The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1884-03-19
4 Statement from the Public
Printer.
gAcEsos. MS, March L, 1884.

0ANAo0Af AAAA11-g @AAnAl4 A-s @SO-@
IN the discussion of the Printing Bill in
the House last Monday night, attention was
called to the fact that the Acts Of 1882 do
not contain the number of lines to the
page or the number Of words to the line
required by the Printing Law Of 1880.
The State Printer frankly admits that
the Acts Of 1882 are defective in both par
ticuIars, but he was not prepared at the
time to furnish his friends in the House
any data by way of justification and Offset
for the defect complained Of.
The Code of 1857 prescribed 80 small
plea lines to the page, and average of ten
words to the line. The Public Printer,
however, of that, and all succeeding years
to 1871, continued to make the pages the
same length and width of former volumes,
In the Code of 1871, the printing law was
amended in many particulars, among 9th
ers, that the Laws should contain only AZ
lines to the page, including the running
title and white lines under the title and al
foot of page-in other words, 80 lines of
actual law matter. But notwithstanding
this, the Acts continued to be published
with 46 lines to the page, according to the
style of all preceding volumes.
The Printing Law was again amended
in 1876, but the number of lines remained
the same as in the Act of 1873 az and not
withstanding this, published the Acts of
1876, 1877, 1873 and 1880, with 46 lines to
the page, or lines more than the law re-
quired. Forty-two lines would have made
the page too small, and hence the uniform
size was preserved.
The Printing Law in the Code of 1880 is
copied almost verbatim from the Code of
1857, and hence the re-oceurrence of the 80
lines to page. The foreman of the office,
in arranging to print the Acts of 1882,
adopted the size of page of the preceding
volume, and such has been the custom for
the past forty years. 1t will thus be seen,
that while the Acts of 1882 do not come
fully up to the requirements of the Code
of 1880, the Acts of the preceding four ses-
sions contain at least four lines to the page
more than the law required.
The Journals of all these years contain
more lines, and more words to the line,
than is required by the Code of 1880, sim
ply because the type is smaller, (long prim-
er) and because it is convenient in getting
book forms through the press to have the
pages of the same length and width.
If the excess of matter that was pub
lished in the Acts of 1876, 1877, 1873 and
1880, and in the Journals of those years,
and of those of 1882, and of 1884, now
being printed, is not full equivalent for
the deficiency in the Acts of 1882, am
ready to abide by any award the Legisla-
ture, through an Investigating Committee
or otherwise, may determine.
Although printed the Code of 1880, and
should have been familiar with every pro-
vision that related to public printing, !
declare upon my honor that 1 was not
aware that the law required there should
be fifty printed lines to a page. The
makeup of the Laws and Journals is left
to the foreman of the office, who follows
precedent.
1t will be a great hardship, and involve
your Printer in considerable loss, if he is
required to publish the Acts of 1884 with
so lines to the page. 1t will be observed
that there are only 53 lines on a page of
the Code, so that the paper which has been
purchased, and now on hand for the Laws
of 1884, will be entirely too small To re-
place it will involve delay, and force me to
keep in stock about one thousand dol
lars worth of paper for which 1 have no
other use. l, therefore, respectfully ask
your Honorable Body to allow me to print
the Acts of 1884 in the uniform style of
former sessions, and make any reduction
that, in equity, you may deem right and
proper.
With gratitude for all past kindness, and
conceding to all who have opposed me in
this matter, that they are acuated only by
the public interest, l bsg leave to sub
scribe myself, Very respectfully,
j. L. POWER, State Printer.