New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-12-18
TIE CHEAP PRESS or GREAT BRirAN.

I ~ CcUpaItu WIN Tue tVnlaAc va &c Rsc~ /.
Europe, il il boast the jastce Of which 10 essaS
recognized Nevertheless, the Eng ..sh ne xspsPerS
are the dearest Of sll the newspapers in the work.
Whls st Berlin Brussels, aud Paris, you may par
chase copy OF ny Of the leading journals for saAs
which represents penny or t~e cenia, un.-, VII
| lately you could not make similar purchase n
| Clsssox, Dublin, AID London for less than eigae
! O, txslye cents. The reason Of toe difference u
tie heavy tsxa,ion upon English newspapers. hSs
mary years age, even paper Was required 10 aaS
a fourpenny stamp upon il, and every sdvesasc-
meut IN any psper had 10 pay one shilling And sx-
pence Of duty. After indefa,is.ble exer.ios on tho
part Of the promoters Of kno~lejse, the fcarPenny
stsupwss reduced to one peany, AID tho sdver-
! tisemeut duty was taken away. Tae pcnay stamp.
,ndetd was OILY retained upon the pea that it ~as
ue, bed for postal purposes yet every paper vas
required to hsve tAls stamp, no matter whetaer Is
was posted or rot, and the penny stamp therefore.
b., .ipe good source Of revenue to the Imperial
excbeQuer. Penny newspapers were tsus rendersG
altogether impossible in Enslsnd 80 loas
as the Government claimed . penny sPoa
every sheet bu. those VITO sgtAted for the
repeal Of the taxes upon knowledge succeeded.
some three years age, in getting the PsrhaueaS
to decide that the penny stamp should not t. COM
pulsor-that is to cay, that newspapers might
be pria.ed vithou: il; and that il would only b
necessary in the case Of those newspapers teat
were transmitted by poet. ms was greas
charge: it was tee beginning Of new ers in Ca
elish journalism; ana il is singular 10 note how
the repeal Of tee compulsory stamp became
compulsory upon the House Of Commons. Ii was
not 90 much public opinion which forced the House
TO do this. The ruling classes we're really opposed
to any measure thst would render the press even
shade more democratic; ard So they believed thss
the chespening Of tie press would end in the Pre's-
lence Of more liberal ideas, they would have stood
out sgainst making it chesp independently OF oil
revenue considerations. But legal dimcaiV
arose which the Parliament could not sufmoane
As the lew stood il was newspaper, and news
pspers only th.t we're required to BE- stamped, and
the question arese, "Whst is newspaper Whist
." is uewsT There was no getting over that qdes-
ton. The exnise authorities could not invent Q
definition that ,uld draw the line aud MS pubics-
tons which did not profess TO be newspapers con-
timed 10 print speciA news with impuniy, and
even to defy the excise, there was no help for
but 20 mske an act of Parliament which specified
that the compulsory stamp was abolished, aud that
perry stamp would convey all printed matter
through tie poet, il not beyond 8 certain weight
This done ths penny daily press made ito ap-
pesrance ard became an institution OF Crest
britain. Blu. the new institution, be 1t observed,
did not grow so fast as Jacks beansta'k, aud It
msy take many years before il reaches tie proper
lions of the cheap press Of the United States. &C
cupying AZ the latter now dccs, the whole fcld OF
Journalism. There can be no doubt thst ~
dear daily newspapers in England are doomed 70
disappear unless they become cheap. No one with
any experience Of English Journalism can reach any
other conclusion; yet some of the old established
London journals, especially The T0aes may DO
worth ore or two years purchase-nOt that tho
penny press is less able, less energetic In OBJ
tanning news, or promises to be less bulky. But it
happens that the English people are strangely con-
servatve, perhaps more so than the people Of any
country in Europe They stick to what exists be-
cause it exists and long after all argument in favor
of the existing thing has been given up. In 20
gland it takes half century to get any reformstory
change made in tee Constitution; and even after
dozen years Of exciting agitation it is only whea
the Irish people are threatened with starvation
that tie Corn Laws can be repealed. Bot tho
longevity Of newspapers is probably the most ~
markable feature Of English conservation. Only
ge. q newspaper fairly established in Englaod,
and you may be sure nobody will fad out
the way to XIII it, There are malttudes
of fanil es scattered throughout the provinces who
have scarcely any other source CT instruct on bat
the Bible snd their county newspaper, and you
might Just as successfully try TO remove tho ono
out Of their hands o. to remove the other. In
fact, the particular newspaper that is taken in 10
an Old friend, ito name ia household word, ito
news is always fresb, aud IL people thought it
were Ill and going to die, they would be rendered
perfectly miserable. So With inns, hotels, add
cofee.shops They have for the last twenty years
taken in csrtsin journals, magazines and pubiics-
tons and if their Establishment, last for huIdrsd
years TO come, and these particular publications do
the same, you may 90 for your cup OF coffee or
your chop in 1865, snd you will see the old p.per
lust as you saw them there Ia 1855 matter wat
their price ma; be. For example: new Loatoa
evening Journal one.haf the price Of the old ones,
lnd one half better in quality is said to h've spent
a Little fortune a the effort to get introduced ito
metropolitan hotel. and coaee-shop', and apparently
without anything Ike success. 1t is oldfashoneA
things tina. great number Of English people like,
and you are cure to have j. said that though Old
fashioned thing the dearest they are certainly the
best. It's indeed, this prejudice which the penny
press has to overcome, and i. is certainly succeeding