_31st. Mar. '03._ _31st. Mar. '10._ Number of Post Offices, 10,150 12,887 " " letters and post cards annually, 262,437,000 501,189,000 " " registered letters annually, 5,470,000 10,465,000 " " pieces of 3rd class matter annually, 46,794,000 87,237,000 " " packets and parcels annually, 3,790,740 7,112,660 Mileage travelled on mail routes annually, 35,752,087 46,773,727 Net revenue, $4,366,127.75 $7,958,547.72 A very important fact is also to be found on examining the financial reports of the Department--that from a deficit (as usual for many years) of $416,183.99 in 1901, and a wee surplus of $5,109.14 in 1902, there has grown to be a surplus of $743,210.25 in 1910. Evidently Canada's Post Office Department is at least run efficiently and economically! CHAPTER XVI THE "TERCENTENARY" ISSUE OF 1908 It may be remembered, perhaps, that in our introductory chapter we noted the fact that the first permanent settlement in Canada was made by Champlain at Quebec in 1608. As the year 1908 approached, the idea of celebrating in proper manner the three hundredth anniversary of this event was strongly agitated, particularly by the French population of the Province of Quebec. Plans were formed and materialized in the shape of fetes, historical pageants, etc., which took place at Quebec in July, 1908, and to be present at which the Prince and Princess of Wales made a special trip across the Atlantic in one of Britain's most powerful warships. In view of former precedents it was to be expected that the Canadian Post Office Department would also celebrate in a fitting way, and although a new Postmaster General had taken the place of Sir William Mulock, he nevertheless arose to the occasion as the following newspaper despatch shows:-- QUEBEC, March 31.--Hon. Rudolphe Lemieux, Postmaster Gen. of Canada, announces that a series of postage stamps commemorative of the Champlain tercentenary will be issued at Ottawa on the third of July, which marks the exact anniversary of the foundation of Quebec by Champlain. No sooner was this fact made known than the Postmaster General was showered with suggestions of all kinds as to the designs of stamps appropriate to the occasion. But after the first announcement the Post Office Department was very reticent in regard to the matter, and letters of enquiry concerning the proposed issue were answered as evasively as possible. At last the veil was lifted and the following despatch to the _Toronto Globe_[186] gave definite information concerning the proposed issue:-- OTTAWA, July 3, (Special).--Postmaster-General Lemieux has given instructions to issue a series of postage stamps commemorating the tercentenary.