Islands Issues

Stamp Collectors Up

In Arms Over Cook

By a Staff Writer

Philatelic journals in New Zealand and Australia have be come increasingly concerned in recent months over the Cook Islands Government’s expressed policy of deliberately exploit ing world stamp collectors to obtain revenue.

THE journals are Stamp News, of Dubbo, New South Wales, and the Pacific Stamp Journal, of Auck land, New Zealand.

They have been watching Cook Islands stamp issues with critical and somewhat jaundiced eyes since the Cook Islands Premier, Mr.

Albert Henry, stated in the Legisla tive Council last October that his government intended to finance an old age pension scheme from the sale of postage stamps, and that a British company and an American company had guaranteed the govern ment an annual net profit of £70,000 and £lOO,OOO respectively if given the job of handling sales ( PIM, Nov., p. 31).

A Philatelic Bureau has now been established in Rarotonga to handle stamp sales.

The Pacific Stamp Journal, par ticularly, has not been very happy about the Churchill commemorative set issued by the Cook Islands on January 24, and the new airmail set which went on sale on April 22.

Both sets bore overprints; both were released with little advance notice to the philatelic fraternity, and were quickly sold out.

Within weeks, mint sets of the Churchill stamps—six denominations —were retailing at 35/- each (against the face value of 12/2), and dealers were asking from £7/10/- to £l2/10/- each for “six constant and interesting varieties” in the sets that the method of overprinting had produced.

Later, a sheet of lOd Churchill stamps was found to have been over printed upside down, and these stamps were listed by Stanley Gibbons, the noted British stamp dealers, as being worth £2OO each in mint condition.

The airmail stamps are reported to be equally variegated in their printing idiosyncrasies. There are nine stamps in this set with a total face value of £2/1/8. All bear an overprint reading “airmail” and the outline of a plane above it; and

four of the stamps have a new value overprinted on them. Eight of the stamps are from the current Cook Islands pictorial set, and one is a New Zealand £1 stamp over printed “Cook Islands”.

Wags have been asking in Raro

(Continued on p. 143)

tonga: “Have you seen the new rare stamp? It’s got no errors on it!”

The Pacific Stamp Journal hotly criticised the new airmail stamps even before they went on sale.

“Coming so soon after the recently issued Churchill set, we believe this airmail set will give collectors cause for concern,” it said in its April issue. “We ourselves had hoped that . . . issues would have been spaced further apart. The face value of this airmail set would also appear rather high, and we are inclined to doubt the need for a £1 stamp. . . .”

The journal also stated that, despite an official statement that the distribution of Cook Islands stamps would not be given to any outside agency, there were “persistent and disturbing rumours” of the presence in Rarotonga of “two American gentlemen”, one of whom was known to be connected with a philatelic organisation in the United States.

“We trust,” the journal added, “that Mr. Henry will bear well in mind the fact that although stamp collectors can prove a useful and steady source of income, they do not constitute an inexhaustible gold mine.”

Premier's Broadcast

Adverse comments of this kind prompted Mr Henry to devote almost the whole of a radio broadcast on April 28 to stamps.

He said that long before his gov ernment had come into office, he personally had made it , clear to everyone interested that “if we be came government, we would try to earn something out of our stamps”.

Later, after his government took over full responsibility for the handling of Cook Islands stamps, the Philatelic Bureau was established— “with the full understanding of the New Zealand authorities”. In the year 1965-66 the government had received £35,000 in revenue from stamp sales, compared with an annual average of £11,785, over the previous five years.

Referring to comments on the varieties and printing of Cook Islands stamps, Mr. Henry said this was “clearly ill-informed”.

“No printing process is perfect and before comments are made about our own stamps, the situation else where should be known,” he said.

He pointed out that of the 190 New Zealand stamps issued since World War 11, over 140 of them had one to six varieties of errors.

Mr. Henry added that “acting with expert international advice, including continuous information on inter national opinion”, his government could assure everyone that there was no cause for concern over postage stamps, but rather for satisfaction.

Secret Agreement

Later, in its issue for June, Stamp News, of Dubbo, NSW, claimed that the Cook Islands Government had signed a secret agreement with foreign interests granting them ex clusive rights to conduct a philatelic agency in the islands for 10 years.

Stamp News said one of the terms was that mint Cook Islands stamps would be supplied to the agency at a substantial discount under face value. Stamp News added that if the Cook Islands Government supplied the agency with stamps at a discount it would debase its own currency.

The names of Mr. Finbar Kenny and Mr. Burt Todd were mentioned in the article, among others.

A solicitor in New York for Mr.

Todd later telephoned PI M's general manager warning that legal action might be instituted against Stamp News. This was followed by a telegram to PIM, signed “Finbar Kenny, 35 Park Ave., New York”, reading:

Pacpub Sydney Attention Man

Aging Director And Editor Pim

Please Be Formally Advised That

Libelous Stamp Article Appear

Ing In June Edition Of Stamp

News Publishing Dubbo May Be

SENT TO YOU OR HAS BEEN SENT

Stop The Alleged Fact In This

Article And Conclusion Are

False And Libelous Stop As

Matter Of Record Be Advised

That Any Dissemination Of The

Untrue And Libelous Statements

By Your Publication Will

Gravely Injure Reputation And

Good Name Of Undersigned And

Legal Action Will Be Instituted

Immediately For Damages Stop

This Cable Just Formal Notifica

Tion For Record As Assume Your

Editors Would Normally Check

Obviously Wild And Libelous

Statement Particularly When

Originating With Petty Magazine

Whose Editor Has Been Con

Victed Of Libel On Other

Previous Occasion.

Questioned by PIM on May 27, the editor of Stamp News, Mr. W.

Hornadge, said a judgment had been recorded against him in a libel case instituted in England about 10 years ago, but that no damages had been awarded. He added that he knew of no legal proceedings being instituted against him by either Mr.

Kenny or Mr, Todd.