“‘CHARLES CONNELL.
“‘_His Excellency the Hon. J. H. T. Manners-Sutton, &c., &c._’
“(COPY NO. 3.)
“Memorandum of the Lieut.-Governor to Mr. Connell.
“‘GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, _May 19th, 1860_.
“‘His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor accepts Mr. Connell’s
resignation of the office of Postmaster-General and Executive
Councillor, and he accedes to Mr. Connell’s request to be so
far relieved from the obligations of his oath of office as will
enable him to explain the grounds on which he has tendered his
resignation to his Excellency.
“‘His Excellency will of course deem it right to communicate
to his Council the contents of Mr. Connell’s letter to his
Excellency of this day’s date.
“‘(Signed), J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_Mr. Charles Connell, M.P.P., &c._’
“(COPY NO. 4.)
“Memorandum for the Executive Council.
“‘His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor thinks it right without
delay to lay before his Council the accompanying copy of a
letter addressed to his Excellency by Mr. Connell.
“‘His Excellency has accepted Mr. Connell’s resignation of the
office of Postmaster-General and Executive Councillor, tendered
to him this morning by Mr. Connell.
“‘(Signed), J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_May 19th, 1860._’
“(COPY NO. 5.)
“Memorandum of the Executive Council in Committee.
“‘_To His Excellency the Hon. J. H. T. Manners-Sutton,
Lieut.-Governor, &c._
“‘May it please your Excellency,—
“‘We have had under consideration the memorandum of your
Excellency of the 19th instant, accompanied with the letter
from the Postmaster-General, resigning his office and his seat
in the Council, with the reasons he has assigned therefor.
“‘Knowing from the discussions with Mr. Connell that he was
prepared to retain his office and seat in the Council, if an
order was made to issue the stamps procured by him, including
the stamp bearing the likeness of the head of the department,
we are therefore justified in concluding that the Minute of
Council of the 8th instant, in which your Excellency was
advised to approve of, and order to be distributed the One,
Ten, and Twelve and a Half Cent Postage Stamps procured by the
Postmaster-General, and to order a new Five Cent Postage Stamp
to be struck, bearing the likeness of the Queen, instead of the
Five Cent stamp already procured by the Postmaster-General,
is, notwithstanding the other reasons assigned by him, the real
ground of his resignation.
“‘Without entering into the discussion of the powers of the
different heads of departments, we observe that we have no
desire to limit or circumscribe the legitimate authority of
the Postmaster-General, or of the head of any other public
department, and in advising your Excellency upon this question,
we have not desired nor attempted to do so, as by the Act
relating to the Post Office the approval of the Governor in
Council is required to the issue of Postage Stamps.
“‘Your Excellency is aware that no such order was made by your
Excellency in Council, authorizing the obtaining or issuing of
the stamps. We admit the Postmaster-General had the consent of
his colleagues to obtain decimal stamps, but they were procured
and being distributed before they were submitted to your
Excellency in Council for approval, or before the impress they
bore was known to the Council, and when submitted it was the
opinion of the Council that the Five Cent stamp should bear the
likeness of Her Majesty....
“‘We cannot discern how the Revenue of the Post Office
Department will be affected by the action of the Government;
that must depend upon the extent of individual correspondence,
and we do not believe that there will be a single letter less
written in consequence of such action.
“‘As Mr. Connell has obtained your Excellency’s permission to
publish his letter to your Excellency, we respectfully request
your Excellency will authorize the publication of this reply.
“‘(Signed), CHARLES FISHER,
JAMES BROWN,
S. L. TILLEY,
W. H. STEEVES,
A. T. SMITH,
D. WARK,
CHAS. WATTERS,
P. MITCHELL.’
“(COPY NO. 6.)
“Memorandum for the Executive Council.
“‘His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor has received the
memorandum of the Executive Council in Committee, in which they
submit to his Excellency their observations on Mr. Connell’s
letter to his Excellency of the 19th instant.
“‘The Lieut.-Governor accedes to the request of his Council to
be permitted to publish this document.
“‘(Signed) J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_May 22nd, 1860._’
“(COPY NO. 7.)
“Memorandum for the Executive Council.
“‘His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor lays before the Executive
Council a copy of a communication dated May 30th, 1860, which
his Excellency has received from Mr. Charles Connell respecting
his recent resignation of his seat at the Council Board, and
the office of Postmaster-General.
“‘(Signed) J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_June 2nd, 1860._’
“(COPY NO. 8.)
“Letter from Mr. C. Connell to the Lieut.-Governor.
“‘_To His Excellency the Hon. J. H. T. Manners-Sutton,
Lieut.-Governor, &c., &c._
“‘SIR,—In the _Royal Gazette_ of the 23rd instant appears a
memoranda without date, signed by your Excellency’s advisers,
and addressed to your Excellency, in which is reviewed a
correspondence, which I had the honour to submit to your
Excellency on the 19th instant. The subject-matter of that
correspondence must be discussed at the proper time in another
place; but as there are several points urged in the memoranda
of your advisers calculated to create a false impression with
reference to my reasons for resigning my place at the Council
Board, I am induced to trouble your Excellency with this
rejoinder.
“‘1.—In the memoranda under notice it is intimated that the
real reason of my resignation was the refusal of my colleagues
in the Government to advise your Excellency to issue the Five
Cent Postage Stamp. This statement I must unhesitatingly
declare to be incorrect, and if evidence is wanting to prove
the contrary, I can refer to the Attorney-General, Provincial
Secretary, and the Hon. Mr. Wark, who were present at a meeting
of Council on Tuesday, the 10th April, on which occasion, on
account of circumstances which then and there took place, I
stated that “I could not sit with men who acted as they did.”
“‘I am well aware that the law reads: “The Governor in Council
may cause stamps with their value thereon to be sold and issued
as postage.” The Minute of Council made in December last, if
not perfected by the Attorney-General, whose duty it was to
do so, cannot be regarded as my fault. I have fulfilled my
duty, and did what I supposed I was fully authorized to do.
At all events I have violated no law, and in the memorandum
under consideration it is admitted that I had the consent of my
colleagues to obtain the decimal stamps....
“‘7.—As to the revenues of the Postal Department, at the end of
the year when the returns are made up, the public will be able
to arrive at a correct judgment.
“‘I have, &c. &c.,
“‘(Signed) CHARLES CONNELL.
“‘WOODSTOCK, _30th May, 1860_.’
“(COPY NO. 9.)
“Memorandum of the Executive Council in Committee.
“‘_To His Excellency the Hon. J. H. T. Manners-Sutton,
Lieut.-Governor, &c._
“‘May it please your Excellency,—
“‘The Committee of Council have had under consideration your
Excellency’s memorandum of the 2nd instant, accompanied with
a second letter from the late Postmaster-General, intended as
a reply to our communication to your Excellency of the 23rd
ultimo.
“‘We are convinced that in the preparation of both the papers
submitted to your Excellency by Mr. Connell, he has been
influenced more by a desire to avoid the discussion of the real
ground of his resignation than to represent accurately the
policy and acts of his late colleagues in the Government....
“‘In our former memorandum we stated to your Excellency that
Mr. Connell had the consent of his colleagues to procure
Decimal Postal Stamps, and we again assert that the Council
were kept in total ignorance of the design upon the Five Cent
stamps until after they were struck off and put in circulation....
“‘Mr. Connell having published his second letter to your
Excellency, we respectfully request your Excellency will
authorize the publication of this our reply.
“‘(Signed) CHARLES FISHER,
A. T. SMITH,
JAMES BROWN,
DAVID WARK,
S. L. TILLEY,
CHARLES WATTERS,
W. H. STEEVES,
PETER MITCHELL.
“‘COUNCIL CHAMBER, _5th June, 1860_.’
“(COPY NO. 10.)
“Memorandum for the Executive Council.
“‘His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor has received the
memorandum, dated the 5th instant, of the Executive Council in
Committee, and in accordance with their request he sanctions
the publication of this document.
“‘(Signed) J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_June 6th, 1860._’
“(COPY NO. 11.)
“Memorandum for the Executive Council.
“‘His Excellency the Lt.-Governor lays before the Executive
Council a copy of a further communication, dated June 15th,
1860, which His Excellency has received from Mr. C. Connell,
respecting his recent resignation of his seat at the Council
Board, and of the office of Postmaster-General.
“‘(Sgd.) J. H. T. MANNERS-SUTTON.
“‘_June 15th, 1860._’”
“(COPY NO. 12.)
“Letter from Mr. C. Connell to the Lt.-Governor.
“‘_To His Excellency The Hon. J. H. T. Manners-Sutton,
Lt.-Gov., &c., &c._
“‘SIR,—The Royal Gazette of the 6th inst. contains a memorandum
intended as a reply to my letter of the 30th ult. to your
Excellency, in which your advisers exhibit a great anxiety to
impress on the mind of your Excellency that the only cause of
my resignation of the office of Postmaster-General was the
refusal of the Council to advise your Excellency to order the
issue of the Five Cent stamps. I have in my previous letters
to your Excellency stated some of the many reasons forming the
basis of my conclusion to resign, and to repeat that I was
not influenced in my course altogether by the stamp question
I consider unnecessary, that matter merely having had the
effect of bringing my previous intention to its fulfilment,
for sooner or later my resignation must have been tendered. I
will however say, that the usage I did receive at the hands
of my colleagues, in reference to the stamps, would have been
sufficient to cause such action as I took upon the premises.
“‘The correspondence between myself and the Provincial
Secretary, with reference to the issue of the Postage Stamps,
laid before your Excellency, either has not had a careful
perusal, or else they are in ignorance of the meaning conveyed
by such correspondence.
“‘I was first authorized to procure the stamps, and stated
on the floor of the House in March last that ‘I had ordered,
and would receive in time for distribution on the 1st of May,
stamps of the denomination of One, Five, Ten, and Twelve and a
Half Cent, in view of the introduction of the decimal system
of currency.’ They arrived, and preparations for their issue
at the appointed time were made by the Department, supposing
that any further orders were unnecessary, until I received
the telegram from the Provincial Secretary, and subsequent
interference on the parts of your advisers, in what was a mere
matter of detail, became apparent. An order to issue all but
Five Cent stamps was made, thus setting aside my power and
right to conduct even a minor arrangement of the Department.
After having procured, by the knowledge and consent of the
Government, stamps of various denominations, my position as
head of a department was ignored. Even if this was the only
circumstance influencing me, my course was the only honourable
one to pursue.
“‘I have the honour to be,
“‘Your Excellency’s most obedient servant,
“‘CHARLES CONNELL.’
“This finishes this most remarkable correspondence and chapter
in the postal history of New Brunswick.
“A careful reading and consideration of the letters here given
will show the impossibility of there ever having been any
of the Connell stamps used to pay the postage of a letter,
although an inference to the contrary may be drawn from Nos.
5 and 9, being the letters of the Executive Council, but this
is due I think to loose writing, or probably meaning that
they were in the hands of the Post Office Department for
distribution. Against this we see the telegrams to Connell
forbidding the issue, three days before they were to start
sending them to postmasters, and his telegram to Hale,
the Secretary of the Post Office Department of N. B., at
Fredericton, forbidding him to send out any of the stamps. In
my opinion the Connell is undoubtedly not a postage stamp,
but a rare essay only. As a fitting end to this I may add the
official account of the money paid for the making of the Cent
issue of New Brunswick.
-------+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------
NAME. | PARTICULARS. | AMOUNT. | AMOUNT.
-------+--------------------------------------+------------+-----------
| | £ s. d. | £ s. d.
|Engraving plate for “One Cent” | |
| Postage Stamps | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 2000 sheets ” | |
| | 12 15 0 | 37 15 0
| | |
|Engraving plate for “Five Cent” | |
| (Connell) do. | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 5000 sheets | |
| ” ” | 31 15 0 | 56 15 0
| | |
|Engraving plate for “Ten Cent” ” | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 2000 sheets ” ” | 12 10 0 | 37 10 0
| | |
|Engraving plate for “Twelve & | |
| Half Cent” ” | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 4000 sheets ” | |
| ” | 25 0 0 | 50 0 0
| | |
|Engraving plate for “Seventeen | |
| Cent” ” | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 1000 sheets ” ” | 6 5 0 | 31 5 0
| | |
|Engraving plate for “Five Cent” ” | 25 0 0 |
| | |
|Printing 5000 sheets ” ” | 31 5 0 | 56 5 0
| +------------+----------
| £268 15 0
“This was for the first lot sent. There were, however, several
other supplies got before the confederation of the British
North American Provinces.
“DONALD A. KING.”
Issue III. May (?), 1863.
_One value._—Engraved and printed by the American Bank Note Co. of New
York, upon white wove paper; brownish gum, machine-perforated 12. The
entire sheet consists of one hundred stamps, arranged in ten rows of
ten; and the name of the engravers appears in the margins of the sheet.
Design: The same portrait of the Queen as in the Five Cents of the
last issue, in a somewhat larger oval. Upright coloured ovals in each
corner, containing Arabic numeral of value in white. The remainder of the
stamp is filled in with arabesques. Shape, small upright rectangular.
(_Illustration 58._)