§ MR. THOMSON HANKEYasked the Postmaster General, If he can state why the new penny postage stamps have been made of a colour so near to that of the Foreign postage stamps as to lead to frequent mistakes?
§ LORD JOHN MANNERSSir, the colour in which the new penny postage stamp is printed was selected with a view to its being in accord with the colour suggested by the Postal Congress of Paris for the postage stamps of the value of 10 centimes (1d.) of all the countries within the Universal Postal 683 Union. The colour of the postage stamp of the value of 2½dhas, in consequence also of a suggestion made by the Postal Congress, been now changed to blue. There will, therefore, be no risk of such mistakes as those referred to.
§ MR. THOMSON HANKEYasked, Whether he was to understand that in future the 2d.and the 2½d.stamps would be both blue?
§ LORD JOHN MANNERS,in reply, said, he had taken the hon. Member's Question to refer to the 2½d.stamp. That stamp was blue; and he understood it was issued to the public on the 5th of this month; but the hon. Gentleman might have found some of the old stamps then in use. The old stamps were not called in, and probably some confusion might have arisen in that way.