PHILATELY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2362, 1 June 1899, Page 45

PHILATELY.

By Pemjbe.

Since the establishment of Imperial penny postage between various British colonies and the mother country, the British Postmastergeneral has been besieged with designs for an Imperial penny postage stamp. The Postmaster-general has, however, publicly notified that there is to be no change in the current English stamps for the present, as the penny postage scheme will not necessitate any new values. Amongst the many designs submitted the following are about the most interesting : — No. 1 represents her Majesty supported on the right by her colonists and. on the left by her Hindoo subjects, the coinage is given in the three denominations in use in her Majesty's possessions — viz., one penny, or its equivalents, two cents and one anna. No. 2 represents Britannia (central) ; on the right top square an elephant, representing Asia ; on the right lower half, Australia, represented by a kangaroo ; on the left top half, America, represented by the Canadian Beaver^, and the left lower half, Africa, represented by the ostrich of South Africa and the Pyramids of Egypt. In the four corners — the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the shamrock of Ireland, and the leek of Wales.

Apropos of the Great Barrier Islands stamp, recently chronicled in certain philatelic journals, "W.K." pertinently asks: — !Who gave the inhabitants of these islands the right to issue a postage stamp, which afc its very best can only be a local stamp? Surely, if there had been any necessity for it the New Zealand Government could nave easily supplied a stock of Is values (the only value " issued "). A barefaced stamp speculation, I call it. And a barefaced speculation it would seem to be. — Stamp Collectors' Fortnightly.

Many letters are now arriving from Australia having the stamps on them cancelled by aniline inks put on with a rubber stamp. I have also seen many stamps on New Zealand parcels cancelled in the same way. This will make it more and more difficult in the future to distinguish between postal and fiscal cancellation. In view, however, of the "increasing scarcity ot many high-value adhesions, I consider ink-cancelled specimens quite admissible to the ordinary collection.

What a vast amount of bumptiousness and conceit is shown in the inscription on the new Canadian Imperial postage stamp. " We hold a vaster Empire than has been. "' When our own colony issues its Imperial stamps, I might suggest some of the following inscriptions for the stamp to the powers that be :— " We have the biggest debt per head of population," " Our Government have been longer in office than any previous one." "You cannot lick our new issue of stamps," " Our annual surplus > stamps us as a fine race of people," etc., j etc., etc

The U.S.A. Government lately put on sals at the various State post offices the entire remainders of the famous periodical stamps. The sets consisted of 11 values — 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 100 dollars, the face value being £39 and the sale price £1 per set. Only 50,000 sets were offered, and any balance over, also the plates, were destroyed. The stamps were soon sold, but I must say I greatly deprecate such actions on the part of a great Government like Uncle Sam's. What about the unfortunates who purchased whole sets before the stamps went out of issue? Surely they were entitled to some consideration. I hope the syndicates who bought up big lots of these sets will burn their fingers as badly as the idiots who ti'ied to corner the Australian hospital rubbish.

• According to a recent English catalogue the 50 rarest stamps in the world are worth, if they could be bought at all, £6540. The list is headed by the famous Mauritius post office and British Guiana first issues, .. but not a single Australasian is amongst the 50. What about, say, New Zealand Is blue paper xmused and some of the early Westralians? Surely they would run into places?

NEW ISSUES.

Samoa. — The Id has appeared overprinted " surcharged 2£d " in red. Why the unnecessary word surcharged is used I am at a loss to understand. These islands are going in far too strongly for surcharges, and if their chief postmaster does not take care his issues will get into very bad repute with collectors.

Uruguay. — I have been shown the £ cent surcharged on the 1 cent blue. This is another country where surcharges are decidedly frequent, and doubtless, quite unnecessary. Thank Heaven our own colony has never had a single overprint.

It is estimated that fully 100,000 Irevalla •were captured in Lady Bay, Warrnambool, during seven days, all on lines, recently. It was believed that the shoal of trevalla covered an area of 10 or "II acres in the bay. The fishermen merely anchored their boats, threw out lines, and almost immediately commenced hauling in the fish, which took the bait with avidity. His cold not cured, his head on fir©,

With drinking whiskies neat, He swore and cursed to vent his ire,

And raved just quite a treat ; But now he's sworn off drink for good,

He knows a thing now sure, For coughs and colds it's understood, Woode's Great Peppermint Cur%