§ MR. HENNIKER HEATON (Canterbury)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General,(1) whether the Mulready stamp, the black penny stamp, and other postage stamps of the whole, issues are still available for postage purposes; (2) whether, for some months past, the Postmaster General and the Commissioners of Inland Revenue have insisted that stamp dealers and others shall desist from publishing miniature and other size illustrations of these stamps, in black or otherwise, in their catalogues; (3) whether it is within the knowledge of the authorities that an illustration of the Mulready stamp is being largely distributed by the promoters of the Philatelic Exhibition, of which the Postmaster General is one of the patrons; (4) whether such imitations or illustrations are contrary to the regulations specifically laid down by the Post Office permanent officials and the Commissioners of Inland Revenue; and, if so, why a special exception has been made in this particular case, whilst stringent regulations are made against illustrations brought out by English Stamp dealers; (5) whether he is aware that vast numbers of catalogues containing illustrations of English stamps made in Germany, come by post to this country, the sale of which are not, and cannot be, interfered with; and (6) whether the Post Office officials can point to any case in which fraud against the Post Office has arisen, out of black illustrations of stamps which have appeared in the catalogues of English stamp dealers; and, if not, what is the reason of the present action of the Post Office?
§ MR. HANBURYThe answers to the first two paragraphs of the Question are in the affirmative. It became known to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue within the last few days, that an illustration of the Mulready stamp was being distributed as stated in the Question. The Postmaster General is a patron of the Philatelic Exhibition, but he was not consulted as to the issue of this 911 imitation, and was not aware of its issue until informed of it by the Commissioners. He has informed them that he hopes no special exception will be made in favour of the Philatelic Exhibition. In preventing, as far as they can, the imitation of any postage stamps, whether of the United Kingdom, or of any colony or foreign country, the Postmaster General and the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (with whom the enforcements of the law rests) are governed by the reasons which led Parliament to pass the 7th Section of the Post Office Protection Act, 1884, and which led Her Majesty's Government to enter into Article XVIII. of the Universal Postal Union Convention of Vienna, 1891. Nothing, but certain legal doubts, removed by the decision of the High Court in "Dickens v. Gill" a year ago, have prevented a stricter enforcement of the law of which warning was given to all known stamp dealers by public notice in November 1885. In the opinion of the Postmaster General and Commissioners of Inland Revenue there is grave risk if dies capable of producing exact imitations of postage stamps in black and white are allowed to be used by unauthorised persons, and a foreign Government has more than once pressed this view upon the attention of Her Majesty's Government. It is the case that fictitious stamps and materials for making them are imported into this country. The Judges commented upon this in "Dickens v. Gill," and nothing but the want of a convenient opportunity for legislation has prevented the introduction of a clause to deal with the matter by amending the Customs Consolidation Act.