The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-19 00:00:00

Established 1;41.

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nlf he should libel anybody in his parer, would
L;,,, . be liable to au actio at law, would he not —To two
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actions, civil and criminal.
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one starting a blacksmith's shop.
They do not presume, in the United States, that
------..,._,.............. because a man is going to print news in a paper he is
going to libel F—No, nor do they presume that his
libelling would amount to much, unless he is a re-
sponsible character.
Mr. COBDEN—Are there not many actions brought
in America for libel ?—Very few indeed, unless
founded on police reports, such as the report of a man
being arrested on tiro charge of swindling, or the like
of that.
Are you not permitted by the law of America to
publish the police reports?—No, it is not regarded as
evenlawful
thoughc v enatii say that John Jones was arrested for
swindlingtt
damage
seansgtsohete a privileged publication ; be
furmight
swindling, sho vyint . a
ot that
thatcase
he and
was convict
s o
arrested
you could prove that be was
actually a swindler ; that rule is derived from your
Ric n—Does
tar
n-tatfhoiboauewvntrehtcrohapyufstrs practically occur ?—Yes,
courts.
iir.
though it is very rare.
......York,l regardliyilterp:Ci to the
latplp
appears
population must
ti
mrhtFchruureil
largettoohyfme auedlr
las
phi
tl
fr
hayooverpepforarhsemttes
iasmoitlneii
in Now
mechanicsNf
ewithtrateekhe
in a daily paper of some kind.
The purchasers of the daily papers must consist of
a different class from those in England,
must purchase them ?—Every mechanic takes a paper,
or nearly every one.
At what time does he buy his paper ?-11e sub-
scribes to an office. The carrier of a paper is the
owner of a certain ward of the city ; it is a property
of his own ; on the Sun I have known one sold for..
700 dollars ; that is, the privilege of buying the pa-
pers at the office at 70 cents a hundred, and serving
them to subscribers, and getting one dollar a hundred
for them. In every particular ward of the city the
carrier has a property in the right to receive the
journals for the ward, and to distribute them in that
ward.
Then the working class receive their papers re gn.
larly through the carrier in the morning ?—Yes.
What time are they delivered in the morning ?........
Between six and seven as a rule.
Do those people generally get them before they
leave home for their work ?—Yes, and you are com-
plained
paper 8
tofhiisf
hyroeuakdfoasnto;t
hfuerwmasnhtsa
tmo arneawditiht hihsentwe,weesn.
six and seven usually.
Then a shipbuilder, or a cooper, or a joiner, takes
in his daily paper in the morning, and reads it at his.
breakfast time ?—Yes, and he may take it with hire
to read at his dinner, between twelve and one ; but
the rule is that he wants his paper at his breakfast.
After he has fininished his breakfast or dinner he
may be found reading the daily newspaper, just as
the people of the upper classes du in England ?—.Ves,
if they do.
And that is quite common, is it not F—Almost uni-
versal, I think. There is a very poor class, a good
many foreigners, who do not know how to read, but
no native, I think.
Mr. EWART—To a working man, what is the cost
of a newspaper ?—He may obtain one for Sd. a week,
or a halfpenny a day.
Mr. Rica—Do the agricultural labourers read
much ?—Yes, they take our weekly papers, which
they receive through the post generally.
CHAIRMAN—Is there any sending of papers from
one person to another person ; a person having
bought a paper and read it, does he send it to a friend
by post ?—There has been a little of that. It is
often done when there is a marriage or a death, or
some piece of information that you want your friend
to know in another country.
It is not done for the purpose of economy, and to
share the expenses of the paper between different per-
sons F—No, they are so cheap that it is not worth
while.

[PRICE SD.

Mr. Rica—The transmission by post would be
nearly as expensive as the cost of the paper, would it
not ?—Quite so, as they send them in separately,
and the post-offices do not like to receive them in that
way.

kr. EwAßT—When you can get them so easily,
you need not transmit them P—No.
Mr. COBDEN—The working people in New York
are not in the habit of resorting to public-houses to
read the newspapers, are they ?—Yes, they are, but
not to read the papers.
They resort to public-houses to drink spirits, or
anything else ?—A good many of them do ; it is not
the general practice, but still there are quite a class
who do so.
The newspap-r is not the attraction to the public-
house ?—:\ o; I think a very small proportion of cur
rending class go there at all ; those that I have seen
there are mainly the foreign population, those who do
not read.
COAIRMAN—Are there any papers published in
New York or in other parts, which may be °aid to
be of an obscene or immoral character?—We call the
New York Herald a very bad paper—those who do
not like it ; but that is riot the cheapest.
Have you heard of a paper called the Town pub-
lish,d in this country, witn pictures of a certain cha-
racter in it, an unstacuped publication—have you any
publications in the Unitcd States of that character ?
—Not daily papers. There are weekly papers got
up from,time to time, called the Scorpion, the Flush,
the Whip, and so on, whose purpose is to extort
money from parties who can be threatened with ex-
posure of immoral practices, or for visiting infamous
houses.

Mr. Ewater—Will you look at that paper—(the
Town being handed to the witnsss)?—There was a
class of weekly papers got up there that were printed
for two or three months. Ido not know of any one
being continued any considerable time : if one dies
another is got up, and that goes down.
They do not last, do they ?—No, and I suppose
they do not here; but the cheap daily papers, the
very cheapest, are as a whole, I think, quite as dis-
creet in their conduct and conversation as other jour-
nals. They do not embody the same amount of talent,
they devote themselves mainly to news. They are
not party journals, they are nominally independent--
that is, of no party. They are not given to harsh
language with regard to public men, they are very
moderate.
Is scurrility or personality common to the publica-
tions in the United Stites ?—lt is not common, it is
much less frequent than it was, but it is not abso-
lutely unknown.
CHAIRMAN—In the transmission of papers by post
is a distinction made between newspapers and other
printed matter ?—There is a distinction. Other
printed matter goes by weight, 2i cents. being
charged for the first ounce, and I cent for every suc-
ceeding ounce. I believe that is the rate of postage
there ; but it is reduced by the new law.
There is a less rate of postage applied to news-
papers than other printed matter ?—Yes.
What do you call a newspaper—where do you
draw the line between what comes under the postage
rate and what is liable to a higher rate?—The rule
has been that everything printed as often as once a
weak was a newspaper; the others are generally re-
garded as magazines and periodicals.
If it is only printed once—for instance, suppos-
ing that you printed any particular fact in a paper
published to distribute all through the country, would
that come under the printed-matter rate, or under the
newspaper rate ?—lt it had the appearance of a news-
paper and was said to be published weekly, of course
it would come under the newspaper rate ; but if not,
or wes not to be published as a periodical, it would
be regarded as other printed matter. There is no
carefulness about these matters. One postmaster
would call a thing a newspaper, and another would
not ; and they often refer to the postmaster-
general, and he decides.
Has there ever been any proposition made in the
United States with a view to control the press; for
instance, that it should be liable to a stamp duty, and
give security in the same manner as is required in
France ?—I have heard a suggestion that it might b.
well to charge one cent on a copy, and let it go free
through the post, but not by any number of persons.
Some have said that it would improve the character
of the press, but it was never seriously taken up. I
have seen it in newspapers as a suggestion.
Mr. COBDEWhat is the circulation of the Aese
York Herald f—l think 25,000,
Ilas its circulation been increased during the last
few years, or otherwise ?—I think it has rather in-
creased, not diminished.
Is that an influential paper in America ?—I
think not.
It has a higher reputation, probably, in Europe
than at home ?—A certain class of journals in this
country find it their interest or pleasure to quote it a
good deal.
CHAIRMAN—As the demand is extensive, is the ni-
-1
1 muneration for the services of literary men who aro
employed on the press good ?—The prices of literary
labour ase more moderate than in this country. The
highest salary, I think, that would be commanded by
any one connected with the press would be 1,0001.,
the highest that could be thought of ; I have not heard
of Ligher than 600/.re-
Mr. Rica—What would be about the orbdeisnidaers the
ordinary
ides
? —ln our own concern it
is,
1 principal editor, 300/. down to 1001. I think that is
the usual range.
tAimmeertoictaimine
of literary ability, employed
?—lt is beginning to
point
CHAIRMAN—Are
upon t been the custom. There have
be so, but it bus no your leading
ferno mi n
connected with the press, but the
been leading men conne
the press as an occupation
press has not been usually conducted by the most
powerful men. With a few exceptions, the leading
political journals are conducted ably, and this is he.