“In 1842 and 1851 measures were successively introduced for the establishment of a low rate of postage.
| On Letters not exceeding ½ oz. | 3d. |
| Above ½ oz. and not exceeding 1 oz. | 6d. |
And so on, 3d. being charged for every additional ½ oz.
“There is an additional charge of 1d. (1½ currency?) each on Letters delivered at St. John and Fredericton, the only places where letter carriers are employed.
“Newspapers are conveyed free.
“On Books, &c., the charge is as follows, prepayment being compulsory:
| For a single volume, not exceeding ½ lb. in weight | 7½d. |
| Above ½ lb. and not exceeding 1 lb. | 1s. 3d. |
| Above 1 lb. and not exceeding 2 lbs. | 2s. 6d. |
And so on, according to the English scale of weight.”
Mr. John Howe held the position of Postmaster-General until May 30th, 1856, when an Act came into force which made the office a political one. Mr. Francis M’Phelim was then appointed in his place, and Mr. Howe became Postmaster of the city of St. John on June 12th in that year. Mr. F. M’Phelim resigned office on June 8th, 1857, and was succeeded by Mr. John Mercer Johnson, jun. The latter resigned on November 2nd, 1858, when Mr. Charles Connell took office. Mr. Connell resigned on May 19th, 1860, and was succeeded by Mr. James Steadman. Mr. A. S. Phair was the Postmaster of Fredericton during these and several future years. Mr. Stephen J. King is the present Inspector of Post-offices, and Mr. E. Willis the Postmaster at St. John. As many collectors are aware, all three stamps of the first issue are found cut in two, diagonally, and used for half their original values. The Three Pence is also known cut in half, parallel to one of the sides of the stamp; and the Six Pence exists divided into four equal triangular pieces, each part being used as a Three Halfpenny stamp, in conjunction with a whole Six Penny, to make up the postal rate of 7½d. I have been unable to find any official notice in The Royal Gazette authorizing the use of any of these mutilated stamps; but an interesting article, published in The Philatelic Record for October, 1886, clearly shows the reason for the bisection of the Three Pence. As the article points out, no half specimen of this value is known used by itself, but the variety is always found obliterated in connection with other Three Pennies or a Six Penny stamp. The paper then goes on to say the half stamp was used to make up the letter rate to England, which was 6d. sterling the ½ ounce, equal to 7½d. currency, or for letters forwarded viâ the United States and British Packet, 8d. sterling, equal to 10d. currency. I have found out that the former rate was in existence on May 1st, 1856, and it had probably been in use some time previous to that date. The latter rate came into operation on January 1st, 1857. Besides the letter rates to England, we learn from the following notice, published in The Royal Gazette for September 16th, 1857, that two of the new rates on Pamphlets, mentioned therein, could only be made up by using half the Three Penny stamp with some of the other values.