In 1791 an Act of Parliament was passed dividing Canada into two Provinces, Upper Canada (now Ontario) and Lower Canada (now Quebec), and establishing a constitution for each. The provinces were afterwards re-united in 1840.
THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
The Provinces of Ontario and Quebec (formerly constituting the Colony of Canada), New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, were by “The British North American Act, 1867,” formed into one Dominion. This Act was brought into force by Royal Proclamation, bearing date the 27th of May, 1867. On the 15th of July, 1870, the newly-formed province of Manitoba; on the 20th of July, 1871, the colony of British Columbia; and on the 1st of July, 1873, that of Prince Edward Island, were successively admitted to the Dominion, Newfoundland now alone, of all the North American Colonies, retaining its independence.
As far as I have been able to discover, Post-office notices relating to the issue of stamps were not published in The Canada Gazette with other official matter. The number of The Gazette for March 8th, 1851, contains a long notice, stating that on April 5th following the management of the Inland Posts would be transferred to the control of the Provincial Government, and that the new rates of postage would then come into force. We learn from the report of the Postmaster-General of Great Britain for 1857 what those rates were; for we read:
“In 1851 a reduced rate of postage was established. Payment in advance is optional.
| On ordinary Letters | per ½ oz., 3d. |
| On Letters posted and delivered in the same town | each, ½d. |
“Newspapers are conveyed free.
“Books are charged ½d. per oz., the weight of a single Packet being limited to 4 lbs.”
I should add, the local rate of ½d. did not come into use until 1857. In giving these extracts from the Postmaster-General’s Report, I have invariably altered the rates to their proper currency value, as they are given in the list at “about” the sterling equivalent.
The rates to England in operation on May 1st, 1856, probably earlier, were: