tage stamps. In February, 1855, the money-order system was first
begun, and has within the last few years been greatly extended. Letters
seem to have been first registered in 1856. In October of that year the
Grand Trunk Railway was completed as far as Toronto so that, in
connection with the Great Western, an unbroken line of postal
communication was established between Quebec in the east and Windsor in
the west.

The decimal system of coinage was introduced in 1859; this, of course,
as is well known, necessitated a new issue of postal labels.

We now arrive at the issue of labels for the new Dominion. The
post-office act was passed on the 21st of December, 1867, and came into
operation the 1st of April last. The internal rate is reduced from 5
cents to 3 cents the half ounce; but the postage to this country remains
unchanged.

The following is the order for the issue of the new labels:--

POSTAGE STAMPS.

To enable the public to prepay conveniently by postage stamp the
foregoing rates, the following denominations of postage stamps for
use throughout the Dominion, have been prepared, and will be
supplied to postmasters for sale:--

Half-cent stamps, one-cent ditto, two-cent ditto, three-cent ditto,
six-cent ditto, twelve-and-a-half-cent ditto, fifteen-cent ditto,
all bearing as a device the effigy of Her Majesty.

The postage stamps now in use in the several provinces may be
accepted, as at present, in prepayment of letters, etc., for a
reasonable time after the 1st of April; but from and after that
date all issues and sales to the public will be of the new
denomination.

Continuing the postal history from where the article in the _Stamp
Collector's Magazine_ concludes we find that in 1869 the color of the 1c
value was changed to yellow as it was found that the brown-red color was
too easily confused with the red of the 3c. Early in the following year
the 3c denomination appeared in a reduced size to be followed about
April by the 1c and it was, naturally, presumed that the whole set would
appear in this form. Two years elapsed, however, before further
additions were made for it was not until 1872 that the 2c and 6c values
appeared.

In 1874, an entirely new value--10 cents--was issued and in 1875 a 5c
stamp made its appearance in the large size of the 1868 series. Mr. C.
A. Howes, in his admirable monograph on the stamps of Canada, explains
th