T he British West African possession known as the Colony and Protectorate of the Gambia occupies a narrow strip of territory (averaging 12 miles in width) on both sides of the Gambia river. The territory comprises the settlement of St. Mary, where the capital—Bathurst—is situated, British Cambo, Albreda, M'Carthy's Island and the Ceded Mile, a protectorate over a narrow band of land extending from Cape St. Mary for over 250 miles along both banks of the river. The Gambia river was discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1447; under a charter of Queen Elizabeth a company was formed to trade with the Gambia in 1588. In the reign of James II. a fort was erected by British traders at the mouth of the river (1686), and for many years their only traffic was in slaves. The territory became recognised as a British possession under the Treaty of Versailles, and on the enforced liquidation of the chartered company it Postally there is little to record prior to 1866, which is the date ascribed by Mr. F. Bisset Archer, Treasurer and Postmaster-General, to an alteration in the scale of postage, the half ounce weight for letters being introduced. The rate to Great Britain was, we believe, from that date 6d. per half ounce. Mr. Archer also gives this year (1866) as the date when the first postage stamps of the Colony were issued. This date was for a time accepted in the stamp catalogues, but it is now generally believed to be an error, the earliest records in the stamp journals of the period shewing the date to be 1869. The postal notices we have been able to trace are of but little interest, the following being all that bear on matters of interest to collectors:— POST OFFICE NOTICE.Reduction of Postage, &c.On and from the 1st April, 1892, the Postage to all parts of the World on Letters, Newspapers, Books, etc., will be as follows:—
By His Excellency's Command, (Signed) J. H. FINDEN, Postmaster. Post Office, Bathurst, Gambia, 3rd March, 1892. POST OFFICE.Ordinance No. 6 of 1897.March 11th, 1897. 1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Post Office Ordinance, 1897, Inland Postal Regulations. 13. From and after the commencement of this Ordinance, postal packets may be sent by post between such places in the Colony of the Gambia and the Protected Territories adjacent thereto as may be from time to time notified by the Administrator. 14. The Administrator-in-Council may from time to time make in relation to the inland post hereby established such regulations as he may think fit—
and such other regulations as the Administrator shall from time to time consider desirable for the more efficient working of such Inland Post. And may affix a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered summarily before the Chief Magistrate, or two Justices of the Peace, or, in default of payment, imprisonment not exceeding two weeks for a contravention of any such regulation. 15. Any revenue derived from the Inland Post herein established shall be paid into the Colonial Treasury at such times and in such a manner as the Administrator shall direct, and shall be applied to the general purposes of the Colony. Insurance of and Compensation for loss and damage to Parcels. 11. Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, if any article of pecuniary value enclosed in, or forming part of, a parcel be lost or damaged whilst in the course of transmission through the post, it shall be lawful for the Administrator to cause to be paid out of the public revenues of the Colony to any person or persons who may, in the opinion of the Postmaster, establish a reasonable claim to compensation (having regard to the nature of the article, the care with which it was packed, and other circumstances), the following rates of compensation—
We gather from the official handbook edited by Mr. Archer that a Government steamer maintains weekly Gambia joined the Universal Postal Union on January 1st, 1879; the Imperial Penny Postage rate was adopted from December 25th, 1898; and the unit of weight for colonial and foreign letter postage was raised from half an ounce to one ounce on October 1st, 1907. The Cash on Delivery system was introduced on October 15th, 1908. The following table gives an outline of the postal business, the large fluctuations in the revenue being chiefly due to the fluctuations in the demand for postage stamps from dealers and collectors:—
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