postmaster-General to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 29th ult., inquiring whether postage
stamps bearing the word "Official" on their face are in circulation in the Dominion of Canada, and beg, in reply, to say that no such stamp, card, newspaper wrapper, or envelope has ever been issued by this department.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) Wm. White, Secretary.
This would ordinarily seem to have been enough of a disclaimer, but like Banquo's ghost the official stationery would not down, though the stamps seem to have been lost sight of. Not only were the envelopes of 1 cent and 3 cents of the 1877 issue, but the newspaper wrappers of 1875 and 1882, and the post card of 1882, surcharged across the stamp with the word "OFFICIAL" or "Service" in black, blue or red ink, but sometimes the arms of Great Britain were added at the left of the stamp, and also, in the lower left corner, the words