POSTAGE STAMPS AS PEACE-DISTURBERS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 104, 5 November 1915, Page 3 (Supplement)

POSTAGE STAMPS AS PEACE-DISTURBERS.

LITTLE "SCRAPS OF PAPER' THAT NEARLY CAUSED WAR.

Just as a certain historical "scrap of paper" was destined to Become die prime consideration in our declarator of war on Germany, so has the humble postage stamp—truly an insignificant article been responsible for threats oi war between two nations or the iignrd for a revolution.

Our country's long drawn-out dispute with Venezuela, as to the boundary between the latter country and British Guiana, became dangerous in consequence of the issue of the Veno-> zuekn Commemorative stamp in 1896, on which there was a representation of the territory involved. Ceded to Great Britain by the Dutch in 1814, England had always claimed that the ceded territory extended to Orinoco, but Venezuela held that their country included the Essequiibo. The trouble was still further complicated by President Cleveland's ill-advi6ed speech and :ntervention on behalf of the Munroo doctrine, which nearly led to a rupture between the United States and ourselves. It is of interest to recall that during the American Civil War, 1861le<bV), special postage stamps prepared by the Confederate States Government figured prominently in the fierce fighting, «ind were often posted by the Confederates to their enemies solely with the view of intensifying the hatred already existing.

AN ISSUE WHICH BROUGHT AN ULTIMATUM.

- In the year 1900 the Donrnican Republic issued a set of stamps for ordinary use. ranging in values from quarter-eentave to one peso. The principal feature of the design was a nrop of the sland of Haytj, showing the boundary line between the Hayuan Republic itself and that of Dominica. This, however, was incorrectly drawn, so that .'t gave more territory to Dominica, who, not being in sufficient military readiness to take up arms, decided that d'scretion was the better part of valour, and reca'led the stamps, some £4OO worth of which were consigned to the flames. "Grave relations" between the &«• publie of Colombia and the Kingdom of Spain were caused in 1910 in consequence of a stamp, issued to comment - crate the centenary of the inaepeiv dence of the Republic, having a picture of the wholesale executions ordered by the Spanish victors at Carthagena in 1816. The Spanish Minister protested, on behalf of his Government, and the stamp was withdrawn. Spain had already ad its own "agitators'" stamps, for in the autumn of 18GS local revolutionaries overprinted the royalist stamps, which were accepted by the postmaster* in some districts for a very short time. Twentylive years later, a Spanish agitator issued a large number of bogus stamps, and had them districted broadcast amongst the Army and Navy in order to give co:our to the idea that therehad been a change of Government in Madrid. , , . The possibility of a fresh outbreak ot hostilities between Greece and Turkey was very largely brought about by t,ie issue of'a set of stamps by the Turks in 1898, when they were occupin* Thessaly. The equivalent of the inscription was to the effect that Thcs saly was part of the country '"to foe conquered" by the Porte, and there is no doubt that the nervousness of the Turks, on account of these stamps, led to- their hasty evacuation of the province in question.

AN UNFORTUNATE COIN CIDENCE.

Serbia's notorious "death-mask" stamps of 1904, on which the profile of King Peter was superimposed upon that of Black George, the founder of tho'dynasty, were the cause of an outbreak of reactionary feeling in that country. By covering up certain portions of the stamp, it was possible to distinguish a new face with an ugly, gashed brow representing the" murdered Alexander, but on bemg proved that this was purely through an accident the 'threatened agitation was quelled. The Boers' stamp, designed just before the outbreak of the War in 1899, was, although a very tiny article itself, successful in confirming the prejudices of many burghers, but it was never actually used in the post. The attempted Macedonian revolution, some years ago, was largely engineered through the medium of postago stamps. They were used in various ways as a secret code; each colour and value had a separate and well understood meaning, signifying a specified movement of insurgents, the moMsaton of a revolution band, or a fresh rising. The "code" was a very ingenious one, but the Turks, ever suspicious, set a watch over the correspondence of supposed ring-leaders, and discovered that there was often no proportion between the amount of postage required and the value of the stamps actually placed on the envelope. It was also found that the relative positions of the stamps and of their colours and values, one with the other, were part of the elaborate secret code. The result was that General ZoutchafF was arrested, and an enorm ens ma.« of evidence traced by tho medium of the tiny adhesive labe'.s.