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Leader (1850-1860), 11th January 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 30, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      We cannot doubt that the continuance of the taxes on knowledge is mainly owing to the support given to them by the Liberal party . They form the real strength of the present Government , and might easily have compelled the abandonment of taxes for which neither the Chancellor of the Exchequer nor the Premier vouchsafed a word of eulogy or approbation . From this censure must be excepted those who voted in the minority , and especially those who supported us in an interview with the Premier , viz ., Messrs . Cobden , Gibson , Mowatt , Kershaw , and M'Gregor . If this remark be thought too strong as regards the paper duty , it is at any rate unimpeachable so far as the penny stamp is concerned ; the net amount of this tax is not more than £ 150 , 000 , and it is reasonable to suppose that if this were abandoned , the loss might be made up by admitting all publications to a cheap rate of postage .

      The repeal of the paper and advertisement duties being put out of the question for the session , we devoted our exertions to the investigation of the working of the stamp . So early as February last , Mr . Gibson had obtained a return of fifty-one registered newspapers which stamped only their country edition . This is clearly illegal ; ifj . hey are newspapers , the law requires them to stamp every copy , and if they are not they have no right to the benefit of the post , which the law accords only to stamped newspapers , and in no way to mere publications . If the Stamp-office have the power of granting this privilege to fifty one newspapers , they must have the power of extending the privilege to the whole newspaper press , and are bound in justice to do so .

      At our suggestion , Mr . Thornton Hunt , of the Leader , Mr . Charles Bray , of the Coventry Herald , and Mr . Thomas Allan , of the Caledonian Mercury , demanded this privilege from the Board of Inland Revenue . The reply made to these gentlemen was , that the fifty-one registered newspapers were not newspapers at all , an assertion so intrepid as to merit respect for its courage if not for its truth . Nearly the whole of this correspondence has been published in the Daily News and Caledonian Mercury ; ¦ we however , insert the following letters : — " Inland Revenue . Somerset-house , London , July 24 , 1850 .

      " Sir , — I have laid before the board your memorial , in which you observe that , according- to a return made to the House of Commons , certain registered newspapers are permitted to stamp only a portion of their impression , and requesting that that privilege be extended to all registered newspapers . In reply , I am directed to inform you that you are mistaken in supposing that any permission i 3 granted by this board in the cases referred to or any other . The papers you allude to are not newspapers , though registered as sucli ; and the publishers could not be prosecuted for printing a portion or the whole of their copies without stamps , to which penalties the publisher of a newspaper , properly so called , would be subject . " I am , Sir , " Air . Thomas Allan . " Your obedient servant , " Mr . Charles Bray . " " Thomas Keogh . " Inland Revenue , Somerset-house , London , Sep . 23 , 1850 .

      "Sin , —I have laid before the board the representation enclosed in your letter of the 17 th instant , signed by you and other proprietor of newspapers desiring from this board permission to issue a portion of your publications on unstamped paper . In reply , 1 am directed to st- * te that the board have no power whatever to grant to the publisher of any newspaper permission to publish a portion of the copies thereof without the stamps to which they are liable ; and you are mistaken in assuming that any permission of the kind has been granted in any instance . " I am , Sir , your obedient nervant , " Mr . Thornton Hunt . " " Thomas Keogh . Contrast these letters with the following from the same board to Mr . Scholefield . on the subject of the threatened prosecution of the Freeholder : —

      " Inland Revenue , Somerset-house , May 3 , 1850 . Sni , —I have laid before the Hoard of Inland Revenne your letter of the 21 st instant , relative to a communication made by ttiiu department to the publisher of a p ;« pi ; r called the Freeholder . In reply , 1 am directed to inform you that -the board hold that h paper containing public news , intelligence , or occurrences , in a newspaper , without reference to tlio intervals of its publication , nud they ure bo advised by the law oiliceis of the Crown . The freeholder ia registered at this offk-cas a newspaper , un appropriated stamp is provided for it , and utampa are ' nailed to the publisher , as for a newspaper , which he would not

      be entitled to receive if it were not registered . A portion of each publication is printed on stamps , and another portion without stamps , to which latter proceeding the board object , considering that , both in respect of ita registration and its contents , it ia subject to the newspaper duty . With regard to this paper having been singled out for a peculiar application of the law , I am to observe Hint such u notion ia entirely without foundation , and ihut th' Hume rule will be observed with regard to nay uimilar publication which hIiu . 11 ciidic under tliu boartt'tt notice . " I have the honour to bo , Kir , your obedient servant , " Willimn bcholefleld . ICbci . " "Thomas Kkouii . ¦

      We should be unjust were we not to record our obligationH to Mr . Charles Dickens , who has now , for Home months , published a monthly newspaper , culled the Household Narrative of Current Events , in direct violation of the law . Mr . Cornwall Lewis stated sorne months ago , in the House of Commons , that a Government prosecution wiih in progress against this newspaper , but this has not deterrad Mr . Dickens from its publication . The experience of the year hns convinced ua that the

      Government dare not enforce the Stamp Act against any gentleman of Mr . Diokens ' H popularity , or UKaiiiHt any publisher possessing the capital and the energy of Menu ™ . Bradbury and Evhiih ; the continuous existence of J ' unch and of the Household Narrative aieBuHieient evidences of this point . The Household Narrative comes under the cluutu ! of the <> and 7 W . IV , cap . 7 <> , which forbids all publication of news without a stamp . l ' unch cornea under that cliuiHe which forbids the publication of comments except at intervals of twenty-six days .

      _ -3 y-hil& 4 he 4 aw-ig thug violated wholesale with impunity in London , lapses on the part of country newspapers are occasionally visited severely . Not long ago the proprietor of the Wakefield Examiner was threatened witn a fine of £ 40 , 000 , which was eventually commuted lor £ 10 , for publishing some slips containing news from ttxis paper , a practice never objected to in London , inis injustice is the harder when it is recollected that isolated reports , though legally coming under the head of news and requiring a stamp , are constantly issued by booksellers . In fact , the newspaper act is so oppressive , that in order to get rid of it nothing is necessary but that an attempt should be made to enforce it strictly ; we recommend , therefore , that all persons desirous of aiding the cause should apply themselves to the work of finding out cases of breach of the stamp law , and report them to the Board of Inland Revenue at Somerset-house , they need be under no apprehension of unpleasant consequences to any except the Board of Commissioners , who are already so involved that they can neither move nor stand still without sinking deeper in the mire in which , their own conduct , joined to the impracticability of the law , has already placed them . # While directing our chief efforts against the stamp , which is at once the key stone and the weak point of the taxes on knowledge , we are anxious not to relax in our exertions for the total repeal of the paper and advertisement duties . The whole question will be vigorously pushed in the House of Commons by Mr . JVI . Gibson ; xt the people do their duty by petitioning , and the electors look after their representatives , we shall have no cause to complain . , ,, In conclusion , we urge every body of reformers to add the repeal of the penny stamp to its list of objects , and to petition vigorously and earnestly ; no good cause exists which would not be benefited by a measure which would confer on the people a press at once cheap and good . And this is the most appropriate time to calf out for more light , when priests are exciting to religious discord , and politicians are throwing dust in the eyes of the people . The real obstacle to freedom of thought dwells not in Rome but in London . The true man of sin is the Secretary to the Board of Inland Revenue ; the true " scarlet abomination" is the red mark on our newspapers ; Somerset-house is the Vatican we have to dread ; the Excise-office is the Inquisition we have to destroy , and the taxes on knowledge are the real fetters which " confine the intellect and enslave the soul . " Francis Place , 21 , Brompton-square , Treasurer . James Watson , 3 , Queen ' s Head-passage , Paternoster-row , Sub-Treasurer . Richard Moore , 25 , Hart-street , Bloomsburysquare , Chairman . J . C . Dobson Collet , 15 , Essex-street , Strand , Secretary . ¦ To District Secretaries , Journalists , and others interested in the Success of the Neiospaper Stamp Abolition Committee . Gentlemen , —I beg to forward a copy of our second Annual Report , reprinted from the Leader newspaper , which will from the beginning of the new year contain an article every week representing the views of the committee on the subject of the taxes on knowledge . In the same paper will be found all our future publications . Journalists writing articles on the free-knowledge question are requested to send copies to the office of the committee . Secretaries are requested to make use of the following form of petition , which should be presented as early as possible in the approaching session . By order of the Committee , J . C . D . Collet , Secretary , Jan . 8 , 1851 . 15 , Essex-street , Strand .

      Untitled Article

      FORM OF PETITION . To the Honourable the House of Commons , the Petition of the Undersigned , ( Here insert their Description and Locality . ) Siiowkth , — That all Taxes which impede the Diffusion of Knowledge arc injurious to the best interests of the Public . That the Tax upon Newupapere—called the Stamp ; the Excise Duty upon Paper , and the Tax upon Advertisements are direct obtttaclcj to the spread of nil kinds of valuable information amongst the treat body of the People . Your petitioners therefore pray , that the Excite Tax upon Paper , the Tax upon Advertisements , and the Stamp Tax upon Newspapers , may bo abolibhed , leaving the proper authorities to fix a email charge for the transmission of Newspapers by the Post . And your petitioners will eyer pray . This Form of Petition must be copied in writing-, an no printed petitions are received ; every portion signing it nliould tate his or her numi ; and address ; the lirat sheet being nignud by at least one person ; it may then be directed , open at the ( tides , to any Liberal Member of the House of Commons , who will receive it poBt free .

      Untitled Article

      REPEAL OF THE PAPER , STAMP , AND ADVERTISEMENT DUTIES . At a meeting of the Birmingham town council held on Tuesday , Mr . Alderman Baldwin moved the adoption of a petition to Parliament for the repeal of the paper , advertisement , and stamp duties on newspapers . Ilia remarks were chiefl y devoted to pointing out the grievous pressure of the paper duty on merchants , inanufacturerH , and other tradesmen . Ah regards its effects in diminishing the demand for labour , he said : —

      " If thin duty were repealed , 1 am convinced that I could myself be the means of finding employment , for lit leant 600 persons within twelve inontliH alter Huch repeal hud taken pluoe . Now , most of you tire aware that the paper duty amountB to nearly £ 15 per ton , and by far the Hreat bulk of the puper that is manufactured does not nell wholesale f or more than £ 36 per ton ; ho that you will see the duty amounts to nearly one-half of the price pjiid for the article . And , as I am anxious to confine

      myself to facts , I shall cite my own case . Last year I Dak ^ 9640 in-th ^ sb ^ peof ^ uty ^ whil 8 t-tb «^ aTjer-I-ma ; nufactured did not sell for more than £ 24 , 000 . And whilst I am pretty well convinced that I did not make above one-third of the paper that was consumed in Birmingham , I think that I manufactured in weight as much as was used in making , wrapping , and re-wrapping the goods that were exported from this town to our merchants , so tha t this would he equal to a ta x of £ 10 000 per annum on the Birmingham merchants , besides that , when these goods arrive in America , there is a tariff to be encountered of about 30 per cent ., whic h would r aise the tax to something like £ 13 , 000 a-year on the manufacturer s and merchants of this town alo ne ; but . aoing a step beyond this , and keeping in view my

      estimate , which I believe to be accurate , it will be seen that there is a gross tax on the people of Birmingham on all the paper consumed in it , amounting to something like £ 30 , 000 per annum ; inasmuch as there is no town in the United Kingdom wherein , in proportion to its population , so large an amount of paper is consumed ; for , according to our population , our fair share of the tax , with the rest of the country , would be , instead of £ 30 , 000 , which we do pay , not more than seven or eight thousand . I know merchants myself who use twenty tons of paper annually in rewrapping their goods ; and keeping in view that the duty is £ 15 per ton , the tax paid by each of them on the article of paper alone is £ 300 per year ^ and in putting this , I have not put an extreme case , because I know that there are men consuming a much larger quantity than that which I have named . "

      He concluded by moving the adoption of a petition to Parliament in favour of the abolition of the taxes on paper , newspaper stamps , and advertisements . Mr . Charles Sturge , in seconding the adoption of the petition , said he thought the penny stamp was more obnoxious than the paper duty . Mr . Alderman Martineau opposed the motion . A short discussion followed ; the petition was ultimately carried almost unanimously—Alderman Martineau and Councillor Cox only holding up their hands against it .

      A meeting of the paper-makers of Yorkshire was held at the White Horse Hotel , Leeds , on Tuesday , to consider the propriety of aiding the agitation for a repeal of the duty on paper . Resolutions were passed in favour of its abolition , and the sum of £ 65 was subscribed at the meeting in aid of the society formed in London for the abolition of the duty on paper .

      Untitled Article

      NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . Offices , 14 , Southampton-stkeet , Strand , London . The Executive Committee of this body held their usual weekly meeting , as above , on Wednesday evening last , Mr . James Grassby in the chair . The whole of the committee were present , except Mr . Reynolds , from whom a letter was read by the secretary , assigning indisposition as the cause of his absence . Correspondence was received from Bermondsey , Blyth , Bradford , Greenwich , Hudderstield , and Leicester , also from Mr . J . Briggs , chairman of the " Universal Anti-Truck Society , " Derby , and from Mr . D . Costello , secretary to the Provisional Committee of Directors formed in Dublin , for the purpose of establishing The People , democratic newspaper . The resolutions adopted at the West Riding delegate meeting , held at Halifax , on Sunday last , having been read , the following resolution was moved by Mr . G . Julian Harney , seconded by Mr . John Milne , and carried with one dissentient : — " That , highly approving of the resolutions unanimously adopted by the delegates representing the Chartists of the West Hiding of Yorkshire at their meeting on Sunday , Jan . 6 , it is hereby resolved that the aforesaid resolutions be entered upon the minutebook of the Executive Committee . " Mr . Jones then handed in a lengthy report , from which it appeared that a vote of confidence in the Executive was carried by the meeting , though disputed by the chairman . A declaration to this effect was signed by thirteen well-known names . Theie appears no doubt that the London Executive may count on the allegiance of the majority of the peop le in Manchester in communication with the Chartist body . Mr . G . Julian Harney moved , and Mr . John Arnott seconded , the following resolution : —

      " That the Executive express their full satisfaction at the report delivered by Mr . Ernest Jones , detailing the particulars of his attendance at the West Hiding delegate meeting , and the meeting at Manchester , and e xpress their thanks to Mr . Jones for his able and satisfactory discharge of tho , duties of the mission confided to him by the Executive . " Carried with one dissentient . Messrs . Blnko and Guest attended as a deputation from the Emmett Brigade lo solicit the assistance of the committee in getting up a public meeting at tho

      Literary Institution , Carlisle-street , I ' ortman-market . The deputation uIho stated that ft friend hud kindly presented to them a prize shoe , to bo-exhibited for the benefit of tho cause , that tho said exhibition would take pluce at the Rock Tavern , LisHon-grove , on January 27 and 28 , and , therefore , they we re ; desirous that the public meeting should he held previous to that date . The secretary having been instructed to make the best possible arrungoment with the Emmett Brigude for that purpose , the deputation withdrew .

      Untitled Article

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  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 11, 1851, page 30, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1865/page/6/