Postal Power
The UPU (Universal Postal Union) in
Berne, Switzerland, is an extremely significant organization in
today’s world. It is formulated by treaty. No nation can be recognized as a nation
without being in international admiralty in order to have a forum common to all nations
for engaging in commerce and resolving disputes. That is why the USA under the
Articles of Confederation could not be recognized as a country. Every state (colony)
was sovereign, with its own common law, which foreclosed other countries from
interacting with the USA as a nation in international commerce. Today, international
admiralty is the private jurisdiction of the IMF, et al., the creditor in the bankruptcy of
essentially every government on Earth.
The UPU operates under the authority of treaties with every country in the
world. It is, as it were, the overlord or overseer over the common interaction of all
countries in international commerce. Every nation has a postal system, and also has
reciprocal banking and commercial relationships, whereby all are within and under the
UPU. The UPU is the number one military (international admiralty is also military)
contract mover on the planet. For this reason one should send all important legal and
commercial documents through the post office rather than private carriers, which are
firewalls. We want direct access to the authority—and corresponding availability of
remedy and recourse—of the UPU. For instance, if you post through the US Post Office
and the US Postmaster does not provide you with the remedy you request within
twenty-one (21) days, you can take the matter to the UPU. Involving the authority of the
UPU is automatically invoked by the use of postage stamps. Utilization of stamps
includes putting stamps on any documents (for clout purposes, not mailing) we wish to
introduce into the system. As long as you use a stamp (of any kind) you are in the game.
If you have time, resources, and the luxury of dealing with something well before
expiration of a given time frame, you can use stamps that you consider ideal. The most
preferable stamps are ones that are both large and contain the most colors. In an
emergency situation, or simply if economy is a consideration, any stamp will do.
Using a postage stamp and autograph on it makes you the postmaster for that
Contract. Whenever you put a stamp on a document, inscribe your full name over the
stamp at an angle. The color ink you use for this is a function of what color will show
up best against the colors in the stamp. Ideal colors for doing this are purple (royalty),
blue (origin of the bond), and gold (king’s edict). Avoid red at all cost. Obviously, if
you have a dark, multi-colored stamp you do not want to use purple or blue ink, since
your autograph on it would not stand out as well if you used lighter color
ink. Ideally one could decide on the best color for his autograph and
then obtain stamps that best suit one’s criteria and taste. Although a
dollar stamp is best, it is a luxury unless one is well off financially.
Otherwise, reserve the use of dollar stamps for crucial instruments,
such as travel documents. The rationale for using two-cent stamps is
that in the 19th Century the official postage rate for the de jure Post
Office of the United States of America was fixed at two (2) cents.
For stamps to carry on one’s person for any kind of unexpected encounter or emergency
use, this denomination might be ideal.
Use stamps on important documents, such as a check, travel documents,
paperwork you put in court, etc. Where to put the stamp and how many stamps to use
depend on the document. On foundational documents and checks, for instance, put a
stamp on the right hand corner of the instrument, both on the front and on the back. The
bottom right hand corner of the face of a check, note, or bill of exchange signifies the
liability. Furthermore, the bottom right hand corner of the reverse of the document is the
final position on the page, so no one can endorse anything (using a restricted
endorsement or otherwise) after that. You want to have the last word. If you have only
one stamp, put it where you are expected to sign and autograph over it cross-wise. In the
case of a traffic ticket, for instance, put a stamp on the lower right hand corner where
you are supposed to sign and autograph across the stamp at an angle. Autographing a
stamp not only establishes you as the postmaster of the contract but constitutes a cross-
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claim. Using the stamp process on documents presents your adversaries with a problem
because their jurisdiction is subordinate to that of the UPU, which you have now
invoked for your benefit. The result in practice of doing this is that whenever those who
know what you are doing are recipients of your documents with autographed stamps
they back off. If they do not, take the matter to the US Postmaster to deal with. If he will
not provide you with your remedy, take the matter to the UPU for them to clean up.
The countries whose stamps would be most effective to use are China, Japan,
United States, and Great Britain. Utilizing these countries covers both East and West.
However, since the US seems to be the point man in implementing the New World
Order, one might most advisably use US stamps.
If you put stamps on documents you submit into court, put a stamp on the back
of each page, at the bottom right hand corner. Do not place any stamps on the front of
court paperwork since doing so alarms the clerk. By placing your autographed stamp on
the reverse right hand corner you prevent being damaged by one of the tricks of judges
these days. A judge might have your paperwork on his bench, but turned over so only
the back side, which is ordinarily blank on every page, is visible. Then if you ask about
your paperwork he might say something like, “Yes, I have your paperwork in front of
me but I don’t find anything.” He can’t see anything on the blank side of a page. If you
place an autographed stamp on the lower right hand corner you foreclose a judge from
engaging in this trick. In addition, when it comes to court documents, one side is
criminal and the other is civil. Using the autographed stamp that you rubber-stamp with
your seal (bullet stamp) on the back side of your court documents is evidence that you
possess the cancelled obligation on the civil side. Since there can be no assessment for
criminal charges, and you show that you are the holder of the civil assessment, there is
no way out for the court. Also, in any court document you put in, handwrite your EIN
number [SS# w.o. dashes] in gold on the top right corner of every page, with the
autographed stamp on the back side.
Use of a notary combined with the postage stamp (and sometime Embassy
stamps) gives you a priority mechanism. Everything is commerce, and all commerce is
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contract. The master of the contract is the post office, and the UPU is the supreme
overlord of the commerce, banking, and postal systems of the world. Use of these
stamps in this manner gets the attention of those in the system to whom you provide
your paperwork. It makes you the master of that post office. Use of the stamp is
especially important when dealing with the major players, such as the FBI, CIA, Secret
Service, Treasury, etc. They understand the significance of what you are doing. Many
times they hand documents back to someone using this approach and say, “Have a good
day, sir.” They don’t want any untoward repercussions coming back on them. If anyone
asks you why you are doing what you are doing, suggest that they consult their legal
counsel for the significance. It is not your job to explain the law, nor explain such
things as your exemption or Setoff Account. The system hangs us by our own words.
We have to give them the evidence, information, contacts, and legal determinations they
require to convict us. The wise words of Calvin Coolidge, the most taciturn president in
US history, are apt. When asked why he spoke so little, he replied, “I have never been
hurt by anything I didn’t say.” The bottom line is that whenever you need to sign any
legal/commercial document, put a stamp (even a one (1) cent stamp) over where you
sign and sign at an angle across it. Let the recipient deal with the significance and
consequences of your actions. If you are in a court case, or at any stage of a proceeding
(such as an indictment, summons, complaint, or any other hostile encounter with the
system), immediately do the following:
1. Make a color copy of whatever documents you receive, or scan them in color
into your computer;
2. Stamp the original of the first page of every document with the ARFV stamp,
put a postage stamp in the signature space, and autograph across it at an angle with your
full name, using purple or blue ink, handwritten with upper- and lower-case, with your
gold-ink bullet stamp (seal) on the upper left-hand portion of the postage stamp;
Make a color copy of the stamped, autographed pages and/or scan into your computer;
3. Put a stamp on the lower right-hand-corner of the back of every page and
bullet-stamp and autograph it;
4. Have a notary send each document back to the sender, with a notarial
certificate of service, with or without an accompanying/supporting affidavit by you;
5. If you have an affidavit, put an autographed stamp on the upper right hand
corner of the first page and the lower right hand corner of the back of every page.
People who have engaged in this process report that when any knowledgeable
judge, attorney, or official sees this, matters change dramatically. All of these
personages know what mail fraud is. Since autographing the stamp makes you the
postmaster of the contract, anyone who interferes is tampering with the mail and
engaging in mail fraud. You can then subpoena the postmaster (either of the post office
from which the letter was mailed, or the US Postmaster General, or both), and have
them explain what the rules are, under deposition or testimony on the witness stand in
open court.
In addition, most of the time when you get official communication it has a red-meter
postage mark on the envelope rather than a cancelled
stamp. This act is mail fraud. If the envelope has a
red-meter postage mark on it, they are the ones who
have engaged in mail fraud, because there is no
cancelled stamp. It is the cancelled stamp that has the power; an un-cancelled stamp has
nothing. A red-meter postage mark is an uncancelled stamp. If it is not cancelled, it is
not paid. One researcher has scanned everything into his computer, and has more red-
meter postage marks than he “can shake a stick at.” Officials sending things out by
cancelled stamp is a rarity—perhaps at most 2%.
With the red-metered postage you can trace each communication back to
the PO from which it was sent, so you can get the postmaster for that PO, as well
as the postmaster general for the US, to investigate the mail fraud involved. It is
reasonable to conclude that canceling a stamp both registers the matter and forms a
contract between the party that cancels the stamp and the UPU. Using a stamp for
postage without canceling it is prima facie evidence that the postmaster of the local PO
is committing mail fraud by taking a customer’s money and not providing the paid-for
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service and providing you with the power of a cancelled stamp, as required under the
provisions of the UPU. When you place an autographed stamp on a document you place
that document and the contract underlying it under international law and treaty, with
which the courts have no jurisdiction to deal. The system cannot deal with the real you,
the living principal (as evidenced and witnessed by jurat). Nor can officials, attorneys,
judges, et al., go against the UPU, international law, and treaty. In addition, they have
no authority/jurisdiction to impair a contract between you (as the living principal) and
the UPU (overseer of all world commerce).
You cancelled the stamp by sealing it and autographing across it. You did so in
capacity of being the living principal, as acknowledged by your seal and the jurat on
your documents.
If you are in a court case, bring in your red-metered envelopes court and request
the judge to direct the prosecutor to explain the red-meter postage stamp. Then watch
their jaws drop. Doing this is especially potent if you also have asked the prosecutor to
provide his bar number, since most attorneys in court—especially in US—are not
qualified. An attorney in federal court had better have a six-digit bar card or he
committed a felony just by walking in and giving his name.
Lastly, if you are charged with mail fraud, subpoena the prosecutor(s) to bring in
the evidence on which mail fraud is being alleged, as well as the originals of all
envelopes used for mailing any item connected with the case. Then the mail fraud
involved was committed by the postmaster of the PO in which the envelope was
stamped.
The epoch in which the GPU/UPU was born was a startling period in the annals of
mankind. It was an age of great political, social and economic upheaval and change; a
period of the scientific man, par excellence. And in this period, the political world saw
some startling events: the Franco-German War, German Unification in 1871, Italian
Unification in 1861, the US Civil War, the introduction of "Dominion Status" and other
forms of home rule within the British Empire, the opening of Japan and China to the rest
of the world, the establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary within the Austrian Empire
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- to name a few. Economic events which shrank the size of the world included: the
extensive network of railways, decreasing time to transit the oceans with steamers, the
Latin Monetary Union of 18651, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and some of the
largest migrations of people, around the globe, ever recorded.
A. Postal Service: A Social and Economic Service
The groundwork for the first meeting of the General Postal Union evolved
through experimentation during the preceding twenty years or so through bilateral postal
relationships. In the enlightenment of the industrial revolution, some governments
began to realize that the speed and reliability of the mail was crucial to progress and
commerce; that the mails were a social service and not a tool of revenue generation for
the government. This included mail that was prepaid as well as that which went postage
due. Many of the postal agreements among governments were attempts to improve both
the speed and dependency as a social service.
But speed and dependency were not always priorities for all postal
administrations. In the Kingdom of Hawaii2 right up to membership in the UPU, it was
common practice to detain mail, at the local post office, which had not been properly
prepaid for outbound transmission. Postmasters would just put the letter into a box for
public access. The general public was expected to sort through the box of letters
periodically to check for any that were their own personal, outbound letters in need of
additional postage. This system showed a lack of regard for the timeliness of the mails.
The new UPU system would require that all letters, paid or unpaid, be transmitted
immediately. If necessary, postage would be collected upon delivery. International
pressure assured compliance. No longer did postal administrations worry about having
to actually collect the correct postage on every outbound letter. Based on averages,
every administration would earn its rightful share of the total income, whether prepaid
or sent collect at the destination.
But the different governments vacillated between whether mail should cover its
complete costs of operations and delivery or whether mail should be a profit-making
venture of government to supplement its general operating budget. After all, the very
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reason for the existence of monopolies was commonly accepted as serving just such a
purpose for governments around the world, whether it was in tobacco, sugar, salt or
postal affairs. For instance, as recently as the Napoleonic wars, Great Britain had used
the international mails, particularly transit letters, as a means of raising funds during its
wars against France around the globe.
The growth and improved services of the postal service worldwide were amazing
to those people in their time. Nineteenth century people were witnesses to the arrival of
modernization; the postal services being one of the very public examples of modernity
for governments around the world. The post office became a symbol of sovereignty and
nationhood; a nation's very industriousness and modernization.
In the report of the Postmaster General of the United States of America for 1866,
he connects the intertwined relationship of national development and progress of the
country as a whole with the post office's expansion.
There is no better evidence of national prosperity than the contrast increase from
year to year of revenues derived from domestic and foreign postages. There is no better
evidence of the increasing general intelligence of the American people than that
furnished by the loaded mails.
The change in modes of conveyance from carrier pigeons and special messenger,
and post riders with billets and small packages and a few letters, to railroads and
steamboats, carrying every day hundreds of tons of letters and newspapers and books,
all through the length and breadth of the land, is an extraordinary commentary upon the
increasing wealth and prosperity of the nation and the energy and intelligence of the
people. The few thousand pounds of postal revenue in Franklin's time for a single year,
give place now to fifteen millions of dollars annually, a sum greater than the annual
revenues of the federal government during the administration of John Quincy Adams3.
This service, under the liberal patronage of the government, has done more to aid
in developing the resources of the country than anything else except for the cultivation
of the soil. ... The post office and mail-route travel with civilization, and mark its
progress as distinctly as the school-house and meeting-house.
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It has always been an erroneous theory in the history of the post office of the
United States that it was established or sustained on the principle wholly defraying its
own expenses out of its own revenues; or, in other words on the principle that it should
be self-supporting. It is a great public service, to accommodate private citizens, and it
will do to say that no route shall be opened, or post office established, until the business
on the proposed route or of the proposed office shall pay all expenses.
Large sums of money are paid every year to contractors for carrying mail beyond
our frontier, across the central wilderness, to the Pacific States and other large sums are
paid for service on lines tributary to the mails, to accommodate as yet sparse
settlements. From these [extensive routes], comparatively small receipts come back in
the shape of postal revenue. Yet these very agencies [of the post office] aid settlement
and encourage enterprise in material development, so that there comes back to the
people in real wealth almost as many millions of dollars as the government expends
thousands in this particular branch of service.
The British Post Office was leader in its time. While the BPO is well known for
the introduction of the penny post, its impact on postal operations is not as well known
today. However, it was the impact on total postal operations and volume which provided
a great lesson to all the other postal administrations of that time.
In 1839, the volume of mail throughout the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland' totaled 76 million letters. A year later, after the introduction of the penny post in
January 1840 and the postage stamp in May 1840, the BPO almost exploded under the
increase in consumer demand: totaling 168 million letters. This was the elasticity of
demand that Sir Roland Hill had believed would be proven true over time - but in one
year, it was startling. Within 10 years, letter volume handled by the BPO grew to 347
million letters.
B. Bilateral Treaties: A Series of Step to a Universal Postal Union
The bilateral postal treaties helped evolve the thinking about and negotiations on
the issues of international mail. Consequently, by the first meeting of the General Postal
Union in 1874, the ideas and practices were largely known if not universally applied.
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Many of the concepts developed in the 15-20 years before GPU conference in Berne
were applied to a number of the bilateral treaties.
Progress toward what was eventually established by the GPU was not always a straight
line - it often involved two steps forward and one back as various bilateral treaties were
negotiated or reconfigured.
Bookkeeping and Settling of Accounts. In extensive record keeping common to
the times of the industrial, 'scientific man', post offices worldwide were tracking all
sorts of statistical data. In the annual report of the Postmaster General of the United
States in 1861, mail volume and related postal fees paid or collected were noted:
Direction Volume Value of Mail (US
Dollars)
From USA to Europe 3,086,121 $675,997.29
From Europe to USA 3,059,700 $686,039.41
Difference (USA-Europe) 26,421 -$10,042.12
Differential 0.009 (9/10ths percent) -0.015 (11⁄2 percent)
The US Post Office had noted these relationships for many years: that mail sent
tended to equal mail received. As other post offices were noting the same sort of data,
an important foundation for the GPU was being established, namely that of equality in
mail exchanges. This would affect the thinking that if each post office could charge the
sender enough, then they did not have to worry about collecting from the recipients.
Bookkeeping could be eliminated. This concept was to have a profound effect on the
entire pricing and operations of international mail and it became a center piece of all
subsequent USA postal treaty negotiations.
The treaty between Mexico and the USA, entered into on July 31st, 1860 resulted
in the removal of bookkeeping between the two countries: each country required
prepayment of postage (25¢ per 1⁄2 oz), which each country kept. (The high rate was set
as the two countries initially anticipated large volumes of mail from areas with logistical
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problems, resulting in higher transportation costs. These anticipated, costly problems
were mostly not realized and those that did exist were later solved with multiple cross-
border mail transfer points rather than relying solely on ship mail between Veracruz and
New Orleans or New York.
Additionally, each country granted the other free transit of its mails. This
simplification was a giant step in the elimination of accounting in the international
postal system as was seen in some of the subsequent US treaties with other countries.
By 1864, the Postmaster General of the United States reported bookkeeping had
been virtually eliminated with Canada too. But the concept from the Mexico-USA
Postal Treaty was expanded further in the Canada-USA Treaty: it allowed each country
to retain the postage it collects, whether prepayment or for postage due. The Mexico-
USA Treaty did not permit the sending of mail that was not fully prepaid, while the
Canada-USA Treaty liberalized the mails by permitting insufficiently paid mail. The
Canada-USA Treaty also established a uniform rate which was cheaper: 10 cents, and as
with the Mexico-USA Treaty, distance was no longer a factor in the rate between the
two countries. This convention was quickly extended to New Brunswick (not yet at this
time a part of Canada).
By 1866, the US Postmaster General reported success in getting a European
nation to eliminate bookkeeping: Italy. This treaty established the principle that the
country of origin is responsible for all the costs of conveying mail to the destination
country's borders. In doing so, the introduction of compulsory prepayment of all mail
was deemed the only way to ensure that the sending post office would be properly
reimbursed for its shipping expenses.
A variation of this process appeared in the British-US Treaty of January 1, 1868
when it was agreed to abolish accounting for direct mails between the two countries.
Accounting was still necessary for mails originating or being forwarded to third
countries (transit mail: was charged the domestic postal rate of the party sending it
onward). However, unlike the Italian-US Treaty of 1866, prepayment was not
mandatory between the United Kingdom and the United States, resulting in each
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country keeping whatever it collected in the way of postage due - each postal authority
noting it tended to receive as much as it sent in postage due matter. With this, and
similar bilateral agreements in Europe taking place contemporaneously, the groundwork
for the general handling and accounting for mails within the General Postal Union was
tried and proven effective.
Non-Interruption of Mail. With war on the horizon in Europe, the USA and
Bremen entered into special discussions to exempt mail packets from capture in time of
war. Existing conventions with the United Kingdom and Mexico stated that "....mail
packets shall continue their navigation without impediment or molestation....as all
governments have a common interest in claiming exceptional treatment for mail packets
in time of war, to the end of maintaining regularity in international postal
communications5."
This concept of allowing the flow of mails, even in war and across borders, was
mostly honored in the early years of the UPU.
C. Complexity Leads to Crisis
Bilateral treaties were numerous and rarely consistent. By 1874, Germany had 17
postal agreements, France 16, Belgium 15 and the United Kingdom 12. Depending on
the routes used to send the mail, it could trigger elements of several postal agreements,
stacking up the respective charges for each area the cover traveled through.
Additionally, countries used different weight measures: USA and UK: 1⁄2 oz; France: 10
grams until July 1st6, 1870 and thereafter 15 grams; Germany ... Thus a 1⁄2 oz letter from
the USA would be easily computed through the United Kingdom at the same rate, but
when it arrived it France it would be a the second rate. A calculation of rates for the
countries in attendance at the Berne Conference in 1874 totaled 1,200 different rates for
mail.
Postmaster General Montgomery Blair, of the United States, reported to Congress
in his annual message of 1862 that "...the whole system, as now established, is too
complex to be readily understood by postmasters. Our International mail system is
extremely loose and defective. There is no common standard weight for the single rate.
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There is no common rate for the sea transit or for overland transit. The inland transit rate
upon domestic correspondences furnishes no rule for the overland transit of foreign
correspondence. Rates upon closed mails are not uniform by distance, or by other
common rule and they vary greatly according to the route of carriage7."
For the reasons of this chaos, the Postmaster General of the United States called
for an international postal congress that took place in Paris in 1863. This first meeting of
postal administrations from around the world (but mostly Europe) concluded with these
objectives of future international postal agreements:
· Reduction of rates on international mail, printed and written
· Reduction or abolition of transit fees for closed mails (a lucrative business for some
countries at the
cross-roads of global mail flow)
· Establishment of uniform international postal rates
· Simplified and uniform rules governing the exchange of correspondence among
countries.
This congress definitely influenced negotiations in nearly all subsequent bilateral
agreements - at least among the conference participants. The Paris meeting of 1863 was
the most important starting point for the eventual first meeting of the General Postal
Union in Berne in 1874; a meeting delayed for years by the growing hostilities and
eruption of wars involving several European powers, culminating in a war between
France and the German states (Franco-German War of 1870-1).
The Beginnings Of The UPU
The establishment of the General Postal Union was the single most important
development in the simplification of worldwide communications:
· lowered the cost of sending a letter in order to make the mails more generally
accessible to everyone, increased dependability of and trust in the mail services, and
standardized postal services - around the globe.
This overhaul was largely driven by increasing worldwide trade, cross-border as
well as cross-oceanic migrations, and the desire of growing numbers of people to
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communicate and to be informed. It was in this period that people became more
personally aware that there was a world beyond their local communities - and even
bigger than their loose concept of their own nation. The establishment of the GPU
helped to accelerate this awareness and therefore could arguably be the first step that
was taken in the process of globalization that is hotly debated today.
The Basic Rules
Because the formation of the GPU was a big step in a world unfamiliar with
"international" bodies8, everyone jealously watched for compliance with the rules to
ensure that no one cheated. For the major leaders in this movement (primarily the USA,
France and the UK), this organization was a vehicle for expanding commerce and global
political power - peacefully. For some, a further spread of democracy or a specific
theology through knowledge and information was key.
To these ends, cheap postage, combined with efficient, unhindered posts, was the
goal. This meant that members had to conform to standard rules in order to join the club
and share in the benefits of increased globalization.
There are rules that became the basis for operations within the General Postal
Union or the Universal Postal Union. They are rarely - if ever - broken. These form the
"social contract" of members' rights and obligations that affect the exchange of mail and
the collection of postage due.
Furthermore, the rating clerks in the various exchange offices that handled foreign mail
were specialists. They are not known to make mistakes except in exceedingly rare
instances - especially not in post offices of large countries with regular and substantial
international mail flows. Just when collectors believe they have found one of the
mistakes, it is a common occurrence that another philatelist comes along with a new
find of information showing the clerk to have been correct. Readers are therefore
cautioned to not believe in "mistakes" in rating as anything but a last recourse of
explanation.
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The basic rules were simple:
The GPU/UPU rules only applied to mail between or through members. The
domestic policies and tariffs of members were never dictated by the treaty or the
convention. ...
The country of origin9 keeps all prepaid postage. This was constructed on the
assumption that every letter sent, receives a reply - there is a natural equilibrium such
that the bookkeeping is not necessary. And because of this equilibrium, a letter that is
prepaid, is free of charges at the destination.
Franking (Prepayment in Evidence): Franking must be in evidence in the form of
stamps or printed postal stationery. Franking which is not readily visible is to be
interpreted as "not paid."
The country of origin pays the costs of sending the mail to the destination
country. This includes transit fees through third countries. This is built on the
assumption that countries tend to receive as much mail from each other as they send.
With this balance of mail flow in mind, the GPU congress members focused on setting
the foreign letter rates to cover the cost of sending the letter as well as the cost of the
carrying and delivering the response within their own borders. This resulted in many
countries setting the foreign letter rate at about or slightly more than double or 2.5 times
the domestic rate.
The country of destination keeps all postage due collected. This is built on the
assumption that countries tend to receive as much postage due mail as they send. Also,
the objective is to eliminate bookkeeping as much as possible. In addition, another
reason was to pressure postal administrations into encouraging prepayment of postage (a
vestige of Sir Hill's original goal): they would bear the cost of sending the mail but
would get none of the benefit.
The country of origin determines the amount of postage due - if any. The country
of destination must comply with: a) the acceptance of franking; or b) the postage due
markings of the country of origin.
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The catch-all exception was stated in Regulations III of the Berne Treaty:
" Every postal packet which does not bear the stamp "T" shall be considered as paid to
destination and treated accordingly, unless there be an obvious error." [Author's
Emphasis].
Non-acceptance of the stamps issued by other UPU members for political
purposes is against the rules, but has been accepted in the breach because of a catch-all
phrase that postal administrations were not required to transport and distribute anything
forbidden by local law or offensive to local sensitivities.
No extra charges, duties or taxes are permitted - on outgoing or incoming mail -
except those explicitly enumerated and permitted by the Treaty.
This rule was an attempt to keep a level playing field for all members. The initial
fears were that some countries could charge more as a barrier to trade if given the
chance to make such determinations: a tool in a subtle trade war.
This rule forbad the use of postal tax stamps on foreign bound mail as well as
postal tax postage dues on incoming foreign mail. While this, on its face, appears to
preclude war tax stamps, countries got around this by simply raising their base rates
within the margin the UPU range. ...
Each country decides what system of weights to use: grams or ounces. Whichever
weight measure is used, each "rate" is considered equal. Roughly 15g equals 1⁄2 oz (a
little over 14g.) for purposes of weight: both being the first rate level, followed by 1 oz
and 30 grams were the second rate level. ...
The symbol for postage due is a "T" marking (the initial for the French word
"taxe"), which is applied at the country of origin or the first UPU member country of
entry into the Union. Every country was left to decide its own design of the "T" - which
has become a vast field of study on its own. But the distinctive "T" markings have also
allowed philatelist to identify a cover's origins when other markings were indistinct.
Some "T" markings are extremely rare and there is still much to be done in researching
and cataloguing this area. ...
Invalid stamps are to be noted by a "0" (zero) next to them, in the country of
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origin. In some postal administrations, a box is drawn around the invalid stamps; this
procedure is accepted and understood. ...
At countries of destination, translations of postage due notations in centimes
("c.") are to be rounded up to the next unit of money in force in the country of
destination. ...
Postmarks of the office of mailing are to be legible, rendered partially in the
Roman Alphabet and Calendar, and should not be covered up by labels or the
attachment of postage due stamps. The use of the Roman alphabet and western calendar
appears to have been widely complied with among member states. ...
Mail is to be conveyed by the most rapid means available. The exception to this
rule was mail of an "extraordinary" expense that had not been properly prepaid ...
Franking Mandatory For Certain Classifications of Mail. This was not necessary
for letters, but mandatory on all other classes of mail in at least the early years. ...
Rules of the UPU concerning mail exchanges with non-UPU members.
1. The Treaty did not abrogate arrangements between individual UPU members and
non-members (countries not party to the GPU/UPU treaty)...
No Color-Coding On Postage Due Markings for UPU Member Mail. Contrary to
many postal traditions existing in most countries at the time of the founding of the GPU,
the color-coding difference on rate markings, of paid vs. unpaid, was dropped within the
UPU. For instance, in Germany the color scheme had been red for paid and blue for due,
while England had had red for paid and black for due. Most UPU due markings are in
black; a color of convenience more than by any requirement. However, color-coding
was retained for mail originating in non-UPU countries on which accounting still had to
be maintained. Red was for credits and blue was for charges to be collected.
Misdirected Mail. Was to be properly directed back to its destination in the most
expeditious means possible free of any additional charges.
18
Members Are Free To Negotiate Lower, Bi-Lateral Rates or Enter Into
Subordinate Postal Unions. As long as UPU members formed bilateral agreements or
specific postal unions with the goal of improving service and of lowering rates below
the UPU levels, they were free to do so. Such agreements are actually common
throughout the UPU.
The most obvious are the lower rate agreements between mother countries and
colonies, such as the British Empire Penny Post (10 centimes) which began on
December 25, 1898 among many colonies and was expanded over time to include most,
if not all, of them.
One of the oldest (after the Danish-Sweden-Norway10 agreement of 1869)
bilateral agreements to extend the domestic postal rates between two sovereign
countries was between the USA and Canada. Canada extended the domestic rate to
USA-bound mail on January 1, 1875 and the USA followed suit one month later on
February 1, 1875 for mail bound for Canada. Canada ceased this extension of the
domestic rate to the USA on January 1, 1982 (107 years) and the USA reciprocated on
increasing rates for mail destined for Canada on April 3, 1988 (113 years)11.
On December 25, 1898, the United Kingdom entered into a special extension of
the domestic postal rate of 1d per half ounce ("Empire Penny Post") to members of the
British Empire. The initial members (Per a GPO notice dated January 3, 1898 [sic]
included (but may not be limited to)12 :
Aden, Antigua, Ascension, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Central Africa,
British East Africa, British Guiana, British Honduras, Canada, Ceylon (and the
Maldives), Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Gibraltar, Gold Coast, Hong Kong,
India, Burma, Johore, Lagos, St. Kitts, Nevis, Dominica, Montserrat, Virgin Islands,
Perak, Selangor, Negri-Sembilan, Pahang, Natal, Newfoundland, Niger Coast &
Territory, St. Helena, Sarawak, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Straits Settlements, Tobago,
Trinidad, Turks Islands, Uganda, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent.
Other Empire members continued to join over time; some examples being: Cape
Colony (September 1, 1899), Egypt (May 1, 1906), Jamaica and Sarawak (May 24,
19
1899), New Zealand (January 1, 1901), Orange River Colony (December 1, 1900),
Union of South Africa (1910, when various colonies united into a single country),
Rhodesia (April 1, 1911), Australia (May 1, 1911) and South West Africa (1917). A few
countries issued new stamps for this event either as a commemorative (Canada) or
because of the need for a stamp with the new rate (Straits Settlements: "4 cents"
overprint on the 5-cent value).
According to a report of the Postmaster General to the Congress of the United
States, most of the postage due mail entering the USA at the turn of the century (1899-
1908) was from the United Kingdom. The rationale for this considerable underpayment
of mail from the United Kingdom was that many of its citizens assumed that the USA
was part of the Empire Penny Post System (if not also the Empire itself). The PMG
mentioned that the education of an entire country seemed the least effective means of
dealing with the problem, given the huge volume of mail between the two countries.
So the USA entered into the reciprocal extension of respective domestic rates
with the United Kingdom on October 1, 1908: 1d from the UK and 2¢ from the USA
(both rates equal to 10 centimes) - a 60% rate reduction from the standard UPU rate of
25 centimes. No doubt, the experience with the New Zealand (see below) rate treaty,
entered into almost 2 years earlier with the USA had some influence on this acceptance
by these two larger parties.
This model gradually became adopted in bilateral agreements between the USA
and other members of the Empire. As other countries saw the benefits of these
arrangements with the British Empire, they too began to participate. The reciprocal rate
from the USA was 2¢ per ounce in each of the following cases.
New Zealand celebrated the beginning of the 20th century by inaugurating the
first Universal Penny Postage (10 centimes rate) on January 1, 1901 - unilaterally - and
marking the occasion with a special stamp and stationery. However, many countries
objected and New Zealand was forced to withdraw the measure for most destinations
not within the British Empire within a couple of weeks. But before withdrawing the
measure, it has been reported that the NZ Post Office itself up-franked letters, as a
20
courtesy to its postal patrons, to the full UPU rate to those destination countries
objecting.
Some countries agreed to accept such franking from New Zealand even if they did
not reciprocate the rate below the established UPU rate band. These included Chile,
Costa Rica, Italy, Liberia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and colonies, Serbia, Siam
and Switzerland. Australia agreed to the rate structure on April 28, 1902 with New
Zealand (Australia had not yet joined the Empire Penny Post at that date over fiscal
concerns: the high cost of shipping to England and other parts of the distant world). The
USA agreed to accept a penny post rate from New Zealand on November 1, 1906 but
did not reciprocate....
* * * * * * *
With the basic rules as a backdrop, the following chapter contains a list of rules, by each
congress of the UPU, as they changed and which have some bearing on postage due
collection...
21
Footnotes
1. Members included: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and
Greece. The Latin Monetary Union lasted about 49 years, until 1914.
2. Thanks to Fred Gregory for this contribution on Hawaii.
3. This administration was only 60 years before!
4. The existing exchange rates were: UK £1.00.00 (20 shillings of 12 pence each or 240 pence total)
was equal to $4.80 US (2¢ per 1d) and 5 francs were equal to $1.00 US (1¢ per 5 centimes). One
French franc was equal to 10d British.
5. Postmaster General's (USA) Annual Report of 1864.
6. Daniell, Howard, 100 Years of International Postal Co-opartion in The Post - A Universal Link
Among Men; p.139; 1974 by Vie Art Cite, Lausanne, Switzerland.
7. Annual Report of the PMG, 1862, pp 3-7; pp 23-34.
8. The GPU was the second international organization to be founded; the first being the international
Telegraph Union founded in Paris in 1865, which provided a successful model. Interestingly enough
the postal authorities from a number of countries actually met on postal matters before the Telegraph
Union was founded. The first global postal conference was held in Paris in 1863 to share information -
a brainstorming session - at the suggestion of Postmaster General Blair of the United States. The Paris
meeting led to significant if not massive revisions in the bilateral treaties regarding the exchange of
mail and set the tone for the first meeting of the GPU eleven years later.
9. "Country of origin" is defined as: a) the country where the letter was posted; or b) the first UPU
member country to receive a letter from a non-UPU member ("non-Member") before forwarding to
another UPU member.
10. Sweden and Norway were a single political entity for purposes of foreign affairs at this time.
11. The cessation of domestic rates for each other was largely caused by the automation of each
postal service using different types of postal codes: the USA using only numbers while Canada
introduced postal codes with letters and numbers. This difference led to more manual sorting of mail
between the countries. Manual sorting drove up the costs of handling, which given the volume of mail
and commerce between the two countries, was significant.
12. I am grateful to Chris Harman of Woodbridge, England, UK, for finding this listing of initial
Penny Post member colonies.
22
WHY WE ARE IN THE
ADMIRALITY JURISDICTION
Hi ho! Some fella deserves a lot a credit from this short and concise document that re-
enforces a conversation and hard copy. One other point, Standring has been spelled two
different ways and according to Lewis H. both would be wrong. I think he said without
the (e) and of course without the (a). Anyway, here is a fine piece of work.
Many a student has asked me why I file all of my documents in the admiralty
jurisdiction. All of the “pro se” litigants have been sternly warned, by their like-minded
friends, that such filings have been known to get people arrested and thrown in jail,
since supposedly the admiralty gives the judge unparalleled judicial discretion in this
venue that is supposedly without a constitution. In 1997 I had purchased a book about
the admiralty jurisdiction called Are you Lost at “C.?” from Pastor Richard Standaring,
in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Pastor Standaring, one of the best IRS information persons in the United States had just
started selling the book, but he had no outstanding opinion of it at the time. I read it, and
not really understanding the book, placed it on my shelf to gather dust. [1] About a year
later, my local partner, Bob: Shugrue, called me and relayed to me that Standring had
recently used the procedures of the book in four cases and had won all of them.
Immediately I called Standaring to look into his results. After explaining the theory, I
realized that the material was from the book sitting on my shelves. Pastor Standaring
made the most incredible remark when I asked him what the court tries to do to his
clients in the courtroom.
“Oh, Pastor" Standaring said, “They just try to talk us into agreeing to move the case out
of the admiralty, and into the civil venue.”
If I have learned anything about litigating claims against the government, it is that
where I need to go is where the judges do not want me to go, even if I do not entirely
understand why. I liken it to the military term of “pressing into the fire,” as the safest
approach. Retreat usually gets one caught in crossfire, and death is the result.
I thought, “If they do not want me in the Admiralty that is probably the best place to
be.”
Then followed weeks of investigation, and all of the information I uncovered was far
better than expected. I documented that the Admiralty is under Article III, where the
constitution and statutory law both apply! In December of 1999 in Hawaii, we filed the
first federal case. Over the next few weeks, what came from the other side was
23
deafening silence. As usual, we placed the other side in default. However, soon the
other side was up to their own tricks again. Something was missing. I later uncovered
four other important issues that legally bind up the judicial officers into either following
the law, or walking the plank. Now, with further understanding, I have learned that in
the admiralty, the state waives its immunity seven different ways, through the Suits in
Admiralty Act (three ways), through the Bills of Lading Act, through the Admiralty
Extension Act, through the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act, and through the Public
Vessels Act. [2]
To place a pleading within the admiralty, the jurisdictional statement needs to reference
28 U.S.C. 1333 or 1337. Tax Cases need to reference 28 U.S.C. 2461 and 2463, since
all tax revenue cases are done through the admiralty, and are disguised as civil
proceedings. Additionally, in the caption of the suit a reference such as “within the
admiralty” is required to hold the court accountable. The courts in the United States
have always been open since 1789 to receive admiralty documents, and are still required
to do so by authorization of 5: Stat. 516, Ch. 188, §: 5 with the enactment date of
August/23/1842, with the authority of the act of the September/24/1789: Chapter: 20.
The Suits in Admiralty Act 3[3] is a law where the United States specifically waives its
immunity in three situations: (1) If the admiralty suit involves a vessel [key word] of the
United States. Once we look into the definition of the word vessel, we will discover that
any of the actors working for the United States are vessels, enabling us properly to
apply this provision within our case.
In Benedicts, on Admiralty, one finds that the description of a vessel is so vague, that
anything can be a vessel. We are all vessels; human bags carrying “sea water.” “Our
blood has the same specific gravity as sea water.” 4[4] In the Bible, a woman is
described as the “weaker vessel.” (2) Cases that involve cargo belonging to the U.S.
Within the context of our case, when the cargo [the paperwork] of the United States
harms us, the United States gives us a blanket waiver of immunity, or (3), if the United
States could be sued in the admiralty if it were a private party. Since we are going into
an international jurisdiction, (a set aside, fenced territory) every time we go into the
court, we are entitled to sue the United States in the admiralty as if the United States
were a private party.
[2] Benedicts on Admiralty
[3] Title: 46: U. S. A. Codes, Appendix, Chapter 20 §§ 742-749,
[4] Leonard Tesoro, M.D.
[5] Title: 49: U. S. Codes, Chapter 147 § 14706,
The Bills of Lading Act 5[5] is another handy piece of legislation that helps level the
playing field, by imposing liability against carriers that misplace, or miss-deliver our
cargo(paperwork). Cargo can literally be anything. All manners of things are shipped
internationally, from cigarette lighters to books. So we are not making any sort of
24
stretch to say our paperwork is cargo. If the bill of lading sufficiently describes the
cargo, the carrier is liable for damages caused by miss-delivery. A bill of lading is
nothing more than a document given to the shipper that gives instructions where the
cargo is to be delivered, and what the cargo looks like. For the bill of lading to be
effective, it must describe the cargo being transported sufficiently so that the shipper
can identify the cargo enough to be held responsible, when the shipper delivers the
cargo somewhere else.
A classic case occurred in the 1800s where an American fruit producer sent many
barrels of apples from Georgia for delivery in New York. Since the barrels were not
sufficiently identified in the bill of lading, and since the barrels were not adequately
marked, the shipper was not held responsible when the apples were delivered to
Belgium!
The Bill of Lading Act includes a criminal penalty, because the losses suffered by the
customers of the shippers can be very great. We use a bill of lading in all of our
lawsuits. The bill of lading describes the cargo (the lawsuit), and tells the court clerk to
carry the suit into the admiralty jurisdiction of the court. 6[6] The clerk is a public
vessel, and the carrier. My bill of lading identifies the cargo as the lawsuit, by
describing the suit’s postal registry number that I have placed on the front page, by
describing the paperwork as having an American flag on the paperwork, etc. The bill of
lading creates a liability for which the damaged party can recover in a suit if the
documents are diverted into another venue. If a carrier is found wanting in due diligence
concerning the delivery of the cargo, the liability attaches at the time of the diversion of
the documents. The bill of lading therefore takes away the immunity of clerks and
judges, if the cargo is not delivered into the admiralty court, and adds criminal penalties
for compliance failures. 7[7]
The Admiralty Extension Act 8[8] extends the admiralty jurisdiction inland. All states
by law have access to the sea. Therefore any land locked country has an easement, so to
speak, across other countries in order to get to the sea. All states have an admiralty
jurisdiction in all of their courts, and they hate admitting it.
The Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act. 9[9] Any foreign sovereigns are liable for
damages while doing business in the United States. This provision has application since
the foreign sovereign — the judges, clerks, etc. — that operate on the behalf of a
defacto foreign fiction government. Officials are liable for the damages that they
commit while doing business in the country.
The Public Vessels Act 10[10] is another of the admiralty provisions that are helpful to
the litigants of the Universal-Legal-Technology. Since the libelant has been damaged by
a judge, police officer, prosecutor, court clerk, or other public vessel, the libellant is
authorized to sue for the damages in the venue of the admiralty jurisdiction. Again, the
Public Vessels Act is a law that specifically waives any immunity of the government.
25
[6] Title 49 U. S. Codes, Chapter 801 § 80113
[7] Title 49 U. S. Codes, Chapter 801 §: 80116.
[8] Title 46 U. S. A. Appendix, Ch. 19-A § 740.
[9] Title 28 U. S. codes § 1605
[10] Title: 46: U. S. Codes Chapter: 22:§: 781.
The Post Office and the International Postal Union
The role of the United States Post Office and the Universal Postal Union became a
factor in our lawsuits because of several bankruptcies that the United States has been
through over the history of the country. When one declares himself a bankrupt, that
person is no longer legally competent to conduct his affairs. The court becomes a
fiduciary, and appoints a trustee to oversee the affairs of the bankrupt. It does not matter
if the bankrupt is a common man, or a nation; except that a nation still has a right to
conduct war. Typically the average person anywhere in the world thinks of their Postal
System as a part of, and subservient to, their government. However, the postal system in
the United States has a different legal history than one would expect.
The Post Office and Judicial Courts were established before the seat of the Government.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, 1789 we find written, “Mr. Goodhue, for the committee
appointed for the purpose, presented a bill to amend part of the Tonnage act, which was
read the first time. The bill sent from the Senate, for the temporary establishment of the
Post Office, was read the second and third time, and passed. The bill for establishing the
Judicial Courts . . . , for establishing the seat of government . . . ” 11[11] Other
references to the Post Office support my theory of the founding forefather’s views:
POST OFFICE
1. A place where letters are received to be sent to the persons to whom they, are
addressed.
2. The post office establishment of the United States, is of the greatest importance to
the people and to the government. The constitution of the United States has invested
congress with power to establish post offices and post roads. Art. 1, s. 8, n. 7.
3. By virtue of this constitutional authority, congress passed several laws anterior to the
third day of March 1825, when an act, entitled "An act to reduce into one the several
acts establishing and regulating the post office department," was passed. 3 Story, U. S.
1825. It is thereby enacted,
1. That there be established, the seat of the government of the United States, a
general post office, under the direction of a postmaster general. 12[12]
We need to take notice where the commas are placed on that last sentence. “That there
26
be established, the seat of the government of the United States, a general post office,
under the direction of a postmaster general.” When I set off a clause with commas, I
make sure that the sentence makes sense without that clause. Taking out the set-off
clause, we read . . . “the seat of the government of the United States under the direction
of a postmaster general.”
[11] Gales and Seaton’s History [H. of R.], p. 928.
[12] Bouvier, John. Law Dictionary. Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of The
United States of America And of the Several States of the American Union, With
References to the Civil and Other Systems of Foreign Law. In the Philadelphia, by
theChilds & Peterson. (1856)
The creation of the Post office occurs before the creation of the seat of the government,
and is placed in authority over the seat of government. What is the effect of these legal
techniques? The stated position of an object and the sequence of events play an
important role in the Universal-Legal-Technology. The effect is that the Government’s
later bankruptcies in 1859 and 1929 have no legal effect upon the solvent Post-Office.
We can make a case that the formation of the Post-Office before the formation of the
government’s operations is a stroke of dumb luck. Perhaps it is ingenious, since
communication has a higher value than government itself. If any government fails, the
people still have a need to communicate with one another to form a new government.
And to this day, the Post-Office is still solvent and operational, ready to fulfill its duty
to help the people in their communications; to set a new government should a complete
break down of the existing governmental structures occur in the United States. Sounds
like a very good back up plan.
The formation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 has another legal effect that is very
important to the Universal-Legal-Technology. The Universal Postal Union unites
member countries into a single, worldwide postal territory. 13[13] We have already
learned that any litigant is going into international jurisdiction every time he goes to any
court. Since the litigant needs to establish that his papers are official, he uses a
dollar???? postage stamp on the face of the first page. The stamps also invoke postal
statutes and the Universal Postal Union jurisdiction. Currently in the U. S., the stamp of
choice is the “fox” (discontinued 22 April 2004 or earlier) U. S. dollar postage stamp.
The stamp is not drawn in a box, making the forty-five-degree lines unnecessary. The
litigant does, however, need to autograph across the stamp, then date the autograph, for
two reasons: to comply with postal regulations concerning private mail carriers, and to
make a continuance of evidence that the process (paper work) is mail. The continuation
of evidence is less of a factor, since the definitions of “mail” and “delivery” can include
a clerk at a grocery store handing a customer a receipt for groceries. One can see that
Standaring had his shipping clerk wired with the Bill of Lading.
The legal writers were forced to make the definitions wide enough to encompass the
27
private rural carriers, and private advertisers that have placed advertisements on our
doorsteps, or in our hands. I have thought about this issue a lot, and I did not find any
other better alternative. Any loophole would have devastated many consumers, and
caused a plethora of other laws to be enacted to cover the loophole.
Additionally, on the back of the first page, we authenticate the authority of the Post-
Office with an endorsement, and simultaneously authenticate our identity by placing a
postage meter stamp, from a postage meter machine that we have purchased in advance,
on the lower quarter of the back of the first page. All commercial papers have
endorsements to authenticate their authenticity. Again, we autograph across the meter
stamp, and date. The postage meter stamp is better than a regular stamp, and stamps are
said to have rendered seals superfluous. 14[14] The purchase of a meter machine
requires identification in case the meter machine is tampered with or is stolen. The
meter number on the meter stamp can be traced back to the owner (litigant), and
therefore authenticates the endorser better than any seal.
What are we doing by placing our paper work into the jurisdiction of the Universal
Postal Union? To answer that question, we need to look at the structure and finance of
that organization. The official aims and purposes of the Universal Postal Union (UPU)
are two: to form “a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of
correspondence”; and “to secure the organization and improvement of the postal
services and to promote in this sphere the development of international collaboration.”
[15] “The organization of the circulation of the international mail is based on the
freedom of transit, . . . as a result, therefore, only by enduring absolute freedom of
transit can the effectual universality of the postal territory be attained. * * * Freedom of
transit is guaranteed throughout the entire territory of the union. Administrations may
exchange, through the intermediary of one or more of their number, both closed mails
and open mail according to the needs of the traffic and the requirements of the service.”
16[16]
“Starting in 1878, the union created a category for territories which were recognized as
non independent but which were given all the rights of union membership afforded to
clearly independent countries.” 17[17] So the members of the union have been operating
as sovereign, independent countries, and their currency is based on the gold French
Franc. Gold is the acceptable form of money in international jurisdictions, or paper
backed by gold. 18[18] When we purchase postal money orders, the money order is
backed by gold, not the fiat “money” called Federal Reserve Notes. The FRNs, as some
call them, are based instead on a promise to pay a debt. The debt is based only upon the
“full faith and credit of the United States,” and lacks any intrinsic value.
“Some of the obligations in the convention can, in some states, be introduced into
domestic practice without involving a nation’s legislative process or without even
reaching the desk of the chief executive. 19[19] The Union also “sets forth the principle
that postal administrations are responsible for loss of, theft from, or damage to, insured
28
items, and then goes into detail about exceptions to the principle of responsibility,
cessation of responsibility, how the sender is indemnified, and the manner in which
responsibility is apportioned between postal administrations.” 20[20] “There was only
one instance, according to the Belgium delegate, where the bureau would have any
power even approximating the right to intervene in the affairs of administrations, that is
in the arbitration of disputes, but in this instance the bureau could act only when
requested to do so by an administration.” 21[21] The Functions of the International
Bureau for the Universal Postal Union include acting “as a clearinghouse for
information concerning postal matters. It also functions as a clearinghouse for
international postal accounts and as a conciliator and arbitrator in disputes over postal
matters between administrations.” 22[22]
[13] 1997 Encyclopedia Britannica
[14] Collon, Dominique, Editor. 7000 Years of Seals. In the London, for the Trustees
of the British
Museum, by the BRITISH MUSEUM PRESS. 1997. p. 153.
[15] Universal Postal Union, p. 73.
[16] Universal Postal Union, p. 74.
[17] Universal Postal Union, p. 80.
[18] The backing of paper does not necessarily have to be gold, it can be anything real
at market
value like timber, oil, minerals, metals, land, etc.
[19] Universal Postal Union, p. 96.
[20] Universal Postal Union, p. 103.
[21] Universal Postal Union, p. 186.
[22] Universal Postal Union, p. 195
So, what we are doing, by placing the postage stamp on our admiralty paperwork and
endorsement on the back of the first page, is using the authority of the sovereignty of the
longest surviving, solvent, governmental authority in the United States. Through the
admiralty, we are taking the Post-Office and the judicial system back some two hundred
years, and simultaneously creating a new territory with all the rights of union
membership afforded to clearly independent countries. We are establishing the laws in
this new territory with the paper work that we have filed. As we will see later, we are
also correcting the errors of the founding forefathers; in that we are also bringing the
equal rights that they neglected to give to all the people in the United States. We are
eliminating all of the legal deficiencies that handicap the sovereign status of us, the
people, within the court. We are guaranteed that all of the parties in the case: the clerk,
judge, bailiff, and litigants have the freedom of transit in the admiralty court. If the
clerk, judge, or other official fails to deliver our documents as directed, or delay them,
or obstruct them, that person is faced with several penalties within the postal statutes
and admiralty statutes. The final advantage is that if we are obstructed, because of the
transitory nature of the action, we are in the admiralty and can take the case offshore for
adjudication in any court in the world.
29
Bills of Lading Act
Admiralty Extension Act
The Public Vessels Act
Suits in Admiralty Act
Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act
False Claims Act, see 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(7)
Lanham Act , see 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)
Postal Reorganization Act
Federal Tort Claims Act
Administrative Procedure Act
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act:
(Old H.R. 4970 from the last Congress)
Established in 1874, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), with its Headquarters in the
Swiss capital of Bern, is the second oldest international organization after the
International Telecommunications Union
Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 (c. 50) UK jurisdictional statement needs to
reference 28 U.S.C. 1333 or 1337
TITLE 28 > PART IV > CHAPTER 85 > Sec. 1333.
Sec. 1333. - Admiralty, maritime and prize cases
The district courts shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States,
of:
(1) Any civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction, saving to suitors in all cases all
other remedies to which they are otherwise entitled.
(2) Any prize brought into the United States and all proceedings for the condemnation
of property taken as prize
TITLE 28 > PART IV > CHAPTER 85 > Sec. 1337.
Sec. 1337. - Commerce and antitrust regulations; amount in controversy, costs
(a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action or proceeding
arising under any Act of Congress regulating commerce or protecting trade and
commerce against restraints and monopolies: Provided, however, That the district courts
shall have original jurisdiction of an action brought under section 11706 or 14706 of
title 49, only if the matter in controversy for each receipt or bill of lading exceeds
$10,000, exclusive of interest and costs.
(b) Except when express provision therefore is otherwise made in a statute of the
United States, where a plaintiff who files the case under section 11706 or 14706 of title
49, originally in the Federal courts is finally adjudged to be entitled to recover less than
the sum or value of $10,000, computed without regard to any setoff or counterclaim to
which the defendant may be adjudged to be entitled, and exclusive of any interest and
costs, the district court may deny costs to the plaintiff and, in addition, may impose
30
costs on the plaintiff.
(c) The district courts shall not have jurisdiction under this section of any matter
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of International Trade under chapter 95 of
this title 28 U.S.C. 2461 and 2463 for referencing tax cases.
TITLE 28 > PART VI > CHAPTER 163 > Sec. 2461.
Sec. 2461. - Mode of recovery
(a) Whenever a civil fine, penalty or pecuniary forfeiture is prescribed for the violation
of an Act of Congress without specifying the mode of recovery or enforcement thereof,
it may be recovered in a civil action.
(b) Unless otherwise provided by Act of Congress, whenever a forfeiture of property is
prescribed as a penalty for violation of an Act of Congress and the seizure takes place
on the high seas or on navigable waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction
of the United States, such forfeiture may be enforced by libel in admiralty but in cases
of seizures on land the forfeiture may be enforced by a proceeding by libel which shall
conform as near as may be to proceedings in admiralty.
(c) If a forfeiture of property is authorized in connection with a violation of an Act of
Congress, and any person is charged in an indictment or information with such violation
but no specific statutory provision is made for criminal forfeiture upon conviction, the
Government may include the forfeiture in the indictment or information in accordance
with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and upon conviction, the court shall order
the forfeiture of the property in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 413
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 853), other than subsection (d) of that
section.
TITLE 28 > PART VI > CHAPTER 163 > Sec. 2463.
Sec. 2463. - Property taken under revenue law not repleviable All property taken or
detained under any revenue law of the United States shall not be repleviable, but shall
be deemed to be in the custody of the law and subject only to the orders and decrees of
the courts of the United States having jurisdiction thereof.
see Jurisdiction by Howard Freeman
Portal to Notary Services
and
Private Administrative Processes
"The peaceful settlement of disputes"
Private administrative processes can be witnessed by a notary public, meaning the
notary mails your documents to the Respondent(s) (preferably, specific people within
the company) with the notary's Certificate of Service and their replies (if any) come to
you through the notary. The documents listed under "Secretarial/Administrative"
below are different types of affidavits which can be issued by you, the claimant. The
basic procedure in all of them is issuance of a claim (affidavit) which, if unanswered,
is followed by a Notice of Fault and then a Notice of Default. The notary issues a
detailed report of the entire process and certifies which party is in dishonor which is
an administrative judgment.
How we work:
As notaries, we can serve your documents, keep record of replies,
issue Certificates of Non-Performance or, after an honor-dishonor
process, Certificates of Dishonor or Default. If using one of our
notaries, contact us (see bottom of page) for the name and address
to include on your document(s).
As secretaries, we cannot tell you how to handle your affairs or
give you legal advice as we work exclusively in the administrative
field. The documents that we deal with are for private use, outside
of any public arena, and are for educational purposes. It is
understood that you will study them as a basis for your own
research.
Caveat: If private-process documents are used in a court, it may be best to
attach them as an Exhibit to a document being entered into the record. This
way, they retain their integrity as private rather than a subject for public
discussion and judgment.
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