The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-01-22
DEFINITION OF NEWSPAPER.
Remarkable Episode i'm the History OF
English journalism.

To ask any one what a newspaper
is seems ridiculous in these DAYS when
they are sold daily by the million. And
yet there was a time when this SEEM
lngly simple question agitated the
country from end to end, and to a GER
tain extent covered a government with
ridicule, says The New York Times.
This remarkable episode in the history
OF Journalism is recalled by the war
OF today, for it really arose out of
the Crimean campaign, when England.
France and Turkey fought side by side
against Russia.
For legal purpose a newspaper is
described as a sheet of paper, print
ed at short regular intervals, for con-
Veying intelligence Of passing events
Flfty-eight years ago, however, when
the Crimean war broke out, newspa-
pers were a luxury for the well-to- do.
In England the stamp duty on news
papers was still in force. 1t had risen
rom half penny, imposed in 1912 to
4d one hundred years later, bringing
up the price of newspapers to I'd.
each-a condition Of things which
lasted till 1886, when the duty was re-
duced from 4d to Id, to be finally
abolished in 1855, as result of the
historic campaign.
1t happened in this wise. During
the Crimean War poor people were
| naturally anxious to- know how their
relatives were faring at the front; and
the only means by which they could
gather such news was through the
| newspapers, which the majority of
them could not afford to buy. The con-
| sequence was that the agitation which
had been going on for some time to
repeal the stamp duty was renewed
with great vigor in the House Of
| Commons The government was ask
ed to state definitely what actually
constituted a newspaper and why
news should be taxed
At first the government was some
what nonplussed Then the solicitor
for the Board of Inland Revenue sug-
gested that if they could not define
exactly what a newspaper was, they
| could at any rate say what it was not
and thus it came about that a state
| mcnt was made in the Commons to
the effect that a newspaper is not a
| publication treating of only one sub
ject."
AS at that time there was only one
subject in which the majority Of peo-
| pie were overwhelmingly, the war
the consequence was that, directly
| this definition was officially pronounc-
| ed, out came a host Of unstamped pub
lications giving full details from the
seat of war, but taking good care to
treat of one subject only" There
were Hollis Army and Navy Dis
patch, Strange's Army and Navy Dis
patch, the War Times, the War Tele-
graph, The War Fly Sheet, and so on
selling merrily and contributing not
one farthing to the revenue.
| The position was a somewhat ridicu-
lous one, for the government, by their
definition Of newspaper, had really
given permission for the publication
of various newspapers" which were
| printed and sold at great profit, and
actually protected them against other
|-papers which were contributing large
~ to the revenue, simply because the
latter contained other news besides
that concerning the war. And it was
this untenable position of the govern
ment which led to the abolition of the
| stamp duty.