The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-06-04
From The Literary World.
Taxes ON knowledge I'm England.

Taxes ON Knowledge In England.
An interesting debate the Taxes Knowl
edge, which recently. took place in the British
house of commons as it involves several questions
Of literature affecting the condition of that country
and as many of the details brought forward were
novel, u worth the attention OF our readers. The
debate occurred on a motion by MIR. M Gibson, on
the evening of the 10th April, to repeal the excise
duty ON paper, the stamp duty on newspapers and
on advertisements, and the customs duty on for
eign books. OF these taxes we are happily free in
America, with the exception OF the last; and the
guments brought forward against that have been
heretofore employed in this country. The example
OF America was frequently referred to, and IL Is not
the only occasion of late in which our progress IN
reform and Improvement has been admitted" IL
appears from Mr. Gibson's statements that the OPP
Grafton OF the duty paper was, 10 great extent,
prohibition OF its manufacture, 80 much 80 that
reduction in the duty would afford employing IN
London alone TO forty thousand additional hands
1t is tax, too, exceedingly annoying and inquisi-
torial in the necessity Of espionage upon the manu-
factories, in proportion To the opportunity oil mis-
representation II has proved, too, destructive OF
much valuable literature for the poorer classes.
Messrs. Chambers of Edinburgh, have given In evil
dence, that the duty had stopped them in various
desirable undertakings, among others In the pub
LEGATION of their instructive Miscellany, which had
reached a sale weekly Of eighty thousand copies;
Charles Knight in the course OF twenty years, had
paid eighty thousand pounds for copyright and Lit,
erary labor, and to the government nifty thousand
pounds duty on paper. Whether the books are sold
or not, The publisher pays the duty on the paper
which perhaps he turns over to the cheesemonger.
The necessary effect of the penny stamp duty on
newspapers is to prohibit entirely cheap pubca-
tons of the kind, as those which might otherwise
be published for apenny halfpenny. The con-
sequence is, that the million Of readers, the work
men Of Birmingham and Manchester, are driven to
the purchase OF various low and ilegtimate publ
cations, which impudently evade the tax, while
honest, conscientious labor in this sphere, ID kept
out Of the market. The names Of some OF these in
dictate the character Of the class There Is the Sam
Sly, which lives by ibelling individuals and bray
ing the law, the Paul PTy, and the IO,cn, the
Lamp, which caricatures the government, &c; all
Of these tending to corrupt the morals, and misead
the understanding of the community. The stamp
is levied newspapers, and newspapers are loosely
held to be journals of acts that the state actu
ally holds out an inducement to suppress the latter,
which might be some correction OF the spirit OF y-
ing, which is indirectly encouraged. Then, too,
Reynoldss books, Ned Buntline literature, and the
like. bookseller at Manchester sells over his
counter eighty to ninety thousand copies OF this
penny trash weekly. All this is the necessary
fruit Of prohibiting better publications. But this Is
not all One great object of newspapers, in free
community, is to acquaint the people with the laws
and their workings; but in England, before any
one can read police report in his own newspaper
he must pay penny to the state. The stamp on
the newspapers, to be sure, pays the postage, but
all readers are not &c o6icto patrons OF the post
office.
A Greenock publisher was ingenious in evading
this stamp. He had issued five numbers OF a pub
LEGATION, and been fined twenty pounds He took
to issuing his journal on new material, not IN
cluded in the act, called it the "Greenock NeUs-
CLOTH" defed the tax, and laughed at the govern
ment.
The advertisement duty is an imposition Of Is.
Cd. on all announcements. II falls severely upon
servants advertising for places, and others, and
with the paper tax keeps up the high rates OF the
English journals. 1t costs, said MIR. Gibson, 1901.
to advertise by the year in the Times that WHICH in
the United States would cost no more than 81 or
g. for the same period, and that too, IN paper OF
equal, if not greater, circulation.
The remaining tax, the customs duty on foreign
books, did not cover the cost Of collection. II
reached only S,OOOI per annum. On the score OF
revenue all these taxes except the one on paper,
uncomfortable in their results; the advertise
ment duty being but l50,000l. a yeary and the
stamp duty deducting the postage immunity, the
same amount The paper duty yields SOO,00Ol
II is obvious, therefore, that before very long
while these taxes must yield to the demands Of the
liberal and enlightened portion of the community
The fate of the bill this occasion TO be thrown
out, government not being prepared to relinquish
the million or two per annum
We might have more occasion to congratulate
ourselves our freedom from these impositions,
did we not adhere with equal pertinacity, against
equal light and evidence TO one OF the most ob]ec-
tionable of them Mr. Jewett, the Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, once called attention to
the onerous and disheartening burdens OF the du-
ties at our custom house on foreign books, and
showed how paltry affair the sum was TO the
government, which still large enough to rob
our mechanics and students Of many important
works desirable to their callings and professions.
respectable petition was got up, and went, we
presume, to that tomb Of the Capulets where the
International Copyright petitions before and after
it have been regularly inurncd.
popular publications, England is at this moment
foremost of the world in the production OF many OF
the best works of the class. There is no American
publication of the kind equally well conducted with
n,rk ahnl
Words-none which bestows the same care and at
tention upon home matters, employs so many able
writers, pays them so well, or prints 30 cheaply.
Nor would our newspapers or reviews, with equal
outlay for original matter, probably be afforded so
cheap as those published in London. This Is due
to the concentrated population the superior bust
ness organization; and exists, we have seen, in
spite ofvery serious obstacles. When shall we see
in the United States, where there are no taxes on
paper, advertisements, or stamps, journal Of the
dignity and ability of the London 1imes1
. e If New Yorker would be content with his lot,
let him read article in the last Edinburgh ReUieo
the supply of water to the city of London, and
thank the fate which has thrown him under the dis
pensation Of the Croton. in this important luxury
and necessity of civilized living the laboring man
Of this city may readily be better off than the most
aristocratic resident Of London. The comfortable
householder of this city, living a moderate in
come Of few hundred dollars per annum, has the
advantage in this respect Of luxurious Roman cit
TO the Croton Works. "The city of New York has
expended E2 500 900 ON the Croton Water-works.
An aqueduct forty miles long, and carried over the
most formidable engineering difficulties, brings a
daily supply Of sixty millions of gallons for 100000
inhabitants. This is cxcrtion of which our trans
atlantic brethren may well be proud; 1t is great
work, and in good cause, and we honor them for
it, To form just conception Of il, we must con-
slider the probability Of the citizens OF London under
"A system Of universal suffrage, taxing themselves
10 the extent of twelve millions and half OF our
money in order 10 command daily supply Of three
hundred millions of gallons of water"
II is one OF the compensations Of the system,
however, that the best English newspapers are as
well printed, and substantially as they are writ
ten, that they pass from hand 10 hand, and may be
read, If they are not purchased for penny, or
lcss.
The PoET BowLEs.-The canon's absence Of mind
was very great, and when his coachman drove him
into Bath he had TO practise all kinds Of caution TO
keep HIM TO time and place. The poet once left
our Office in company with well known antiquary
Of our neighborhood, since deceased, and who was
as absent as Mr.. Bowles himself The servant OF
the latter 10 establishment TO look for him,