::: MIDDLE TREATY PERIOD :::

MAY 16, 1855 TO AUGUST 30, 1863

When the United States adopted new rates effective April 1, 1855, only prepaid mail to the East was affected. The former rate of 6¢ was increased to 10¢. With the 2¢ ship fee and the Hawaii rate of 5¢, the cost of a prepaid letter from Hawaii was thus increased from 13¢ to 17¢. Collect mail was prohibited on letters originating in the United States but was allowed on letters originating outside the United States so mail could still be sent from Hawaii with United States postage unpaid. The rate for an unpaid letter remained the same at 10¢, plus the 2¢ ship fee and Hawaiian postage prepaid at 5¢. Thus, during the Middle Treaty Period, a letter cost the same whether United States postage was prepaid or unpaid. News of the rate change on prepaid letters was slow to reach Hawaii and finally arrived on May 16, 1855. See Mail Rates.

August 30, 1863 is used as the termination date of the Middle Treaty Period because on that date Hawaii learned of a reduction in United States postage, effective July 1, 1863.

We travel through this Period with relatively little rate confusion and we encounter a greater variety of stamps and postmarks to make the Period interesting. Click here for San Francisco Postal Markings. This Period also witnesses the next great change in how mail traveled from San Francisco to the East, with the introduction in 1858 of the Butterfield Stage from San Francisco across the Southern Route via Los Angeles and El Paso to St. Louis. In 1861, as the United States entered upon its Civil War, the stage line was relocated, amidst murky ownership changes, to the Central Overland Route via Salt Lake. In the middle of the relocation was the Pony Express which, despite its romantic history, carried little mail but proved the viability of the central route. Even after stage service was commenced, mail was carried to the East via Panama unless it was specially endorsed to go overland. In late 1859, the practice was reversed so far as letters were concerned and mail was sent overland unless specially endorsed to go by steamer via Panama. Given the semi-weekly coach departures of the Butterfield stage and the daily departures of the Central Overland Mail, San Francisco dates on mail carried by coach more closely tie to the date the cover arrived at San Francisco - but mail still was postmarked when it left San Francisco.

At the start of the Middle Period Hawaii put into use an oval PAID rate mark (MH #761). Click here for Hawaii Rate Marks. This device had been obtained in 1851 but apparently was put aside as unnecessary at the time. Now, perhaps to emphasize the fact of prepayment, it was used for a few months on stampless prepaid letters. Interestingly, for the first two mail shipments under the new rate (May 17 and June 5, 1855), Honolulu used its collect mail postmark even on prepaid mail (perhaps evidencing some concern over the effective date of the new rate and wanting to avoid a charge-back of unpaid postage). From May 12 to November 13, 1855, fifteen covers are recorded with the oval mark enclosing a manuscript rate. Click here for a list of the PAID oval covers. Please send me an E-mail (scott31@hawaiianstamps.com) with information about other oval mark covers.

Postmarked May 17 at Honolulu and June 16 at San Francisco. A pair of United States 3¢ stamps (No. 11) are lifted to show the PAID oval beneath with a manuscript 6¢ entered in red crayon. This cover was carried to San Francisco on the American bark Archibald Gracie in the first mail bag sent from Honolulu after the new rate on prepaid mail to the East was known there. However, this cover was unaffected by the rate change, as it was a prepaid letter to Oregon. The Archibald Gracie departed Honolulu May 17, 1855 and arrived San Francisco on June 6. The steamer for Oregon departed June 16. In my opinion, the United States stamps on this cover were added at Honolulu to eliminate any confusion about the prepayment of mail to Oregon. At the time, there was uncertainty in Honolulu about the Oregon rate and 6¢ is an overpayment of the 5¢ rate. San Francisco probably would not have made that mistake. Only two covers with the oval bear United States stamps pasted over the oval mark.

Postmarked at Honolulu on November 3 and at San Francisco on November 20. We see here a typical Middle Treaty Period prepaid letter to the East with rate markings showing the new 12¢ rate was paid. This cover was carried to San Francisco on the American bark Yankee, departing Honolulu November 2, 1855, and arriving San Francisco November 19.

Postmarked at Honolulu June 5 and at San Francisco June 30. A double weight letter under the new rate cost 22¢ United States postage, including the 2¢ ship fee. As before, the ship fee was collected only once per letter regardless of weight. Carried to San Francisco on the Francis Palmer, departing Honolulu June 5, 1855, and arriving San Francisco June 24.

Collect mail to any destination and prepaid mail to San Francisco and inland California and Oregon was unaffected by the 1855 rate change.

Postmarked March 26 at Honolulu and April 10, 1862 at San Francisco. The SHIP and 12 markings were carried over from the Early Treaty Period because there was no change in the collect mail rate, erasing the cost differential between prepaid and collect mail in the Middle Treaty Period. This cover was carried to San Francisco by the American bark Yankee, departing March 26, 1862 and arriving San Francisco April 9. It was carried East by the Overland Mail across the Central Route.

Mail for San Francisco continued to cost 6¢ until a rate change effective February 27, 1861, when the rate was dropped to 5¢. Prior to February 27, 1861, the 6¢ rate was charged per letter so a double weight or heavier letter still cost 6¢. Mail to San Francisco after the rate change still seems to be charged once per letter rather than by weight.

Postmarked November 26 at Honolulu and December 19, 1860 at San Francisco. The clamshell "SHIP/6" marking was just about worn out and this cover bears the last recorded strike of it, rather deteriorated from ten years of use.

Postmarked November 15 at Honolulu and December 1 at San Francisco, showing the 5¢ rate to San Francisco after the February 27, 1861 rate change. Carried to San Francisco on the American bark Comet, departing November 15, 1862 and arriving San Francisco December 1.

Mail to inland California remained at the 5¢ rate throughout the Period.

Postmarked January 21 at Honolulu and February 14, 1859, at San Francisco and carried to San Francisco on the American bark Yankee, departing Honolulu January 21, 1859 and arriving February 12. This cover, bearing a Scott No. 5, shows the 5¢ rate to inland California destinations. There was no change in this rate during the Middle Treaty Period.

ABOUT THE MIDDLE PERIOD COVERS

My record has 475 covers sent from Hawaii during the Middle Treaty Period. Of these, 319 were prepaid and 136 were sent with United States postage unpaid (the balance were forwarder or postage free covers). Judging from the surviving covers, collect mail was less popular than prepaid mail. Stamped covers (246) outnumber stampless (229) in this Period. As the Period wore on, the number of stampless covers dwindles. The year 1860 was the last year in which stampless covers outnumbered stamped covers. Before 1861, stamped covers outnumbered stampless only in the year 1857. After 1860, stamped covers heavily outnumber stampless covers (85 stamped covers to only 20 stampless). A cover is counted as stamped if it bears stamps of either Hawaii, the United States or both.

Study of Covers bearing Hawaiian Stamps in the Middle Treaty

Study of Covers bearing United States Stamps in the Middle Treaty Period

Study of Covers to foreign destinations sent through the United States

Study of Privately Handled Covers in the Middle Treaty Period

POSTMARKS NEVER LIE?

Generally, postmark dates are reliable. But they were sometimes wrong.

What have we here? This cover is postmarked January 12 at Honolulu and March 5, 1858 at San Francisco. So what's wrong? The handwritten note in the lower left corner reads "Per Morning Star," the missionary ship supplying mission stations in the South Pacific. But in 1858, the Morning Star arrived at Honolulu from Ascension Island on January 28 so the January 12 postmark must be incorrect. Moreover, we record four covers with the San Francisco March 5 postmark, two bearing March 5, 1858 and two with March 5, 1859. One of the two with a March 5, "1858" postmark has contents datelined September 24, 1858 at Ponape on Ascension Island, so the 1858 date in the San Francisco postmark must be wrong. In 1859, the Morning Star arrived at Honolulu from the South Pacific on January 24, still too late for the Honolulu postmark. The Honolulu postmark should be February 12 instead of January 12 and the San Francisco postmark should be March 5, 1859. Indeed, none of the 1858 sailings make sense. The American bark Melita departed Honolulu February 12, 1859 and arrived San Francisco March 3, in time for the Panama steamer sailing on March 5. Please E-mail (scott31@hawaiianstamps.com) me if you have information on the cover with the Ponape contents. Apart from interest in the postmark mistakes, the Morning Star cover above is an example of mail from elsewhere in the Pacific being sent to the United States via Hawaii. Missionary mail was carried free of charge on the Morning Star and was first entered into an official postal system upon arrival at Honolulu.

INBOUND LETTERS

A rate change on inbound letters took place in November, 1856. Until then, the Honolulu Post Office paid the 2¢ ship fee from the 5¢ collected on each inbound letter. Postmaster Joseph Jackson replaced Whitney in July, 1856 and soon afterward obtained permission to charge 7¢ on each inbound letter. Treatment of inbound letters thus became the same as outbound letters in the sense that the postal patron paid the 2¢ ship fee in both cases. It remained common in this Period for inbound letters to be addressed to an agent in San Francisco.

END OF THE MIDDLE TREATY PERIOD

Postmarked July 6 at Honolulu and July 30, 1863 at San Francisco, this letter was franked with postage (12¢ US Scott No. 69) sufficient for the 1855 rates although on July 1, 1863, the United States letter rate was reduced to just 3¢ which, with the 2¢ ship rate made the total United States postage on a letter just 5¢ from Hawaii. News of this rate change was late in reaching Honolulu and finally arrived August 30, 1863. Letters such as this one sent by the American bark Comet on July 6, 1863, continued to be paid at the old rate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Kemble, John Haskell, The Panama Route 1848-1869, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1943. An essential reference for the Panama Route.



• Hafen, LeRoy R., The Overland Mail, Arthur H. Clark Company, 1926; Quarterman edition, 1976. U.S. Overland Routes including the Butterfield Southern Route and the Central Route; a key reference work.



• Hahn, Mannel, "The U.S. Post Office 1851-1860", Chapter XXXVI, The United States One Cent Stamp Of 1851-1857, Vol. II by Stanley B. Ashbrook, H.L. Lindquist, New York, 1938. This chapter of Ashbrook's famous book was written by Hahn and addresses U.S. mail development and rates of the period.



• Jackson, W. Turrentine, "A New Look at Wells Fargo, Stagecoaches and the Pony Express", California Historical Society Quarterly, p. 291-324, December, 1966. U.S. Central Overland Route; excellent analysis of Wells Fargo's formation, development and relationships with other overland carriers.



• Jackson, W. Turrentine, "Wells Fargo/Staging over the Sierra", California Historical Society Quarterly, p. 99-133, June, 1970. U.S. Central Overland Route.



• Nathan, Mel C. and Boggs, W.S., The Pony Express, with foreword by Roy S. Bloss, Collectors Club Handbook No. 15, Collectors Club, Inc., N.Y., 1962. Authoritative work on the pony express; includes departure and arrival dates of known covers, history of the service and routes; gives details on the stamps used.



• Wiltsee, Ernest A., Gold Rush Steamers, The Grabhorn Press, San Francisco, 1938. The definitive work on the Panama Route, particularly in reference to the contracts, details of service and alternative routes.

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