The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-27 00:00:00

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candidly to the house, but if he proposes, after bring,ng in
his bill, to pass it before his financial statement, I am
afraid that be will, find me prepared, even if I should find
myself in a minority of one, to vote for the postponement
of the measure." He therefore claimed the right hon. bee
ronet as No. 2in favour of his amendment. Following the
coarse of the debate he found several other hon. members
speaking in the same strain, and although he coald not say
that from the speeches of the hen. member for Manchester
he derived much hope of support, still he was thankful for
the little he could get. When the right hon. gentleman the
member for Manchester said, " I quite agree with the right
hon. gentleman that we must be careful in times like these
in not abandoning sources of revenue, he strengthened to
some extent the case against the bill, or at all events pointed
out the danger of interfering with therevenne at the present
time. His hon. colleague in the representation of Manchester
almost seemed to have anticipated something like an appli-
cation for postponement. He did not consider the present
measure so good as that of the late Chancellor of the Exche-
quer ; denied that the question was one of revenue ; urged
the Chancellor of the Exchequer to pass his bill as eoon as
possible, and deprecated delay. The hon. member was an able
man ; his speeches were admirable ; but he could not e.gree
with him upon the present occasion. In conclusion, be
might be allowed to say that he did not Oink the bill heti
been sufficiently long before the house ;-o allow all its details
to be understood. For that and the other reasons ho had
stated he begged to move as an amend meot that the second
reading of the bill be postponed till after the Chancellor of
the Exchequer had made his financial statement. (Hear.)
Sir E. B. LYTTON differed from his hon. friend and .
from other hon. friends on this subject with great concern.
He was glad, however, to see that his hon. friend bad not
narrowed the debate so as to reduce to a questitee of
pounds, shillings, and pence as important a principle as
any that the House of Commons could entertain. (Hear %)
He (Sir E. B. Lytton) was one of the first to introduce the
principle to that house in a motion for the repeal of the
taxes on knowledge ; and when his hon. and learned friend
said that the question was not long enough before Perlis.
ment, he begged to inform his hon. friend that it was
brought forward by him (Sir E. B. Lytton) twenty years
ago. He was then a young man, but the opinions he enter-
tained on the question at that period he entertained at the
present moment, and had seen no reason whatever to alter
them since. A great advance had, undoubtedly, been
made in the general intelligence of the country since that
time, and the dangers which then threatened had, it was
admitted, decreased. Bat why ? It was because during
the last twenty years cheap publications had abounded,
and because the public had had the wisdom to choose
the best of these publications and reject the worst.
He (Sir E. B. Lytton) had heard the arguments now
employed by his hon. and learned friend, in respect to
newsiespers, not nnfrequently urged on former occasions
agains t all cheap publications whatsoever, as if to adapt
the boo.'c market to the poor man's pocket was to corrupt
the pribl.;o taste. - But what was the fact ? Why there
was such a' profusion of good books published that the bad
books totaliY disappeared. (Hear.) At the present moment
the books to, be found in the hands of the am Pisan were
either elemen tarp scientific works, or works of entertain-
ment of a supei
ver character. And now, when the danger
had disappearea,. he would ask, had they a right to listen
to what newspap,wproprietora would have them put faith
in, that any pub.lioation cheaper than their own was an
appeal to the passiestis of the public. Was it the cheapness
of the newspaper that was to corrupt the artisan, or the
vileness of the artisa it that was to corrupt the newspaper :0
All those suppositionic however, were refuted by the evi-
dence of facts. Thonssands of cheap publications had
brought to the cottage of the labourer not the degrading
literature that was anti. cipated, but the most elevating de-
scription of knowledge. He (Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton) there-
fore entreated the house n of to separate this important prin-
ciple from its consideratio fa of the bill. He agreed that the
details required attention, and he thought it was not only
absolute justice, but sound policy, to give an effective and
simple copyright law to nowspapers, something similar
to Sir J. Emerson-Tenneno 'is act for the protection of
designs and manufactures, which he believed would not
be difficult. As far as regale led the weight and size of
newspapers he thought the paps T of the largest circulation
should be taken—the one in whit h the public felt the deep-
est interest. He was given to unt.'erstand that the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer meant to re turn to the principle of
weight. It did seem to him, howeseer, that this would be
unfair, as it would separate a paper from its supplement.
Far from having any grudge against' the existing news-
papers, he (Sir B. Balwer-Lytton) a greed that the press
was an honour to this country, for siliAlity in its composi-
tion, for the integrity of the men in wh.Om its duties were
vested, and, always making an allow/moos for anonymous
power, for its freedom from calumny. (ITear, hear.) And
if he were called upon for a monument of our civilisation
he should point, not to our docks, nor to ou-r public build-
ings, but to a file of our newspapers. He could find nothing
to cling to except an Attorney-General wha had not the
courage to prosecute, and a jury who would refuse to con-
vict. His hon. friend spoke in commendation of the tone
of the existing press ; but he would remind his hon. friend
that it was not the newspapers that formed the tone of the
public mind, but the public who gave the tone to news-
papers. And if the press was an honcur to the country, it
must be recollected that it was because it reflected the
masculine honesty, the vigorous good sense, and the civil-
ised humanity of the popular mind. They bad been told
that this proposed change would have a tendency to degrade
the press to the level of the American press. They had
been told that the American press was in the hands of
penniless, illiterate adventurers, and that to this was to
be attributed its alleged low tone. Whereas the real fact
was, the American press abounded with the highest intel-
lectual characters of the country. There was scarcely a n
author of eminence, or a statesman of fame, or a man of
liberal opinions and sufficient merit, who was not a con-
tributor to the American press. They found the whole of
the literary talent and character engaged on the American
press, and therefore, if the press was inferior, it must be
owing to the less civilised character of the country (we
understood). It showed that the good or bad character of
the press did not depend on fiscal arrangements, but on the
standard of civilisation of a nation. Ile would now come
to the main principle of the bill, and he would venture to
place that main principle on a higher and broader ground
than that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. That right
hon. gentleman seemed to regard the bill rather with the
toleration of a step-father than with the glowing love of a
parent. He took the principle to be this, that in a free
country they ought not to ley a tax on the expression of
public opinion, or tax the diffusion of information on pub-
lic affairs—that information, according to the constitutioa
being the common interest and concern of every subject of
the state. Still less, they ought not, by means of a tax, to
create artificially by capital a virtual monopoly of the right
to publish information on questions in which the whole
'public had an equal and a common interest. That was the
principle of the bill and was the question before the house ;
eeavnedr telnrgyhctobueldhnisottelgeentteric of the fact that no
ilvheteverhieheneetymeann wh
d,
know-
ledge,at however sound 'his opinions, could publish his
opinions on the events and affairs of the day in a daily
journal without au enormous capital, or an a weekly
journal without several thousand pounds; and that this
narrowed the liberty of publishing quite as much as if the
state sold for a sum of money the right to a monopoly of
the market for public information. (Cheers.) One result
was, to narrow the reprettenation of public opinion. There
was either a large section of public opinion not represented
or
whether represented
there w 0 irne adteenq
tuhaoteulgyh. t f
uHI emevneryonmue
either
e rd os
iudbet ed
of
the hone* who, on great and important questions, could
find a single paper with which they could cordially agree
in opinion. Now, if they took the great Conservative
party, it would be found in the counties that the party
had a large majority, and in the towns they had a large
and influential minority. With respect to its comparative
strength, not its numbers, but its wealth and intelligence
must be regarded. Let the house consider how large a
share it had of the cultivated classes, the learned profess
sions, the clergy, and the gentry. Well, if they turned to
the metropolitan press, would they tell him that the Cons
servative papers' circulation was in proportion to the num-
bers and weight of the party, or adequately represented its
intellectual eminence and wealth? (we understood.) There
were two ways of representing public opinion—one
through Parliament, the other through the press. His
hon. friend below him (Mr. Deetles) would tell him that
the Conservative party was the largest integral body in
Parliament, and yet in the press there was no sub-division
of opinion so sparingly represented. If they looked to
the press generally and the number of copies circulated by
the various journals, they would be startled at the dis-
parity which existed between the influence in the
country of t the Conservative party and their represen-
tatives in the press. (Hear, hear.) If the stamp duty
were removed, and if able men among the party pos-
sessed the power to defend their cause, could any
one doubt that all that talent, and knowledge, and
intellect could do would find its channel of representa-
tion ? No doubt that paper was the best which had the
largest command of capital, but then it was not always the
best newspaper that presented the best opinions. Some
took one course, some another • one paper was supported
on account of the variety of its news, another because of
its political opinions. Twenty years ago he had convinced
himself that with respect to the Liberal press, there were
many safe and sound thinkers who would hold it .to be
their duty to come to resist and counteract any revolu-
tionary or socialist doctrines ; and on the Conservative
side were they so indifferent as to be unable to defend, or
indifferent to the increase of their opinions ? He was per-
suaded if the duty was taken off, that many able writers—
gentlemen and scholars on their side—would come forwent
to remove prejudices, and to enlighten the public mind as
to Conservative opinions and views, about•whichtberffer•
opinions stamped
just now very much left in the dark.
?.s7aranc:ed
if the duty were removed, that many eminent public men
—many eminent men of letters —would come forward and
would
aciattnryse'yavowed name. He
publish cheap journals--not, however, eyeing with the
was convinced with the
• ed that this cheap competition would not
urteswpoonrksisbiwiihitychofwt
lower, but would rather elevate the moral character of the
press and the social position of gentlemen connected with
newspaper literature ; for if anything could exalt that
social position, it would be doing away with the anony-
mous character of public writers (we understood). He
willingly admitted that no more able and accomplished
gentlemen could be found than those who contributedto the
political department of the leading journals ; but, then, it
was in vain to deny that most persons felt an uneasiness at
their presence, and in holding social intercourse with men
who, in the exercise of their talents, must make secrecy a
necessary law. One naturally feared that the newspaper
contributor with whom he associated to-day might, in the
discharge of his professional duty, sting him darkly and
to the quick to-morrow. Mr. Fox told an anecdote of a
man who was giving evidence in a court of law, who said
he got his information from a ghost. " Well, said the
judge, " I know of no objection against
taking the evidence
of a ghost; let bins be brought
into court." (Laughter.)
Anonymous eowspapers were a kind of ghosts—he had no
objection to their evidence, but at the same time he should
like to have them brought into court. (Laughter.) The
hon. gentleman (Mr. Denies) appeared to argue the case
too much as if it was a question between the press and the
tax collector. Ho could not help smiling to hear the hon.
gentleman say that the proprietors of newspapers did not
complain of the tax, and why then should it be altered?
But what corporate body ever did complain of a tax which
restricted competition in their department, and secured
monopoly to it? lielwas amused to see journals which
formerly were warmest in their advocacy of free trade
doctrines, now arming themselves with all the most anti-
quated arguments in vour of protective duties amounting
to absolute
.prohibition, which had been used so success-
ful:7 di ing the last 10 years of the corn laws—arguments
which en the farmers would not bare been beguiled by.
(Hear, a d laughter.) The question was this--whether it
ekl
was not now high time to enforce the good principle of
the constitution, a principle consonant to liberty and corns
mon sense—that opinion should be free, and should not be
suppressed or fettered by fiscal arrangements, through
which liberty was filched and stolen away, but that it
e)lould only be subject to the laws of the country, .directed
against treason, blasphemy, and slander ? Here he would
say one word on behalf of a class who were the chief sup
porters of cheap publications—it was, that no class