The Stamp Club

Southland Times, Issue 20897, 5 October 1929, Page 23

The Stamp Club

COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS FOR ELECTION CHANGES? Great Britain has departed from precedent in issuing the commemorative stamps in honour of the Postal Congress, but the result of the recent election is not likely to be reflected in our postage stamps, as has sometimes been the case elsewhere. In some countries changes of Government under the party system have caused changes

in stamp issues, and even the abandonment of stamps designed to be issued by defeated administrations.

In 1896 Ecuador produced a series of seven stamps which were ordered by a decree of August 30, 1895, to celebrate the victory of the Liberals in that country. The decree stated that “the triumph of the Liberal party, which has vindicated the honour of the nation, thanks to the splendid victories of the patriotic troops commanded by the President of the Republic, General Alfaro, merits a special commemoration. The proper form for this is to employ a special series of postage stamps.” The stamps were obtained from some lithographers in Hamburg, and were to have been issued in Guayaquil on June 5, 1896, the anniversary of the victory. A minor revolution intervened, and the issue did not take place until October 9. The stamps are of curious appearance. President Alfaro modestly declined to allow his portrait to appear on them, so on three values a portrait of General Elizalde was used, while on the other four stamps are grouped portraits of three Liberal heroes of early times, Vincente Roca, Diego Noboa, and Jose Olmedo. The frames are bewreathed with laurel, and the inscriptions read: “Honor— Libertad,” with the dates “6 de Marzo de 1845,” recalling the early temporary ascendancy of the Liberals in that year, and “5 de Junio de 1895,” in reference to their final supremacy.

THE HAYTIAN FRONTIER

The long-standing boundary dispute between the Republic of Santo Domingo and Hayti is in train for a settlement, and the Dominicans are preparing a set of five stamps commemorating the happy event. Collectors will remember that in 1900 the Santo Domingo postal authorities issued a series of stamps the central feature of which was a map of the island of Hayti, the eastern portion of which forms the Dominican Republic and the western portion the Haytian Republic. On those map stamps of 1900 the boundary line was presented more in accordance with Dominican aspirations than was pleasing to the Haytians, and. nearly brought the two people into armed conflict. But' under diplomatic pressure the stamps were withdrawn, and a large stock of them was destroyed, although they are still fairly plentiful on the stamp market. Early this year the constitution of the Dominican Republic was amended to permit the conclusion of a treaty with Hayti to settle the boundary, and a commission has been enaged upon the details of the settlement. It is to be hoped that the new stamps will not introduce any new element of friction, but stamps with maps on them have an unfortunate knack of stirring up trouble. The quantities ordered of the several values are: i centavo, 500,000; Ic., 1,500,000 ; 2c., 2,600,000 ; 5c., 250,000; 10e., 150,000.