Sometime back I received the enclosed stamp paying the postage on an open envelope containing a circular from Toronto; it has not been moved from its original place, and one could see it had not been obliterated on the envelope. After some little trouble I found the P. O. would, upon receiving whole sheets of stamps, cancel them, and then hand them back to any known firm to be placed on letters in quantity, these letters are then taken to a private part of the office in bulk, and are allowed to pass through the post without further marking. [248] =London Philatelist=. I: 100. The system in the United States made use of a cancellation giving the town and state name, printed on the sheets by a press; but the Canadian precancellation was of simpler form, being of two fairly heavy horizontal lines with a wavy line between. No name occurs in the cancellation and it was applied with a roller, thus making a universal style which is more convenient in application than the type set form, varying for every post office. Further information in regard to this cancellation is found in _Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News_[249] where we read:--"The Canadian one-cent stamp cancelled on circulars is obliterated by a revolving self-inking canceler and is issued for use on the 5th class matter, i. e. parcels, etc., to post offices with an annual revenue of $3000 and over." [249] =Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News=, XIII: 388. In 1904 precancelled stamps began to appear with the town name and that of the province, separated by two horizontal bars. In answer to an inquiry concerning them the Department replied as follows:[250]-- The main conditions governing the case are the quantities required for a given mailing and the limitation of the use of precancelled stamps to the particular kind or class of mail matter for which they have been issued. The minimum quantity in each such case is 25,000 pieces.... As requisitions for precancelled stamps necessarily take longer to fill than the ordinary, postmasters are expected to send requisitions for them to the Department a few days in advance of actual needs. [250] =Mekeel's Weekly Stamp News=, XVIII: 131. It is evident that the latter form of printed precancellation was the only one intended to be employed by the Department, and that the earlier form of impression from the roller canceller was unauthorized, for the following circular was issued to make matters plain for postmasters:[251]-- POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, CANADA. OTTAWA, 16th September, 1904. PRE-CANCELLATION OF POSTAGE STAMPS.