The Sun.
London, England, 1836-07-12 00:00:00

AT roRNEY-GENERAL pointed, out the fact
that these penalties could only be put in force by the At-
torney-General, and not on the information afforded by a
common informer.
After a short conersation, which was carried on in a
very low tone of voice across the table,
.The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER did not
hesitate .to comply with the suggestion which had been
given to reduce the second penalty provided by the clattio
from 504 to :20/.—(Hear, hear.) He was satisfied that
the enforcement of these penalties being left in the hands
of the responsible law advisers of the Crown ensured their
never being imposed without an admixture of clemency
and a perfect absence of all unnecessary severity.
Mr. WA KLEY proposed that before the words " printer
or publisher," in this clause the word " proprietor" should
be inserted. He did not see why the proprietor of a paper
should be free from those liabilities to which the printer
and publisher were subjected by this clause. He believed
that it would be difficult under this Bill to get a printer or
publisher to incur those responsibilities from which those
who employed him were exempted. But the fact which
accounted for the terms of the clause as it at present stood
was this--that it was drawn up by the proprietors of the
Stamped Press of the metropolis, and that the Right Hon.
Gentleman knew nothing of it until it was put into his
hands.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER Was
most anxious to apprise the Hon. Member for Finsbury,
as well as the House and the public. of the mistake into
which the Hon. Gentleman bad fallen when he expressed
his belief that this measure was proposed by the proprie-
tors of the Stamped Press, and that the Government
knew nothing of it until it was placed in their hands by the
parties to whom he had alluded. He was prepared to
state, as a matter of fact coming within his own know-
ledge, and as such, he hoped, entitled to credence, that
there was no foundation whatever for such an assertion.. Indeed, so far were the proprietors of the Stamped Press
from being parties to such a measure, that they were par-
ties most strongly opposed to any alteration in the present
system.
The clause as amended was then agreed to.
On the 164th clause, which states who shall be deemed
proprietors of a newspaper, being proposed?
Sir G. GREY had heard that his Right Hon. Friend
intended, where the proprietors of a paper were numerous,
they should be represented at the Stamp Office by two of
the body.
Mr. C. BULLER wished to know why the names of
the proprietors should not be known ? If they were they
would take care not to leave the lmsiness of their paper to
the controul and superintendeue of worthless agents.
Why should not, he repeated, the proprietors be known,
in order that they should, if the manner in which the paper
was conducted deserved it, he held up to public esteem ;
and if it did not deserve it, and that it was made subser-
vient to malicious motives, or to the purposes of slander,
that they should be held up to public infamy.—(llclus)
Ho would go farther and say, that if the proprietors were
not known, they should not be entitled to recover for their
property.
Dr. BOWRING suggested the impracticability of
adopting such a suggertion as that which had been given.
How could it be possibly acted upon in case the proprietors
amounted to a thousand persons ?
The CHANCgt,LOR of the EXCHEQUER was
quite willing to acknowledge the justness of the arguments
of the Hon. Member 'for Liskeard in
.favour of every fair
degree of notoriety being given to the proprietors of News-
papers. But the difficulty which he felt upon this ques-
tion was that which had been expressed by the Hon.
Member for Kilmarnock, namely, that which arose from
a number of proprietors to one concern. He should, how-
ever, have no objection to have the names of the persons
originally engaged in the proprietorship before the Pinar
started inserted at the Stamp-office. But he feared that
if it were required upon all transfers of shares to heve due
notice given, such provision would render the application
of capital to the extension of Newspapers almost wholly
impracticable. He had it at one time in contemplation to
propose that the persons who representegta certain amount
of the property of the establishment should have their
names inserted, but he was really deterred.from doing so
for fear he should be charged with imposing shackles on
the Press.—(Hear, hear.) He would now be willing to
give such a proposition, if proposed by any Hon. Member,
a fair consideration.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr, PRYME was of opinion that the object of having
the proprietors' names inserted, was in order to answer for
any charge of libel. .
Mr. J. JERVIS did not see why the newspaper com-
panies should not be obliged to act in the same manner as
the joint stock companies, who upon every transfer were
compelled to register. He thought such a change would
tend to raise the character of the Press.
Mr. PRYME contended that the proposition of the Hon.
Member would deteriorate the character of those who con-
ducted the Newspaper Press, because there would be many
persons deterred from embarking in such a speculation if
the responsibility referred to were imposed upon them ;• and
if the better class were by that means excluded,;,t would
throw this property and the control over it, intP, much less
respectable hands.
the o Lord SANDON was of opinion that it was contrary to
pen character of all our customs and institutions that
,the proprietors of Newspapers should not be known, and be
made respoteole for every act which they committed, to
the same degree that they were in their individual capacity.
It struck him that Newspaper proprietors, in the same way
as, the steam companies and other companies, should be
bound to register on every transfer of shares.
Dr. BOWRING would be glad to know by what ma-
chinery a register to the extent desired by the Right Han.
Member for Liskeard could be procured? The case of
joint stock banks did not in his opinion apply to that of
Newspaper property.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCP:EQUER was
quite ready to assent to the principle of the proposition of
the Hon. Member for Liskeard, but as the question was
one of some importance he would suggest that the amend-
ment should be deferred until a further stage. The only
thing he should then stipulate for was, that in any arrange-
ment to be hereafter agree(' upon, no unnecessary checks
should be imposed upon the transfer of the shares. It
should not, for instance, be required that each transfer
should be registered at the very time the change took
place. His view was, and he only gave it as an im-
promptu, that there should be a quarterly or half-yearly
register, and that it should not be requisite for a party
transferring his shares to change such register until the ad-
vent of the ensuing period. If they were to require each
transfer to be placed upon the Stamp-office books on the
day of its date, great inconvenience and expense would be
imposed upon that department.

Mr. C. BULLER was of opinion that in the event of,a
general registry of proprietors, which it was now probable
would take place, it would be very desirable to constitute
the Stamp-office registry conclusive evidence of title in
newspaper property. If this were done, the trouble and
expense of transfer deeds would be saved. Although the
Right Hon, Gentleman had been tolerably explicit as to his
views, be (Mr. C. Buller) hoped he should be pardoned in
asking him if it might go forth to the public that his sug-
gestion had been adopted by the Government.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER entirely
assented to the principle of the suggestion, but reserved
for further consideration the machinery by which it should
be carried into effect. Had he not been afraid that by
proposing such a measure, lie should have laid himself open
to the charge of imposing greater restrictions on the Press
than his duty as Finance Minister required, he should him-
self have made such a proposition to the House.--(Hear.)
Mr. WARBURTON fully concurred in the proposi-
tion of the Hon. Member for Liskeard, which he was glad
to see so readily'taken up by .the Government He hoped ,
however, that in its framing care would be taken to pre-
vent a proprietor from registering his name on the- first of
Jannary, and then on the 2d putting down the- name of an
irresponsible person. He thought the principle should be,
that the party receiving the profits of the Newspapers
should be made liable for its !aches.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER should
bear in mind the Hon. Member's suggestion.
'Mr. WAKLEY expressed his satisfaction at finding the
Government favourable to the proposition of the Hon.
Member for Liskeard. He merely rose to suggest that
the Bill for the extension of the rights of copyright to.
116wapper publications would present a more fitting occasioni
for the introduction of the proposition than did the measure •
under consideration.
Mr. BUCKINGHAM suggested that it should -- be
made compulsory on each newspaper establishment to
publish the names of its proprietary at stated periods in
each year. It was his great wish to see the newspaper
preSs of England edited for the most part 'by the parties
a ei de.lta ha
nott as riev‘P
in- whom the property was vested,
beeSeir
diNd Gto
copyrights ha
, IhSe se
refrain from expres4ng his
regret that the Bilt under consideration did not contain
Provisions for securing it. It might have been, in
his
el
opinion, 'with great propriety introduced. If, however,that-
wm deemed inexpedient, he trusted that no time would be.
lost in bringing forward the supplemental Bill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observ-
ed that the subject of newspaper copyright was under con-
sideration, and that though it was one of sonic &Acuity,
ho had every reason to hope it might form the subject 'of
legislation during the present session. He thought, • how-
ever, it was requisite to have it in a Bill distinct from the
present. They were then considering a measure of revenue,
in which it would be neither convenient or in accordance
with precedent to introdvice the matter alluded to. He
would take that opportunity of alluding to another topic,
on which several representations had been made to him—
he alluded to the manner in which the stamps should im
future be distributed to the several papers. He did not feet