The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-26 00:00:00

kEl'Ola FROM THE SELF.Cf COMMITTEE
ON NEWSI'AI'EU STANII%.
The select committee appointed to inquire into the
present state and openetion.d the law relatiec to newspaper
et,eope; also, into the law and regulatinne relative to the
tranonioion of newspapers and odor pubsications by post,
and to report their opinion th, re pose to the house • end
who were also empowered to report the minutes of evidence
taken before them to the house; haveconsidered the mat-
ters to them referred, and have agreed to the follow-
ing report:
In conformity with the object for which your committee
was appointed, they have examined witnesses competent
to give inLirination then the state of the law affecting
newspaper stamp. and peration of that law upon the
no Y
our pre., and the public welfare.
Your corurnittee have further taken evidence respecting
the transiniresion of newspapers and other printed matter
by the post-office.
Upon the interpretation which the Board of inland
Revenue put upon the law, and the practice which has
been pursued by that department, your committee have
examined the solicitor and the assistant secretary of the
board. Anionic the witnesses practically cognisant of the
details involve., in the publication of nevespapere, your
committee have examined the manager of the Times, one
of the editors of the /Mile Vera, and other gentlemen
connected with the metropolitan and the provincial press ;
and upon the policy of imposing • direct tax on the diffu-
sion of • knowledge of current event, through newspaper.,
they have examined several gentlemen who have given
attention to the subject.
The duty on newspapers is imposed by the Act 6 and 7
William IV., e. 76, and n as follows
For every sheet or other pkve of paper whereon any
sews paper shall be printed, Id.
A further additional duty of id. and Id. is imposed in
ease the paper exceeds certain sizes epeeilled in the Act.
These adilitioiml duties are practically, net incurred.
On sup ,I. meat. not exceeding a certain sire, id.
TM,- duties are declared to be payable en—
lot. Any paper containing public new., intelligence or
occurrence, printed in any part of the United Kingdom, to
be dispersed and made public.
2nd. Also, any paper printed weekly or oftener, or at in-
tervals nut exceeding 21i days, containing only, or princi-

pally advertisements.
d. Alm, any paper containing any public news, intel-
ligence or occurrence, or any remark. or observations
therein, printed for sale, and published periodically, or in
parts or nusisle.r., not exceeding 26 days between the pub-
lication of any two such paper., parts, or numbers, when
any of the said papers, parts, or number respectively
shall not exceed two slit s t. of the dimensions specified, ur
shall he published for .de fur a less price than 6.1., ex..'
elusive of the duty of the Act impos“l.
The net prelate of 11w-c duties, in the year 11.10, was
3.',144161. ; and, on an average of the years 1646, 16VJ, and
18.30, amounted to 3:011,11:4. per annum.
It appears from the evidence of Mr. Keogh and Mr
Timm., that in the opinion of the Board of Inland lie-
venue, there are three classes of publications legally liable
to the newspaper stamp. I. Auy paper containing public
new., without n.fireure to price, INV, interval of pubbei
lion, or to its b ing published more than Mee. 2. Any
paper printed at IV. interval. than 26 day., containing only
or principally advertisements. 3. Any paper containing
remarks on public new. printed at leis intervals than 26
days, whir, the price in less than or the sins kws than
two sheets.
With regard to publications of the first clans, your eons.
mittee would remark upon the difficulty which until 'sect's-
sarsly elk in determiniim what the taxable article "new."
is, and whether any or how much of it may be contained in an
unstamped publication, and therefore they were not sur.
pined to find that the officers of the Board of Inland lie.
venue were unable to define the character of the into M-
istake is loch may legally be publi•lied on Unstarti ped
• or that the practices of the Board had not been uni-
form as to the, kind of publications upon which they had
felt thenvelves hound from time to lime to enforce the
stamp. In proof of the difficulty of de lining the meanimr
of Use ti run " new.," your committer would point to
the evidence of the Solicitor of the Board of Inland
Revenue, who states (Er. 100-163) that the Queen's
Speech is " siewe," and he thinks that any one who printed
the Quern's spas cis on a pima. of unstamped paper would hi
bulge to a penalty of IKP., but lie doubt. whether (hi
l'l:usrt blur ed the Exchequer'. sp. • new. (En. VA-
not and in the Cam- of the Qu.. li'n Spero ell being printed
on umtiosped paper, he says (i.e. " that it is dose
almost immediately after every .pea 'h is delivered; hot
when wr have wilier of that, we write and tell the parties
they bare infringed the law; if we hail a ropy of it, w that
we could briel.t the MIS nee hum„ to the partr, we should
promote Inns." Further, the W,anl eel Isilaa Ittrenue,
as it sippers from the t Inkier of their secretary, reeogniee
a 446- rimer Imr Ito be un.:erstssel betwerei public and pri-
vate new., and draw a distinction unknown to the hew
h. twee% public and slave new., limp, cling private sown,
the seereiary cLites (Q, No. OD that • paper containing
nothing hat newels of proceedings in pnvate
and rolusuisiou. insinuations as to the conduct of in-
dividual*, In nut liable to the stamp; and as to
claw. news, it is undenitimel that a paper addressed to
one particular subject—Mr in.t.inee, ambits eture, or law--
se., and Loving new. bearing sin that particular oul4ect
only. er on pima]. voillitCtlll with it, in not ronsidered a
isevrepaper thew. the Leval r• inibleshe. without a
stamp an amount of a meeting of lawyers upon any
subject, a. Clank new.; but if it heal pUblinhed on ac
Collet of a meeting of clergymen (Q. 10271, then the were-
tary '• %model nit have lead the test doubt " as te its
to the *tamp duty, as it would then he a report of
a Ineetilis of pernini, not connected with the class subject..
It opoein that the Board el Inland Itevenue have ism
usually interfered with eta. pablieation. tliiiiilllll to parti-
cular objects, in conasintnee of the insertion therein of
wok trilling paragraphs of public news. Vet there are
ceeept to this rule ; for, in the Cane often unitampeslelam
monthly 'edification called the " Norwich lieformer,"
where only on, -oixteenth of the contents elan, under the
description of news, the motivator to the Board thought it
oecessiry to intimate to the publishers that they were in-
fringing the law.
On the n.eiind class of publications, your committee have
not much information before them. It appears, however,
that the circulation of those papers must be re:skis:led by
the stump, and the facilities to the public of adverting
thereby considerably owned. This is especially true in
Witold to the eases of ado, rtiiing abets which era given
away, where the point at which expenditure and receipt
balmier each iolii r, and beyond which no circulation sun
take place without absolute has, is serener allied at where
cub copy i. compelled to hear the stamp than if it were free
from that tax
As to the third class of publications, which arc held by
the hoard to be liable to the stomp, your cornmitkr would
observe that if it in tiltlieMt M make clear the meaning of
the term " news,- the difficulty i• greatly iucremed in
attempting to define remark. upon new., and in drawing
the distinetou between remark. lapin news and news keel'',
a distinction necessary to Ise mole, because• the former may,
snider certain rinditson., he publishes! without a stamp,
while the litter is Always limbic ti 1154. duty. The object
for which the third "lain of publications was rendered liable
to the pros nom. of the Newqmper Act appear. to have
ben to subject to restrictions and cheap publications
bouts' at frequent interval., not eon-Wens' as newspapers,
but merely coutainingeo,y. on political subjects; the soli-
citor to the Board or lithral lioNiale state, (Q. 32) that
then has been " very little pricker at all " in reference to
this claws of publication., bee:nine the publications that
hare come under the notice of the board have generally
contained public new., and therefore they have come under
the tint definition of newspspers. Parties have attempted
to mouse themielve. by stating that their paper is not a
newspaper within the third definition; hut our reply to
that is. •• It is a newspaper within the first definition, he-1
rause it contain.. public 114:1,., intelligence., and occur-
rence...••
It appears to your committee that, with respect to
comments on news in cheap publication. the law
ha. been allowed, to some extent, to .lisp. One
witness, eatensively engaged in puldahing periudi.
eels of various •kinds, pointed out the difficulty
of keeping within the law about commenting upon
events, and it is noturiou. that a great number of publica-
tions issued at intervals of less than 213 days, and at prices
less than lid., by philanthropic, religious, political, and other
societie., are pub:l4lml without a stamp, and contain cum-
meek awl observations upon public events.
It appears to your committee that if the law, imposing a
stamp en public intelligence and on übservotions thereon,
Were CAlTied out, nearly all periodical printed matter, and a
large portion of ocemion,d panted matter would be subjected
to the stamp duty ; whilst, if it be understood that the law
lie nod to he sully observed, much unequal competition must
continue to arse between different publishers nail the
Board of Inland Revenue will continue to be placed: in the
undesirahle position of having to deride upon what perietli-
cals the law s. to I.e enforced, and in what cases its provi-
sions may be dispensed with.
A want of uniformity in the practice of the board, even
as to the tort of publications on which they appear to intend
to enforee the law, is disown by. the evidence. As as instanee
that tniiht lx. eked. theism:mike would point to the case
of the II it4.:Arld E.ramincr, a provincial paper, where a
proweatiou was instituted inn l i ~, t, and a penalty of 10/.,
being rather more than the duty incurred, indicted upon
the publieher kw reprinting kparately. on uastamped paper,
the report ofa trial which hail previously appeared in his
own stamped sewspaper, whil.t it appears that in the me-
trupoli. and elsewhere spcechaa in parliament sad accounts
of public meetings are intend without stamps in a similar
manner.
tVath rrgard to the operation of the stamp on the eats-
binds'sf newspapers, it is of course ob. iuus, that by increasing
theft swat, it limits the field of their circulation; and, more-
over, it bas bees shown (A. 2756.4%36) that the penny
Mew to eta espy of a newspaper generally ratite the price
to do puhus bsystd the mere addition of that sla al. The
gait of As Newspaper Act in restricting the es-
teem of lottor•po,4 in newspapers, and ' an additional
giliM7=alo oew.O•Pees, le eit asamewry
of the Tames, as stated by its ,
"br 111 "164 of
ant only to reject advertieserests, t
!.110.91* ohollieles el NW= liven norldiag
eft limits. The ••••soo of the
" "le a•smaillegatin• biltaillietalitCßTpp"°4lyi:i)t
that pow it would pioliabry doable
0111.1. two popes,
IBM Violin are es that dot
be solar= ha" es ilaseest In tbs =ineseceldit.the
stomp, lad WIWI Soim'stost by its dmillios. Wise thus
ilinei4 sot be sorlimoi to lamb •
good Sollielnilhe Owe et do
IsnsOr nilsood • torsi I poi