local affairs. It took some months to get this more liberal policy into working order and it was not until November 1, 1921, that the people of Malta actually assumed this local control. On that date the Prince of Wales, who was on his way to India, stopped off at the Mediterranean island and opened the new Maltese Parliament. That event marked the introduction of the new type of Maltese government, based on the principle of self-rule, subject to definite limitations laid down in the interests of Imperial security. The main principle is the establishment of two concurrent governmental systems. The first of these systems, for local affairs under the complete legislative and administrative control of Maltese people, was granted by Great Britain under what is officially called "Malta Constitution Letter Patents," and allows the Maltese people to elect a Legislature comprising a Senate and a Legislative Assembly, for regulating such affairs as education, highways, and-presumably, also, in view of the character of the surcharged stamps-postal affairs, etc. The other governmental system is for matters of Imperial concern, with Crown appointees taking orders from Parliament in England-such matters as Army and Navy affairs, etc. This is essential for Great Britain, as Malta, which was annexed to the British Crown by the Treaty of Paris in 1814, has long served as the base of repair and refitment of the British fleet operating in the Mediterranean. The surcharged "Self Government" adhesives were to have appeared at the time the Prince of Wales opened Parliament last November, but were inadvertently delayed. The foregoing has been set down partly as a matter of information and record, but more particularly to offset imaginings that the "Self Government" surcharges might be representative of the philatelic voice of reds, radicals, parlor socialists and their tribe. The stamps are symbolical of the spread of British democracy, not of Bolshevism. ment 1922" in Gaelic-a report was current in philatelic circles in New York that the Gaelic-overprinted set was to be shortly withdrawn and superseded by British stamps with the same surcharge in English; also that when the permanent series should be issued, the inscriptions would be in English and not in Gaelic as originally intended by the new State's Postmaster General. The theory was that the majority of the people did not understand and read Gaelic, and that accordingly Gaelic inscriptions would make the stamps highly unpopular. Apparently these reports are without basis, as- we read in Stamp Collecting, British stamp weekly-the Postmaster General has issued instructions to postmasters as follows: 1. All officials in post offices "are invited to acquire a working knowledge of Irish." Facilities for the study of the language are to be set up wherever possible. 2. Irish is to be used in the signing of attendance books, etc. 3. Post office date stamps are to be altered to show names of towns in Gaelic, wherever possible. 4. Each head post office is to be supplied with a copy of "post-Sheanchas", whatever that may be, "to obviate delay in the circulation of correspondence addressed in Irish." 5. Outside each post office the office's name is to be shown in Irish whenever possible. 6. Letter boxes to be repainted and letters "an post". 7. Mail cars to be repainted and lettered "Post Saorstat Eireann", meaning "Irish Free State post". 8. The italics are ours: British postage stamps in temporary use overprinted in Irish. New Saorstat stamps to be inscribed altogether in Irish. 9. Machine date stamp to bear an advertisement "Learn Irish". 10. Post office notices, forms, weekly publications, etc., to be at least headed in Irish: "All stationery issued from Postmaster-General's office has Irish head ing." 11. Irish is used in more than 75 per cent. of the communications from the Postmaster General's office. 12. Telegraph forms include instructions in Irish only. These stamps are, as the name implies, a tax which the public had to contribute towards the funds for carrying on the war. The 1 centavo had to be used on every letter and post card, the 5 centavos on every telegram and parcel. All stamps were printed in sheets of 100, 10 rows of 10 stamps, on unwatermarked paper, which varies for the several issues. No. 4. 5 centavos brick red. 4a. "1910" for "1916" in right hand bottom corner. 4c. 4d. 4b. Period after "P" of "Pela." Third Issue-October, 1918: Thinner paper, clean cut perforation 12. New color. No. 5. 5 centavos vermilion. The color varies from light to a. Error "Petria" for "Patria." There are several more minor varieties in this issue, but the above are the most prominent. No. 5b, "1910" for "1916," is a peculiar error. The "6" has been intentionally altered into an "o" by a workman and this makes the inscription senseless. The other errors are plate errors. Part II PROVISIONAL POSTAGE STAMPS These were made by surcharging a new value on the former War Tax Stamps, some, as the I centavo and 11⁄2 centavos, were specially marked "Correios," whilst others, like the 22 centavos and 6 centavos, have only the new value printed on them. The overprinting was done in the printing works of the Government Gazette in Lourenzo Marques and always well done. The printer set up the type twenty-five times and divided the original sheets of the War Tax stamps into four quarters and then overprinted each quarter separately. The consequence was that the error No. 5a (PETRIA) was only found once in the upper left quarter sheet. This happened to be the first part sheet issued to the public; later, when the other three quarter sheets came into circulation, the other errors were found. There was one printing of half sheets of fifty stamps of the 11⁄2 centavos on 5 centavos. First Issue-May, 1918: This issue was made by surcharging the 5 centavos, rouletted, No. 2, with the new value 21⁄2 CENTAVOS in two lines, in black. No. 6. 21⁄2 centavos on 5 centavos carmine, shades, rouletted. Third Issue: Same surcharge as above but on No. 5, 5 centavos vermilion. No. 8. 22 centavos on 5 centavos vermilion, perf. 12, thinner paper. a. Error, "1910" for "1916" in right hand bottom corner. b. "Petria" for "Patria." C. d. e. reads "F." "R" of "Republica" reads Period after "P" of "Pela." The above three issues are only one in the eyes of the Postal officials. The first and second issue were printed at the same time, the third much later but with same type. The rouletted stamps are scarce. Fourth Issue-August, 1919: This issue was made by surcharging the I centavo green, perf. II, stamp No. 3, CORREIOS» 1 c. with "Correios Ic" in one line, slanting upwards from left to right, in black. No. 9. I centavo on I centavo green, perf. II, rough perf. a. Error, "R" of "Republica" reads "P." b. Error, "i" of "Correios" miss ing. There are several other minor varieties in this issue and also broken letters in the surcharge. No. 10. I centavo on I centavo gray green, rouletted. This stamp is rare. A few loose remnants, mainly singles and pairs of No. I, were stuck on sheets of paper, together with some loose stamps of No. 3. These were sent to the press in sheets of 25 and were surcharged and then issued to the public. Fifth Issue-August, 1919: This issue was made by surcharging the 5 centavos vermilion, perf. 12, No. 5, with "Correios 12c." in one line, slanting upwards from left to right, in black. No. II. 11⁄2 centavos on 5 centavos vermilion. a. Error, "1910" for "1916" in right hand bottom corner. b. Error, "Petria" for "Patria." d. Error, "E" of "Republica" e. Error, period after "P" of f. Error, second "E" of "Tele grafo" reads "F." g. Error, vertically perf. and h. i. Error, same as g with c. The other errors, a, d, e, f, should exist in combination with g, but I have not seen them. Of the fourth and fifth issues there were two printings, the first on August 3, 1919, and the second on November 15th, 1919. In the latter occur several broken letters of the surcharge, owing to type getting worn, the first "o" of "Correios" looking like a reversed "c" and the numeral "1" losing Part III PROVISIONAL POSTAGE DUE STAMPS Owing to a shortage of centavo and 5 centavos Postage Due Stamps the Governor General, through Government Ordinance of 10th September, 1918, authorized the surcharge of "Porteado" on the Ic and 5c, rouletted, War Tax Stamps, thereby turning them into Postage Due Stamps. There are no errors or varieties of these stamps or surcharges. First Issue: No. 13. 1 Centavo gray green, rouletted. No. 14. 5 Centavos carmine, rouletted. Besides utilizing the War Tax Stamps for Postage and Postage Due purposes, a quantity of both value was overprinted with "Imposto do Sello" in black and used as ordinary Revenue stamps for receipts, etc. Notwithstanding the overprint some of these stamps have been used for postage, but they were not authorized to be used as such. This ends the history of the Mozambique War Stamps and I think my readers will agree with me that a study of these stamps is interesting. Besides the prominent varieties which I have enumerated there are a lot of smaller ones, in fact no two stamps on the sheet seem to be alike and, as these stamps are still cheap, I think it would be interesting work to plate them. Personally I had no need of this, as I received full or quarter sheets direct from the Post Office and could thereby locate the varieties. |