Show taxes on knowledge d g e i in n E england n ga and i newspaper were first known in england only a very brave or a ver very craven mail man could pu publish blish one oua without interminable difficulty in the seventeenth century there was a cens worship imposed upon the press which threatened a publisher with the tho pillory with the joss of his ills ears or with a brand of the letters IS 3 L 11 seditious libeller Li beller upon his cheek y according to thedis ih discretion of the government culs whose ire lre brehe ho might awaken in 1693 this tilis censorship was z abolish ed and for eighteen years the tile press enjoyed comparative freedom the tile publisher was required tobe to be careful about allusions to members ot of parliament under penalty of fine or imprisonment but lle lie could publish as much news as lie pleased and add comment as j his judgment dictated this freedom encouraged editors and publishers publiA ers and then tilen fairly began the newspaper the pa paper per of intelligence and nud of opia opla opinions igns the development of the press led those in power who feared it to devise ways and means for its restraint force dare not be employed public opinion was too strong to allow it after much speculation and discussion pecuniary restraint ro was decided upon in tile tho year 1712 in the reign of queen anne it was ordered that all new papers should be stamped every journal published at intervals of less than twenty eight clear days must be printed upon paper stamped by the government but before this stamp could be impressed the parties who required it had to ap appear before tile tiie solicitor of tile the stamp office or gea his 1 D deputy deputy make a declaration cl as to the tho persons who are the printers proprietors and publishers of the paper and enter into securities against libels the smallest change of proprietorship involved the necessity of a fresh declaration so did any change in the prin printing and publishing there was a penalty for printing any newspaper before such declaration was was made and for copy printed upon unstamped paper a further penalty could be recovered these stamps were imposed wite with tile the avowed intention of checkie chec checking kim him the tiie licentiousness of the press 5 the first levy was to the tile extent of one halfpenny half penny upon each single sheet gradually it was raised until in 1836 1536 and for many maby years be foreit had amounted to four penca for each c alear i stamp t P less twenty per cent discount this last deduction rarely leaching the newspaper paper proprietors whom it was anten intended ed to benefit but being quietly taken by the manufacturers who sent in the paper to the stamp office to be stamped in addition to the tamp duty a tax of twenty four cents was levied on advertisements whenever yh enever the tile government was hard pressed for money mone it directed its fiscal energies toward newspapers the tile poor publishers endeavored to evade the tile taxes hut but t with poor success they wera closely wat watched ch ed in 1780 the government did indeed afford them thern help heip there was a great demand for news and papers were much borrowed in order to protect the printer a law was passed declaring wh whoever oever lent out a newspaper for hir ewas liable to a fine of five dollars strenuous efforts were made for many years to obtain the tile total remission or at all events a at large reduction of the four penny newspaper tax in the parliamentary session of 1836 1636 tile the news paper stamp was reduced to bone tone penny for each journal not exceeding a certain quantity of print and one halfpenny half penny for each supplement of not more than ha half 1 f tha that 4 quantity when the stamp duty was lowered it was enacted lliam each news paper saper should ba be stamped with a distinctive die be earing r i I 1 its own name I 1 11 tilis tills came into operation jan 1837 a and 1 l had the special object of correctly ascertaining tile the circulation of each journal previously I 1 many of the london papers anxious to shiow a large clr cir to take tale out vast quantities of stamped paper dispose of it to provincial journals at a slight discount and rest content with obtaining at that small cost the reputation of much avail among advertisers of enjoying a larger sale thail than they r hily had llad in 1853 it was enacted that a one sheet supplement to a stamped newspaper should be free frae of stamp duty and that there should L iea tea e a duty of only one halfpenny half penny oil on a further supplement the effect of this red re duclion was greatly felt by and in favor of the tile times the only journal which made any pretense of printing supplements in order to bring up its advertisements in march 1850 there were issued three double supplements in it one week coincident with tile the reduction of the newspaper stamp duty in 1836 was that of the advertisement duty this which had been three shillings and sixpence eighty four cents up on oil each eacil advertisement long or short was then brought down to one shilling and sixpence but by the act of 1853 the advertisement duty was wholly removed the stamp duty therefore was the only tax except the impost upon paper to which british journalism was then subject the total number of or newspaper stamps issued in great britain in 1835 was in 1837 the year next after the reduction tile the amount was in 1848 the year of european revolutions as many as 86 were issued and in the year ending april 1854 the aggregate amount was nearly showing clearly that the reduction of the stamp duty e causing ausing a corresponding reduction in the price of the papers was the immediate cause of and enlargement of their circulations when the committee of the house of commons re reported X 0 arted on the advertisement duty ft declared the law relating to the stamp duty on newspapers in all an unsatisfactory state public opinion was strongly opposed to the tile stamp tax and in various ways the tile law was evaded certain journals were regarded as class papers and were exempt from duty such as musical papers horticultural legal literary und Profession professional ay publications and as class ss newspapers in spite of the tile watchfulness of the government many papers were vere published without penalty which gave political intelligence in 1854 the war in the tiie crimea created all an intense demand for news and war papers nf gre gye published in many of the large towns prosecutions were vere ordered to require them to become stamped but the tile publishers defied the tiie government govern me at und and went on public attention was directed anew to the stamp act associations Association a were formed to promote its repeal and public meetings were held at one of these mr cobden said 1 I know a di district in england of in habitan asrel urn members mem lers to parliament within which there was rot one newspaper published A penny paper was started there under the delusion that it mi liht lit ait be published foran gelly without a stamp I 1 know ihnow the individual who wiio conducted it a franklin in his way vay who wrote all the tho leaders is set up all the type and was his own reporter his paper circulated in all the village within I 1 twenty miles of wl where ere it was published and it penetrated into places where a newspaper had llad llev liev never er been but the inland revenue board pounced apon upon it threatened heavy danl dani damages ages extorted xa as a compromise and comp compelled eilea ellea the owner to it it was then charged ad and the tile consequence was that where forty five had been bc fo resold now flow five only were disposed of on 0 11 the very dav day on which it was stopped slopped came out a penny penns publication containing no news it was called charles duval or the Hang mans daughter and was sold without any obstructions if a premium was wanted oil on ignorance drunkenness and crime it could not be more effectually secured than by such means 21 such speeches were well calculated to increase the tiie odium of the stamp acao act and public opinion so decidedly manifested its disapprobation diament was constrained to consider the propriety of its repeal the people had llad determined to render it ineffective in effective in parliament sir edward lytton bulwer said while w we e discuss tile the law for all goo good d purposes is virtually dead I 1 see only ari arl an attorney gen era eral who dos not prosecute and a jury who wont convict you may postpone the question you may retain the sword word s for a time in your nerveless land hand I 1 defy you to reanimate the muscle I 1 I 1 dervy defy jou you ou to strike the blow the repeal of the stamp act put in peril annual revenue but the chancellor of the exchequer took the tiie risk and after a warm debate a bill passed the tiie if house ouse of Com commons monc was endors ed in ih silence by the house of lords ard ari ps on tile the loth day ay of iune june 1855 it received the tile royal roval sis siz nature thus after an oppressive life of years from J to 1855 died all an english 1 I institution i ution which had been devised to check tie tile licentiousness of the press but which had che checked c the spread of intelligence among the people no sooner had the tiie law for the repeal of the stamp duty t atken faken effect than newspapers generally reduced their price the amount of the tile stamp and newspapers were started in in london and other parts of the kin kingdom odom none of them have hav proved proved e bucce successful if and most of them failed within a few weeks of their first appearance the risks of journalism journalism are great ili in great britain recently the shields gazette contained the following paragraph inuring during the tiie past six years the proprietors of this newspaper have invested no less a sum than nett cash casil in its establishment the whole amount of received by the gazette during that period for de news neais ats wib and advertisements verti over and above tile the said having been expended in if carrying carr ving ying it on and improving it during all this time lime the proprietors ha received a single shilling in return even in the shape of inter sl st on the tile capital invested it is liow now simply paying its way and no more 1 cheap papers paper will not be successful in great britan dritan until after many failures perince experience ex has bas taught publishers what class of papers the common people most require and this the people will not learn until unlit a new generation has been educated to ta tha newspaper as a home companion pai pal lloil PICK UP THAT pin FIN pick pich up that pin let that account be correct to a farthing find out 1 what that ribbon costs before you say you will take it pay that half dime your friend handed you to make change with in a word be economical be accurate know what you are doing be honest and then be generous onerous en erous borall for all ail you ou have haven or acquire thus belongs be ong s to you every rule of right and you may put iut it to good use if you acquire it justly and hones honestly for you mave have a foundation a background which vill will always leep keep you above le the waves evil it is not parsimonious to ie be economical i is s not selfish to be correct in your dealings is is not small to know the price of articles are ake about to purchase or to remember the debe you owe what if you do meet merit bill decked ouan a much better sult suit than yours the price of which he be has not learned from tailor and he laughs at your faded dress old fashioned notions of honesty aandrig and right ht your our day will come Fran eran franklin frankiin klink who from a savin saving 0 boy the street with a roll under his arm became a companion for kings icings says saye take care of pennies and the dollars will take care of them selves lafitte la Ia fitte the celebrated french banker leaving the house to which he had for a i was not too proud OP to pick up apin this simple pin laid the foundation of his immense wealth tile wise saw the act called him back and gave him em plo pio ment convinced by the seeming small circumstance cum stance of 0 his ability and honest honesty v I 1 be just and then be generous yes be just always alwa s and then you can always be generous me nerous benevolence Bene olence is a great duty a beav heaven en given privilege by which you sou not only benefit the object but feel a sensation of joy in 5 your our own soul which is worth more far tar more than gain but you may not give div e your neighbors neighbor sd goods 00 S your own on lust just earnings you ou sho should uld always share with the ibe needy but gener generosity mity call can lle lie neer ver be measured by the amount you lavish la ish on a fine dress or that you ou spend with ith your jour friends to satish satisfy the requirements of vanity and folly what if they do pat you on the shoulder they would mould do as much to any dog that would serve sere them it is the service not yourself 5 that gets the flattery or you spend your our money foi naught ri certainly well let t the hes girls giris ris say yeu you are small rather than spend th that dollar dollard I 1 lar oll 5 on oil need for a apok get the book bool if it is is a good one it will tell you that no girl worth haring haung ever selecter selector tV a man dhan for a husband for his ion lon long iong tailor ard livery stable bill more than foghis long iong ion lon ears heitl skew s kew new york merchants magazine Z 92 alvith many readers brili alicy dilcy of style stylo passes for affluence of thought they mistake butter cups in in the grass for immeasurable gold lold mines under the ground longfellow aj it is impossible to love one in in whose truthfulness we e cannot confide or to alir slight 14 14 one whose words purposes purposes puri oses and actions are without dissimulation dathe gathe homeliest hom eliest female in t tha ie world may render tender herself more attractive by the exhibition of delicacy and refinement than the tha prettiest that ever smiled |