PHILATELY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 54

PHILATELY.

By Pelure.

The early approach of federation of the Australian colonies has caused a vast amount of attention to be paid to that most attractive group of stamp-issuing counties. One would think the various colonies interested would have endeavoured to use up their present stocks of stamps, but South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland have lately gone in for several new varieties. Referring to Victoria, I hear the contingent stennps have been a terrible frost, as such rubbi&h well deserved to be.

The Australian Journal of Philately grumbles at the multiplicity of shades and many changes which have lately taicen place in our New Zealand issues, and even suggests that our postal authorities are catering for philatelists. T can only repeat my words from a former article, that our New Zealand stamps are now piinced by an altogether different process to the eld 1 days before the advent 01 pictorial issues ; - accordingly it takes some time to get everything into thorough woiking order. Yvhil&t on our own colony's stamps, I may state I that to the best of my knowledge no Sd postage due was ever issued.

An English philatelic paper makes fun os follows of the Maf eking besieged rubbish: — The oidiiKuy vjhiea of the stamps -were unstated to the rtqnirements of Mafeking (besieged) hence the new values. A penny value was required — what more easy than to surcharge the half-penny stamp. There were plenty of the one-penny value, true, but these were required to make a 3d value, as the threepenny stamps were to bo changed into 6d by means of a surcharge. Had the siege Listed but a few more days it was purposed to re-surcharge them back to their original values ; as it is, the only varieties at present reported are Id on £d green, 3d on Id carmine, 6d on 3d lilac, 3 s on 4d pale gresn — all oa Car;e of Good Hope stamps. The following were made with Beclmanaland .stamps : — 3d on Id lilac, 6d on 2d green arc! red, 6d on 3d lilac, Is on 4d green and brown.

The postal authorities of Great Britain have issued a circular to all the colonial postal departments asking th?l the intro-

duction of the colours approved by the Universal Postal Union for international service be no longer delayed. England ia now changing her own stamps to comply; with the rule adopted at the WashingtonPostal Congress.

On July 1, the Russian postage stamp will replace the Finnish stamp for letters sent abroad from Finland, and on the Ist; clay of next year the Muscovite embleni will supersede that of the Finnish estates on missives for inland postage also. This is not the small matter it might appear on the face of it, interesting to nobody in* particular excepting stamp collectors ; it; marks the virtual completion of one of tha most discreditable chapters in all the dis-» creditable history of the Russian poweiv It has been left for Nicholas 11, from whomi the well-wishers of Russian freedom expected so much, to rob the Finns of practically the last vestige of an autonomy whicln was guaranteed by Alexander I when tha union with Russia took place in 1809, and respected — or at least not interfered with — <■ by every 'succeeding Czar. The result wilß be an expatriated people ; and already the Finns arc leaving by nearly every boat for Canada and the United States.

News is 1o hand tbat the unused European collection of Mr Castle has beon soli for £30,000 ; the collection was contained in 67 Oriel albums and was probably unique. The happy purchaser was an Englishman, who does not want his name made public. The transaction was conducted by Mes-sa'j* Hamilton, Smith, and Co.