| Rawdon, Wright & Co., supply of letter and newspaper stamps | $238.69 |
| American Bank Note Co., engraving letter and newspaper stamps | 1487.40 |
Of course the amounts all went to the same concern, as the firm name had been changed on May 1, 1858, as already noted.
The report for 1860 contains interesting statistical information concerning the growth of the Department, which it may be well to put on record:—
| Year | No. of Offices. |
Miles of Post Route. |
No. of letters by Post per annum. |
Postal Revenue (deducting dead letters.) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 | 601 | 7,595 | 2,132,000 | ||
| 1852 | 840 | 8,618 | 3,700,000 | $230,629.00 | First year of account under Provincial control. |
| 1853 | 1016 | 9,122 | 4,250,000 | 278,587.00 | Charge on newspapers reduced one-half. |
| 1854 | 1166 | 10,027 | 5,100,000 | 320,000.00 | |
| 1855 | 1293 | 11,192 | 6,000,000 | 368,166.00 | Newspapers conveyed without charge. |
| 1856 | 1375 | 11,839 | 7,000,000 | 374,295.00 | |
| 1857 | 1506 | 13,253 | 8,500,000 | 462,163.00 | |
| 1858 | 1566 | 13,600 | 9,000,000 | 541,153.00 | |
| 1859 | 1638 | 13,871 | 8,500,000 | 678,426.98 | |
| 1860 | 1698 | 14,202 | 9,000,000 | 658,451.99 | Additional 2c. rate on unpaid letters and charge made on newspapers. |
The Report continues:—
From the experience of the past, the confident hope may be entertained that, by a wise and judicious economy, (and without withholding from newly settled portions of the country, the Postal accommodations without which the settlement of the country cannot advance), in a comparatively short space of time the Postage upon letters may be reduced from the present five cent to a three cent rate, as near an approach to the Penny sterling postage system of the Mother Country as the relative value of our currency will conveniently permit.
It was eight years before these hopes were realized, however.
The "epistolary intercourse with the United States" is given for the same period, but we need only note that the postal value of the total correspondence exchanged was $83,630.97 in 1852, had increased to $187,469.59 in 1857, and then dropped gradually to $178,132.39 in 1860. The Report says:—
The prepayment of letters passing between the two countries continues optional on either side, at the combined rate of 10 cents per ½ oz. from any place in Canada to any place in the United States and vice versa, except to or from the States on the Pacific, California and Oregon, when the rate is 15 cents per ½ oz.
The accounts present a charge in favor of the American Bank Note Co. of $1697.95 "for engraving Letter and Newspaper stamps and Stamped Envelopes." Of the latter we shall have more to say in their proper place.
The Reports of 1861 and 1862 contain nothing special, and the accounts show payments of $1451.87 and $1583.63 respectively to the American Bank Note Co.
The Report of 1863 states that in November of that year an agreement was entered into with the United States for the transmission between the two countries of seeds, bulbs, etc., at 1 cent per ounce, and also book manuscripts, printers' proof sheets, maps, prints, etc., at the same rate.
In January 1864, the Imperial Post Office extended to the mails between Canada and the United Kingdom regulations conceding patterns of merchandise and trade samples at the same rates as books and printed matter.
The American Bank Note Co. was paid $1946.62.
The next Report is dated 30th June, 1864, instead of the usual 30th September, and is therefore for nine months only. This was done to bring the fiscal year of the Post Office Department to correspond with the financial year of the General Government.
The enactment which was the cause of the change follows:—
27o—28o Vict. Cap. VI.
An Act to amend the Law respecting the Public Accounts, and the Board of Audit.
(Assented to 30th June, 1864)
10. It shall be the duty of the Board of Audit to prepare and submit to the Minister of Finance the Public Accounts to be annually laid before Parliament.
11. The said Public Accounts shall include the period from the thirtieth of June in one year to the thirtieth of June in the next year, which period shall constitute the Financial Year....
There is nothing particular in the Report for these nine months to quote here, except the payment of the relatively small sum of $619.25 to the American Bank Note Co.
The Report for 1865 states that "Regulations have been adopted establishing a sample and pattern post in Canada, and packets of trade samples, or patterns of merchandise, may be sent by post between any places within this Province, on prepayment of one cent per ounce, under certain conditions to prevent an abuse of the privilege." It further announces that "Street Letter boxes are being placed in all the principal streets of Montreal."
The Reports of 1866 and 1867 were published together, but contain little of interest beyond the statistics we have already used. Payments to the American Bank Note Co. were $2630.11 in 1866 and $1699.03 in 1867. The final payment to the American Co., which we have already quoted from the 1868 report, was $1331.70. We read that "The street letter boxes put up in the city of Montreal have worked satisfactorily. The number of letters and papers posted therein weekly, appeared from returns taken to be, Letters 2400, Papers 500, or at the rate of 150,000 letters and papers per annum."
Authority to establish letter boxes was given by an Act of Parliament which contains several other matters of interest and which we therefore quote.
29o—30o Vict. Cap. XI.
An Act to amend the Post Office Act.
[Assented to 15th August, 1866.]
Whereas the more effectually to prevent frauds upon the Post Office Revenue, it is expedient to amend the Post Office Act: Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the consent of the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada, enacts as follows:
1. If any person uses or attempts to use in payment of postage on any letter or mailable thing posted in this Province, any postage stamp which has been before used for a like purpose, such person shall be subjected to a penalty of not less than Ten and not exceeding Forty dollars for every such offense, and the letter or other mailable thing on which such stamp has been so improperly used may be detained, or in the discretion of the Postmaster General forwarded to its destination charged with double the postage to which it would have been liable if posted unpaid.
2. [To enclose a letter in a parcel, packet of samples or newspaper, posted an such, shall be an offense punishable by a fine of not less than ten or more than forty dollars in each case.]
3. The Postmaster General may grant licenses, revocable at pleasure, to Agents, other than Postmasters, for the sale to the Public, of Postage Stamps and Stamped envelopes, and may allow to such Agents a commission not exceeding five per cent, on the amount of their sales;—and it shall not be lawful for any person to exercise the business of selling Postage Stamps or Stamped envelopes to the Public unless duly licensed to do so by the Postmaster General and under such conditions as he may prescribe: and any person who shall violate this provision by selling Postage Stamps or Stamped envelopes to the public without a license from the Postmaster General, shall on conviction before a Justice of the Peace, incur a penalty of not exceeding forty dollars for each offence.
* * * * *
5. The Postmaster General may, when in his judgment the public convenience requires it, establish Street Letter Boxes or Pillar Boxes for the reception of letters and other mailable matter in the streets of any City or Town in this Province, and from the time that a letter is deposited in any such Street Letter Box or Pillar Box it shall be deemed to be a Post Letter within the meaning of the Post Office Act.
6. [Wilfully injuring such letter boxes is a misdemeanor.]
* * * * *
8. The Governor in Council may, by regulations to be from time to time made, provide for the transmission through the Mails of this Province, of patterns and samples of merchandise and goods for sale, and of packages of seeds, cuttings, bulbs, roots and scions or grafts, on such terms and conditions as may be set forth in such regulations.
9. [Wilfully destroying, damaging or detaining any of above articles is a misdemeanor.]
The only other item to quote from the report of 1867 is the following:—"On 1st July, 1867 the Union Act came into operation, and brought under one central administration the Postal Service throughout the Dominion." With this statement we close the account of the Postal history of the Province of Canada, and in the next chapter open up the larger one of the Dominion of Canada, whose later issues, though not without interest, still lack the charm that time can never tear from the simple, yet dignified and beautiful stamps of the Province.
[82] London Philatelist, XVI: 144.
[83] Metropolitan Philatelist, II: 3.
[84] Monthly Journal, VII: 32.
CHAPTER VII
THE DOMINION OF CANADA
Preliminary.
As outlined in our Introductory Chapter, the union of Upper and Lower Canada into the single Province of Canada had been so manifestly advantageous that it started an agitation for the union of all the British North American provinces. The result was a convention, held at Quebec in 1864, which drafted a proposed Constitution that was later embodied by the British Parliament in "An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the Government thereof,"[85] which was passed on the 29th March, 1867. The preamble recites that "the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have expressed their desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom." The Act is cited in brief as "The British North America Act 1867," and provides that the Dominion of Canada shall be divided into four provinces named Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; that there shall be a Governor General who may select his own Privy Council; that there shall be a Parliament consisting of a Senate, with members appointed by the Governor General for life, and a House of Commons of elected representatives; that the seat of Government shall be at Ottawa; that each Province shall have a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Governor General and a local legislature similar to the Dominion Parliament; and making provision for the admission of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia and Rupert's Land and the North-western Territory. The Act took effect on the 1st July, 1867, which day is annually observed as "Dominion Day."
The first Parliament of Canada, which convened at Ottawa on November 6, 1867, was naturally largely concerned in revising and consolidating the laws of the various Provinces, and among these of course appeared the Post Office Laws. A number of changes were introduced, but many of the provisions of former Acts were embodied almost as they stood in the new statute. We reproduce its most important features in our line of inquiry.
31o Vict. Cap. X.
An Act for the regulation of the Postal Service.
[Assented to 21st. December, 1867.]
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
Preliminary—Interpretation.
1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as The Post Office Act 1867; and the following terms and expressions therein shall be held to have the meaning hereinafter assigned to them....
The term "Letter" includes Packets of Letters;
The term "Postage" means the duty or sum chargeable for the conveyance of Post Letters, Packets and other things by Post;
The term "Foreign Country" means any country not included in the dominions of Her Majesty;
The term "Foreign Postage" means the postage on the conveyance of Letters, Packets or other things, within any Foreign Country or payable to any Foreign Government;
The term "Canada Postage" means the postage on the conveyance of Letters, Packets and other things by Post within the Dominion of Canada or by Canada Mail Packet;
The term "Mail" includes every conveyance by which Post Letters are carried, whether it be by land or by water;
The term "British Packet Postage" means the postage due on the conveyance of letters by British Packet Boats, between the United Kingdom and British North America;—And the term "British Postage" includes all Postage not being Foreign, Colonial or Canadian;
* * * * *
The term "Post Letter" means any letter transmitted or deposited in any Post Office to be transmitted by the Post;—And a letter shall be deemed a Post Letter from the time of its being so deposited or delivered at a Post Office, to the time of its being delivered to the party to whom it is addressed....
2. All Laws in force in the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, at the Union thereof on the first of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in respect to the Postal Service, and continued in force by the "British North America Act 1867," shall be and the same are hereby repealed.
* * * * *
Organization and General Provisions.
7. There shall be at the seat of Government of Canada a Post Office Department for the superintendence and management of the Postal Service of Canada, under the direction of a Postmaster General.
8. The Postmaster General shall be appointed by Commission under the Great Seal of Canada, and shall hold his office during pleasure.
* * * * *
10. The Postmaster General may, subject to the provisions of this Act:
1. Establish and close Post Offices and Post Routes;
* * * * *
3. Enter into and enforce all contracts relating to the conveyance of the Mails or other business of the Post Office;
4. [Make regulations concerning mailable matter and limits of weight and dimensions of such.]
5. [Establish rates of postage and conditions on matter not already provided for.]
6. Cause to be prepared and distributed Postage Stamps, necessary for the prepayment of Postages under this Act, also stamped envelopes for the like purpose;
7. [Make arrangements concerning Posts and Postal business with postal authorities outside of Canada.]
* * * * *
11. Prescribe and enforce such Regulations as to letters directed to be registered as to him may seem necessary, in respect to the registration of letters and other matter passing by Mail, as well between places in Canada, as between Canada and the United Kingdom, any British Possession, the United States or any other Foreign Country, and to the charge to be made for the same; and also in respect to the registration by the officers of the Post Office of letters unquestionably containing money or other valuable enclosure when posted without registration by the senders of the same, and to imposing a rate of two cents registration charge upon such letters;
* * * * *
14. Establish and provide Street Letter Boxes or Pillar Boxes or Boxes of any other description for the receipt of letters and such other mailable matter as he may deem expedient, in the streets of any City or Town in Canada, or at any Railway Station or other public place where he may consider such Letter Boxes to be necessary;
15. Grant licenses revocable at pleasure, to Agents other than Postmasters, for the sale to the Public of Postage Stamps and Stamped Envelopes, and allow to such Agents a commission of not exceeding five per cent, on the amount of their sales.
Rates of Postage.
19. On all letters transmitted by Post for any distance within Canada, except in cases herein otherwise specially provided for, there shall be charged and paid one uniform rate of three cents per half ounce in weight, any fraction of an ounce being chargeable as a half ounce, provided that such three cents postage rate be prepaid by postage stamps or in current coin at the time of posting such letters; and when such letters are posted without prepayment being made thereon, then and in such case it shall be lawful to charge upon letters so posted unpaid a rate of five cents per half ounce.
20. On letters not transmitted through the mails, but posted and delivered at the same Post Office, commonly known as local or drop letters, the rate shall be one cent, to be in all cases prepaid by postage stamp affixed to such letters.
21. [Seamen and Soldiers, etc. in Her Majesty's service, entitled to receive and send letters on payment of a certain special sum in lieu of all British postage, shall be freed likewise from Canadian postage.]
22. The rate of postage upon newspapers printed and published in Canada, and issued not less frequently than once a week, from a known office of publication, and sent to regular subscribers in Canada by mail, shall be as follows: upon each such newspaper, when issued once a week, the rate for each quarter of a year, commencing on the first of January, first of April, first of July, or first of October of each year, shall be five cents, when issued twice a week, ten cents, when issued three times a week, fifteen cents, when issued six times a week, thirty cents, and in that proportion, adding one rate of five cents for each issue more frequent than once a week; and such postage must be pre-paid in advance from the first day of the quarter from which the payment commences, for a term of not less than a quarter of a year: ... provided, nevertheless, that Exchange Papers, addressed by one editor or publisher of a newspaper to another editor or publisher, may be sent by Post free of charge.
23. On all newspapers sent by Post in Canada, except in the cases hereinbefore expressly provided for, there shall be payable a rate not exceeding two cents each, and when such newspapers are posted in Canada this rate shall in all cases be prepaid by postage stamp affixed to the same.
24. For the purposes of this Act, the word "Newspapers" shall be held to mean periodicals published not less frequently than once in each week, and containing notices of passing events.
25. The rate of postage upon periodical publications, other than newspapers, shall be one cent per four ounces, or half a cent per number, when such periodicals weigh less than one ounce and are posted singly, and when such periodical publications are posted in Canada, these rates shall in all cases be prepaid by postage stamps affixed to the same.
26. On books, pamphlets, occasional publications, printed circulars, prices current, handbills, book and newspaper manuscript, printer's proof sheets whether corrected or not, maps, prints, drawings, engravings, photographs when not on glass, in cases containing glass, sheet music whether printed or written, packages of seeds, cuttings, bulbous roots, scions or grafts, patterns or samples of merchandize or goods, the rate of postage shall be one cent per ounce; provided that no letter or other communication intended to serve the purpose of a letter be sent or enclosed therein, and that the same be sent in covers open at the ends or sides or otherwise so put up as to admit of inspection by the Officers of the Post Office to ensure compliance with this provision—and this postage rate shall be prepaid by postage stamps in all cases when such articles are posted in Canada.
27. [Foregoing rates subject to such conditions as may be agreed upon between Canada and any other country.]
28. [Postage on unpaid letters is due from addressee, or if refused may be recovered with costs by civil action from sender. (See 13o—14o Vict. Cap. 17, Sec. 12.)]
29. In all cases where letters and other mailable matter are posted for places without the limits of Canada, on which stamps for pre-payment are affixed of less value than the true rate of Postage to which such letters are liable,—or when stamps for prepayment are affixed to letters addressed to any place as aforesaid for which prepayment cannot be taken in Canada,—the Postmaster General may forward such letters, charged with postage, as if no stamp had been affixed.
30. And for avoiding doubts, and preventing inconvenient delay in the posting and delivery of letters,—no Postmaster shall be bound to give change, but the exact amount of the postage on any letter or other mailable matter shall be tendered or paid to him in current coin as respects letters or other things delivered, and in current coin or postage stamps as the case may require in respect to the letters or other things posted.
31. [The Postmaster General may make reasonable compensation to Masters of vessels not Post Office Packets for conveyance of ship letters from foreign ports to Canada.]
32. [Postmaster General has exclusive privilege of collecting, conveying and delivering letters, etc.; $20 penalty for infraction. (See 13o—14o Vict. Cap. XVII. Sec. 9.)]
* * * * *
35. [The Postmaster General may employ Letter Carriers, and charge two cents for delivery of a letter and one cent for a newspaper or pamphlet. (See 14o—15o Vict. Cap. LXXI. Sec. 15.)]
36. It shall be lawful for the Postmaster General, with the consent of the Governor in Council, to establish in any city, when he shall deem it expedient, a system of free delivery by Letter Carrier of letters brought by mail and he may direct that from the time that such system is established, no charge shall be made for the delivery of such letters by Letter Carriers in such city, and further that on drop or local letters when delivered by Letter Carrier in such city, one cent only per half ounce shall be charged in addition to the ordinary local or drop letter rate.
37. [Postmaster General may establish a parcel post. (See 22o Vict. Cap. XVII. Sec. 5.)]
38. [Usual franking of official matter. (See 18o Vict. Cap. LXXIX. Secs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 24o Vict. Cap. XXV. Sec. 6), but limited to transmission in Canada.]
* * * * *
40. Letters, or other articles, which from any cause remain undelivered in any Post Office, or which having been posted, cannot be forwarded by post, shall under such regulations as the Postmaster General may make, be transmitted by Postmasters to the Post Office Department as Dead Letters, there to be opened and returned to the writers on payment of any postage due thereon, with five cents additional on each Dead Letter to defray the costs of returning the same, or such Dead Letters may in any case or class of cases be otherwise disposed of as the Postmaster General may direct.
* * * * *
77. [Stealing mail matter or forging stamps, etc., (see 13o—14o Vict. Cap. XVII. Sec. 16) is a felony. Stealing or damaging printed matter, package of merchandise, etc., or enclosing a letter in other mail matter, or obstructing mails is a misdemeanor.]
Sub. sec. 16. To remove with fraudulent intent from any letter, newspaper or other mailable matter, sent by Post, any postage stamp which shall have been affixed thereon, or wilfully, with intent aforesaid remove from any postage stamp which shall have been previously used, any mark which shall have been made thereon at any Post Office, shall be a misdemeanor.
* * * * *
81. If any person uses or attempts to use in prepayment of postage on any letter or other mailable matter posted in this Province, any postage stamp which has been before used for a like purpose, such person shall be subject to a penalty of not less than Ten and not exceeding Forty dollars for every such offense, and the letter or other mailable matter on which such stamp has been so improperly used may be detained, or in the discretion of the Postmaster General forwarded to its destination charged with double postage.
* * * * *
91. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Although the above Act gives most of the groundwork upon which the Post Office Department of Canada has since been operated, save of course the changes in detail that will be noted in their proper places, yet it seems advisable, in spite of some possible repetition, to quote the larger part of the Instructions sent out to Postmasters in preparation for the impending changes, because of additional details to be found therein.
To All Postmasters, and Other Persons Employed in the Postal Service of Canada:
Department Order No. 2.
Post Office Department,
Ottawa, 1st March, 1868.
The Post Office Act, passed on the 21st December, 1867, for the regulation of the Postal Service, will come into operation throughout the Dominion on and from the 1st April, 1868.
A copy of the Statute, and of the General Regulations founded thereon, will be forwarded to every Postmaster, whether in charge of a regular Post-Office, Way Office or Sub-Office, and to every Railway Mail Clerk; meanwhile the following summary of the principal provisions of the Act, as affecting the organization of the Department, in relation to the several Provinces of the Dominion, the postage rates to be charged from and after the 1st. April, etc., etc., is supplied for the information of Postmasters and other persons employed in the Post Office Service of Canada.
Organization of the Department.
1. The Superintendence and Management of the Postal Service of Canada is vested in the Post Office Department, at the seat of Government, Ottawa, under the direction of the Postmaster General of Canada.
2. Subject to the directions of the Postmaster General, the general management of the business of the Department will be with the Deputy Postmaster General of Canada.
3. The local Superintendence of Post Office business, and performance of such duties as are assigned to them by the Statute, or entrusted to them from time to time by the Postmaster General, will be confided to the Post Office Inspectors, of whom there are seven, stationed and exercising their powers and functions in the undermentioned Postal Divisions.
| Postal Division. | Post Office Address. |
|---|---|
| Nova Scotia | Halifax, N. S. |
| New Brunswick and the Bay Chaleurs, Coast of Gaspé | Frederickton, for the present |
| Province of Quebec, as far West as Three Rivers | Quebec |
| Province of Quebec, from Three Rivers Westward | Montreal |
| Province of Ontario, as far as Cobourg | Kingston |
| Province of Ontario, from Cobourg to Hamilton | Toronto |
| Province of Ontario, from Hamilton Westward | London |
4. All Postmasters, including Way Office and Sub-Office Keepers, are continued in Office, and all Bonds and Mail Contracts continued in force, subject to the ordinary conditions of such appointments and engagements, and to the future action of the Department.
PRINCIPAL RATES OF POSTAGE.
LETTERS.
5. On letters passing between any two places within the Dominion of Canada, a uniform rate, (irrespective of distance) of three cents per ½ oz., if prepaid; and five cents per ½ oz., if posted unpaid.
6. On letters between any place in the Dominion and any place in the United States, 6 cents per ½ oz., if prepaid; and 10 cents per ½ oz., if posted unpaid.
7. On letters to or from the United Kingdom, in Mails by Canada Packets, to or from Quebec in summer, or Portland in winter; or by Mail Packet to or from Halifax, 12½ cents per ½ oz.
| On do. in Mails via New York Packet | 15 | cents per ½ oz. |
| On letters to Prince Edward Island, if prepaid, | 3 | cents per ½ oz. |
| if posted unpaid, | 5 | cents per ½ oz. |
| On letters to Newfoundland, to be in all cases prepaid, | 12½ | cents per ½ oz. |
| On letters to British Columbia and Vancouver Island, in all cases to be prepaid, | 10 | cents per ½ oz. |
| On letters to Red River, to be in all cases prepaid, | 6 | cents per ½ oz. |
| On letters to Red River, to be in all cases prepaid, | 6 | cents per ½ oz. |
NEWSPAPER RATES.
8. Newspapers printed and published in Canada may be sent by Post from the office of publication to any place in Canada at the following rates, if paid quarterly in advance, either by the Publisher, at the Post Office where the papers are posted or by the subscriber, at the Post Office where the papers are delivered:—
| For a paper published | once a week | 5 | cents per quarter of a year. |
| do | twice a week | 10 | do |
| do | three times | 15 | do |
| do | six times | 30 | do |
If the above rates are prepaid by the Publisher, the Postmaster receiving payment must be careful to have the papers so prepaid separately put up, and marked, distinctly, as prepaid.
When the above rates are not prepaid in advance, by either the Publisher at the Office of posting or by the subscriber at the Office of delivery, the papers are to be charged one cent each on delivery.
9. Canadian Newspapers, addressed from the Office of publication to subscribers in the United Kingdom, the United States, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, may be forwarded, on prepayment at the Office in Canada where posted, at the above commuted rates, applicable to such papers within the Dominion.
10. Exchange Papers passing between publishers in Canada, and between publishers in Canada and publishers in the United States, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, are to pass free—one copy of each paper to each publisher.
11. Transient Newspapers include all Newspapers posted in Canada, other than Canada Newspapers sent from the Office of publication, and when addressed to any place within the Dominion, to the United Kingdom, to the United States, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland, must be prepaid two cents each by postage stamp.
12. Newspapers coming into Canada will be subject to the following charges on delivery:
If from the United Kingdom, by mail packet to Quebec, Halifax or Portland—Free on delivery.
By mails viâ the United States (New York), Two cents each.
If from the United States, two cents each, to be rated at the Canada Frontier, or exchange Office receiving mails from the United States.
If from Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland, when received by regular subscribers in Canada from the Office of publication, the ordinary commuted rates applicable to Canada Newspapers.
Transient Papers—two cents each.
13. The Canada Postage rates on Newspapers coming or going to the United Kingdom and the United States, will thus be the same as those charged in the United Kingdom and the United States on Newspapers there received from or sent to Canada.
14. Canada News Agents may post to regular subscribers in Canada, British Newspapers free, and United States Newspapers unpaid, such papers in the latter case, must be duly rated two cents each for collection on delivery.
PRINTED PAPERS, CIRCULARS, PRICES CURRENT, HAND BILLS, BOOKS, PAMPHLETS.
15. The rate on printed matter of this description posted in Canada, and addressed to any place in Canada, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland or the United States, will be one cent per ounce, to be prepaid by Postage Stamp; and a like rate will be payable on delivery, when received from the United States, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland.
PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS.
16. When posted in Canada for any place in Canada, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland or the United States, the rate will be one cent per four ounces.
17. A like rate will be payable on delivery in Canada, when received from the United States, Prince Edward Island or Newfoundland.
18. Periodicals weighing less than one ounce per number, when posted in Canada for any place within the Dominion, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland or the United States may, when put up singly, pass for one half cent per number, to be prepaid by Postage Stamp.
19. As the Postage Rates on Periodicals, other than Newspapers, will be payable in advance, and as certain classes of such periodicals, printed and published in Canada, and sent from the office of publication to regular subscribers, have for some time past been exempted from postage where exclusively devoted to the education of youth, to temperance, agriculture and science, or for other reasons, it is ordered, that with respect to periodicals which do now enjoy this privilege or exemption, the exemption shall continue until the expiration of the current year—that is until the 31st December, 1868, and that from the 1st. January, 1869, all such special exemptions and privileges shall cease.
PARCEL POST.
20. The rate on Parcels, by Parcel Post, will be 12½ cents per 8 ounces, that is to say:—
| On a parcel not exceeding 8 oz | 12½ cents |
| Over 8 oz., and not exceeding 1 lb | 25 cents |
| Over 1 lb., and not exceeding 24 oz | 37½ cents |
| And so on, to the limit of three lbs. |
BOOK AND NEWSPAPER MANUSCRIPT, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS MATTER.
21. On Book and Newspaper Manuscript (meaning written articles intended for insertion in a newspaper or periodical, and addressed to the Editor or Publisher thereof, for insertion), Printers' Proof Sheets, whether corrected or not, Maps, Prints, Drawings, Engravings, Music, whether printed or written, packages of Seeds, Cuttings, Roots, Scions or Grafts, and Botanical Specimens, the rate will be 1 cent per ounce, when posted for any place in Canada or the United States, and prepaid by Postage Stamp.
POSTAGE STAMPS.
22. To enable the Public to prepay conveniently by Postage Stamp the foregoing rates, the following denominations of Postage Stamps for use throughout the Dominion, have been prepared, and will be supplied to Postmasters for sale:—
| Half Cent | Stamps | } | All bearing, as a device, the effigy of Her Majesty. |
| One cent | do | ||
| Two cent | do | ||
| Three cent | do | ||
| Six cent | do | ||
| Twelve and a half cent | do | ||
| Fifteen cent | do |
23. The Postage Stamps now in use in the several Provinces may be accepted, as at present, in prepayment of letters, etc., for a reasonable time after the 1st of April; but from and after that date all issues and sales to the public will be of the new denomination.
FRANKING AND FREE MATTER.
The following matter is exempt from Canadian Postage:—
24. All letters and other mailable matter addressed to or sent by the Governor of Canada.
25. All letters or other mailable matter addressed to or sent by any Department of the Government, at the seat of Government at Ottawa, under such regulations as may from time to time be made by the Governor in Council.
26. All letters and other mailable matter addressed to or sent by the Speaker or Chief Clerk of the Senate or of the House of Commons, or to or by any Member of either House, at the Seat of Government, during any Session of Parliament—or addressed to any of the Members or Officers in this section mentioned at the Seat of Government as aforesaid, during the ten days next before the meeting of Parliament.
27. All public documents and printed papers sent by the Speaker or Chief Clerk of the Senate or of the House of Commons to any Member of either House during the recess of Parliament.
28. All papers printed by order of either House sent by Members of either House during the recess of Parliament.
29. Petitions and Addresses to either of the Provincial Legislatures of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, or to any branch thereof; and votes, proceedings and other papers, printed by order of any such Legislature, or any branch thereof, during any Session thereof,—provided such petitions and addresses, votes, proceedings and other papers, are sent without covers, or in covers open at the ends or sides, and contain no Letter or written communication to serve the purpose of a Letter.
30. Letters and other mailable matter (except that provided for as above) addressed to or sent by the Provincial Governments or Legislatures of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, will be liable to the ordinary rates of Postage.
31. Public documents and printed papers sent under the foregoing clauses should bear, as part of the address, the bona fide superscription of the Speaker, Chief Clerk, or Officer specially deputed for this purpose to act for those functionaries, or of the Member sending the same.
32. The privilege of free transmission, as above described, has effect only as respects Canada Postage rates.
33. All letters and other mailable matter to and from the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General, and all Official communications to and from the Post Office Department, and to and from the Post Office Inspectors, are to pass free of Canadian Postage.
34. All letters and communications on the business of the Post Office Department, intended for the Post Office Department at Ottawa, should be invariably addressed to "The Postmaster General." The branch of the Department for which the letter or communication is intended should be written on the left hand upper corner of the letter, thus:—
"For Accountant"
"For Secretary"
[etc.]
as the case may be, but the main direction must be to the Postmaster General, or Deputy Postmaster General.
35. All letters containing a remittance on account of the Public Revenue sent by any Postmaster in Canada to a Bank or Bank Agency; and all remittances or acknowledgements sent by a Bank or Bank agency, on account of Public Revenue, to any Postmaster in Canada, are to pass free through the Post, as respects both postage and registration charge.
36. No change is made in the Way or Sub-Office system of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Quebec or Ontario.
37. No change is made in the Money Order System.
38. A system of Post Office Savings Banks will be instituted on the 1st. April, and will be extended as quickly as practicable to all the principal cities, towns and places throughout the Dominion.
A. CAMPBELL, Postmaster General.
[85] 30o—31o Vict. Cap. III.
CHAPTER VIII
THE ISSUE OF 1868
A glance at the new regulations quoted in the last chapter will show that there is no five or seventeen cent prepaid rate, and but one at ten cents—to British Columbia and Vancouver Island; as a result these three denominations are not found in the new set of Dominion postage stamps. On the other hand the half cent transient newspaper rate, the three cent letter rate, with its double at six cents, and the new British Packet rate via New York of fifteen instead of seventeen cents, necessitated these four additional denominations in the new series.
The stamps themselves are as usual line engraved on steel, and present more "continuity of design" throughout the set than before. The main feature of this design is a circular medallion bearing a diademed profile portrait of Queen Victoria to right, on a horizontally lined ground. Arched above this medallion are the words CANADA POSTAGE, and beneath it the value, both in words and Arabic numerals, a slightly different arrangement occurring on each denomination. Foliations of acanthus pattern fill in the remainder of the design, making the outline somewhat irregular. The stamps are fairly large, averaging 20 × 24 mm. in size, except the half cent, which is considerably smaller, being only 17 × 21 mm. They will be found illustrated as Nos. 17, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 24 on Plate I.
The stamps were printed in sheets of 100, ten rows of ten, and by the imprint we find they were the product of a new concern. This imprint appears in colorless capitals on a narrow strip of color with bossed ends, and reads BRITISH AMERICAN BANK NOTE CO. MONTREAL & OTTAWA. This strip is framed by a very thin parallel line, its entire width being but one millimeter, while its length is about 51 mm. It occurs but once on a side, being placed against the middle two stamps (numbers 5 and 6) of each row at a distance of about 3 mm. (see illustration 107 on Plate IX.) The inscription reads up on the left and down on the right, as before, but the bottom one is now upright, instead of being reversed.
In the case of the half cent stamp at least, we find an additional marginal imprint over the second and third stamps of the top row. This consists of the words HALF CENT, in shaded Roman capitals 4 mm. high, the whole being about 40 mm. long, (illustration 119 on Plate XI). Presumably the same thing, varied for each denomination, occurs on other values of the series, as we find it does on the succeeding issue; but a strip from the top of a sheet of the 15 cent stamps proves that it was lacking on that value at least.
The normal colors of the stamps of this series are approximately:—½ cent, black; 1 cent, brown red; 2 cents, green; 3 cents, deep red; 6 cents, dark brown; 12½ cents, deep blue; 15 cents, mauve. We say approximately, since there is considerable variation as may be noted by a glance at the Reference List. Particularly is this the case with the 15 cent stamp. The earliest tint is the one we have noted—mauve; but the stamp was in practically continuous use down to 1900, and the gamut of shades and colors through which it passed in that time is almost equal to the 10 cent stamp of the preceding issue.
Of the approximate dates of issue of some of the more pronounced shades of the 15 cent stamp it is possible to give an idea through the chronicles of various contemporary magazines which noted them. The original stamp we know was in a mauve tint, and was so chronicled in the Stamp Collector's Magazine for May 1868 (VI: 71). The American Journal of Philately for April 20, 1868, (I:18) describes it as "lilac". The Stamp Collector's Magazine in December, 1874 (XII: 182) says it has "just appeared in a dull deep mauve." Next M. Moens notes that it has become gray lilac, in Le Timbre-poste for March, 1877. Again in the issue for June, 1880, he records it in bright violet, while in May, 1881, it is described as a dark slate color (ardoise foncé). In the July, 1888, issue of the Halifax Philatelist the color is said to have reverted to the mauve tint of the first printings except that it was "more bluish", and once more in May, 1890, the Dominion Philatelist states that "The Canada 15c. has again changed color. It is now bright violet." Finally, in Mekeel's Weekly for March 12, 1896, under "Canadian Notes", we read that "quite a large stock is still on hand in the P.O. Department, but no more are being printed. What are going out now are the remainders of various batches. They are coming in all shades; some being almost the first issue colors."
It remains to note two additions to this series. The first was a change in color:—the 1 cent and 3 cent stamps were quite naturally found to be too nearly alike in shade to properly differentiate them in the rush of post office business. Hence the 1 cent was changed to an orange yellow, appearing in its new dress in 1809. The exact date seems not to be available, but we find it first noted in The Philatelist for April 1, 1809, in these words:—"The 1 cent and 3 c. of this colony have been hitherto almost identical in hue; that anomaly is now rectified by the recent emission of the former value in bright orange." In the "Summary for the year 1809", the same paper credits the issue to January, 1869.[86]
The second addition was a 5 cent stamp, which is a bit of an anomaly inasmuch as it is a companion in size and design to the 1868 series, but was issued on October 1, 1875, after the series in reduced size, begun in 1870, had been practically completed. The explanation is simple: the die of this large 5 cent stamp had been engraved in 1867 with the other values of the first Dominion series,[87] but as there were no rates requiring such a denomination in the set, it was not issued. When in 1875 the need for a 3 cent value arose, the unused die was employed to make a plate for temporary use, until a new die conforming in size and design with the small stamps could be prepared. The large 5 cent stamp is thus really in the nature of a provisional, for its smaller and permanent successor followed it in about four months.
The statement is often made that the 5 cent denomination was required because of Canada's entry into the Universal Postal Union, which was instituted on July 1, 1875. The statement has elements of truth in it, inasmuch as the indirect results of Canada's application produced the 5 cent rate which required the new stamp; but the statement is not exact because Canada was not actually admitted to the Postal Union until three years later. The Postmaster General's Reports tell the story. The Report for 30th June, 1875 says:—