government of the day desired that advantage should be taken | purchased in 1898 for £45,000 at West Kensington, and the of the opportunity to inculcate upon parents and children alike foundation-stone of a new building, costing £300,000, was laid by a lesson of thrift-that they should save the school pence which they were no longer bound to pay. The Education Department the prince of Wales on the 24th of June 1899. The entire and the postmaster-general worked in concert to realize this end. removal of the business was carried out in 1903. School managers were urged to press the matter upon all concerned, special stamp slips were prepared and issued, managers were supplied on credit with stocks of stamps to be sold to the children, and clerks from the nearest post offices attended at schools to open accounts and receive deposits. The arrangement began in January 1892; about 1400 schools adopted the scheme at once, and three years later this number had risen to 3000. A sum of nearly £14,000 was estimated to have been deposited in schools in 5 months, and about £40,000 in the first year. Concurrently with the spread of the stamp-slip system in the schools, the extension of School Penny Banks, connected intimately with the Savings Bank, was a conspicuous result of the effort to turn into profitable channels the pence which no longer paid school fees. In December 1893 another Act of Parliament extended the annual limits of deposits from £30 to £50. The maximum of £200 remained unchanged, but it was provided that any accumulations accruing after that amount had been reached should be invested in government stock unless the depositor gave instructions to the contrary. "In December 1893 arrangements were made for the use of the telegraph for the withdrawal of money from the savings bank. Postmasters-general had hesitated long before sanctioning this new departure. It was known that the system was in force abroad, and it was recognized that there might be, and doubtless were, cases in the United Kingdom where the possibility of withdrawing money without delay might be all-important, and might save a depositor from debt and distress. But, on the other hand, it was strongly held that the cause of thrift was sometimes served by interposing a delay between a sudden desire to spend and its realization; and it was also held to be essential to maintain a marked distinction between a bank of deposit for savings and a bank for keeping current accounts." On the whole, the balance of opinion was in favour of the change, and two new methods of withdrawal were provided. A depositor might telegraph for his money and have his warrant sent to him by return of post, or he might telegraph for his money and have it paid to him in an hour or two on the authority of a telegram from the savings bank to the postmaster. The first method cost the depositor about 9d., the second cost him about IS. 3d. for the transaction. On the 3rd of July 1905 a new system of withdrawal was instituted, under which a depositor, on presentation of his book at any post office open for savings bank business, can withdraw immediately any sum not exceeding £1. Depositors have availed themselves extensively of this system. During 1906, 4,758,440 withdrawals, considerably more than one-half of the total number of withdrawals, were made "on demand," and as a consequence the number of withdrawals made by telegraph fell to 122,802, against 168,036 in the previous year (during only half of which the " on demand" system was in force). By an act which came into force on the 1st of January 1895 building societies, duly incorporated, were enabled to deposit at any one time a sum not exceeding £300, and to buy government stock up to £500 through the savings bank. Savings Bank Finance.-The increase in the deposits lodged in the post office savings bank must be ascribed to a variety of causes. Numbers of trustee banks have been closed, and have transferred their accounts to the post office bank; greater facilities have been offered by the bank; the limits of deposit in one year, and of total deposit, have been raised; and, since October 1892, deposits may be made by cheque; while the long-continued fall in the rate of interest made the assured 24% of the post office savings bank an increasing temptation to a class of investors previously accustomed to look elsewhere. The high price of consols, due in part to the magnitude of purchases on savings bank account, proved a serious embarrassment to the profitable working of the bank, which had shown a balance of earnings on each year's working until 1896, after paying its expenses and 24% interest to its depositors. Economical working minimized, but did not remove the difficulty. The average cost of each transaction, originally nearly 7d., has been brought down to 5d. Down to the year 1896, £1,598,767 was paid into the exchequer under § 14 of the Act 40 Vict. c. 13, being the excess of interest which had accrued year by year. But since 1895 there have been deficits in each year, and in 1905, owing principally to the reduced rate on consols, the expenditure exceeded the income by £88,094. The central savings bank having outgrown its accommodation in Queen Victoria Street, London, a new site was Under the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1897, sums awarded as compensation might be invested in the post office savings bank. This arrangement proved so convenient that an act of 1900 authorized a similar investment of money paid into an English county court in ordinary actions at common law, and ordered to be invested for the benefit of an infant or lunatic. In 1906 a committee was appointed to go into the question as to whether the post office should provide facilities for the insurance of employers in respect of liabilities under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, but no scheme was recommended involving post office action either as principal or agent. Post offices, however, exhibit notices drawing attention to the liabilities imposed by the act of 1906, and sub-postmasters are encouraged to accept agencies in their private capacity for insurance companies undertaking this class of insurance. Inducements to Thrift.-By arrangement with the war office in July 1893, the deferred pay of soldiers leaving the army was invested on their behalf in the post office savings bank, but it was found that the majority of the soldiers draw out practically the whole amount at once, and the experiment was discontinued in 1901. At the request of large employers of labour, an officer of the savings bank attends at industrial establishments on days when wages are paid, and large numbers of workmen have thus been induced to become depositors. The advantages of the savings bank appear to be now thoroughly appreciated throughout the United Kingdom, as shown by the following table: Totals 135,668,450 15 O 71 in 3-8 9,963,049 152,111,140 15 5 41 in 4-3 Between the foundation of the bank and the end of 1899, upwards of £648,000,000, inclusive of interest, was credited to depositors, deposits, 81,804.509 withdrawals, 27,071,556 accounts opened, of which £474,000,000 was withdrawn. There were 232,634.596 and 18,631,573 accounts closed. The cross-entries, or instances where the account is operated upon at a different office from that at which it was opened, amounted to 33%. It is chiefly in respect of this facility that the post office savings bank enjoys its advantage over the trustee savings bank. In 1905, 16,320,204 deposits were made, amounting to £42,300,617. In the same year the withdrawals numbered 7,155,283, the total sum withdrawn being £42,096,037. The interest credited to depositors was £3,567,206, and the total sum standing to their credit on the 31st of December 1900 was £152,111,140. A classification of accounts opened for 3 months in 1896, and assumed to be fairly typical, showed the following results:Occupation as stated by Depositors in opening Account. Professional Official Commercial Agricultural and fishing Railway, shipping and transport Married women, spinsters and children Percentage to Total 1.55 2.81 Ι·ΟΙ 3.88 1.83 18-43 2.96 8-14 8-61 0.37 50-41 100.00 Women and children of all ranks are believed to be 60 59 of the | additional five words, the addresses of sender and receiver being total number of depositors. The accounts open at the end of 1895 showed the following division of deposits: The division according to number of accounts, in the same groups, was 90.8, 5.3, 2.2, 1.3 and 0.4 respectively. Investments in Government Stock.-In September 1888 the minimum amount of government stock which might be purchased or sold through the post office savings bank was reduced from £10 to Is., and it was also provided that any person who had purchased stock through the savings bank could, if he so desired, have it transferred to his own name in the books of the Bank of England. The act of 1893 raised the limit of stock to £200 in one year, and £500 in all; but any depositor might purchase stock, to replace stock previously sold, in one entire sum during that year. If a depositor exceeds the authorized limits of deposit in the post office savings bank, the excess is invested in stock by the post office on his behalf. The investments of depositors in government stock, however, have a tendency to decrease, and the sales, on the other hand, to increase, as will be seen from the following table: Annuities and Life Insurances.-The act of 1882, which came into operation on the 3rd of June 1884, utilized the machinery of the post office savings bank for annuities and life insurances, which had been effected through the post office at selected towns in England and Wales since the 17th of April 1865. Under the act of 1882 all payments were to be made by means of money deposited in the savings bank, and an order could be given by a depositor that any sum-even to Id. a week-should be devoted to the purchase of an annuity or insurance so long as he retained a balance in the savings bank. In February 1896 new life insurance tables came into operation, with reduced annual rates, and with provision for payment of sums insured at various ages as desired. The following table shows the business done from 1901 to 1905: sent free. In 1885 the charge was reduced to a halfpenny a word throughout, including addresses (a system of abbreviated addresses, which could be registered on payment of a guinea a year, being introduced), with a minimum charge of sixpence. To obviate the damage and interruption resulting from storms large numbers of wires have been laid underground. In 1891 the terms under which a new telegraph office was opened, on the request of a person or persons who undertook to guarantee the post office against loss, were reduced. In 1892 rural sanitary authorities were empowered to give such guarantees out of the rates. In 1897, as part of the Jubilee concessions, the government undertook to pay one-half of any deficiency under guarantees. During the six years ended in 1891 the average number of telegraph offices guaranteed each year was 77. From 1892 to 1897 the average rose to 167. In 1905 and 1906 it amounted to 152. The number of telegraph offices opened without guarantee has increased apace, and there are now 12,993 telegraph offices in all. As part of the Jubilee scheme the charges for porterage were reduced as follows: Up to 3 miles free; beyond 3 m., 3d. per m., reckoned from the post office; and arrangements were made for the free delivery at all hours of the day or night of any telegram within the metropolitan postal district. The cost of free delivery up to 3 m. was estimated at £52,000 a year. sixth Foreign Telegrams.-The international telegraph conference, held at Berlin in 1884, effected a reduction in the charges to many countries. E.g. the rate per word was reduced for Russia from 9d. to 6 d., Spain 6d. to 4 d., Italy 5d. to 4 d., and India 4s. 7d. to 4s. The cost of repeating a message £ was reduced from one-half to one-fourth of the 12,786,190 original charge for transmission. At the next con14,285,617 ference (1890) held at Paris, further considerable 16,165,548 reductions were effected. The rates to Austria17,357,950 17,877,644 Hungary and Italy were reduced from 4 d. to 3d., Russia 64d. to 54d., Portugal 51d. to 4 d., Sweden Total holding of Stock. The minimum charge for any foreign (European) telegram was 5d. to 4d., Spain 4 d. to 4d., Canary Islands is. 71⁄2d. to Is., &c. fixed at 10d. The eighth conference (Budapest, 1896) succeeded in making the following reductions, among others, from the United Kingdom: China 75. to 5s. 6d., Java 6s. to 5s., Japan 8s. to 6s. 2d., Mauritius 8s. 9d. to 5s., Persia 2s. 5d. to Is. 9d. At this conference it was made incumbent upon every state adhering to the union to fix in its currency an equivalent approaching as nearly as possible the standard rate in gold, and to correct and declare the equivalent in case of any important fluctuation. TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES 1,365 23,630 1,075 14,175 920 44,296|| 21,972 | 22,647 380 12,992 1,353 21,764 1,164 17,172 722 34,646 | 22,553 | 23,045 389 14,646 1,366 24,489 1,210 | 14,689 592 31,413 22,672 23,063 387 13,126 1,366 21,011 1,297 16,167517 28,629 | 22,323 | 23,031 465 16,878 1,386 24,287 1,347 16,965 741 37,011 21,836 23,376 | 449 15,593 The history of the development of telegraphy and the early proposals for the transference to the state of the telegraph monopoly will be found in the article TELEGRAPHY. Telegraphs. "On the 5th of February 1870 the Telegraph Act of the previous year took effect. The post office assumed control of telegraphic communication within the United King-| dom, and it became possible to send telegrams throughout the country at a uniform charge irrespective of locality or distance. In 1885 sixpenny telegrams were introduced. The charge for a written telegram which came into force in 1870 was one shilling for the first twenty words, and threepence for every The limit of letters in one word of plain language was raised from 10 to 15, and the number of figures from 3 to 5. The International Telegraph Bureau was also ordered to compile an enlarged official vocabulary of code words, which it is proposed to recognize as the sole authority for words which may be used in cypher telegrams sent by the public. (See Appendix to Postmaster-General's Report, 1897.) See further TELEGRAPH. Ten years of state administration of the telegraphs had not passed before the postmaster-general was threatened with a formidable rival in the form of the telephone, which Telephones. assumed a practical shape about the year 1878, the first exchange in the United Kingdom being established in the City of London in that year. The history of the telephone | preference was given to army, navy and royal marine pensioners, service and the growth of the industry are set out in the article TELEPHONE. POST OFFICE STAFF The staff of the post office on the 31st of March 1906 amounted to 195.432. Of these 41,081 were women, a proportion of over one-fifth of the staff. The postmasters numbered 875 (including 10 employed abroad), and the sub-postmasters 21,027. Revenue. and men of the army reserve. Due regard was paid to the legitimate claims of telegraph messengers or other persons who had prospects of succeeding to these situations. In August 1897 the government decided to reserve one-half of all suitable vacancies for ex-soldiers and sailors, as postmen, porters and labourers, and preference has been shown to them for employment as lift-attendants, caretakers, &c. Finance. The following table shows the financial working of the post office: Expenditure. The total number of offices (including branch offices) was 22,088. The unestablished staff, not entitled to pension, made up chiefly of telegraph boys, and of persons who are employed for only part of the day on post office business, included 87,753 out of the grand total, and almost the whole of the sub-postmasters. The pay and prospects of almost all classes have been greatly improved since 1884, when the number stood at 91,184. The principal schemes of general revision of pay have been: 1881, Fawcett's scheme for sorting-clerks, sorters and telegraphists (additional cost £210,000 a year), and for postmen, 1882, £110,000: Raikes's various revisions, 1888, chief clerks and supervising officers, £6230; 1890, sorting-clerks, sorters and telegraphists, £179,600; 1890, supervising force, £65,000; 1890, London sorters, £20,70b; 1891, London overseers, £9400; 1891, postmen, £125,650: Arnold Morley, 1884, London overseers, £1400, and rural auxiliaries, £20,000. A committee was appointed in June 1895 with Lord Tweedmouth as chairman, to consider the pay and position of the post office staff, excluding the clerical force and those employed at headquarters. The committee reported on the 15th of December 1896 and its recommendations were adopted at an immediate increased expense of £139,000 a year, which has since risen to £500,000. In 1897 additional concessions were made at a cost of £100,000 a year. In July 1890 a number of postmen in London went out on strike. Over 450 were dismissed in one morning, and the work of the post office was carried on without interruption. The men received no sympathy from the public, and most of them were ultimately successful in their plea to be reinstated. A quasi-political agitation was carried on during the general election of 1892 by some of the London sorters, who, under the plea of civil rights, claimed the right to influence candidates for parliament by exacting pledges for the promise of parliamentary support. The leaders were dismissed, and the post office has upheld the principle that its officers are to hold themselves free to serve either party in the State without putting themselves prominently forward as political partisans. Parliament has been repeatedly asked to sanction a parliamentary inquiry to reopen the settlement of the Tweedmouth Committee, and the telegraphists have been especially active in pressing for a further committee. The rates of pay at various dates since 1881 are set out with great fullness in the Parliamentary papers (Postmen, No. 237 of 1897; Sorters, Telegraphists, &c., No. 230 of 1898, and Report of the Select Committee on Post Office Servants, 1907; this latter contains important recommendations for the removal of many grievances which the staff had been long agitating to have removed). In November 1891 an important change was made in the method of recruiting postmen, with the object of encouraging military service, and providing situations for those who after serving in the army or navy are left without employment at a comparatively early age. In making appointments to the situation of postman, POSTAGE STAMPS For all practical purposes the history of postage stamps begins in the United Kingdom. A post-paid envelope was in common use in Paris in the year 1653. Stamped postal letter-paper (carta postale bollata) was issued to the public by the government of the Sardinian States in November 1818, and stamped postal envelopes were issued by the same government from 1820 until 1836.1 Stamped wrappers for newspapers were made experimentally in London by Charles Whiting, under the name of "go-frees," in 1830. Four years later (June 1834), and in ignorance of what Whiting had already done, Charles Knight, the well-known publisher, in a letter addressed to Lord Althorp, then chancellor of the exchequer, recommended similar wrappers for adoption. From this suggestion apparently Rowland Hill, who is justly regarded as the originator of postage stamps, got his idea. Meanwhile, however, the adhesive stamp was made experimentally by James Chalmers in his printing-office at Dundee in August 1834.2 These experimental stamps were printed from ordinary type, and were made adhesive by a wash of gum. Chalmers had already won local distinction by his successful efforts in 1822, for the acceleration of the Scottish mails from London. Those efforts resulted in a saving of forty-eight hours on the double mail journey, and were highly appreciated in Scotland. Rowland Hill brought the adhesive stamp under the notice of the commissioners of post office inquiry on the 13th of February 1837. Chalmers made no public mention of his stamp of 1834 until November 1837. Rowland Hill's pamphlet led to the appointment of a committee of the House of Commons on the 22nd of November 1837, "to inquire into the rates and modes of charging postage, with a view to such a reduction thereof as may be made without injury to the revenue." This committee reported in favour of Hill's proposals; and an act was passed in 1839, authorizing the treasury to fix the rates of postage, and regulate the mode of their collection, whether by prepayment or otherwise. A premium of £200 was offered for the best, and £100 for the next best, proposal for bringing stamps into use, having regard to Catalogue of Postage Stamps, 6th ed., 167. 1Stamp-Collector's Magazine, v. 161 seq.; J. E. Gray, Illustrated 2 Patrick Chalmers, Sir Rowland Hill and James Chalmers, Inventor of the Adhesive Stamp (London, 1882), passim. See also the same writer's pamphlet, entitled The Position of Sir Rowland Hill made plain (1882), and his The Adhesive Stamp: a Fresh Chapter in the History of Post-Office Reform (1881). Compare Pearson Hill's tract, A Paper on Postage Stamps, in reply to Chalmers, reprinted from the Philatelic Record of November 1881. Pearson Hill has therein shown conclusively the priority of publication by Sir Rowland Hill. He has also given proof of James Chalmers's express acknowledgment of that priority. But he has not weakened the evidence of the priority of invention by Chalmers. Three-halfpenny Stamp. October 1, 1870: large crown watermark; lake-red; perforated 14. Superseded in October 1880 by De la Rue's surface-printed stamp. Twopenny Stamp. First issue, 1st (for 6th) May 1840: small crown watermark; light blue, dark blue; imperforate. Second issue, March 1841: small crown watermark; white line below forate. Third issue, February (?) 1854: small crown watermark; Postage and above Twopence "; dull to dark blue; imperblue, dark blue; perforated 16. Fourth issue, March 1855: small crown watermark; blue, dark blue; perforated 14. Fifth issue, July 1855: large crown watermark; blue; perforated 16; blue, dark blue; perforated 14. Sixth issue, May (?) 1857: large crown watermark; white lines thinner, blue, dark blue; perforated 14; dark blue; perforated 16. Seventh issue, July 1858: large crown watermark; white lines as in fifth issue; deep to very deep blue; perforated 16. Eighth issue, April (?) 1869: large crown watermark; white lines thinner; dull blue, deep to very deep blue, la Rue's surface-printed stamp. violet blue; perforated 14. Superseded in December 1880 by De (ii.) Embossed Stamps. "(1) the convenience as regards the public use; (2) the security | check-letters in all four corners instead of two only; large crown against forgery; (3) the facility of being checked and distin-watermark; perforated 14. guished at the post office, which must of necessity be rapid; the surface-printed one of similar value in venetian red, designed In 1880 the line-engraved one penny stamps were superseded by and (4) the expense of the production and circulation of the and printed by Messrs De la Rue & Co. stamps." To this invitation 2600 replies were received, but no improvement was made upon Rowland Hill's suggestions. A further Minute, of the 26th of December 1839, announced that the treasury had decided to require that, as far as practicable, the postage of letters should be prepaid, and such prepayment effected by means of stamps. Stamped covers or wrappers, stamped envelopes, and adhesive stamps were to be issued by government. The stamps were engraved by Messrs Perkins, Bacon & Petch, of Fleet Street, from Hill's designs, and the Mulready envelopes and covers by Messrs Clowes & Son, of Blackfriars. The stamps were appointed to be brought into use on the 6th of May 1840, but they appear to have been issued to the public as early as the 1st of May. The penny stamp, bearing a profile of Queen Victoria, was coloured black, and the twopenny stamp blue, with check-letters in the lower angles (in all four angles from April 1858). Up to the 28th of January 1854 the stamps were not officially perforated, except in the session of 1851, when stamps, perforated by a Mr Archer, were issued at the House of Commons post office. In 1853 the government purchased Archer's patent for £4000. The stamps were first water-marked in April 1840. The canton of Zürich was the first foreign state to adopt postage stamps, in 1843. The stamps reached America in the same year, being introduced by the government of Brazil. That of the United States did not adopt them until 1847; but a tentative issue was made by the post office of New York in 1845. An adhesive stamp was also issued at St Louis in the same year, and in Rhode Island in the next. In Europe the Swiss cantons of Geneva (1844) and of Basel (1845) soon followed the example set by Zürich. In the Russian Empire the use of postage stamps became general in 1848 (after preliminary issues at St Petersburg and in Finland in 1845). France issued them in 1849. The same year witnessed their introduction into Tuscany, Belgium and Bavaria, and also into New South Wales. Austria, Prussia, Saxony, Spain, Italy, followed in 1850. The use of postage stamps seems to have extended to the Hawaiian Islands (1851?) a year before it reached the Dutch Netherlands (1852). Within twenty-five years of the first issue of a postage stamp in London, the known varieties, issued in all parts of the world, amounted to 1391. Of these 841 were of European origin, 333 were American, 59 Asiatic, 55 African. The varieties of stamp issued in the several countries of Oceania were 103. Of the whole 1391 stamps no less than 811 were already obsolete in 1865, leaving 580 still in currency. ENGLISH ISSUES (i.) Line-engraved Stamps. Halfpenny Stamp.-First issue, October 1, 1870: size 18 mm. by 14 mm.; lake-red varying to rose-red. One Penny Stamp. First issue, Ist (for 6th) May 1840: the head executed by Frederick Heath, from a drawing by Henry Corbould of William Wyon's medal struck to commemorate her majesty's visit to the City of London on the 9th of November 1837: size 22 mm. by 18 mm.; black, watermarked with a small crown; a few sheets in 1841 struck in red, two essays were made in April and October 1840 in blue and blue-back; imperforate. The second issue, January 20, 1841, differed only from the first issue as to colour-red instead of black. It is stated that the colour, though always officially referred to as red,' was really a redbrown, and this may be regarded as the normal colour; but considerable variations in tone and shade (brick-red, orange-red, lake red) occurred from time to time, often accentuated by the blueing of the paper, though primarily due to a want of uniformity in the method employed for preparing the ink." The change of colour from black was made in order to render the obliteration (now in black instead of red ink) more distinct; imperforate. Third issue, February 1854: small crown watermark; perforated 16 (ie. 16 holes to 2 centimetres). The fourth issue, January 1855, differed only from the third issue in being perforated 14. Fifth issue, February 1855: from a new die, with minute variations of engraving. In the second die the eyelid is more distinctly shaded, the nostril more curved, and the band round the hair has a thick dark line forming its lower edge. Small crown watermark; perforated 16 and 14. Sixth issue, July 1855: large crown watermark; perforated 14; a certain number 16. Seventh issue, January 1858: carmine-rose varying from pale to very deep. Large crown watermark; perforated, chiefly 14. Eighth issue, April 1, 1864: 1 Wright and Creeke, History of the Adhesive Stamp of the British Isles available for Postal and Telegraph Purposes (London, 1899). را Produced by Dryden Brothers, of Lambeth, from designs submitted by Mr Ormond Hill of Somerset House, engraved after Wyon's medal. Sixpence. March 1, 1854: violet, reddish__lilac, dark violet; imperforate. Superseded in October 1856 by De la Rue's surfaceprinted stamp. Tenpence. November 6, 1848: pale to very deep chestnutbrown; imperforate. Superseded by De la Rue's surface-printed stamp in 1867. One Shilling.-September 11, 1847: emerald green, pure deep green, yellow-green; imperforate. Superseded in November 1856 by De la Rue's surface-printed stamp. L (iii.) Surface-printed Stamps before 1880, Twopence-half-penny-First issue, July 1, 1875: small anchor watermark; lilac-rose; perforated 14. Second issue, May 1876: orb watermark; lilac-rose, perforated 14. Third issue, February 5, 1880: orb watermark; cobalt, and some ultramarine; perforated 14. Fourth issue, March 23, 1881 large crown watermark; bright blue; perforated 14. Threepence. All perforated 14. First issue, May 1, 1862: heraldic emblems watermark; carmine (pale to deep). Second issue, March 1, 1865: same watermark as above; carmine-pink. Third issue, July 1867: watermarked with a spray of rose; carminepink, carmine-rose. Fourth issue, July 1873 watermark as third issue; carmine-rose. Fifth issue, January 1, 1881 watermark large crown; carmine-rose. Sixth issue, January 1, 1883; watermark as fifth issue; purple shades overprinted with value in deep pink. Four pence. All perforated 14. First issue, July 31, 1855: watermark small garter; deep and dull carmine. Second issue, February 1856: watermark medium garter; pale carmine. Third issue, November 1, 1856: watermark medium garter; dull rose. Fourth issue, January 1857: watermark large garter; dull and pale to deep rose, pink. Fifth issue, January 15, 1862: watermark large garter; carmine-vermilion, vermilion-red. Sixth_issue, July 1865: watermark large garter; pale to dark vermilion. Seventh Eighth issue, February 27, 1877: watermark large garter; pale issue, March 1, 1876. watermark large garter; pale vermilion. sage-green. Ninth issue, July 1880: watermark large garter; mouse-brown. Tenth issue, January 1, 1881: watermark large crown; mouse-brown. Sixpence. All perforated 14. First issue, October 21, 1856: no letters in angles; watermark heraldic emblems; dull lilac. Second issue, December 1, 1862: small white letters in angles; otherwise as first issue. Third issue, April 1, 1865: large white letters in angles; otherwise as first issue. Fourth issue, June 1867: watermark spray of rose; otherwise as third issue; some in bright lilac. Fifth issue, March 1869: as fourth issue; lilac, deep lilac, purplelilac. Sixth issue, April 1, 1872: as fourth issue; bright chestnutbrown. Seventh issue, October 1872: as fourth issue; buff. Eighth Ninth issue, issue, April 1873: as fourth issue; greenish grey. April 1, 1874: watermarked as fourth issue; large coloured letters in angles; greenish grey. Tenth issue, January 1, 1881: large crown watermark; otherwise as ninth issue. Eleventh issue, January 1, 1883: as tenth issue; purple, overprinted with value in deep pink. Eight pence.-September 11, 1876: watermark large garter; chrome yellow, pale yellow; perforated 14. Ninepence. All perforated 14. First issue, January 15, 1862: watermark heraldic emblems; ochre-brown, bright bistre. Second issue, December 1, 1865: watermark as above; bistre-brown, straw. Third issue, October 1867: watermark spray of rose; straw. Tenpence. July 1, 1867: watermark spray of rose; red-brown; perforated 14. I One Shilling. All perforated 14. First issue, November 1, 1856: watermark heraldic emblems; no letters in angles; dull green, pale to dark green. Second issue, December 1, 1862: as above; small white letters in angles; pale to dark green. Third issue, February 1865: as above; large white letters in angles; pale to dark green, bluish green. Fourth issue, August 1867: watermark spray of rose; otherwise as third issue; pale to dark green, bluish green. Fifth issue, September 1873: large coloured letters in angles; otherwise as fourth issue; light to dark green, bluish green. Sixth issue, October 14, 1880: as fifth issue; pale redbrown. Seventh issue, June 15, 1881: watermark large crown; otherwise as sixth issue; pale red-brown. First Two Shillings.-Watermark spray of rose; perforated 14. issue, July 1, 1867: pale to full blue, very deep blue. Second issue, February 1880: light brown. Five Shillings. First issue, July 1, 1867: watermarked with a cross paté; pink, pale rose; perforated 15 by 15. Second issue, November 1882: watermark large anchor; carmine-pink; perforated 14. Ten Shillings.-First issue, September 26, 1878: watermark cross paté; green-grey; perforated 15 by 15. Second issue, February 1883: watermark large anchor; green-grey; perforated 14. One Pound. First issue, September 26, 1878: watermark cross paté; brown-violet; perforated 15 by 15. Second issue, December 1882: watermark large anchor; brown-violet; perforated 14. (iv.) After 1880. In 1880-1881 the halfpenny, penny, three-halfpenny and twopenny surface-printed stamps superseded the line-engraved stamps of the same value, and a new surface-printed stamp of fivepence was introduced. These stamps are distinguished from the stamps already described by the absence of plate-numbers and (except in the penny stamp) of check-letters in the corners; also by the coarser style of engraving necessary for printing by machines driven by steam-power. One Halfpenny.-First issue, October 14, 1880: large crown watermark; pale green, bluish green, dark green; perforated 14. Second issue, April 1, 1884: slate-blue. One Penny.-January 1, 1880: large crown watermark; venetian red; perforated 14. Three-halfpence.-October 14, 1880: large crown watermark; venetian red; perforated 14. Twopence.--December 8, 1880: large crown watermark; pale to very deep carmine red; perforated 14. Five pence.-March 15, 1881: large crown watermark; dark dull indigo, indigo-black; perforated 14. The Customs and Inland Revenue Act which came into force on June 1, 1881, made it unnecessary to provide separate penny stamps for postal and fiscal purposes. By an act of 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 72) it became unnecessary to provide separate stamps for postal and fiscal purposes up to and including stamps of the value of 2s. 6d. A new series was therefore issued: -- Ninepence.-Ditto. One Shilling.-Ditto. Two Shillings and Sixpence.-July 22, 1883; watermark large anchor; purple, dull lilac, dark purple; perforated 14. Five Shillings.-April 1, 1884: ditto; pale to very deep carmine. Ten Shillings.-Ditto; pale blue, cobalt, light to dull blue. One Pound-First issue, April 1, 1884: large crown watermark, 3 appearing in each stamp; brown-violet; perforated 14. issue, January 27, 1891: same watermark; bright green; perforated 14. Second Five Pounds.-March 21, 1882: large anchor watermark; orangevermilion, vermilion, bright vermilion; perforated 14. Following upon the report of a committee of officials of the General Post Office and Somerset House, a series of new stamps commonly known as the Jubilee" issue, was introduced on January 1, 1887, all of which between one halfpenny and one shilling exclusive were printed either in two colours or on a coloured paper, so that each stamp was printed in part in one or other of the doubly fugitive inks-green and purple. One Halfpenny.-January 1, 1887: large crown watermark; orange-vermilion to bright vermilion; perforated 14. Three-halfpence.-January 1, 1887: as the halfpenny; green and purple. Twopence.-Ditto: green and scarlet to carmine. Twopence-halfpenny.-January 1, 1887: blue paper; watermark large crown; dark purple; perforated 14. Threepence.-January 1, 1887: yellow paper; watermarked with a large crown; purple; perforated 14. Fourpence.-January 1, 1887: watermark and perforation as in threepence; green and brown. Four pence-halfpenny.-September 15, 1892: as the fourpence; green and carmine. Five pence.-January 1, 1887: as the fourpence; purple and blue. Sixpence.-January 1, 1887: pale red paper; watermarked with a large crown; purple; perforated 14. Ninepence.-January 1, 1887: large crown watermark; purple and blue; perforated 14. Tenpence. February 24, 1890: as the ninepence; purple and carmine-red. One Shilling.-January 1, 1887: as the ninepence; green. The various fiscal stamps admitted to postage uses, the overprinted official stamps for use by government departments, and the stamps specially surcharged for use in the Ottoman Empire, do not call for detailed notice in this article. The distinctive telegraph stamps are as follows: One Halfpenny.-April 1, 1880: shamrock watermark; orange vermilion; perforated 14. One Penny.-February 1, 1876: as the halfpenny; reddish brown. Threepence.-Perforated 14. First issue, February 1, 1876: watermark spray of rose; carmine. Second issue, August 1881: watermark large crown; carmine. Four pence.-March 1, 1877: watermark large garter; pale sage-green; perforated 14. mark spray of rose; greenish-grey. Second issue, July 1881: as Sixpence.-Perforated 14. First issue, March 1, 1877: waterfirst issue; watermark large crown. One Shilling.-Perforated 14. First issue, February 1, 1876: watermark spray of rose; green. Second issue, October 1880: watermark spray of rose; pale red-brown. Third issue, February 1881: watermark large crown; pale red brown. 1877: watermark spray of rose. Three Shillings.—Perforated 14; slate blue. First issue, March 1, Second issue, August 1881: watermark large crown. Five Shillings. First issue, February 1, 1876: watermark cross paté; dark to light rose; perforated 15 by 15. Second issue, August 1881 watermark large anchor; carmine-rose; perforated 14. Ten Shillings.-March 1, 1877; watermark cross paté; greengrey; perforated 15 by 151. One Pound.-March 1, 1877: watermark shamrock; brownpurple; perforated 14. Five Pounds.-March 1, 1877: watermark shamrock; orangevermilion: perforated 15 by 15. the army telegraphs. In addition to these, there were stamps specially prepared for BRITISH COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES Australian Commonwealth.-In 1905 there were 6654 post offices open; 311,401,539 letters and cards, 171,844,868 newspapers, book-packets and circulars, 2,168,810 parcels, and 13,680,239 telegrams were received and despatched; the revenue was £2,738,146 and the expenditure £2,720,735. New Zealand.-In 1905 there were 1937 post offices open; 74,767,288 letters and cards, 47,334,263 newspapers, bookpackets and circulars, 392,017 parcels, and 5,540,219 telegrams were dealt with. The revenue from the post office was £410,968, and from telegraphs £273,911, while the expenditure on the post office was £302,146 and on telegraphs £276,581. Dominion of Canada.-In 1905 there were 10,879 post offices open; 331,792,500 letters and cards, 60,405,000 newspapers, book-packets and circulars, and 58,338 parcels were received and despatched. The revenue from the post office amounted to £1,053,548, and from telegraphs £28,727, while the expenditure was, on the post office £952,652 and on telegraphs £78,934 Cape of Good Hope.-The number of post offices open in 1905 book-packets and circulars, 536,800 parcels, and 6,045,228 was 1043; 7,596,600 letters and cards, 3.706,960 newspapers, telegrams were dealt with. The revenue from the post office was £423,056, and from telegraphs £206,842 the expenditure being, £456,171 on the post office and £272,863 on telegraphs. British India.-In 1905 there were 16,033 post offices open; 597,707,867 letters and cards, 76,671,197 newspapers, bookpackets and circulars, 4,541,367 parcels, and 9,098,345 telegrams were dealt with. The revenue from the post office was £1,566,704 and from telegraphs £733,193, while the expenditure was, on the post office, £1,199,557 and on telegraphs £546,914 |