at Havre, where
temporary arrangements will be made to supply Belgian stamps to the
inhabitants of the small part of the country not in the hands of the
enemy, and incidentally to be ready to reorganise the Belgian postal
system as the Germans get driven further and further back to their
own country.

[Illustration: 207 208]

Early in September, 1914, it was reported that a private postal
service was working between Ostend and Blankenberghe, and Brussels,
Namur and Nivelles at a charge of 1 franc per letter, but no
information is yet to hand of any special stamps or postmarks being
used in connection with the service.

[Illustration: 209]

The Germans have conducted the posts in Belgium with a view to the
requirements of their own countrymen in the temporarily conquered
land, and incidentally to make profit out of the Belgians and out of
philatelists. There will no doubt be many interesting curiosities in
the postmark line arising from the Germanisation of the names on the
cancelling cachets, such as Lowen (Louvain), L[:u]ttich (Li[`e]ge), Kales
(Ostend), etc. But the chief philatelic interest attaches to the issue
of special stamps, or rather the ordinary German stamps, overprinted
in Gothic type "Belgien", and with the currency surcharged in centimes
(_Fig._ 209). Of these there are four denominations, 3 centimes on 3
pfennig brown, 5 centimes on 5 pfennig green, 10 centimes on 10
pfennig red, and 25 centimes on 20 pfennig blue.

The Belgian Government authorised the preparation of stamps for
collecting funds for the Red Cross, and these made their appearance
on October 3, 1914. There are two sets of three values--5, 10 and 20
centimes. The set in the smaller size portrays King Albert (_Figs._
210, 211), and the larger size stamps bear a picture of a monument
commemorating the Belgian War of Independence, 1830 (_Figs._ 212,
213).

[Illustration: 210 211 212 213]

The Belgian Red Cross stamps were for some time rather difficult to
obtain, as it appears that the stock was left behind at post offices
to which the Belgian authorities have not had access since their
removal to Havre. Undoubtedly vast numbers of these stamps could
have been sold in England and elsewhere had they been procurable from
Belgian sources.

[Illustration: 214 215]

The interest aroused in the Belgian Red Cross stamps, and the
difficulty in obtaining them, has probably been responsible for the
attempt to exploit collectors with a set