The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The last Canadian postage due stamp was issued in 1978. Even then, it was rarely seen on mail, even if there was a deficiency in postage paid, having been largely replaced wilth a rubber stamp indicating a penalty payment was due. Everyone is familiar with the prin- ciple of postage due. If a letter required a 30-cent stamp, but was franked with a 17-cent stamp, leaving a deficiency of 13 cents, the penalty was double the shortfall, so 26 cents had to be collected from the person receiving the letter. Stamps totalling that amount were then placed on the envelope by a postal official to indicate to a carrier or win- 'dow clerk that 26 cents had to be paid before the letter could be handed over. Nearly all Canadian 'dues' com- mand a nifty price, especially if they're still on cover, even the 1977-78 issue, referred to as the 'Fourth Issue'. Since last year, if the proper postage is not affixed to a letter, it is returned to the sender, who can then affix suf- ficient postage to make up the deficient amount and drop it in the mail again. If there's no return address, there's no return, of course. In late 1986, the United States Postal Service announced the end of postage dues in that country. The U.S. announcement sparked a reaction in philatelic journals and newspapers akin to the end of a sacred era, not unlike one that announced the last giant panda had died. The first Canadian postage dues came out in 1906 in five values: 1-cent, 2-cent, 4-cent, 5-cent and 10-cent (Scott J1 to J5). The first American postage dues were issued in 1879, in seven values from 1 cent to 50 cents (Scott J1-7). They command reasonable prices but, surprisingly, much, much more for unused than used. At the same time, there was a 'special printing' of the same issue in , deeper colors. A regular unused 1-cent brown catalogues at $22.50. The 'special' 1-cent deep brown's catalogue value is $5,000. The high price is understandable. Few 'specials' were made available, such as only 4,420 of the 1-cent deep brown. The last U.S. postage due was a 10-cent stamp (Scott J104) issued June 10, 1985. The very first postage due was issued by France in 1859, a 10-centimes value (Scott Jl). It catalogues at $10,000 unused and on- ly $190 used. The next was a 15-centimes in 1870 (Scott J2), at $120 and $210 respectively. The most interesting postage dues, however, were issued in 1862 by Baden, in what is now West Germany. Baden at the time, with an area of 15,066 square kilometres, was a Grand Duchy with the capital at Karlsruhe. Today there's a large American base at Karlsruhe and a= large part of Canada's air and land commitment to NATO is at nearby Baden-Soelingen. For the trivia buff, Baden's first postage stamp was issued in 1851, the same year that Canada issued its first stamp. Anyway, in 1862 Baden issued three postage due stamps to be affixed, as ap- propriate, on rural mail on which the mailer had not affixed the proper postage. These crudely printed stamps are really nonentities in unused condition. The denominations are 1-kreuzer (Scott LJ1, catalogue $6); 3-kr (Scott LJ2, $4); and 12-kr (Scott LJ3, $35). Used, they're worth considerably more. But let's have another look at that 12-kr rural postage due. It seems that the farmers of Baden had trouble with the postage rates, perhaps by design, and so postage dues were in such great use some stocks were quickly exhausted. Baden postal authorities took the 12-kr stamps and scissors to meet the demand. The 12-kr used catalogues at $12,000. However, a 12-kr cut in half to meet the 6-kr rate catalogues at $15,000, provided it's on cover. The 12-kr stamp was cut into quarters to meet the 3-kr rate. It catalogues at $6,000 on cover. Not many collectors bother with postage dues. Now that they've gone continued on page 11 Rent information will be RENT REVIEW UPDATE FROM THE MINISTRY OF HOUSING Now there's a Rent Registry for all private rental units in Ontario. One of the most significant features of Ontario's new rent review system is the establishment of a computerized, province-wide Rent Registry. Until now, it was often difficult for tenants to verify that The new Rent Registry will record the maximum legal charged for every private rental unit in the province. When the registration process is complete, this information will be available free of charge to tenants, prospective tenants and landlords. their rents were legal. rent which can be updated annually. Landlords of all private rental units in the province will be required to register their rents with the new Registry. When the landlord's units are properly registered, the Registry computer will automati- cally update the rents each year. The Registry will record rent increases for each unit of either the Guideline amount announced annually or by the amount decided upon in a rent review decision. Landlords will soon receive registration kits. Landlords of rental complexes with more than six units are being sent registration kits with the necessary forms to be completed. Landlords who have not received a regis- tration kit by February 2, 1987, should phone or visit their local Rent Review Office. Landlords of smaller complexes can also rd registration kits by calling their local office. Landlords of residential complexes with more than six rental units must register by May 1, 1987. Landlords of complexes containing more than six rental units have until May 1, 1987, to regis- ter information about their units with the new Rent Registry. ¢ Landlords of smaller complexes containing six units or less, as well as boarding houses and lodging houses, will be notified by the Ministry of Housing of a specific registration deadline at a later date. These landlords are encou- raged to file with the Rent Registry as early as possible. ¢ Landlords are required to file with the Registry the actual rent that was charged on July 1, 1985, for every rental unit in their complex. ¢ Most landlords will only be required to register once. : How tenants can verify their rents. e When the rents for a building have been registered, the Registry will notify the landlord and the tenants of the rent information which has been recorded for their units. e The Registry will also advise the landlord and tenants of the time limits for making applica- tions to challenge or certify the actual rent that has been recorded. Registry information will be easy to obtain. As there are more than one million rental units in the province, rent registration will take some time. When the registration process is fully com- pleted, information from the Registry will be available by toll-free telephone or by visiting a local Rent Review Office. For more information and land- lord registration forms, call toll- free 1-800-387-9060, or phone your local Rent Review Office. Ministry of Housing Ontario Hon. Alvin Curling, Minister 21 Rent Review Offices across the province: Barrie (705) 737-2111 Hamilton (416) 528-8701 Kingston (613) 548-6770 Kitchener (519) 579-5790 London (519) 673-1660 Mississauga (416) 270-3280 North Bay (705) 476-1231 Oshawa (416) 723-8135 Ottawa (613) 230-5114 Owen Sound (519) 376-3202 Peterborough (705) 743-9511 St. Catharines (416) 684-6562 Sudbury (705) 675-4373 Thunder Bay (807) 475-1595 Timmins (705) 264-9555 Windsor (519) 253-3532 METROPOLITAN TORONTO City of Toronto (416) 964-8281 East York (416) 429-0664 Etobicoke and York (416) 236-2681 North York (416) 224-7643 Scarborough (416) 438-3452