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    say , punish the Catholic youth of Ireland who are intended for the priesthood . ( Hear , hear . ) I contend that it would be not only unjust but impolitic to do s <^ because you would thereby inflict an injury upon yourselves ; you would aggravate the very evil , one of the circumstances connected with which is the cause of the anger which is at present felt in many parts of the country . ( Hear , hear . ) I must say that this motion appears to me a motion of vengeance ( cheers ) , and . as a motion of , vengeance , I think it impolitic . ( Hear , hear . ) . And it . is not only because it is a vindictive motion that I think it an impolitic motion , but because it is at variance with all which

    those principles of sound national policy upon the Government and . Parliament of this country has hitherto acted in regard to this question . It is upon that ground—that broad and general ground---that I am prepared to resist the motion which is now about to be proposed to the House . His view was not altered by the offer of the Irish members ; lie was opposed to inquiry ; there was no ground for it ; and it would be most unwise and inexpedient . The people of Ireland would look upon the success of the motion as the yielding of the House of Commons to what , were it not disrespectful , he would call a fanatical cry . If there were a division he should vote against the motion *

    Mr . Sergeant Mtjepht having moved the adjourn , ment of the debate , a discussion arose upon that , as it was faintly resisted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer . Mr , Reynolds and Mr . Drtjmmond spoke . Then uprose Mr . Keo&h . His object was one of personal explanation Mr . Osborne had quoted a speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer , which the latter had seemed disposed jjofc only to repudiate , but to convey that the fact that he had ever uttered such opinions had entirely escaped his memory . Now , lest there should be any mistake upon the subject , he ( Mr . Eeogh ) begged permission to read , from the authorized version of the debates , the passages to which his hon . friend had alluded . The present Chancellor of the

    Exchequer , speaking upon a motion brought forward by the noble member for the City of London ( Lord J . Russell ) , and referring to agitation in Ireland , used these words : — " They heard a great deal of Reform Associations , of Anti-Corn Law Leagues , Roman Catholic and Repeal Associations , Birmingham Unions , and other combinations of that kind . Now , those things were merely the consequence of the people taking the government of the country into their Own hands because the Government would not administer matters themselves . " ( Hear , hear . )

    Then going on to ask what the Irish question really was , the right hon . gentleman said : — " One said it was a physical question , another a spiritual . Now it was the absence of the aristocracy , then the absence of railroads . It was the Pope one day , potatoes the next . They had a starving population , an absentee aristocracy , and an alien church ( hear , hear ) , and , in addition , the weakest Executive in the world . " But the right hon . gentleman did not stop there . He proceeded : — " What would lion , gentlemen say if they were reading of a country in that position ? They would say at once , ' The remedy is revolution . ' But the Irish could not have a revolution ; and why ? Because Ireland was connected with another and a more powerful country . " ( Hear , hear ) .

    The right hon . gentleman was perfectly candid , and followed all his propositions to their necessary conclusion ; for he said , —r " Thon , what was the consequence ? The connexion with England thus became the cause of the present state of Ireland . If the connexion with England prevented a revolution , and a revolution were the only remedy , England , logically , was in the odious position of being the cause of all tho misery in Ireland . " " Now , ho begged the attention of the Chancellor of the Exohoqucr . ' That right hon . gentleman was now an English Minister . Hero were tho right hon . gentleman ' s words on the occasion to which ho was alluding , " What ,

    then , was tho duty of an English Minister P" Tho right hon . gentleman was at that time engaged in hunting down a man who was a great English Minister . ( Cries of ' hear , hear , ' and cheers . ) Ho was then tolling of tho Parliamentary middle-man , ' who bamboozled ono party and plundered another . ' ( Loud cries of ' Hear , hoar . ' ) Ho was thon calling upon this House , above all other earthly duties , to put an end for over to Parliamentary hypocrisy . ( Hear , hear . ) Lot the House put nn end to tho hypocrisy which would represent tho hon . member ( Mr . Osborno ) aa misrepresenting tho sentiments hoar

    uttered by the right hon . gentleman . ( Hear , . ) Horo wore tho ' final words : — ' What was tho duty of an English Minister ? To oflbct by his policjy nil those changes which u revolution would do by force . ' ( Hear , hear . ) Ho ( Mr . Keogh ) would only put tho moral to tho tiilo which was drawn by tho right hon . gentleman himself , and address tho right hon . gontloman ' s words to tho bonchos opposite , when ho said that ho was thon advocating Tory principles , but thoy wero not tho Tory principles of those who would associate Toryism with restricted

    operation of the paper duty were so interesting , that the attention of the House might be usefully occupied by it at this moment . Especially he would refer to the consumption of paper in the printing of literary works . He then proceeded fully to discuss the subject in connexion with the pending dispute in the book trade . Premising that the public revenue ought not to be thrown away for the profit of " interested combinations , " he said , *' a most important struggle was now in progress in the book trade , " in which a large number of booksellers in London and the country were attempting , "by restrictions of a'inost unwarrantable and imprudent character , to prevent the price of books , which is so enormously high , " from being lowered , and . he '

    thought the House should be aware what was the exact nature of the question . " The publishers of books are in the habit of supplying the retail traders at a fixed price , that price being usually ( with the exception of the case of wholesale purchases ) at a discount of 25 per cent , upon the publishing price . The custom of the retail trade is , not to grant the public who purchase a greater discount than 10 per cent ., leaving 15 for the retail trade . Some retail traders say they can give a greater discount than 10 per cent ; but then this combination steps in and says , ' You shall give no greater discount than 10 per cent , to the public , and , if you do not come under an engagement to that effect , we b y combining among ourselves , will exclude you from the trade in books ;' that is , deprive you of the means of livelihood in the

    vocation to which you have devoted yourself . This restriction is , in my view , a great evil . ( H < jar , hear . ) _ I do not pretend to compare the price of new publications , with that of articles of bodily subsistence in regard to the urgency of the questions they raise ; but I do say , that it is a very great evil that the price of books should be raised above what may be called the natural and legitimate amount . ( Hear , hear . ) And further , I venture to say , that _ the state of the book-market , except so far as it is partially mitigated by what are called cheap publications , is a disgrace to the present state of civilization . ( Loud cries of ' Hear , hear . ' ) The controversy now going on with certain retail traders , who in my opinion deserve great credit for

    the energy with which they have struggled against the power they have endeavoured to cope -with , is but a part of a system . ( Hear . ) I wish the House were aware of the facts in regard to the production and the sale of hooks in this country . The truth is , that monopoly and combination have been so long applied to the whole subject , that they really have gone near , —I do not say to the extinction of the trade , but to reducing it to its minimum ( Hear . ) We have a country that has by far the largest educated class in the world —[ A Member—' There , is America . ' ]—I was thinking of Europe ; but , even taking America into account , we have a country in which , the class that ought to be purchasers of new books is the

    largest in the world ; I mean the educated class in that 6 eiiSe—the men in possession of such fortune as ought to make them the natural purchasers of new publications . That class in this country is counted by twenties , and by fifties , I might almost say by hundreds of thousands . But what is tho fact with regard to the state of the bookmarket ? It is , that with the exception of certain very highly-esteemed and distinguished authors—with the exception of such cases as Mr . Macaulay ' s History of England—what are called new publications , not only in a majority of cases , but in an enormous majority , scarcely ever pass a salo of 500 copies . An immense proportion of those that are published do not pay their expenses at all ;

    and I believe tho proportion of them passing the 6 alo ot 500 copies in this country , with its enormous means for the cheap production of books , and for supplying an extonsivo demand for them , is not more than something like 5 per cent . ; or , at any rate , not more than from l-20 th to l-10 th of tho whole number produced . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , what is tho consequenco ? It is a matter within our personal experience . Tho purchase of new publications is scarcely attempted by anybody individually . ( Hear , hear . ) You go into tho houses of your friends , and , unlops in tho case of books for which they have a professional want that must bo satisfied , or unless thoy happen to bo persons of extraordinary wealth , you do not find copies of now publications upon' their tables , purchased for

    themselves ; but you lind something from tho circulating library , or something from tho book-club . ( Hoar , hoar . ) But , what « ro those book-clubs and book-societies , which are engaged , with such an enormous loss of thno and waste of machinery , in tho distribution of books throughout tho country P Thoy are tho ingenious oxpodionts which , under tho prossuro ot necessity , men have adopted to mitigate tho monstrous evils they experience from tho enormously high price of books , and satisfy in nomo dogrco their own domand for that description of mental food . ( Hoar , hoar . )"

    Ho thon Hhowcd how ono combination generated another ; for as tho boo ] cHollorn combined against tho public ! , no the printers combined against tho bookseller ; and ho retorted upon sorno compoHitors , who asked him by memorial to support Mr . Gibson , that while thoy professed anxiety for tho npread of knowledge , thoy wero themselves in combination to keep up tho price of printing in London , Oxford , and Cambridge , at twenty five or thirty per cent , above tho prino at wluoh it could bo executed anywhoro oIho . " Now I hope , " ho continued , " whenever tho Chancellor of tho" Exchequer may be in a condition to propose

    to tho House a remiHwon of tho papor duty , these matters will be well looked into ( hoar , hear ) , and that wo shall take euro that tho public revenue is not given away for the purposo of facilitating or promoting tho extension of those combinations . ( Hoar , hear . ) Tho Government , no doubt , can do a groat doal for tho relief of this immense , evil ; individuals cannot doit . If upurtionlar person who lum a work to publish chooses to say , ' I will fix tho prico at one-half tho ordinary amount , ' ho merely million a victim of himself , without acting in tho leant upon the Htato of the market , or noting s onmbly upon , tho demand for Iuh own book , because tho consoquonco of a bad system has boon to gonorato a machinery adapted to it , and book clubs and

    societies are not sensibly affected by th ? price of a book beinpmore or less , ( hear , hear , ) and the operation of the natural and healthy play of the demand which ought to regulate the price , and of the principle that a book ought to sellfoT what it will fetch , neither more nor less , is totally inter , cepted by the system which has been so long in . action ' * He next referred to the efforts made by successive governments to do somethmg for promoting the book trade by concluding treaties of international copyright , first with Prussia , and afterwards with some parts of Germany and Franco . They had attempted to vindicate the . rights of English authors in the colonies , but , owing to the monstrous price of English books , had been , he believed " obliged to relax the law . He then terminated his

    remarks as follows : — "I believe there is hardly any article on which the public are called upon to pay a price that bears so high a proportion to the actual cost of production as in the case of books . ( Hear , hear . ) But the . actual cost of production itself is not a proper standard , because that cost is enormously enhanced , more perhaps on books than , on any other commodity , by the'restricted nature of the trade and the narrowness of the circle of demand . ( Hear . ) I do conceive that in this country we have the greatest facilities for the production of cheap . books , ( Ilear , hear . ) Tinder the disadvantages which the paper duty . imposes , it is quite plain , from the efforts which have been made by

    enterprising and successful publishers , that even , nowwe can produce , quality considered , as cheapl y as any country in the world . ( Hear . ) I am conyineed , if the finances of the . State would ' -permit youto resign the paper duty , you ought to be the cheapest-producersofbooks in the world . ( Hear , hear , ) But while , as producersj you have the : greatest advantages , so as to the scope of the market and the demand for books , you have the materials for greater advantages than any other country . TheBtate of facts ought to be this : —hooks ought to be cheaper here , and the

    sale larger , than in any other country whatever . On the contrary , the state of facts is , that so far-as new publica tions are concerned , the demand for books is narrower , and the price higher , than in any other country in . the world ( Hear , hear . ) I hope the House trill forgive me for drawing attention to this important and interesting subject . ( Hear , hear . ) 1 am happy to see that godd sense and public feeling have already acted so powerfully upon that intelligent and respectable body , the London publishers , as to induce them to refer this matter to arbitration .

    ( Hear , hear . ) I trust , when that ; combination breaks down , all other combinations affecting the book trade will break down also , ( Hear , hear . ) lam sure the judgment expressed here will act materially upon public opinion , and through that upon the book trade ; and I dp trust , that before a great length of time , the circumstances to which I have adverted , and-which I say again are a scandal to the country * will disappear . ( Hear , hear ) . Sir William Clay then put in a word for the two other duties which hindered the spread of knowledge ; Mr . Mowatt , Mr . Reynolds , and Mr . J . L . Eioaedo ,

    followed all on the same side . The last named gentleman went into the case between the Board of Inland Revenue and Mr . Turner , the proprietor of the Stokeupon- Ofrent Monthly Narrative of Current Events . Mr . Timm had menaced Mr . Turner with a prosecution , and when Mr . Turner ' s solicitor wrote to the Hoard stating that he was instructed to receive any process , Mr . Timm replied that he had no instructions to proceed ! Mr . Ricardo very properly called this an act of tlie greatest tyranny . He also elicited from the Attorney-General the avowal that ho intended to prosecute these monthly publications .

    The Attorney-Genehal described the course pursued with respect to unstamped papers . " If the Stamp-office found that there was a publication issued without a stamp which they thought ought to be subjected to a duty , thoy instituted proceedings against the" parties , and that , very frequently , without any communication with tho law officers of the Crown , who wouui know nothing whatever of the proceedings until tho bnels wore placed in their hands lor tho purpose of conducting tho prosecution before tho court . Whore any douDt existed as to tho liability of parties , tho opinions ot tno law officers might bo asked , but it rarely happened timi their op inions were consultod before tho matter was ripe for trial . " . . ,. . verdict

    He was decidedly of opinion that a special ought to bo obtained in tho case of tho Household Narrative . . . ¦ , " He begged distinctly to fifty that tho course winch no had point oil out as tho ' ono which ho should M ° ptw " boon already pursued ; that another information had dcu » filed ; that that information would result in a special vordict , which was distinct from a special caso , a spoci ^ . ^" terminating in tho court whore it was decided , wnuo »• Hpocial verdict admitted of an appeal . To show * " >* « tpomoly dosirouB they wore to have the / question iwnj raified and disposed of , thoro being somo dibputo as now fccnnfl in which tho special verdict should bo drawn up , ' had boon arranged botwoon tho junior counsel lor * Crown and tho counsel on tho part of tho defendants , w » Mr . Baron Mai-tin , should sottlo tho terms oi tlio spew verdict , ho being ono of tho judges who decided m iav «" of tho dofondanta "

    . Mr . " MoGiueaon and Mr . Humb , addressed tlio House amid cries of " Divide ! " Mr . Kan Sbjtmbb , ( i Dorbyito , bnd voted onco with Mr . Gibson , " now n intended to vote agninat him . Ho was not P roP .. to vote black white , but he should vote aguuwB w resolutioiiH . Mr . Wakley said tlio hon . mon > wr n voted for tho roiioiufcion when Lord John Bufisoirw ill power , but against it when Lord Derby was place . Wtw not that voting black was white ?

    Untitled Article

    456 'TftM '/^ | SAi ^ ia ^ AY ;

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 15, 1852, page 456, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1935/page/4/