The Sun.
London, England, 1832-02-06 00:00:00

DUTIES ON FOREIGN BOOKS.

ISrcrai the Foreign Quarterly Rev ier, just published.)
Books were, we believe, first charged with an import
in the reign of Charles the Second, but were hardly
considered a regular object of revenue till the passing of the
Act of 27 Geo. 3, c. 13, which took effect on the 10th
of May, 1787, and imposed a &uty on botenel books o
3d. per cwt., and on ur.Jenund hooks, of Bs. 10d. per
elvt. At this rate it centirmerl te'.ll the year 1809, when
the necessities of the war n'oliged the Government in so
many instances to lay on taxes with a heavy and capr!ci-
ous hand; and by the Act 49 Geo. 3, it. 9,93, the duty on
bound books was raised to 41. ess, and on unbound to
Is. 611. the cwt. The 59th Gen. 3, C. 38, made
loather change—nett, as might have been supposed, a re-
doction, in consideration of the country being then in the
fifth year of peace, but a further increase, which rated
bound hooka at 61. :Os., and unbound at the cwt.
However, by the Consolidation of Cee,tnene Act of the 6th
Geo. 4, c. 111, commencing on the sth July, 1825, the
duties were slightly meeditled, and they now stand payaide
thus under that Act, ',Pit :
On books, being of editions printed prior tt‘
bound or unbound, the cwt
On books., being of editions oricted since the year
Mt, bound or unbound, tli-± Cwt 5 0 0
The former class of duties is understood to have been
'fixed by way avocet:segment to the importation in mass
of libraries of foreign books, which the euetioneers and
dealers repreeented would thus find a market in England,
and enrich the scholar as well as the hibliemaniae, if some
consideration were afforded to the trade for the long period
foy which they were so frequently obliged to keep them on
band unproductively. The official eetemns do not afford
the means of distinguishing the respective qualities of new
and old books introduced ; but the revenue is chiefly de-
rived from the editions of later date than 1601, which pay
what is equivalent to about lap. the printed,
Now, in the first place, the policy of encouraging the
importation of old books, at the expense of new ones, seem.
rather whimsical. It is almost as strange as the cry of the
eactiauge of new lamps for old ones, in the story of Alad-
din. For, it fa well known that such old books as h.ve
my value at all, either to the literary or the curious, are
infinitely more costly than any modern publications of
similar weight avoirdupois; whilst, on the other hand,
there is scarcely any author of merit on the continent pre-
vious to the present century, whose works are not now
printed and cirroiated in editions later than 1801. Those
who know which editions of Lessing, or of Schiller, are the
most common in Germany, or which of 3loliere, or Vol-
taire, are most frequently met with in France, will have
before them instances of this notorious fact. If the prin.
triple of the distinction be the supposed inferiority in value
of old hooks, it seems fallacious ; for profit in general.
when they buy foreign }mole., are sensible enough to but
those of worth, and we greatly doubt whether the refuse oi
the book-stalls on the quay of the Louvre would ever fine
it, way to London, even duty free. If the object be the
encouragement of older literature, at the expense of mote
metier') productions, that object is not attained ; for tl e
high duty is that which most commonly attaches upon
hook, of merit written previous to the pre sent century, to,
the reasons above stated, The profit of the fisc, however,
was probably the only motive that suggested the alteration ;
es, the great mass of old hooks being imported for the ex
press purpose of being brought to the hammer, the Govern-
ment has no doubt found it a most advent igeotis exehan;-e
to receive the amount of the auction duty on the actual
value in lieu of the trifling produce of an import duty,
which was so high as to operate as a prehibition.
There is something which savours of barbarism in the
system of taxing literature by the pound. But. passint
by this, and granting for argument's sake, that books, con-
sidered merely as the raw material of knowledge, ought to
youttibute to the revenue on importation, it is still ex-
tremely questionable whether a duty by weight is the fairest
eml most proper mode of charge. Books of similer weight
differ so prodigiously in price, that an ad Colorant duty
would suegest itself as preferable, if it were not for the
many difficulties and evesiens to which that description et
linty has constantly been found to be zuhject. A plan might
certainly be contrived of levying the duty by weight, con-
ditionally, in reference to the scale of value, hut this would
perhaps be found too complicated, and too tedious in the
process of ascertainment. Books, like many other articles,
seem to be in that dilemma with respect to tl e Customs.
that, if charged otherwise than by weight, the reecho,
would be likely to be defrauded, and on the other hand,
whilst the duty by weight continues, it falls upon impor-
:ere unequally, and therefore inconsistently with sound anti
just principles of taxation.
But, after all, the great objection to the duty is, that it
is bad is policy, and that, if it were otherwise, it is true:
too heavy. A tax of tenpence three farthings per pound,
is equivalent upon many hooks to a hundred per cent. and
in no case to less than ten per cent. This, added to the
costs of carriage, freight, insurance, brokerage, &c. is a
heavy discouragement to importation in the way of trade,
ter sate in this country; and we confess we are surprised
that the foreign btokeellere can afford to supply hooks
from abroad at the rite they do,—being, for French hooks.
for instance, at the charge to the customer of a shilling for
every franc of the publication price. The import tradt
has not been a thriving one, as we shall presently show,
and when this is considered, as well as the vexation and
trouble given to passengers by the levy of the duty upon
their small purchases for private use, there can he littl,
doubt, we suppose, of its unpopularity amongst the class of
persons immediately affected by it. Throughout Germany,
and in the Netherlands, the books of travellers pass dui,
tree, it being considered quite as reasonable that a man
wound carry a supply of books with him on his journey, as
clothes, or shaving apparatus, or any other part of in,
equipment. The French, who do not read our hooks, or
visit our country, to any thing like the extent we do their..
have also long since set us an example of lit erality, which
those who are fond of reproaching the French tariff in ge-
neral would do well to note as worthy of praise. Since
1817, the duty on new foreign hooks imported into France
is only eleven francs the 100 kilograms,—old books be-
longing to travellers being exempt from duty altogether.
Now, as a kilogram is equal to about Whs. 2.koz. avoirdu-
pois, the French duty comes as nearly as possible to fire
shillings a hundred weight, en that ours is just twenty
times heavier than theirs. Truly, th islimltter should he
set to rights, beiore we again boast to 31. St. Cricq of the
philosophical superiority of our commercial policy !
It appears from official accounts, that the quantity of
foreign books imported into the United Kingdom for the
last ten years, with the amount of duty received thereon,
has Teen as follows:
Years. Cwts. qrs. lbs. .C. s. d.
1821 2,294 1 21
18'22
1823 2,881 1 17
1824 3,366 0 4
1825 4,051 1 26
1826 3,151 1 3
1827 3,345 0 3
182, 3,270 0 13
1829
1830 3A4I 3 13
The quantity of hooks imported for several years past
appears thus, prima fircie, to have been stationary; but
if we observe the amount of duty, we see that it has con-
siderably fallen off since the last alteration. Now tf e fact
of a greater fail of duty then is proportionate to the fall of
the quantity imported, shows clearly that it is the itnpor-
tation of new books printed since 1801 which is less than
it used to be. The conclusion follows, that the high duty
has tended as directly to cheek the importation of new
books, as the low ditty to increase the importation of old
ones. It is unfortunate that the public accounts have not
distinguished the ; roduce of the two rates of duty ; but it
is nevertheless manifest that the old lamps have obtained a
considerable ascendancy, in our market, over the new ones.*
It appears then that the book duty has tended to cheek
the importation of the modern productions of foreign lite-
rature into this kingdom—that it is enormously high in
comparison with the French duty—and that it is imposed
upon travellers and persons not in the trade, with a want
of liberality which characterizes the tariff of scarcely any
European sovereign, except, perhaps, Don Miguel and the
Kee. Under such circumstances, it seems to be time fur
the Government to consider, whether the advancement of
science and literature among os be not an object, for the
sake of which the abolition of this duty would be highly
desirable. We say the abolition, because, wben the diffu-
sion of knowledge is concerned, we are entitled to place the
question on a higher ground than that of finance, though
in a financial point of view it might be probible that a re-
duction from elevenpenee to a penny or twopence per
pound would eventually add to the revenue, by increased
importation. But the whole amount collected is now and
always would be so inconsiderable, that the expense of col-
lection, and the inconvenience to the public, would clearly
bring it within that class of duties erhoee total repeal has
been advocated with so much force and reason by philoso-
phical financiers, and especially by Sir Henry Parnell and
Mr. Poulett Thomson. We repeat, therefore—away with
this tax altogether, and let the British public have .-he full
advantage of the literature of foreign nations. Of late
years our tariff has, in many instances, been relaxed for
the encouragement of the arts and sciences, as in the case of
pictures, which now only pay a shilling the square foot—of
prints, which are rated at only a penny each—of sculptured
stone, rated at two 'billings and sixpence per cwt.—ol
• If the amount of the auction duty on old books imported and
sold since 1825 could be ascertained and ridded to the above.,_ . e
have no doubt that it would be found, as we have already said, to
have amply made up to the revenue. the deficiency which these
returns exhibit in the produce of thennport duly since that period