1891 postal rate to Great Britain

[Jeffharris]

I have just noticed an interesting item on Pg. 178 of Part II of the "Green Book". There is a reference to the reduced letter rate to Great Britain which reads:- "on 1.1.91 the half ounce rate to Great Britain was reduced from 6d. to 2 1/2d. for all Australian Colonies". The next sentence reads:- " As from 1.10.91 the rates of postage recommended by the U.P.U. came into effect in Tasmania and all other Australasian Colonies.
On pg. 179 Postal Rates for 1891 appeared. Among them was the following entry :- Ship Letters for the United Kingdom, for every half ounce or fraction of half an ounce the rate was twopence halfpenny.

Does this mean that any ship letters sent from Tasmania to the U.K. in the period 1.1.91 to 30.9.91 [via Brindisi]?
and franked at the rate of twopence halfpenny per half ounce were underfranked and therefore subject to a penalty [tax] of sevenpence or its equivalent in centimes. I remember reading an article many years ago, that indicated the French and Italian postal authorities were opposed to the large reduction in this rate [did they receive any renuneration for the mails passing through their respective countries]? If so, I imagine they would have been keen to tax any items from the colonies that showed the reduced rate before it was ratified by the U.P.U.. Does any one have any such items showing a h/s. tax stamp? The amount would probably have been at least 25 centimes.
Jeff.

[David McNamee]

The contract mail packets carried letters to the UK for twopence-halfpenny (the current UPU rate that Members used, although the Australian Colonies were not yet Members of UPU) effective 1-1-91. They would be in closed bags sent to the UK. Whatever arrangements Italy and France made with the Royal Mail for transporting the bags by rail did not affect the postal rate. Other mail for destinations to foreign countries outside of the UK paid Foreign Letter Rates (4d via Italy to Europe or North America, and 5-1/2d to Cape of Good Hope via Italy, for instance) during the period 1-1-91 to 8-10-91. Reference: Molnar, G.P., Ship Letters of Australia 1788-1901 Vol. 2: The Orient Line (RSPC, 1992). You won't find any taxed mail on single-weight letters to the UK with twopence-halfpenny franking in 1891, since the tax markings would be applied at the office of origin, and as far as Tasmania was concerned, these letters were correctly franked.

[Jeffharris]

Thank you David, for this very interesting information.

Jeff.