Note 153 — Chapter VI

“The Origin of Postage Stamps,” p. 7. By Pearson Hill. Here is a story of a “find” that is more interesting than that at Turin or that of M. Piron already alluded to, because it comes nearer home to us. About the middle of the nineteenth century, and during the demolition in London of some old houses which had long been appropriated to governmental use, and were now abandoned, the discovery was made of a large number of the paper-duty stamps, issued by George III.'s Ministry in order to tax the “American Colonies.” When the obnoxious impost was cancelled, and the many years long revolt had become a successful revolution, the ex-colonies thenceforth assuming the title of “The United States,” the stamps became waste material, and were thrown into a cupboard, and forgotten. At the time of their reappearance, the then Chairman of the Board of Stamps and Taxes (Inland Revenue Office), Mr John Wood, gave half a dozen of them to Rowland Hill, as curiosities; and one is still in my possession. Another was given by my father to the American philanthropist, Mr Peabody, then visiting this country, who was greatly interested in the discovery. Now it would be just as correct to say that the tax had been imposed on the American Colonies—of course it never was imposed, since, as we know, payment was from the first refused—till the middle of the nineteenth century, simply because the stamps were only found some eighty years after their supersession, as it is to say that the Sardinian “stamped postal letter paper” and “stamped postal envelopes” were employed till 1836, in which year, after long disuse, they were formally abolished. But the manner and matter of the “Encyclopædia Britannica's” article on the Post Office and the stamps are not what they should be, and much of them would reflect discredit on the average school-boy.