The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-10 00:00:00

NEWSPAPER STAMP.

Mr. M. GIBSON wished to ask the Chancellor of the
Exchequer what course the Government meant to adopt in
regard to the resolution agreed to by the house on the 16th
of May, stating " that in the opinion of the house the laws
in reference to the per odical press and newspaper stamp
aro ill defined anti unequally enforced, and that the subject
demands the early consideration of Parliament."
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in answer
to the question, said the state of the law had since the re-
solution been taken into especial consideration, and was
still under the consideration of his hon. and learned friend
the Attorney-General.
Mr. M. GIBSON asked how long the consideration
would last, as there had already been many considerations
of the question. (Hear, hear.)
The CHANCELLOR, of the EXCHEQUER must leave
that question to be answered by the Attorney-General.
At a subsequent stage of the proceedings,
Mr. BRIGHT rose and said—ln consequence of the an-
swer which the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the
Exchequer gave to my right hon. colleague, I think I am
entitled to put another question to him. The right hon.
gentleman said that the last question of my right hon.
friend should be addressed to the Attorney. General. Now,
on more than one occasion, the right hon. gentleman has
given us to understand that it was not one which even he
himself as Chancellor of the Exchequer could decide, but
that it was a matter which demanded the consideration of
the whole Cabinet. As the answer which he gave to my
right hon. friend did not appear to be satisfactory, I wish
to ask him whether he can give us any reason to expect
that at an early period some determination will be come
to on the subject by the Government? The reason why I
press that question is this. At the present moment there
are persons connected with the existing stamped press who,
believing that the stamp will not last much longer, are
making preparations for publishing unstamped newspa-
pers ; and therefore it is highly important that some de-
termination should be come to, and that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer should inform the house as soon as that
decision has been arrived at. (Hear, hear.) I hope the
right hon. gentleman will not send us to the Attorney-
General, who may send us back again to the Treasury, but
will at once let us know what is going on, (Hear.)
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—I must be
excused for expressing my disapproval of a practice which
I am afraid is becoming rather too common, namely,
that of hon. gentlemen advancing arguments and state-
ments whenever they have occasion to address questions to
members of the Government. (Hear, hear,) I think it is
calculated to lead to great inconvenience, and I should
certainly regard it as an abuse of my own privilege if I
took this opportunity of discussing the various topics
which the honourable member for Manchester has intro-
duced to the notice of the house. (Hear, hear.) I have
already stated that this matter has been referred to the
Attorney-General ; and I may now add that that course
has been adopted because it is a step which it was the
ob-
vious duty of the Government to take upon the resolution
of the house. It pleased the house to pass what is called
an abstract resolution ; and looking to the terms of that
resolution, I do not think that any other step ought to
have been taken than that which we have adopted. I
think the honourable member for Manchester is right in
saying that there are other questions involved upon which
we do not expect that the advice of the Attorney-General
will preclude further and more deliberate consideration
upon the part of the Government and the house ; but
what I say is, that the first step which ought to have
been taken has been taken, and I must again repeat that I
think the Attorney-General is the proper person to state
what time he will require for the consideration of the
case that has been submitted to him. At the same time,
I quite agree with the honourable member for Manches-
ter, that the question is one which ought not to be post-
poned beyond the time which is bona fide required for its
consideration. (Hear, hear.) There are several points of
considerable practical difficulty connected with it ; but
am quite sure that my honourable and learned friend the
Attorney-General will not take more time than he finds
to be absolutely necessary for the consideration, in a man-
ner becoming his professional character and official posi-
' tiGn, of such an important question. (Hear, hear.)
STAMP-OFFICE PROSECUTIONS.
Government to reim-
whether it was the intention of the .
Mr. LUCAS asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Journal,
jn tbe
banuyr, eve3rtlri.eSnhaeiwt,hteheeepertosperfietthoer orfetcheentC.
°priThoinerseccA
periodical
Court of Exchequer in Ireland, for publishing an unstamped
to the law
arising out of this action had been submitted
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said a case
officers of the Crown in England.
that an earl d
h e Mr.
Ind lorru a n askedyextlpme right hon•
gentleman. whether
some detQrmination could bectation come to onat the subject p
ofen, the
newspaper stamp.
stated, except that he
nothing to what he. had already
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER could add
thought
should be come to on the subject.
it highly desirable that a speedy determination
SUPPLY.
The house then went into committee on the civil services
estimates.
The following
votes wore agreed to :
2,7004. for the Lord Privy Seal's Establishment.
23,8501, salaries And expenses of the rpormaater•GtioneraVe•
office,