The Press.
London, England, 1855-02-03 00:00:00

FILISUARY 3, 1855.

questionable whether they contain " news " in the
legal sense of the term, should be partially relieved
from the stamp. What possible difference can it
make to Government in its capacity of a public
carrier—and it is only in this capacity that Govern-
ment can deal with the question of postal con-
veyance--whether the printed contents of the sheet
which it forwards be politics, literature, local news,
or advertisements ° lam not aware that any one of

these, in a physilal sense, is a weightier article than
any other. In truth, the question of exemptions
lately raised shows in a stronger light than anything
else the perfectly illogical and arbitrary theory of the
law as it stands. But these exemptions are, in truth,
mere attempts to prevent the law from breaking
down, by relaxing it whenever the opposition pro-
voked threatens to become formidable.

The third cause of complaint—namely, the prohi-
bition of any unstamped journal whatever—is one
with which you do not deal, or rather which you do not
allow to be in any way a grievance. This fact, how-
ever, I assume as previously proved ; and the remedy
being obvious, viz., to allow the existence of un-
stamped journals without postal privileges, it remains
only to consider what obstacles can be pleaded
against the establishment of such a system.
It is argued, first, that it will render necessary a
large increase in the staff of the Post-office, with a
view to prevent the fraudulent transmission of un-
stamped journals. This inconvenience seems to me
much exaggerated ; for those who urge it assume
that no paper needs to be examined at the Post-office
under the present system, all being alike entitled to
the privilege of transmission. But is this the fact ?
So far from it, two classes of fraud at once present
themselves, against which the vigilance of the postal
authorities is required to guard. First, the privilege
of the stamp expires after seven days; so that not
merely must the easily-ascertained fact of the stamp
being duly affixed be attested by official inspection,
but the date of that stamp must also be examined, a
process requiring much minuter examination. But
next, it is no uncommon trick for persons of an
economical and not over-scrupulous disposition, to
correspond by means of old newspapers, writing
within the cover or on the margins, whereby the
postal penny is evaded. Either these two frauds are
guarded against or they are not. If they are, every
newspaper posted must now undergo inspection, in
which case the change suggested imposes no addi-
tional labour on anyone. If they are not, the liabi-
lity of the Post-office to suffer from fraud exists
already, and will not be materially increased. Taking
either alternative, the objection fails equally.
But secondly (and this is by far the graver objec-
tion), it is contended that an unstamped press is in
itself an evil. "You will assimilate the journalism
" of England to that of the United States," cry out
alarmists, thereby ascribing all the merits of that
press which they extol as incomparable to the
existence of a penny-stamp duty. "You will make
" journalism local, petty, parochial ; you will deprive
" it of its present weight and influence in the State."
Yet what is it proposed to do? To limit the right of
publication? to interfere with the organisation of
the great metropolitan journals? No; but simply to
allow that which the existing law virtually prohibits—
the appearance of cheap local prints. Am I exagge-
rating when I say that these are prohibited ? What
is the rate at which they are charged for the postal
privilege :
A ftd.• paper pays, ad raiorem, NI per cent.

4d.
:id.

:34
50 „

2d. 100
which last is manifestly a prohibitory duty; and,
accordingly, we find that threepence is the lowest
price at which a newspaper can be published with
any chance of repayment. Here, then, we come to a
dilemma. The Legislature, by no indirect result of
•its measures, but by the simple process of a crushing
impost, forbids any man to publish a newspaper
below a certain size and value. This prohibition the
advocates of free discussion, the unsparing critics of

• The Ploy fotor, and I 'bellete one cr two other weekly
papers appear at this price.