Postage Stamp Chat Board & Stamp Bulletin Board Forum
 

I recently acquired this nice cover. An early use, postage due, cover (New Zealand brought postage due stamps into use for the first time in December 1899).



The letter would appear to have arrived by ship at Wellington unstamped. At that point it has received the 'Packet Boat' mark, the Wellington date stamp (24 JL 00) and a further mark to show that postage was deficient. The 'To Pay/Deficient Postage' mark is a standard "½d" mark modifed by hand to show "2½d" due, which would be collected from the addressee.

The letter would then have travelled from Wellington to Auckland by train and has an arrival mark on the back of the envelope (26 JL 00). 2d and ½d postage due stamps were added at Auckland (postmarked 27 JL 00) and the item would presumably then have been delivered and the 2½d collected.

My question is regarding the rate of postage due.

The standard overseas rate for a ½oz letter was 2½d at this date but generally an unstamped letter would attract DOUBLE the defficient postage which would be 5d.

So why is this letter endorsed "2½d To Pay" and not 5d?

Was there special dispensation for a letter posted on board a ship arriving into a New Zealand port?

Any information or thoughts would be very welcome.

chippin

In the U.S., a steamboat captain was entitled to collect a fee for delivering the mails to a regular Post Office; maybe likewise in NZ.

Good morning Paul

Firstly the NI main trunk railway was not completed until 1908, several years after this cover was mailed. The cover may have gone part way by train between Wellington and Auckland or gone all the way by ship.

This cover may have emanated from San Francisco/Honolulu and been posted on board a vessel bound for New Zealand - hence the Wellington PACKET BOAT cancel - in use from 1896. It may be that the passenger dropped a 5c US coin into the letter box to pay the postage at the same time as mailing the envelope. When it arrived in Wellington there may have been uncertainty as to whether the postage had been deliberately unpaid or whether an attempt to pay had been made via the 5c coin? By leniently treating this unpaid letter only the 2½d paid by the postage dues was charged.

Yes, I know - another wonderful Smitham theory but there was no way that there were any farthing postage rates appliccable from NZ thus rendering the need for the 2½d postage due as full payment as far as I know.

David

_________________
David Smitham
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Upper Hutt 2013 Stamp Show 13 - 15 September 2013 Upper Hutt, NZ.

The Packet Boat handstamp aside, is there anything at all else on the cover indicating that this arrived from overseas?

Could the cover have not "originated" in Wellington and been sent via boat to Auckland without having been pre-stamped. Thus attracting the deficient postage handstamp and postage dues? It may be a totally domestic cover.

Just my 2cents

Dave.

If this had been a domestic unpaid letter it should have attracted only a postage due charge of 2d (1d postage + 1d deficiency fine) instead of the 2½d charged. I also cannot see how a domestic letter (underpaid or even unpaid) would have received the PACKET BOAT handstamp in Wellington, as this was contrary to PO regulations.

David.

_________________
David Smitham
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Upper Hutt 2013 Stamp Show 13 - 15 September 2013 Upper Hutt, NZ.

That brings back memories. As a child growing up in Tarbert, Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, I can remember my mother taping the postage to the back of the envelope before putting it in the post box. The Postmaster would remove the coins and apply a stamp.

_________________
With kind regards, Jim

David - you are correct that the Main Trunk was not complete at that date but I still believe the letter probably went by train. The Wellington Evening Post for 23rd July 1900 suggests that mail for Auckland could be carried by the Manawatu train on either the 24th or 26th. Whether it did or not we will never know.

.

The mystery is partly solved however thanks to Mark Benvie who was quick to spot that the letter was probably sent by a Sgt. JDG Shera of the 8th Company, 4th NZ Contingent whilst somewhere in transit on a troopship to South Africa (Boer War). Sgt Shera's address on his Volunteers' Attestation form is given as "Remuera, Auckland" (as his father's address).

A check of the back of the envelope does indeed show the initials "JDGS" in the same hand as the address written on the front.

As a serving soldier letters with no stamps on would attract only the single 2½d rate (this was reduced to 1d later in 1900).

What is unusual however is that the letter (to attract the concessionary rate, rather than the usual 'double deficiency') should have been countersigned by a commanding officer. The only thing we can summise is that all the troops on board the troopship wrote a letter and rather than countersign everyone the commanding officer provided a covering letter for a sealed mailbag containing all the letters.

A little further checking on the web and I discovered that the Fourth Contingent left Wellington aboard SS "Gymeric" at the end of March.

The 4th were in South Africa from around the end of May and Shera was there through 1901 and recognised for "Gallantry in Attack" at Pongola Bosch, October 23rd 1901.

This does pose another problem as to how the letter would be dated on arrival in Wellington in July when the writer, by that date, had been in South Africa for almost two months. The only likely explanation is that the letter was written by Sargeant Shera in transit or on arrival in South Africa and the mail took some time to get back to New Zealand.

However a nice cover with, it turns out, a nice story attached. Thanks to Mark for spotting the crucial link.

chippin

Nice bit of Detective work .. but how did PO know it was Soldier mail - it is not marked anywhere?

It may have arrived in Wellington in the "sealed bag," all of whose contents were Soldiers' Mail, and all of which were then processed identically?

As Doug says we can only assume it was part of a bag of mail with one covering letter. Or the PO knew that anything coming off a particular ship came from soldiers in South Africa.

By the letter of the PO regulations there should have been some indication that it was written by a serving soldier, was countersigned by a commanding officer and mention that no stamps were available.

chippin