em." Writing a little later on the same
subject Mr. C. L. Pack also vouches for them, viz.:--"I quite agree with
Mr. Horsley in regard to the various imperforate copies of the issues of
1882 to 1895. There are a good many specimens of these stamps
imperforate, and they were on sale at a Canadian Post Office." Curiously
enough Gibbons' catalogue entirely ignores these imperforate stamps
though Mr. Howes is able to adduce documentary evidence in support of
the statements made by philatelists of such undoubted authority as
Messrs. Horsley and Pack.

Scott's catalogue records the 1/2c as existing in a horizontal pair
imperforate between.

The same work records the 2c bi-sected diagonally or vertically and the
halves used for 1c stamps, while Mr. Howes adds the 6c, cut vertically
and used for 3c. But as the "Canadian Postal Guide" declares that "a
mutilated stamp, or a stamp cut in half, is not recognised in payment of
postage" such freaks can only have passed through the mails by
carelessness or favor and their philatelic interest is negligible.

In 1875 an Act of Parliament was passed making the prepayment of letters
by postage stamp obligatory and imposing a fine of double the deficiency
on all insufficiently prepaid letters. At the same time local or drop
letters (accepted for 1c) were restricted to 1/2 oz. in weight.

The Postmaster-General's Report for 1879 says:--

A reduction has been made, from the 1st September last, in the
postage rate on closed parcels sent by post within the Dominion,
from 12-1/2 cents per 8 oz. of weight to 6 cents per 4 oz. Under
this change small parcels not exceeding 4 ounces in weight are
admitted to pass for 6 cents instead of 12-1/2 cents as before.

It will thus be seen that this change did away with the chief use of the
12-1/2c value and made it practically useless. Hence the reason it was
never included among the series of small "cents" stamps.

In 1889 another Post Office Act increased the limit of weight of single
letters from 1/2 oz. to 1 oz., and at the same time increased the postal
rate on local or drop letters from 1c to 2c, though a weight of 1 oz.
was allowed under the new schedule. An official notice recording these
changes was published as follows:--

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

CHANGES IN POSTAGE RATES UNDER AUTHORITY OF POST OFFICE ACT 1889.

The rate of postage upon Letters posted in Canada, addressed to
places within the