At the end of September, 1867, the Postmaster-General, Bombay, reported that a reconnoitring party under Colonel Merewether, Political Agent, had left for Abyssinia and a Field Force was shortly to follow. A post office under Mr. J. Gardiner as Inspecting Postmaster sailed for Abyssinia on the 25th November along with the second detachment of the Expeditionary Force. A portion of the staff was left at Massowah, where the troops disembarked, and the rest was ordered to advance with the Army. Having fallen ill through overwork, Mr. Gardiner was replaced by Mr. E. de C. Williams on the 1st March, 1868. Ordinary postage stamps were used, the denominations of the stamps supplied for the Field Force being ½ anna, 1 anna, 2 annas, 4 annas, 6 annas 8 pies, and 8 annas 8 pies. The postage payable on articles for members of the Expeditionary Force was as follows: LETTERS--4 annas for every ½ oz., 8 annas for 1 oz. and 8 annas for every additional oz. in excess of the first oz. NEWSPAPERS--8 pies for 4 ozs., 1 anna 4 pies for 8 ozs. BOOKS--2 annas for 4 ozs., 4 annas for 8 ozs. and 4 annas for every additional 8 ozs. Prepayment in the latter two cases being compulsory. It does not appear that parcels or money orders were exchanged or Savings Bank transactions allowed. The postal officials began to return from Abyssinia by the end of June, 1868, the last batch arriving at Bombay on the 4th July. _The Afghanistan Expedition._ The war broke out in November, 1878, and Mr. J. H. Cornwall was appointed to take charge of postal arrangements with the column under the command of General Stewart, Mr. W. T. van Someren with the column under the command of Major-General F. S. Roberts, and Mr. J. L. Fendal with the Peshawar column. The approximate strength of the whole force was about 45,000 fighting men and 60,000 camp followers. The mails between Quetta and Kandahar were conveyed under the control of the Political Agent and the military authorities. When General Roberts moved out, a hill cart service was opened from Kohat to Thull, a distance of sixty-four miles, in the Kurram Valley. The principal difficulty was the work of organizing and maintaining the mail lines, which were also used for conveying military stores. Apart from the work done at the Post Office workshops at Aligarh, workshops had to be opened at Rawalpindi, Jund, Thull and other places for the construction and repair of carts. In this expedition non-commissioned officers were taught to do postal work, and whenever they were required to do so they were allowed a postal salary of Rs.30 a month. The control of the whole postal arrangements devolved upon Colonel W. M. Lane, Postmaster-General, Punjab, and it was due to his exertions that the arrangements met with success. _Malta Expeditionary Force._