The National Register.
London, England, 1819-06-28 00:00:00

BOOKSELLTIIs.

A numerous and highly respectable Meitir...g of Booksellers
an other trailers aas laid Weilneolay evening at the Globe.
tavern, Fleet.stmet, to receive the Report of the Committee,
formed at • general meeting, held on the 22.1 of denaary tat. for
toe purpose of inquiring what steps were necessery to be clop' ed.
in consequence of the Univereities of Canibridire and Oxford
having in eituted pnweetlinga in Chancery against a nutaber of
individual.. for publishing certain minuets of the Bible and 114,4
of Common Prayer. The ("muniittee were further appointed to
inquire into the exclusive right which hail been set up by the
Kmg'e Printer and the two Universities, to the minting and pub.
pshing such work., and the prohibiting an other ("dolma without
t'ieir sanction. Mr. It. Baldwin was in the Chair.
The report of the tarnmittee was read by the Secretary. It
was divided into 4heads. The first of these referred to the nu-
merous, suits which had been instituted by the King's printer, err
the Universities, against booksellers, pawnbrokers, end others, Mr
the sale of Bibles, &e. In Chancery alone, 33 suits had been in-
stituted, and thew at first being directed against the lea, upulent
tnulearnen, many.were induced, by threats• to compronwe the
matter, and to pay sums of from 301. to 401. in dependent of ex-
penses to the solicitors. But some individuals ivete heightened
ono much larger terms, and even the sum of Minh had been de-
manded and paid. Those who had so compromised. in general,
ascialcil to an unqualified admission of the patentee. right ;
*bile others, in many ill6tahe':S, bound themselves by a solemn
pledge not to dispose of any other editions of the steired works
mentioned than those sanctioned by the K ieg's primer or the mini.
veniiies. Those aho hail nut. entered into these trcatia, sued
whew nombersewere very conatterante, had still hanging mei
them, in terrureui, injunctions in the Court of Chancel),
The second head of the report embraced the leo:arches cf the
committee as to the exclusive right mistimed by the patentees.
'/'he licenses. as they were traced to have existence, were those in
the reigns of lien. it, Edw. r, 159.9, and Elie., when Hither('
Jug:r. Fielding. I I ill, and others. possmsett them. These• how.
ever, were only known as the standard and uninterpolated edi-
tions.and intended only for the use ot the epietopacy and churches.
A monopoly, lio.vever, was attempted to be made of the publiea-
thins • and in the reign of Elie ibeth the Parliament was athlre•atitt
• or, the subject; when her Majesty received an address, to whit h
ehe roomed a most gracious answer, thanking the house for re-
minding her of such thattere• proteating against the monopoly.
and adding, that rhere was also to be found about the ( ourt. men
who, by an assmnption of right, eere mithiog more titan "liarpiee
and liorseletschee,'' preying upon and susking the vitals of public
proper.y. Some of the licenses were then revoked. Neither the
l'nivereties or King's printer. therefore, had ever fairly esta-
blished the right they claimed ; and tile former, on the consrary,
having on two occasions referred to the teelebhued Archbishop
Laud for a confirmation of those rights, were ants crud by him,
that it might be unwise to agitate the question, and advised them
to remain content with things as they stood, and to let their rights
•• grow strong. quietly. by time." With regard to the nght
assumed by the Universities, were it even just, it had been greatly
abused: fur they bad each sold the privilege to private inditidu.
as. who hail printed the books iu qusation. It so happened, too.
that whenever they were printed by private persons, the editions
far exceeded in currectnese and executiun those of the patentees.
It was admitted alas by the Committee. that the question of pri.
vilsge hail been frequently conteoul in the Course of Law ; but
that on such occasions. the decision was insariaLly against the
inunopuly of the patentees. 'flue caw of the King's printer in
Ireland, Grierson v. ducloion, was a recent instance. The defen-
dant hail published a folio Bible with notes, and the plaintiff
sought redress against the supposed infringtanera of his right in
the Court of Chancery.
_turd Chaucellor Clare. how ever, pc.
rempturily refused in injunction, upon the ground that it could
Levu have been intended by the Monarchy .to sanction a wont
;arty which would have the effect of limiting the kriowledge ot
Christianity, and of intereeptiug the diffusion of moral and-reli.
Lions knowledge to the whole human race. The report also
remarked, that while injunctions hail recently been taken again, t
several respectable persons the publishing Bibles and Prayer.
books, unman:tinned by the patentees, others had escaped. The
learned and upright Justice Bayley had, in modem times, pub
halted many editions of a book of Common Prayer; and his
example had been InUoued by Messrs. D'Oyley Ariel others. No
notice, however, was oaken of these; And it was therefore but fair
to ask, whether the right did not extend to all. Upon the whole,
the Committee were decidedly of opinion that there was no exist-
ence of an exclusive right in the King's printer or the Universities;
and that it was ve.ted only in the King. as head of the church,
who sanctioned the distribution of correct standard editions of the
Bible and Common Prayer among tile cpiseopiwy and in churches.
The report, which excited great applause, westlictaproposed to
be agrevd to.
Mr. Mawman, agent for the sale of the i7nivezaity editions,
lahiented that the report charged the L'eisereit:es with arbitiary
prosecutions. Ile was ready to declare that no such intention
was indulged, that the bodies he defended were not conarious of
the existence of such prosecutions, and that at the very moment
when the meeting ot the booksellers took place in January last.
the Syndicate was issuing orders to stay the proceedings. The
lYnivirsities. he hail no hesitation in saying, were ignorant of the
extent to which, without their orders or advice, the proceedings
had gone.
Mr. Offer, alluding to the editions of the Bibles and Prayer-
books published by the Universities, said it was notorious that
those printed by private individuals were beta executed, and
more correct. Ile instanced the case of one of the University
standard l'rayer.hoolts, which in the prayer oldie 'lies Court of
Parliament omitted the following striking and beautiful passiti,v—
-•• That peaee and happiness, truth and juetice, religion and piety.
may be ostablidied aiming us for all generations. An edition 'of
the Bible, too, under the same high sanction, had put forth
le,ooo copies, in all of which a blunder was commuted, by
making a sudslen stop in the midst of one of St. Paul's Epistles,
and then going on with the Ith chapter of the book of the Reve-
lations. Another of them standard editions had calktl the para.
tile of the Vineyard, '• the parable of the Vinegar." And again
the University l'rayer-book had, instead of t• the world," pro-
mulgated this prover—" (/ Lamb of God, who takeet away the
sins of • the Lord.' " ( fernghter.)
/.Ir. Maxwell said, that whatever they had heath from other
quarters, the meeting should not be lulled into security until the
injunctions were completely taken tiff This 11.1t1 only been Mew
in the case of Mr. Illancherd. the Wesleyan publisher.. alto lint!
circulated large numbers of 1/r. Coke's Bibles.
Mr. (lifer stated, that it struck him very fallibly that the in-
junction which had been dissolved as to Mr. Blanchard, was
dote so under a conviction that that individual would be sup-
ported by the whole of the great body of Methodists to which he
la:longed, and who, as suffering clirisuans, would till doubt make
u stand. Urinal as the meeting now was, with the assistance of
other friends, they might also make a stand, and little doubt re-
mained of enemas. (Oral applause.)
Mr. Ilarrieon (one of the deputation from the body of pawn.
brokers who had been threatened with prosecutions) bore teeti•
inony to the very hatitteome way in which he slid his companions
had been received at the Universities. Tne Vice-Chancellors
assured him, iii die most unequivocal terms. that no proceedings
whatever had been instituted et their dedre, and that such a
wire must have been adopted by the solicitors, not only without
• heir csneurrence, but inch without their knowledge.—(hear.)
%Vino was his aurpr se, however• to find in a few days afrer he
returned to taw.). that the protacutioga were once more threat
erred by letters, anal which subsequelndy were again and again
renewed. (/tear.)
Some of the members here inquired of Mr. liarrisom whether,
'Lanny of his interview* with the Vise-Chin:4a Voss, tiny thirg had