Editor : James (Jim) Taylor 
2335 Paliswood Road SW, 
Calgary, AB
james-taylor@wave.home.com

President : David Allen 
2159 W 47th Avenue,
Vancouver BC
Canada V6M 2M6
Fax : 1-604-263-3141
dallen@axionet.com

Mr David Salovey 
Founder 
P.O. Box 464
New-York, N.Y. 10014-0464
USA

For many years St. Pierre had subsidized the delivery and pick up of mail from Halifax, in the winter, or North Sydney ,in the summer. Attempts had also been made to have mail delivered via St. John's, when that island's postal carrier contract with Galway, Ireland was in force.However no regular pattern of mail delivery and pick up was established by this route.

From about 1864 calls had been made to the islands from time to time by Coastal West ships, but by 1870 the calls were more frequent. In 1872 , the " Georgia" and the "Alhambra" of the Gulf Ports Line stopped at St. Pierre on their voyages from Pictou ( Nova Scotia) to St. John's ( Newfoundland) . In the 1870s when regular mail delivery along the south coast of Newfoundland to La Poile and Channel ( Coastal West to Port-aux-Basques) had become established, calls were made at St. Pierre, as conditions and expediency permitted. The Postmaster General's report for 1873 commented on the fact that mail was delivered to St. Pierre by the Coastal boat without compensation. He felt that this was unjust and stated " Although St. Pierre is a French Colony, we allow them the same privileges on their correspondence and newspapers as are extended to our own outports". In 1874, the Commandant of St. Pierre thanked Newfoundland for transporting the mail in 1873 and said that the island would now allow a subsidy to be paid to Newfoundland. This service was to start on April 21 1874.

It can be seen that a logical outcome of this was that Canadian and Newfoundland stamps were used on mail from St. Pierre. It would certainly be easier for the mail attendant on the ship to affix Newfoundland or Canadian postage rather than St. Pierre stamps , from a point of view of uniformity of rates and currency. The rates would then reflect those that were in force for mail from Nova Scotia or Canada. A further outcome of this system was that a stock of stamps from Canada or Newfoundland would be held at St. Pierre and could be purchased by local senders to affix to foreign mail. The letters would be franked at St. Pierre to show their source of origin. I have in my collection a selection of 5c Small Queen stamps of Canada with clear St. Pierre and Miquelon postmarks. By the 1880s St. Pierre had instituted its own issues and had formalized its postal arrangements with the outside and the official use of Canadian stamps ceased.The moral of this story is that one should look very closely at the postmarks on the Small Queen stamps of Canada and the contemporary stamps of Newfoundland for legitimate use from St. Pierre and Miquelon.

( Ref. PHSC Journal # 52 - Robert H.Pratt )

Philatelic articles by David Allen