1891-92. ] NOTE ON POSTAGE STAMPS. MWYcrs 
considerable time between the terminus of the Forth and Clyde canal 
and Newhaven a distance of 27 miles at the rate of 7% miles an hour. 
Much importance has been attached to the efforts of Henry Bell, the 
builder of the “Comet.” A grateful country has evinced its appreciation 
by erecting a noble monument to his memory. This monument is con- 
spicuously placed on a promontory of the River Clyde, where it may be 
seen by every passenger passing up or down the river. The “ Comet” 
was the first steamboat in Europe engaged in any serviceable purpose ; 
three years before the “Comet” was launched, Canadian enterprise placed 
the “ Accommodation” on the St. Lawrence, and for many years this 
vessel continued to run regularly, carrying passengers and freight 
between Montreal and Quebec. 
All honor to the memory of John Molson, the master mind who caused 
to be built and who directed the movements of the first steamboat on 
Canadian waters! Can we do less than find a place for a second memo- 
rial tablet to commemorate an event of no small interest in the annals of 
our country ? 
NOTE ON POSTAGE STAMPS. 
By SANDFORD FLEMING, LL.D., C.M.G., ETc. 
(Read 17th December, 1892.) 
I am desirous of submitting to the Canadian Institute a matter which 
may possibly, to some, appear to be of little importance, but which never- 
theless affects the daily lives of many of us, and in this point of view 
may claim public attention. 
The system of adhesive stamps for the prepayment of letters came into 
operation during the last half century. There was not a single postage 
stamp in use in any part of the world before the year 1840. Now there 
are thousands of different kinds and they are used by millions daily by 
all the different nationalities of the world. 
Postage stamps were officially established in the British Islands fifty- 
