The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-23 00:00:00

were on.ly 2, 000 000. 8;000.000 wore knocked off by the I
advertisement duty; and wile were the advertisers who i
had to pay each time ls. 61.? The poorest of the
Thoenriyichpaiadd hoTtbroeokpip
re,.,s
poorest
o lsuemr
vnanotf
people.
gthirel
,Twiinhoes'only took a line of the paper, paid just as
much. There was no justice in the tax it:telt when,
considered in principle; but the inequality was most
glaring—it was not founded on equality in the distri..
bution of its burden or upon sound principle, because,
whether a person advertised in a paper Of large or
smetll publication, he was fined Is. 61 every time
he made known his wishes. H could no: believe that
tb;icnogms
msb,roduiladl ppeurrspisotseian
4mnactinsotauitioding
the raising of 150.0001. could be a reason why rational
a tax so opposed
principles of legisla-
tion. They might +advertise on -a well, in ,an omnibus,
or by the advertising veer., anti no duty was imposed;
htv lit them go to a newspaper, and they were fined
Is. 61. Now, the advertisement fund was a legitimate
fluid for supporting newspapeie, and, if they drove men-
from newsp Teta by saying they should pay Is. 6d,
fine, they took the most; direct and effectual mode for
minting the newspaper press. It was impossible to
have au independent press unless they allowed, the legi-
timate food to flew for its is etrishment. Bet, after all,
what was an advertisement? The House did not know,
nor did the Beard of Inland Revenue. It was the most
strange tax he had ever had to consider. There was the
Daily News newspaper. They undertook to give a list
of soles that took place--not ein the form .of advertise-
ments—receiving nothing for it, but giving it with a
view to make the piper attractive and to supply the
public with useful information. The Board of Inland
Revenue cause down upon them and said, " You must
not put in that list, although you charge nothing
for it, unless you pay
ls. 6d. for each announce-
ment." That put an end to the plan of making the
newspaper attractive and useful. Then as to ships.
They might put into a newspaper an account of ships
that had arrived, but they could not give a list of ships
about to sail, although the intelligence was quite as im-
portant, without payin Is. 61. for each announcement.
He would call their attention to this feet. There was
Belts Life in London; in that paper there was every
week a quantity of announcements which appeared to
him just as much matters for the advertisement duty as
those to which he had alluded. Fer example, there
were lists of the matches, fighting, pedestrian, " canine
fancy"—(A laugh)—and what not, that were to come
off, next week or next month—aanouncements by which
numbers of people were brought together at public-
houses and places of that kind, for the purpose of betting
and spending money in various ways, to the infinite ad•
advantage of publicans and other persons concerned as
caterers of the entertainments provided; yet no attempt
was made to apply the duty to these canine and other
fancy lists, though certainly quite as much advertise-
mauls as any other annouutiements.—(Hear, bear.)
The public information that the fight between
Se-and-So for 151. aside is to come off at
such a place on such a day paid no duty;
bet the public information, as it appeared to hem
quite as useful, that such a ship wee to sail for such a
place en such a day, or such a sale to take wss
deed Is 6,1. A pataaraph in the number tit Bali's Life
eefore him announced, fur t xample, that at Mr. So-and
So's, in a such a street, 100 rats would be killed by
such a dog in so many nit flutes: this announcement
would in all probability attrsct a great number of people
to the house on the occasion, and the landlord and other
people concerned would reap large profits' from the en-
tertainment so announced; yet the announcement paid
no advertisement duty; but inform the public that on
such a day a sermon ivould ee preached for the relief of
the sufferers by the destruction of-the Amazon, or other
such calamity, or even that in certain places subscriptions
would be received for such a purpose, that was an adver-
tisement, and the Board of Inlaad Revenue came down
upon you for b. 61,—(Hear, hear.) He trusted that he
might appeal to the Heuse to repeal such an advertise-
ment duty as this, which crippled the press, which pre-
vented the diffusion of a vast deal of useful information,
which stood between the employer and the employed,
and which, he conscientiously believed, would, if per-
sisted in, have a most pernicious effect in impeding the
6uccEsstul competition of this cuun ry in trade and com-
merce with the United Stet, sor America. He holed
he might have on this occasion the support of the Noble
Member for London. The Noble Lord could have no
utsjeetion on fieencial grounds; ha had always professed
nimaif friendly to a free press—to au independent
press, and as such, he must support the present prope-
r sition. He also looked, as a matter of course, for the
support of Hot'. Gentlemen opposite, who had promoted
a vote of censure upon a Noble 51,,nab,r of the late Go-
vernment tor some transactions with a paper in Ireland,
since the reason why such transactions could exist at all,
why the press was venal, and took money from this
person or that for writing up or down this or that prin-
ciple, was that by these taxes it was prevented from
realising those legitimate profits -which would enable it
to pursue an honourable and independent career.—( Hear,
hear.) Though tnere might be among the newspapers
of this country some misgivings as to the newspaper
stamp question, he had not met with any newspaper
that was not favourable to a repeal of the advertisement
duty. It was obvious to them all, were the tax re-
pealed, a multitude of new advertisements would come
to them. The Times, indeed, could not have more
advertisements than it really had without be-
coming a huge book of advertisements; but there
would be ample room for all its overflowings in
other newspapers, and the labourers and poor
servant girls, and other humble persons having their
services or other commodities to dispose of, would
be able at length to make their proposals public.
He would now pass to the question of the newspaper
stamp duty. He had said he would show that this news-
paper stamp duty was not a revenue question at all, and
never had been imposed by the Legislature, or con-
tinued, nor was it so spoken of in the preamble of any
of the various Acts passed, for the purpose of revenue.
How then did it originate? The Parliamentary History
informed us that on the 17th January, 1711, a message
from the Crown was brought to that House, and at the
end of the message, complaint was made of the preva-
lence of seditious and blasphemous publications. He
found in the journals of the House the following state-
ment:—

" Mr. Samuel St, John informed the House he bad a
message—
'•' Her Majesty finds it necessary to observe how great
licence is taken in pubiishing false and scandalous libQls,
such as are a reproach to any Goverament. This evil
seems to be grown too stron, f.,r the Laws nos in force;
i►. is therefore recommended to you to find a remedy
equal to the mischief.'"
" Common: Answer, Jan. 18, 1711.
" We are very sensible how much the liberty of the
press is abused by turning it into such licentiousness as
is a reproach to the nation, since not only false and scan-
dalous libele are printed and published against your Ma-
jesty's Government, but the most horrid blasphemies
against God and religion; and we beg leave humbly to
assure your Majesty that we will do our utmost to find
out a remedy equal to the mischief, and that may effec-

tually cure It.' -
" Some Members were so exasperated at the Dutch
memorial being published in a newspaper, that on the
12th, the House being resolved into a grand Committee
to consider of that part of the Queen's message to the
House, the 17th of January last, which relates to the
great licence t+ken in publishing false and scandalous
libels, Sir Gilbert Dolbeti being the chairman, they came
to these two resolutions:—' 1, That the liberty taken in
printing and publishing scandalous and impious libels
creates divisions among her Majesty's subjects, tend,
to the disturbance of the public peace, is highly pre-
judic,al to her MAes'y's Govtrement, and is occa•
74011,-d nor want of due regulating the press; 2. That

_. ~.
all printing presses be regietered with the names of the
owners, and plecee of abode; and thee the author,
printer, and publisher of every book set his name and
place of abode thereto.' These residua )ns were ordered
to be reported the Tuesday following; but the said re-
p el was then put off till that dap be'enight, and after-
wards further adjourned from time to time. Sense
Members having, in the grand Committee of ways and
means, suggested a more effeetuel way for suppressing
libels, vise the laying a great duty on all newspapers and
pamphlets?'
" Among the matters of importance during this ses-
sion, we may justly number the proceedings of the
House of Commons with relation to the press; since her
Majesty's message to the House of January 17 concludes
with a paragraph representing the great licenses taken
in publishing false and scandalous libels, such as are a
reproach to any Government, and recommending them
to
find a remedy equal to the mischief. The meaning of
But the
these words in the message seems to be confined to
those weekly
answers this message, of
upon the and daily papers and pamphlets reflecting
persons and the management of the Ministry.
tain that nett:Z-I'st Commons, in their address which
Legislature the!
blasphemies a i wake an addition of the
G.-id and religion, aid it is cer-
woted be more for the honour of the
to this universal majoer I.ffectual law for putting a stop
heredressing of
but, as the person who ad-
' th viande partiinhheigstitheonhgohntsthiltahltiaef; of her eneasage had only
rti uo
tgi
sh t t o have
taken
b y
factious libels, I think
p r Od uce
his great credit in the eb,e to have proposed some
removed. The law for
ways by which that evil might
tixing single papers having
effect, as was then foreseen by man a quite contrary
,Ie
intrinsiccohntry
eince been found true by expericmen3:',lratsons, and hint.
draw their pens on the able of their ;
pr,nele°, and country
would,
are discouraged by this tax, which exceeds thteex
value both of the materials end, the work; a
pamphlets and printed papers containing
not mistaken', without example, '
public events and occurrences, tending
Government, and
Constitution of th,se realms,. as'
11? hire established,
°tob:3C:reViahttitl°llenla:tsruepdinaud contempt of theb
and also villifyieg our hely le ;gue lately . been
; small prices,
published in great num.
the setae slieu.d be re-
and it its expedient the..
ase your Majesty that it
-eri, unl dt vi-r-
-slrained, may it therefore pis .
may be enacted,
yadvie4 and cons'rt
aje,ty, by and with the
temporal,
ani he it matted h the King's most
excellent M
of the Lords spiritual and and Commons.
in this present Parliament assembled, end .
b
autho-
rity of the same, that from and after ten days
passing of this Act, all pamphlets and pap y
after the
the
ers containing
any public news, intellegence, or occurrence, or any
~rem-
arks or observations thereon, or upon any matters
Church or State, printsd in any part of the United
Kingdom for sale, and published periodically, or in
parts or numbers, at intervals net exceeding 26 days
between the publication of tiny ,two such pamphlets, or
papers, parts, or numbers," &,.
Atter these proceedings a Bill passed imposing, by the
same enactment, a peer duty, a newspaper stamp duty,
and an advertisement duty; it was found, in short, that
the most effectual way of doing the work of the censor
was ny taxation. R hive to the subject, Dan Swift
ha,l some curious retearks which desi,rvcd attention.—
(Hear, hear.) He contended that it had been proved by
experieece that up to the present time that the impost-
thin of taxes on publications and papers was not the way