The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-24 00:00:00

than this—to carry a periodical publication of any size and
we3iigrh.ts, wAhiteath
marked that a limit was provided as
anree or a pound, for a halfpenny.
to size. OerWanre%
d omitted all consideration of the limit in his
Mr. M. GIBSON. observed that the hon, and learned
member ha
amendment.
Mr. COLLIER said that would be a matter for future
consideration.
Mr. M. GIBSON said the hon. and learned member
proposed to carry a periodical publication for a halfpenny,
but-,,, pamphlet would have to pay letter weight for trans-
mission by post. Now suppose he should find himself
slandered in a periodical publication, that publication
might be transmitted throughout the country for a half-
penny ; but his reply in an occasional publication would
be charged 3d. or ld. Before consenting to a proposition
for the transmission of periodical publications, he should
like to know whether occasional publications of the same
weight were to be transmitted at the same rate of postage
(Hear, hear.) Pamphlets had been recently published in
defence of the characters of Lord Raglan and Sir John
Burgoyne. The attacks made upon those gallant officers
were circulated without any charge beyond that, of the ori-
ginal newspaper stamp of a penny, whilst the answers to
those attacks would be subject to the letter weight postage.
That being the-case, he did not think Lord Raglan likely
to rise superior to what the noble lord the member for the
city of London had characterised as the slanders of the
ribald press. (Hear, hear.) Ho objected to the pro-
position of the honourable and learned member for
Plymouth, because it would confer a privilege on a par-
ticular class of publications, and he was confident it would
not be asked- for by some of the parties promoting it, if
they thought it would be extended to all. Under these
circumstances, and knowing that the postage charge could
Le reduced by a Treasury order, he did not feel it neces-
sary to support the amendment. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. PHILIPPS thought it would he most desirable to
ascertain the fair net revenue of the Post-office before
making any hazardous exiArineenta in the way of reduc-
tion. (Hear, hear.)
The amendment was then withdrawn, and the clause
was agreed to, with some verbal amendments.
Clause 3, providing that periodical publications entitled
to free transmission by post shall be printed under certain
conditions and limitations was also agreed to.

On clause 4, providing that periodical publications may
be registered at the Inland Revenue-office in the same
manner as newspapers are now required to be,
Mr. WHITESIDE said that, according to the provisions
of the bill, newspapers having a stamp must be registered
and give security, but it was optional to the parties to re-
gister or not, just as they might think fit. He could not
understand the precise object in view. He wished to know
why stamped newspapers were to be subjected to registra-
tion under the 6th and 7th William IV., when unstamped
newspapers were not liable to such registration ? Now, he
could not conctive any reasonable ground why a journal
having a stamp should be compelled to register, when a
penny paper might go on libelling everybody, leaving the
injured parties to find out the libeller in the best way they
could. He thought it would be much better to compel all
parties to register alike.
The CHA.NCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was per-
fectly com pe tent to the committee to make the alteration sug-
gested by the hon. and learned gentleman, but if they did so
the registration must be enforced by penalties. Now the hill
was so drawn as to avoid all impositions of that kind. The
operation of the clauses would depend upon that receipt of
stamps. The reason why the bill had been drawn in this
manner was, that every periodical, publication, and news-
paper enjoying a circulation to any extent would for its
own purposes and the convenience of its customers apply a
stamp to a portion of its circulation, and would thus bring
itself within the operation of the clauses. He believed the
bill, as it now stood, would practically, without the enact-
ment of penalties, enforce a system of registration and se
curities which was the greatest safeguard against libels on
private character. The Govei nrnent, however, did not
wish to propose any compulsory clauses. (Hoar.)
Mr. WHITESIDE said that, supposing his suggestion
should be agreed to, he was prepared to propose a clause
compelling unstamped papers to register under a penalty
of 201.

Mr. G. BUTT said that one protection afforded by regis-
tration was, that when a party was libelled he might go at
once to the paper office and ascertain the names of the pro-
prietors against whom to bring his action. Another pro-
tection was the security for damages in cases of libel. The
right hon. gentleman seemed to imagine that newspapers
of a respectable character would avail themselves of the
postal regulation, and, therefore, come within the opera-
tion of the law requiring registration and complete security.
But if the proprietors of a newspaper of a different charac-
ter should find it worth their while to publish a cheap
paper in a large tcwn, they might avoid the postal regula-
tion and leave the purchasers of the newspaper to use the
penny stamp, and the very protection which it was the
object of the legislature to give would be taken away.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said the act
to which the hon. and learned gentleman referred applied
only to newspapers. It did not extend t. all periodicals.
Mr. Burr remarked that he had confined his attention
to newspapers.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER sail the
bill applied to all periodical publications printed at pe-
riods of less than thirty-one days. If the hon. gentleman
wished to make it compulsory on all periodicals to go
through the process of registration and securities he woeld
extend those regulations to many publications which were
not comprised within the of ject of the original act, and
which were seat off in monthly parcels. He did not ima-
gine that such publications would avail themselves of the
postage. It would be hard to bring them under the ope-
ration of a law which was never intended for them. By
limiting the registration and securities to those publica-
tions w;lich voluntarily availed themselves of the postal
privilege, the bill would apply to all newspapers with a
circulation of any importance, and exempt those to which
the original registration was not intended to apply.
Mr. BUTT said that at present all newspapers must be
registered and give security to answer for libels ; but the
eff,ct of the present bill would be to enable parties to pub-
lish newspapers without availing themselves of the postal
regulations, and then they would not be under the neces-
sity of registering and finding security.
L ,rd STANLEY thought no hardship would be in-
flicted upon any one if the registration should be male
compulsory, and facilities would be given to injured par-
ties in obtaining re fres*. ("dear.)
Mr. WHITE 'IDE proposed the amendment, the object
of which was to make the clause compulsory.
Mr. H. GIBSON o'sj eted to the emeedment, and con-
tended that it would be impossible to enforce a general re-
gistration throughout the country without some new ina-
cliicery of a vexetions and troublesome character. The re-
gistration clause of the present act was entirely neglected.
and if an attempt were male ~o enforce the provision of the
clause which requirednewspapere to register, the Board of
Inland Revenue would have very little time to attend to
anything else. He thought means ought to be afforded
of having the authorship of every article, and bringing it
home to some responsible party ; and that means now
existed, for the printer was compelled to attach his reline
to every newspaper, and to keep a record of his employers,
and produce it when required to do so by the order of any
judge.
Mr. WHITESIDE said there would be no difficulty in
carrying out the system of registration. Parties in the
country would not be under the necessity of COW ing up to
London, for there were commissioners in various parts of
the country, by whom the registration might be male. It
was a mi,take to suppose that the present bill would give
parties a sufficient protection.
Mr. WARNER conceived that there was something
very rotten in the present system of registration, and that
it required some amendment. He thought parties might
be easily compelled to register by providing that all un-
registered papers should be stopped at the Post-offiee.
Mr. GLADSTONE said that he should oppose both the
proposition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and that of
the hon. and learned gentlemen opposite. The proposi-
tion of the hon. and learned gentleman was consistent and
had regard to uniformity and regularity of principle, but
what security would it give which was not at present pro-
vided by the requirement that the name of the printer
should be upon every publication? It we.s true that did nut
give the name of the writer, but neither did theregistration.
The adoption of this proposition would impose upon per-
sons to whom it appli-d unnecessary trouble anti vexation,
and he should therefore say " No' to it. He must also say
" No" to the clause, because it appeared to him to put the
law upon a footing which was irrational and inconsistent.
The law as it stood, and which his right hon. friend the
Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed to abandon, was
intelligible ; but the effect of the proposed change, as ex-
plained by his right hon. friend himself, would be to
secure the registration of respectable periodicals, but to
allow such as were riot respectable to escape. That was to
say, it would catch those which there was no necessity for
catching, and would not catch those which ought to be
caught. The objection to the present law was that under
it persons who published what were not really newspapers
made false declarations in order to obtain postal privileges,
and thi4 his right -hon. friend proposed to adopt. The
proposition included in one sense too little and in another
too much, and he should therefore vote against it.
Mr. DISRAELI thought that the amendment of his
hon. and learned friend (Mr. Whiteside) was both rational
and consistent. The press in this country enjoyed great
liberty and great power, and he thought the house had a
fsystemriendtoof b
e general registration
iin
his hon.
accompaniede learned
friend right to exact from it a corresponding responsibility, The
AP: *applicationedby
no vexatious consitteratiens. All he proposed e was, that
society should be made aware who was responsible for the
Opinions expressed on public questions, or the criticisms
offer,d on public conduct. The right hon. gentleman
(Mr. Gladstone) had said that society had the means of re-
dress, which no one questioned it ought to possess, by the
law as it at present. stood. But what redress would there
be in a case in which the name of some man of straw or of
some imaginary person had been affixed to a placard or
pamphlet, which might, nevertheless, at a critical period
of public affairs, have exercised a very important influence
upon their course. As the law now stow, you had regis-
tered the name of the proprietor of the journal ; it was
not the name of a man of straw, but of a person of so
much consequence, and of such corporeal station, as to
ensure the obtaining of the redress to which all society
said that a person who had been injured was entitled.
Therefore ,he maintained that the reply of the right
honourable gentleman was not a sufficient answer to the
proposition of his honourable and learned friend,
_The
honourable and learned gentleman had shown that there
would be no great difficulties in enforcing the principle of
the proposition, nor would its enforcentent occasion much
inconvenience to those to whom it applied, anti he, there-
fore, hoped that the committee would agree to this amend-
men t.
Mr. IL DRUMMOND said that the liberty of the press
in this country was the liberty of a certain number of per-
sons to slander anonymously anti whenever they pleased,
and against whom you had no redress, (Hear.) It was
the liberty of anonymous libellers, and the slavery of the
rest of the community. The only way to meet this evil
Wag to prohibit any person writing anything, no matter
whether periodical or otherwise, without affixing to it his
name- (Hear.) No honest man was ashamed of the sen-
timents he expressed. (Hear.) There was more talk in
this country than in any other about a love of fair play,
the,e
vitrad stand-up fight; but what stand-up fight was
lived all
they
these anonymous libellers ? (Hear.) They
assas-
sination, rg3:lenew it very well, in a fear of moral ems-
afraie to e„,— .7 longed to punish the evil-doers, but were
any (me ;p ;_ane the only way to do it was to prevent
it. The3rf ''''''l'llielanythino• without‘ •
lion . ~, ounce no ~1.,, „ putting his Lame to
la France, anal ,hoetilty in ene •
legal advisers o{ the ",-.? "1 "t
not find niel,,,-, or ',town
we lived enders enforcing it in t
put an end to. (}l as'.
of tudral.
The CHANCELLe • orcing such a prohibi-
~, so poor an opinion of the
OPese that they could
conntry. As it was,
.m.i. ) struggle, and it must be
that there were ditE 11' 'Of. 11's'EXCH
the new definition of r! 'I
na aeaptin
opinion' whicli he hack heard expressed,
permieaion of the eattitetttee, EXCHEQUER admitted
publicaoneljs sting law to
iii..,:sa,,,d, hew
on-idA.wftietii; thU
_to, registration and sureties, and Pcerkl7 41° lririr_l'l7the:
'so that they should apply to all newse" --a`"°ll'ls
papers alone, That would neoessit t papers, but to news-
A 0 the 4110 Of Oho word