_BY E. D. BACON._
Nova Scotia is a peninsula between 43° 46′ N. lat., and 61° 67′ W. long.,
connected with New Brunswick by an isthmus about 14 miles wide. Its
length is about 300 miles, and its breadth about 100 at its widest, with
much variation. The island of Cape Breton, separated by the Gut of Canso,
forms part of the province. It contains an area of 20,907 square miles,
about one-fifth part of which consists of lakes, rivers, and inlets of
the sea.
Nova Scotia was discovered by John Cabot in 1497; it was colonized by
the French in 1598, who gave it the name of _Acadia_. It was taken by
the English, and a grant of it made to Sir W. Alexander by James I.
in 1627; and it was this monarch who altered the name to Nova Scotia.
In 1632 it was restored to France, with Quebec, by the Treaty of _St.
Germain-en-Laye_, but again ceded to England at the Peace of Utrecht,
in 1714. After the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, a settlement of
disbanded troops was formed there by Lord Halifax, and the city which
now bears his name is the capital of the province. Cape Breton was not
finally taken from the French until 1758. From 1784 to 1819 it formed a
separate Colony.
Thanks to Mr. Donald A. King’s persevering assiduity in hunting up
official notices, and other particulars connected with the stamps of
this Colony, we have from him what may be considered almost a complete
history of their introduction and use. His papers are most interesting
and valuable, as they elucidate many previously obscure points in regard
to these stamps, and I think the Society has acted wisely in republishing
them as they originally appeared in _The Halifax Philatelist_.
Amongst other information Mr. King gives from the Report of the
Postmaster-General of Nova Scotia for the year 1852 occurs this sentence:
“Postage stamps valued at One Shilling, Six Pence, and Three Pence have
been procured from Trelayney Saunders, Esq., stationer, of London.”
Trelawney (as the name should be spelt) Saunders is given in Kelly’s
_Post Office London Directory_ of 1851 as a “mapseller, publisher, and
stationer, agent by appointment for the ordnance maps and admiralty
charts,” &c. &c.; and his address was 6, Charing Cross. He it was who
evidently received the order from the Colony for a supply of postage
stamps, which he must have entrusted to Messrs. Perkins, Bacon, and Co.
to carry out, as it was this latter firm who engraved the stamps.
Mr. King gives an extract from one of the Reports, which authorizes the
bisection of the Three Pence to allow the prepayment of the 7½d. rate
to England; but the Report states distinctly the Three Penny stamp was
alone to be used for that purpose. As in the case of New Brunswick,
both the Six Pence and One Shilling are found bisected. The Nova Scotia
varieties are probably due to the same causes as those I have given for
the former Colony. The following particulars found in the Report of the
Postmaster-General of Great Britain, published in 1857, will give us the
early postal rates of Nova Scotia:
“In 1842, ’51, ’53, ’54, and ’56 measures were successively
adopted for the establishment of a low rate of postage.
On Letters not exceeding ½ oz. 3d.
Above ½ oz. and not exceeding 1 oz. 6d.
Above 1 oz. and not exceeding 1½ oz. 9d.
And so on in proportion.
“Letters posted and delivered in the same town are charged 1d.
only per ½ oz.
“Newspapers are conveyed free.
“On printed Circulars, Prices Current, Handbills, &c., the
postage is 1d. per oz.
“Books, &c., are allowed to pass free of charge when not
exceeding 2 ozs. in weight; but above that weight, and up to
48 ozs. (to which weight the Book privilege is limited), the
postage is ½d. per oz.”