| "63RD. RIFLES" or | HEADQUARTERS, 63RD. RIFLES. | } |
The lack of uniformity, or rather attempt at variety, was enough in itself to condemn the articles. Yet in the American Philatelist for June, 1888, we find an attempted defence of them. We quote:[243]—
Henry Hechler writes us as follows: "When the Indian outbreak in the Northwest occurred in 1885, and some of the militia of the various provinces were hurriedly ordered out for active service, stringent measures for notifying the men calling for prompt attention had to be adopted. To distinguish them from ordinary mail matter by showing their official character they were stamped across the "adhesive" with the word Service and at the lower left corner O. [H.] M. S. only. Some were thus printed in black, others in blue, and yet others in red. They served for that purpose only, until an Act of Parliament was passed to carry all military mail matter on active service free."
Mr. Hechler was captain of one of the companies of the Halifax Battalion, and, therefore, in a position to obtain definite information.
In other words Mr. Hechler knew all about these "official" stamps and the Postmaster-General and his secretary, as we have seen, knew absolutely nothing about them! This seems to tell its own story. In fact another letter from the Post Office Department, dated 13th April, 1888, and published in this same volume of the American Philatelist,[244] reiterates the denials of the previous letter which we have already quoted. The Philatelic Record re
ceived later,[245] from the Postmaster of Halifax, the information that Mr. Hechler had had this stationery surcharged and that it was neither issued nor recognized by the Government of Canada. The Record says:—"It was a smart notion of Mr. Hechler to turn his military duties into the direction of his business as a stamp dealer." Mr. Hechler "came back" at this in the columns of the Philatelic Journal of America[246] with the statement that "the Post Office Inspector here referred the question to headquarters, and, in reply, was instructed to allow such matter to pass through the mails without question or delay." The communication was enclosed in one of the envelopes in question, but the Editor's remarks on this are conclusive:—
The surcharging has not impaired the postal value of the envelope and they are permitted to pass through the Canadian mails, but as to their value from a philatelic standpoint it is quite another thing.
The printing in this case is of no more importance than any notice or inscription that might be placed on an envelope bearing a regular government stamp that in itself is sufficient to pay the postage.
In fact the above writer admits that the surcharge had no other value than to enable the recipient to distinguish the letter from his other mail. They are of no philatelic value whatever.
It was a private speculation, pure and simple, in spite of any claims of "recognition", and of the fact that copies passed the post. The only other quotation to make in the case is from Shakespeare—Exeunt.