In my opinion, which I have had confirmed by several most competent authorities, the various imperforated copies which I show you, some used and some unused, are absolutely genuine varieties. Imperforated copies of various values were sold over the Post-office counter in Montreal about the years 1891-3, at their face value, and have been good for postage whenever people cared to use them. The quantities in this condition are, I believe, extremely small.
Supplementing this Mr. Pack writes:[110]—
I quite agree with Mr. Horsley in regard to the various imperforate copies of the issues of 1882 to 1895. There are a good many specimens of these stamps imperforate, and they were on sale at a Canadian Post Office.
The above statements are correct, and we can vouch for them by documentary evidence. Not only were the various values of the series we are considering on sale in imperforate condition, but also the 8, 20 and 50 cent stamps which we are next to consider, and the shade of the 8 cent stamp shows it to have been among the earlier printings—probably in 1893. We are fortunate in being able to present illustrations of all these imperforates in blocks of four or more, which will be found on Plates IX, X and XII.
That these imperforates are perfectly good for postage and are recognized by the Canadian Post Office to this day, equally with their perforated prototypes, has been proved to our satisfaction because we have employed some on registered matter addressed to the United States. As this class of mail requires to be fully prepaid, any irregularity would at once be detected and the covers would tell the story. We illustrate a pair of the 2 cent imperforate on a registered cover mailed at Como, Quebec, on March 20, 1905. [Plate XIII, No. 129.]
As before, we find that a few stamps have been "split" and used for half their value, copies of the 2 cent and 6 cent having been cut vertically and doing unquestioned duty as 1 cent and 3 cent stamps respectively. As this practise is unauthorized they can be regarded mearly as freaks that have slipped through by carelessness—or favor.
Turning once more to the Postmaster General's Reports, we begin with that of the 30th June, 1875. This notes that:—
The Act passed in the last Session of Parliament for the regulation of the Postal Service of Canada, came wholly into force on the 1st October, 1875.
1. Letters passing by mail at 3 cents per ½ oz.
2. Local or drop letters at 1 cent per ½ oz.
3. Post cards 1 cent each.
4. Canadian newspapers and periodicals, from office of publication at 1 cent per pound of bulk weight.
5. Transient newspapers and periodicals, circulars, books, pamphlets, etc., open, 1 cent per 4 oz.
6. Newspapers or periodicals weighing less than 1 oz. each, when posted singly, ½ cent each.
7. Closed parcels not containing letters, 12½ cents per 8 oz.
The Act referred to was "An Act to amend and consolidate the Statute Law for the regulation of the Postal Service. [Assented to 8th April, 1875.]"[111] and was mainly a repetition of The Post Office Act, 1867,[112] with certain amendments incorporated. The principal changes which interest us are as follows:—
1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as "The Post Office Act, 1875," etc., etc.
10.—6. Cause to be prepared and distributed postage and registration stamps necessary for the prepayment of postages and registration charges, under this Act; also stamped envelopes for the like purpose and post-cards and stamped post bands or wrappers for newspapers or other mailable articles not being post letters.
19. [Letter rate of 3 cents per ½ oz.]: and such postage rate of three cents shall be pre-paid by postage stamp or stamps at the time of posting the letter, otherwise such letter shall not be forwarded by post, except that letters addressed to any place in Canada and on which one full rate of three cents has been so pre-paid, shall be forwarded to their destination charged with double the amount of the postage thereon not so prepaid, which amount shall be collected on delivery.
20. [Drop letter rate restricted to "one cent per half ounce weight."]
22. The rate of postage on newspaper and periodical publications printed and published in Canada, and issued not less frequently than once a month from a known office of publication or news agency, and addressed and posted by and from the same to regular subscribers or news agents, shall be one cent for each pound weight, or any fraction of a pound weight, to be prepaid by postage stamps or otherwise as the Postmaster General may, from time to time, direct; and such newspapers and periodicals shall be put into packages and delivered into the post office, and the postage rate thereon prepaid by the sender thereof, under such regulations as the Postmaster General may, from time to time, direct.
23. Newspapers and periodicals weighing less than one ounce each may be posted singly at a postage rate of half a cent each, which must be in all cases prepaid by postage stamp affixed to each.
24. On all newspapers and periodicals posted in Canada, except in the cases hereinbefore expressly provided for, and on books, etc., etc., [repeats Sec. 26 of Act of 1867], the rate of postage shall be one cent for each four ounces or fraction of four ounces, ... and this postage rate shall be prepaid by postage stamps or stamped post bands or wrappers....
27. [Repeats Sec. 29 of Act of 1867] And when any letter or other mailable matter is posted in Canada without prepayment, or insufficiently prepaid, in any case in which prepayment is by this Act made obligatory, the Postmaster General may detain the same, and cause it to be returned, when practicable, to the sender.
28. [Replaces Sec. 30 of Act of 1867] 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, bearing unpaid postage, as shall also the exact value in current coin as respects postage stamps, registration stamps, stamped envelopes or post cards, post bands or wrappers, purchased from any Postmaster and the exact amount of postage payable to any letter-carrier on any letter or mailable matter delivered by him.
38. [Repeats Sec. 40 of Act of 1867 concerning dead letters, but lowers the charge for returning to three cents and allows for deduction of postage prepaid in the case of insufficiently prepaid matter.]
87. The foregoing sections of this Act shall come into force and effect on the first day of October, in the present year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, except only in so far as they relate to the rates of postage on newspapers and periodicals sent to the United States, as to which they shall come into force on the first day of May now next....
From the above quotations we see that the new Act made prepayment of letters by stamps obligatory, and imposed a fine of double the deficiency if insufficiently prepaid; that the unlimited weight of drop letters was restricted to ½ oz. per rate; that newspapers and periodicals were classed together and publishers given the low rate of 1 cent per pound; that the rate of 2 cents on transient newspapers was reduced to ½ cent per ounce, and 1 cent up to four ounces; etc.
The Report of 1875 further informs us that the free delivery of letters by carrier had been commenced in the following cities on the dates given:—
| Montreal | 1st October, | 1874. |
| Toronto | 1st March, | 1875. |
| Quebec | 1st April, | " |
| Ottawa | 1st May, | " |
| Hamilton | 1st " | " |
| St. John, N.B. | 1st " | " |
| Halifax, N.S. | 1st July, | " |
Previous to the above dates a charge (in addition to the ordinary postage) of two cents on each letter received by mail, of one cent on each letter posted in the city, and of one cent on each newspaper, was collected by the letter-carrier on delivery of the same. Halifax was an exception, as letters and papers sent out for delivery by letter-carrier had been delivered without extra charge since 1851.
The British American Bank Note Co. was paid for
Engraving and printing postage stamps for Post Office Department, $22,675.50.
The Report of 1876 contains no special items not already noted, but that of 1877 states that the letter rate of postage with Newfoundland had been reduced from 6 cents to 5 cents per ½ oz., and the same rate had been obtained with Germany from 1st April, 1877.
The Report of 1878 announces the admission of Canada into the Universal Postal Union from the 1st July, as we have already detailed.[113] The Report of 1879 says: "A reduction has been made, from the 1st September last, in the postage rate on closed parcels sent by post within the Dominion, from 12½ cents per 8 oz. of weight to 6 cents per 4 oz. Under this change small parcels not exceeding 4 ounces in weight are admitted to pass for 6 cents instead of 12½ cents as before." This sounded the death knell of the 12½ cent stamp, which dropped in the number issued to postmasters from 84,150 in 1879 to 13,400 in 1880 and 4950 in 1881. It was issued in decreasing numbers down to 1888, when it disappears from the accounts.
Nothing further of importance transpired until 1881, when a supplementary agreement touching certain points was signed with the United States Post Office Department:—
Additional Articles of Agreement Between the Dominion of Canada and the United States of America.
For the purpose of affording to the public increased facilities for the exchange of written correspondence, and also of preventing evasions by publishers, of the postal laws and regulations of the United States, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have agreed upon the following additional articles to the Postal Agreement of 27th January and 1st February, 1875:
Article I.
Insufficiently paid letters mailed in the United States and addressed to Canada, or vice versâ, mailed in Canada and addressed to the United States, on which a single rate of postage or more has been prepaid, shall be forwarded charged with the amount of the deficient postage, to be collected on delivery and retained by the Post Department of the country of destination. The amount of such deficient postage shall be indicated in figures, by the despatching exchange office, on the upper left-hand corner of the address.
Article II.
When newspapers, periodicals and other printed matter, published or originating in the United States, are brought into Canada and posted there for destinations in the United States, apparently to evade the postage rates or regulations applicable to such matter in the United States, the Canada Post Office may require prepayment of the same to be made at a rate equivalent to double the Canada domestic rates.
* * * * *
Article IV.
The present articles shall be considered additional to those agreed upon between the two offices on the 27th January and 1st February, 1875, and shall come into operation on the 1st of May, 1881.
* * * * *
The Report of June 30, 1882 states that newspapers and periodicals published in Canada (under certain conditions as to form and manner of posting) are transmitted free by Post within the Dominion when posted from the office of publication to regular subscribers, from 1st June, 1882. This must have been due to a Department Order, as the Statutes of Canada reveal no such enactment at this time. The same Report announces the issue of reply post cards, but those will be dealt with later.
Statistics make up most of the Reports until that of 1886, when an item of interest in connection with the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway is found: "The first through train left Montreal on Monday the 28th June, 1885, and arrived at Port Moody, the Pacific terminus of the road on the 4th July. Mails for British Columbia commenced to pass over the Canadian Pacific Railway by this first train." This marked the independence of Canada from the United States in the matter of transcontinental transportation of mails. The distance from Montreal to Port Moody is given as 2892 miles.
In connection with this event the following note may be of interest:[114]—
Up to the time the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, nearly all letters from the Northwest bore United States stamps. The Northwest mounted police took their mail to Bismarck, Dak., and others were sent to Fargo, from whence they were sent around to Detroit and thence into Canada. The pony express was used in the Canadian Northwest, but no system, no stamps and probably no stipulated charges were made to get a letter to the frontier of the United States.
The Report of 1887 says that:—
Provision has been made for the transmission by mail between all places in Canada, from 1st February, 1888, of small articles of ordinary goods and manufactures in packages, open to inspection, on payment of a postage charge of 1 cent per oz. Also a new convention with the United States Post Office providing that from the 1st March, 1888, the same class of matter will be admitted to pass between Canada and the United States, subject to Customs inspection.
The Report of 1888 announces the extension of free delivery by letter carriers to Victoria, B. C. Since the list of free delivery offices given on page 133, there are to be added as well:—
| London, Ontario | 24th April, 1876. |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba, | 1st April, 1882. |
| Kingston, Ontario, | 1st July, 1882. |
The Report of 1889 states that "the Post Office Act of 1889 increased the limit of weight of a single rate letter from ½ ounce to 1 ounce. The rate on drop letters at the same time was fixed at 2 cents per ounce." The Act[115] referred to was an amendment to the Post Office Act, (assented to on the 2nd May, 1889), and the notice of the changes issued to the public was as follows:—
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC.
CHANGES IN POSTAGE RATES UNDER AUTHORITY OF POST OFFICE ACT 1889.
The rate of postage upon Letters posted in Canada, addressed to places within the Dominion or in the United States, will be 3 cents per ounce instead of 3 cents per half ounce as heretofore.
Upon Drop Letters posted at an Office from which letters are delivered by Letter Carrier, the postage rate will be 2 cents per ounce, instead of 1 cent per half ounce. The rate of postage upon Drop Letters, except in the Cities where free delivery by Letter Carrier has been established, will be 1 cent per ounce.
The fee for the Registration of a letter or other article of mail matter, will be five cents upon all classes of correspondence passing within the Dominion. For the present and until further instructed, the registration fee may be prepaid by using the 2 cent Registration Stamps and Postage Stamps to make up the amount.
Letters insufficiently prepaid will be charged double the deficiency as heretofore, provided at least a partial prepayment has been made.
Letters posted wholly unpaid will be sent to the Dead Letter Office for return to the writer.
POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, JOHN G. HAGGART.
OTTAWA, 8th MAY, 1889 Postmaster General
The Act also made another change, not noted in the circular, by which section 24 of The Post Office Act, 1875, which provided a rate of 1 cent per 4 ounces on printed matter, seeds, etc., and samples of merchandise, was amended so as to limit the weight of printed matter to 2 ounces for the 1 cent rate.
The 1889 Report also chronicles the "removal of the British American Bank Note Co. from Montreal to Ottawa," a fact which we have already commented upon at length in its results upon the stamps issued after the transfer.[116]
In 1890 we find that "the complaints which were so prevalent some time since, of the want of adhesiveness in the postage stamps have almost entirely ceased. It is hoped, therefore, that the efforts of the manufacturer to remove the cause of complaint have been successful." And again in 1891: "Complaints of defective mucilage would be far less frequent if the public would kindly bear in mind that it is the envelope of a letter, or the cover of a packet, and not the postage stamp, which should be moistened when stamps are affixed in prepayment of postage. When a stamp is passed over the tongue the mucilage is frequently almost wholly removed." They should have had these instructions engraved on the margins of the plates, as did the British authorities with the old one penny black!
The Report for 1892 announces the preparation of letter cards, which will be treated of later, and also says: "Postage stamps of the value of 20 cents and 50 cents are about to be issued. These will be useful in prepayment of parcel post." And this brings us to our next chapter.
[106] Le Timbre-Poste, XXVI: 61.
[107] Weekly Philatelic Era, XII: 23.
[108] Monthly Journal, VIII: 237.
[109] London Philatelist, XVI: 88.
[110] London Philatelist, XVI: 144.
[111] 38o Vict. Chap. 7.
[114] Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News, II: 32: 2.
[115] 52o Vict. Chap. 20.
Before proceeding with the subject matter of this chapter in detail, it may be well to reproduce here a synopsis of the Canadian Postal Rates and Regulations as set forth in the Dominion Philatelist in December, 1893, and taken from the then current Canada Postal Guide. This will give a comprehensive review of the results of the various Acts and Amendments and Department Orders that we have quoted—and of some of the last that we have been unable to obtain.
1st. Class Matter.—Includes Letters, Post Cards, Legal and Commercial Papers wholly or partially written, with the exception of those specially exempted, and all matter of the nature of a letter or written correspondence.
The letter rate for Canada, Newfoundland and the United States is 3 cents per oz., and for all other destinations 5 cents per ½ oz.
Insufficiently paid letters posted in and addressed to Canada are charged with double the amount of the postage due thereon.
When posted wholly unpaid they will be sent to the Dead Letter Office.
Insufficiently paid letters for or from the United States, are charged with the deficient postage on delivery. Letters for the United States must be prepaid at least one full rate, 3 cents.
Wholly unpaid letters for and from the United Kingdom and other countries, are charged double postage on delivery, and insufficiently prepaid letters double the deficiency.
Letters addressed to mere initials, or to fictitious names, will not be delivered, unless a street address, the number of a box, or some other definite direction is added.
Letters bearing mutilated stamps, or stamps so soiled and defaced as to make it impossible for the sorting clerks to decide whether they have been used before or not, will be sent to the Dead Letter Office.
Post Cards. Nothing whatever may be attached to a post card, nor may it be cut or altered in any way. A previously used post card, bearing a 1 cent stamp, will not be accepted as a post card.
2nd Class Matter.—For Canada, Newfoundland and the United States.—Newspapers and Periodicals posted from the office of publication, for regular subscribers in other places in Canada, Newfoundland and the United States, pass free of postage.
Newspapers and periodicals issued less frequently than once a month, and addressed to regular subscribers or news agents, and on all specimen newspapers, one cent per pound or fraction of a pound.
British newspapers and periodicals brought by mail to Canadian booksellers, or News Agents, for regular subscribers in Canada are liable to 1 cent per lb. or fraction of a lb.
Newspapers from offices of publication for city delivery are subject to ordinary transient newspaper rates.
3rd Class Matter.—Addressed to Canada.—1. Transient newspapers and periodicals. Rate, 1 cent per 4 oz.; prepayment compulsory; limit of weight, 5 lbs. A single paper weighing not more than 1 oz. may pass for ½ cent.
2. Book packets. Rate, 1 cent per 4 oz.; limit of weight, 5 lbs., except for a single book, in which case the limit is 7 lbs.
3. Miscellaneous matter. (a) Printed pamphlets, printed circulars, etc., and also seeds, cuttings, bulbs, etc.; rate, 1 cent per 4 oz. (b) Maps, lithographs, photographs, circulars produced by a multiplying process easy to recognize, deeds, mortgages, insurance policies, militia, school and municipal returns, printed stationery, etc.; rate, 1 cent per 2 oz.
Circulars, Prices Current, etc., to pass at 1 c. rate must be ENTIRELY PRINTED. Any insertion in ink is not permissible, except the name and address of the addressee, the name of the sender and the date of the circular itself.
Circulars type-written, or in such form as to resemble type-written, are liable to letter rate.
All miscellaneous matter must be put up so as to admit of easy inspection. The limit of weight is 5 lbs.
4. Patterns and samples. Rate, 1 cent per 4 oz.; limit of weight 24 oz.; must be securely put up and open to inspection, and boxes or linen bags should be used for flour and similar matter.
Miscellaneous Matter for the United States.—(a) Newspapers and periodicals; rate 1 cent per 4 oz. (b) Other miscellaneous matter, including books; rate, 1 cent per 2 oz., but a minimum prepayment of 5 cents is required for legal and commercial papers.
The limit of weight for patterns and samples is 8 oz., and for other matter under this head 5 lbs.
4th Class Matter.—Parcel Post for Canada.—Parcels must not exceed five lbs. in weight nor two feet in length by one foot in breadth or thickness. The postage is 6 cents per 4 oz., and the parcel should be marked "by PARCEL POST." Parcels may be registered by affixing a 5 cent Registration Stamp thereto, in addition to the postage.
Insufficiently paid parcels may be forwarded charged with simply the deficient postage, provided one full rate is paid and the deficiency does not exceed one rate.
5th Class Matter.—Comprises such articles of general merchandise as are not entitled to any lower rate of postage. Postage 1 cent per oz., or fraction of an ounce. Limit of weight, 5 lbs.; of size, two feet in length by one foot in width or depth. Matter claiming to be 5th Class must be open to inspection and there must be no correspondence enclosed. Packages of 5th Class matter, including Seeds, Bulbs, Cuttings, Roots, may be sent to the United States for the same prepayment as required within the Dominion, but the contents will be liable to Customs inspection and collection of duty in the United States. Sealed tins containing fish, lobster, vegetables, meats, &c., if put up in a solid manner and labelled in such a way as to fully indicate the nature of their contents may be sent as 5th Class Matter within the Dominion, but no sealed matter can be forwarded to the United States under this head. Liquids, oils and fatty substances may be sent to places in Canada and the United States as 5th Class Matter, if put up in accordance with the ruling referring to such articles in the Canada Postal Guide. Electrotype blocks are included in this class. An insufficiently prepaid packet of 5th Class Matter may be forwarded charged with double the deficient postage, provided the deficiency does not exceed 5 cents.
Parcel Post.—For the United Kingdom and the Countries and Colonies with which the United Kingdom maintains Parcel Post relations, and for Newfoundland, Barbados, British Guiana, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Jamaica, Turks Island, Curacoa and Japan.—Parcels securely and substantially packed and closed for the United Kingdom, and other countries and colonies to which parcels may be sent via England, and for Newfoundland, limited in size to 2 feet in length by one foot in width or depth. The postage for the United Kingdom, which must be prepaid, is 20c. for the first lb. and 16c. for each additional lb. or fraction of a pound; the limit of weight is 11 lbs. For Japan the postage is 25c., the limit of weight is 7 lbs. For Newfoundland, 15 c. per lb., or fraction of a pound. For Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, 20 c. per lb. Parcels for Newfoundland are daily forwarded on to Halifax, N.S. For Japan, on to Vancouver, B. C. For Barbados, British Guiana, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, on to St. John, N.B., and for the United Kingdom and other countries and colonies by the weekly mail and conveyed by the steamers of the Canadian Lines. Parcels posted without the formalities required are sent to the Dead Letter Office, Ottawa.
Registration.—All classes of matter may be registered to places in Canada, the United States and Postal Union Countries, and the sender may entitle himself to an acknowledgement of delivery from the party addressed by the payment of a fee of 5 cents in addition to the registration fee.
(A) Commercial Papers, (B) Books and (C) Samples, for Postal Union Countries.
"Commercial papers" comprise all papers or documents, written or drawn, wholly or partly by hand, (except letters or communications in the nature of letters, or other documents having the character of an actual and personal correspondence), documents of legal procedure, Deeds drawn up by public functionaries, copies of, or extracts from Deeds under private seal, Way-Bills, Bills of Lading, Invoices and other documents of a mercantile character, documents of Insurance and other public companies, all kinds of manuscript music, the manuscript of books and other literary works, and other papers of a similar description.
"Printed Papers" include periodical works, books, stitched or bound, sheets of printed music, visiting cards, address cards, proofs of printing with or without the manuscript relating thereto, engravings, photographs, when not on glass or in frames containing glass, drawings, plans, maps, catalogues, prospectuses, announcements and notices of various kinds, printed, engraved, lithographed, printed circulars.
(A) Limits of weight and size: 5 lbs. for the United Kingdom, and 4 lbs. for other countries, 18 inches in length and 12 inches in width or depth.
(B) 5 lbs. for the United Kingdom, and 4 lbs. to other countries, 2 feet long and 1 foot wide or deep.
(C) United Kingdom, 5 lbs. in weight, 2 feet in length by 1 foot in breadth or depth.
(D) Limits of weight to Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Egypt, France, Hawaii, Italy, Portugal, Roumania and Switzerland, is 12 ozs., limit of size 1 foot in length by 8 inches in width and 4 inches in depth. If in form of a roll it may be 12 inches in length and 6 inches in diameter.
The limit of weight to other Postal Union Countries is 8 ozs., limit of size same as to Austria-Hungary, &c., &c.
Matter Which Cannot be Forwarded Through the Post.—Liquids, Oils, etc., not properly put up. Explosive Substances and other matter likely to entail risk or injury to the ordinary contents of the mail, cannot be sent by post.
Letters containing Gold or Silver Money, Jewels, or precious articles, or anything liable to Customs duties, cannot be forwarded by Post to any of the Postal Union Countries except the United States.
We see from the above postal packet rates where the use of a 20 cent stamp would be convenient, which accounts for the announcement of the new value in the Postmaster General's Report last quoted in the preceding chapter. The 50 cent stamp of course would serve a useful purpose in making up relatively large amounts of postage. The above rates also show that there was still use for the 15 cent stamp in payment of parcels to Newfoundland.
We find notice of the issue of the new values in the Dominion Philatelist[117] as follows:—
As foreshadowed in the Postmaster General's report, there have appeared Canada postage stamps of the value of 20c. and 50c.; the 20c. is a bright deep orange and the 50c. is indigo blue, they are of similar design and resemble very much the third issue bill stamp and may be described as follows: head and shoulders of Queen to left, with widow's cap and chin resting on right hand, enclosed in a circle; above the circle the words "Canada Postage", below the circle at either side the value in figures and across the bottom the value in words.... The above were all placed on sale Feb. 22nd. The 20c. and 50c. stamps were intended for parcel post.
The somewhat ambiguous description will be more readily understood by reference to the illustrations, numbers 33 and 35 on Plate II.
The stamps, as stated, are very evidently copied from the design of the dollar values of the Bill Stamps issued in 1868. The portrait of the Queen in her widow's weeds, in fact, is doubtless reproduced directly from the original die engraved twenty-five years previously. The stamps were of course line engraved on steel, and printed in the usual sheet arrangement of 100, ten rows of ten. The plates of course emanated from Ottawa, but bear a new imprint, similar to the second one used in Montreal. The colored strip is now 38 mm. long and 2½ mm. high with square ends, and bears the legend: "British American Bank Note Co. Ottawa." within a pearled border. It appears only twice, in the center of the top and of the bottom margins, and can be seen in illustrations Nos. 106 and 108 on Plate IX. The colors are not exactly as described in our quotation, the 20 cent being a vermilion or bright red, similar to the colors of the 3 cent, and the 50 cent a deep blue, but not indigo. According to the advices of the American Journal of Philately (VI: 102) the stamps were issued on the 17th February—five days earlier than the above quotation states.
Both values were printed on a medium white wove paper and perforated 12. Both were ordered to the number of half a million copies in 1893, and in 1895 25,000 more of the 20 cent and 30,000 more of the 50 cent were delivered, with a final 200 copies of each in 1896. These quantities were sufficient to last until the 20 cent was superseded by the newer type in 1901, and the 50 cent by the King's head stamp in 1908. Some 1500 of the 20 cent were returned for destruction and about 10,000 of the 50 cent!
Both these stamps are found imperforate and in this condition are to be classed in the same category as the imperforates of the "small cents issue," which we have already considered.[118] Illustrations of blocks of four of each will be found as numbers 106 and 108 on Plate IX. The 50 cent is in a peculiar black blue shade.
In the preceding chapter we quoted a circular from the Postmaster General which called attention to the changes made by The Post Office Act, 1889. A uniform registration fee of 5 cents was one of these, and to enable the 2 cent registration stamps to be used up permission was given to make up the difference by postage stamps when registering mail matter. Four years later it was decided to discontinue the use of the special stamp for the registration fee, and to permit its prepayment by ordinary postage stamps. As the combined letter and registration rate was eight cents, a stamp of this value for use on registered letters was deemed advisable. We read under "Canadian Notes" in Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News for August 10, 1893:—
The following orders were posted up in all the Canadian post-offices on August 1st:
"A new postage stamp of the value of 8c. is now being put into circulation. This stamp will be available for the prepayment either of registration fee and postage combined, or of postage only. The 5c. registration stamp, when the present supply is exhausted, will be withdrawn."
The new stamp reverted to the small size and general design of the "small cents issue", but with the important difference that the head was turned to the left instead of the right, as with all the others of that series. It was line engraved on steel, as usual, and the only entire sheet we have seen was of 200, in ten horizontal rows of twenty stamps, but without a sign of any marginal imprints. The perforation variety 11½ × 12 is reported as occurring in this value also, as well as the regular gauge 12. The color was at first a bluish gray, which soon darkened and ran through a series of shades as if in emulation of the old 6 pence stamp. Mr. Horsley states[119] that it appeared in slate-blue in October of 1893, and slate in 1895. Alfred Smith's Monthly Circular for December, 1895, records it in a "dark slate-black," and the Weekly Philatelic Era for November 30, 1895, says that "a peculiar feature in connection with the new shade of the current eight cent Canada postage stamp is that upon being put in water and left there for a few minutes the paper becomes of a pinkish tint which after the stamp becomes dry still remains." This "new shade" was doubtless the dark slate color referred to, which must have been issued, therefore, in October or November of 1895. In December, 1897, the Monthly Journal notes it in a "deep purple", similar in shade to the 8 cent Jubilee stamp, and very likely printed from the same mixing of ink.
The stamp was printed upon a medium white wove paper, and is found in imperforate condition like the other values of the then current stamps, which we have already described.[120] The imperforates are in the early bluish gray color, so that it is fair to suppose they were from the first printings in 1893. A block of four is illustrated as number 110 on Plate X.
The first delivery of these stamps—and of course the first printing—was of 100,000, as recorded in the stamp accounts for 1893. As these accounts were made up to 30th June, and there is no record of any "issue to postmasters," the stamps were doubtless delivered just before the accounts were closed, so that opportunity had not been given to distribute the new value. For the next few fiscal years the amount received from the manufacturers averaged over a million and a half annually, so that by the time it was superseded it had been printed to the number of at least 7½ millions.
There is nothing of special importance concerning postage stamps in the Postmaster General's Reports from 1893 to 1897, but we glean an item of interest from Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News of December 3, 1896:—
A new regulation has been put in force by the Canadian post-office department. Until a few days ago it was unlawful for any person to sell unused current Canadian stamps without a government license [as a stamp vendor]. Merchants and others who received a great many unused stamps as remittances, have heretofore been compelled to send them to the department at a discount of five per cent, or dispose of them by illegitimate means, running the risk of being prosecuted for selling without license. A great deal of complaint was made to the department concerning this matter, and last week Hon. Mr. Mulock announced that thenceforth, all unused Canadian stamps would be cashed at one per cent. discount in amounts of over $1.00. The stamps may be pasted on paper, as they will not be put in circulation again.
The so-called "Diamond Jubilee" of the accession of Queen Victoria, who had then been on the throne of the United Kingdom for sixty years, occurred on the 20th June, 1897, and several of the British Colonies, as on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary, considered it fitting to celebrate the event with a commemorative issue of postage stamps. Probably no proprieties would be violated were it observed, sub rosa, that the pecuniary gains connected with such issues were probably more of a factor in determining their birth than the superabundance of jubilation over the auspicious occurrence. Such a suspicion is quite readily aroused when considering all the facts in connection with the special set of stamps that Canada felt it necessary to put forth at this time.
But the story runs a little farther back and hinges on other changes. What proved a prophetic utterance appeared under "Canadian Notes" in the Weekly Philatelic Era of August 1, 1896, as follows:—
For the first time in 18 years a Liberal, or Reform government has full control of the Dominion.... Mr. William Mulock, J. C., of Toronto, is the new Postmaster General and I am informed that considerable pressure is being brought to bear upon him to have an entirely new set of stamps issued to replace those which have been in use in Canada for something over a quarter of a century.
Under the same "Notes" in the issue of the above paper for January 23, 1897, we find the result of the "pressure":—
The British American Bank Note Company, which for so many years have had the contract for printing Canada's paper currency and postage stamps, have been notified that their services will no longer be required. The shareholders in that company were not of the right political stripe for the new Government. The contract has now been given to the American Bank Note Company of New York. This company will have to establish a branch office at Ottawa and all the work will have to be done in Canada.
Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News gives further details in a clipping from the Montreal Herald, dated "Ottawa, Jan. 11," [1897]:[121]—