“So much of an Act of the Tenth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, [c. 19.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of laying Duties upon several Kinds of stamped Vellum, Parchment, and Paper, and upon certain printed Papers, Pamphlets, and Advertisements, as relates in any Manner to the Stamp Duties on Newspapers or the Duties on Advertisements, or as imposes any Penalty with relation to the said Duties or either of them:
“And so much of an Act of the Eleventh Year of the Reign of King George the First, [c. 8.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of explaining the said last-mentioned Act in relation to the Stamp Duties on Newspapers, as in any Manner relates to the Stamp Duties on Newspapers:
“And so much of an Act of the Sixteenth Year of the Reign of King George the Second, [c. 26.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of punishing the Vendors of unstamped Newspapers, as in any Manner relates to such Purpose:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of King George the Third, [c. 46.] intituled An Act for altering the Stamp Duties upon Admissions into Corporations or Companies, and for further securing and improving the Stamp Duties in Great Britain, as requires Security to be given to His Majesty for Payment of the Duties on Advertisements:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 65.] intituled An Act for explaining Two Acts made in the Eleventh Fear of the Reign of King George the First and the Thirtieth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty in relation to the Stamp Duties upon Newspapers:
“And so much of an Act of the Sixteenth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 34.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of granting several Rates and Duties upon Indentures, Leases, Bonds, and other Deeds, and upon Cards, Dice, and Newspapers, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or to the Stamp Duties thereon:
“And so much of an Act of the Twentieth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 28.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of granting additional Duties on Advertisements, as relates to such Duties:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Twenty-ninth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 50.] for granting additional Stamp Duties on Newspapers, Advertisements, Cards, and Dice, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or Advertisements, or to the Duties thereon respectively:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Thirty-fourth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 72.] intituled An Act to enable the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Stamp Duties to stamp the Paper used for printing Newspapers thereon in Sheets of Single Demy Paper instead of Sheets of Double Demy Paper:
“And so much of an Act of the Thirty-seventh Year of the said King George the Third, [c. 90.] passed for the Purpose (amongst other Things) of granting certain Stamp Duties on the several Matters therein mentioned, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or to the Duties thereon, or to any Discount or Allowance in respect of the said Duties:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 78.] intituled An Act for preventing the Mischiefs arising from the printing and publishing Newspapers and Papers of a like Nature by Persons not known, and for regulating the Printing and Publication of such Papers in other respects:
And the whole of Two several Acts passed in the Parliaments of Ireland herein-after specified; (that is to say,)
“An Act passed in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Years of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 28.] intituled An Act to secure the Liberty of the Press by preventing the Abuses arising from the Publication of traitorous, seditious, false, and slanderous Libels by Persons unknown:
“And an Act passed in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 7.] for amending the said last-mentioned Act:
And the several Acts and Parts of Acts passed in the Parliaments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland herein-after specified; (that is to say,)
“So much of an Act passed in the Fortieth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, intituled An Act to revive, amend, continue, or make perpetual certain temporary Statutes, as makes perpetual or otherwise relates to the said Act passed in the Parliament of Ireland in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Reign of the said King:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Forty-first Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 10.] for granting certain additional Stamp Duties, as in any Manner relates to the Stamp Duties on Newspapers, or to any Discount or Allowance in respect of the said last-mentioned Stamp Duties:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Forty-fourth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 98.] intituled An Act to repeal the several Duties under the Commissioners for managing the Duties upon stamped Vellum, Parchment, and Paper in Great Britain, and to grant new and additional Duties in lieu thereof, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or to the Duties thereon, or to any Discount or Allowance in respect of the said Duties:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Forty-ninth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 50.] intituled An Act to amend so much of an Act made in the Thirty-seventh year of His present Majesty, for granting to His Majesty certain Stamp Duties, as relates to the Limitation according to which the Discount on Newspapers is regulated:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 80.] intituled An Act to provide for the Collection and Management of Stamp Duties on Pamphlets, Almanacks, and Newspapers in Ireland:
“And so much of another Act passed in the said Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 185.] intituled An Act for repealing the Stamp Office Duties on Advertisements, Almanacks, Newspapers, Gold and Silver Plate, Stage Coaches and Licences for keeping Stage Coaches, now payable in Great Britain, and for granting new Duties in lieu thereof, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or the Duties thereon, or to any Discount or Allowance in respect of the said Duties:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Fifty-sixth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 56.] intituled An Act to repeal the several Stamp Duties in Ireland, and also several Acts for the Collection and Management of the said Duties, and to grant new Stamp Duties in lieu thereof, and to make more effectual Regulations for collecting and managing the said Duties, as in any Manner relates to Newspapers or to the Duties thereon, or to any Discount or Allowance in respect of the said Duties:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Sixtieth Year of the Reign of the said King George the Third, [c. 9.] intituled An Act to subject certain Publications to the Duties of Stamps upon Newspapers, and to make other Regulations for restraining the Abuses arising from the Publication of blasphemous and seditious Libels, as subjects any Newspaper or other Paper or Pamphlet to any Stamp Duty:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, [c. 119.] intituled An Act to allow Newspapers to be printed upon Paper of a larger Size than is now allowed, and to reduce the Stamp Duties now payable upon Supplements to Newspapers and other Papers in Great Britain:
“And so much of an Act passed in the Third and Fourth Years of the Reign of His present Majesty, [c. 23.] intituled An Act to reduce the Stamp Duties on Advertisements and on certain Sea Insurances, to repeal the Stamp Duties on Pamphlets and on Receipts for Sums under Five Pounds, and to exempt Insurances on Farming Stock from Stamp Duties, as provides the Mode of collecting the Duty on Advertisements contained in or published with any Pamphlet, periodical Paper, or literary Work:
“And the whole of an Act passed in the Fifth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, [c. 2.] intituled An Act to amend an Act of the Thirty-eighth Year of King George the Third, for preventing the Mischiefs arising from the printing and publishing Newspapers and Papers of a like Nature by Persons not known, and for regulating the Printing and Publication of such Papers in other respects, and to discontinue certain Actions commenced under the Provisions of the said Act:
And the said several Acts and Parts of Acts herein-before specified shall be and the same are hereby repealed accordingly, save and except only so far as is herein in that Behalf provided.
s. 33. “Provided always, and be it enacted, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed to extend to repeal any of the herein-before mentioned Acts or Parts of Acts with respect to any Duty or Arrears of any Duty whatsoever which before or upon the said Fourteenth Day of September One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six shall have accrued and been incurred under or by virtue of the said Acts or Parts of Acts, or any of them respectively, and which shall then or at any Time afterwards be or become due or payable and remain in arrear and unpaid, or with respect to any Fine, Penalty, or Forfeiture or Punishment incurred and not recovered or suffered for or in respect of any Offence or Crime committed or to be committed against the said several Acts or Parts of Acts respectively, or any of them, upon or before the said Fourteenth Day of September One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, or with respect to any Proceedings, Civil or Criminal, commenced or to be commenced against any Person for the Recovery of any such Arrears of Duty, or of any such Fine, Penalty, or Forfeiture, or for the Infliction of any such Punishment as aforesaid, but that all such Arrears of Duty, Fines, Penalties, Forfeitures, and Punishments shall and may respectively be sued or prosecuted for, recovered, obtained, and inflicted, by the same Ways and Means and in such and the same Manner as if this Act had not been passed: And provided also, that nothing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed to extend to repeal any of the said herein-before mentioned Acts or Parts of Acts so far as the same or any of them repeal the Whole or any Part of any other Act or Acts; and that no Matter or Thing whatever in this Act contained shall revive or be construed to revive, for any Period or Purpose whatsoever, any Act or Acts, or any Part of any Act or Acts, which before the passing of this Act shall have expired, or which by any Act or Acts passed before the passing of this Act shall have been repealed, and that the Repeal of any Act or Acts herein-before mentioned, or any other Matter or Thing in this Act contained, shall not extend or be construed to extend to repeal or annul or in any way to affect any Indemnity granted under or by virtue of any Act or Acts so repealed.
s. 34. “And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for any Person having in his Possession any Paper stamped with any of the Duties hereby repealed, and not made use of, or who may at any Time hereafter have in his Possession any Paper stamped for denoting the Duties by this Act granted, and which may be rendered useless by reason of any Change of Dies or by the Operation of any of the Provisions of this Act, to bring the same to the Head Office for Stamps in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin respectively at any Time within Six Calendar Months next after the said Fifteenth Day of September One thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, or within Six Calendar Months next after the same shall be so rendered useless, in order that the Stamps thereon may be cancelled and allowed; and it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes or their proper Officers to cancel and allow such Stamps accordingly, and to stamp such Paper or any Portion thereof, and any other Paper which shall be brought for that Purpose, with Stamps denoting the Duty by this Act granted to the Amount or Value of the Stamps so to be cancelled and allowed as aforesaid, after deducting the Amount of any Discount allowed thereon.
s. 35. “And in order to avoid the frequent Use of divers Terms and Expressions in this Act, and to prevent any Misconstruction of the Terms and Expressions used therein, be it enacted, That wherever in this Act, with reference to any Person, Matter, or Thing, any Word or Words is or are used importing the singular Number or the Masculine Gender only, yet such Word or Words shall be understood and construed to include several Persons as well as one Person, Females as well as Males, Bodies Politic or Corporate as well as Individuals, and several Matters or Things as well as one Matter or Thing, unless it be otherwise specially provided, or there be something in the Subject or Context repugnant to such Construction.
s. 36. “And be it enacted, That this Act may be amended, altered, or repealed by any Act or Acts to be passed in this present Session of Parliament.”
“SCHEDULE referred to in this Act.
“SCHEDULE (A.)
“Containing the Duties imposed by this Act on Newspapers; (that is to say,)
“For every Sheet or other Piece of Paper whereon any Newspaper shall be printed
0 0 1
“And where such Sheet or Piece of Paper shall contain on One Side thereof a Superficies, exclusive of the Margin of the Letter-press, exceeding One thousand five hundred and thirty Inches, and not exceeding Two thousand two hundred and ninety-five Inches, the additional Duty of
0 0 0½
“And where the same shall contain on One Side thereof a Superficies, exclusive of the Margin of the Letter-press, exceeding Two thousand two hundred and ninety-five Inches, the additional Duty of
0 0 1
“Provided always, that any Sheet or Piece of Paper containing on One Side thereof a Superficies, exclusive of the Margin of the Letter-press, not exceeding Seven hundred and sixty-five Inches, which shall be published with and as a Supplement to any Newspaper chargeable with any of the Duties aforesaid, shall be chargeable only with the Duty of
0 0 0½
“And the following shall be deemed and taken to be Newspapers chargeable with the said Duties; viz.
“Any Paper containing public News, Intelligence, or Occurrences printed in any Part of the United Kingdom to be dispersed and made public:
“Also any Paper printed in any Part of the United Kingdom, weekly or oftener, or at Intervals not exceeding Twenty-six Days, containing only or principally Advertisements:
“And also any Paper containing any public News, Intelligence, or Occurrences, or any Remarks or Observations thereon, printed in any Part of the United Kingdom for Sale, and published periodically or in Parts or Numbers at Intervals not exceeding Twenty-six Days between the Publication of any Two such Papers, Parts, or Numbers, where any of the said Papers, Parts, or Numbers respectively shall not exceed Two Sheets of the Dimensions herein-after specified, (exclusive of any Cover or Blank Leaf, or any other Leaf upon which any Advertisement or other Notice shall be printed,) or shall be published for Sale for a less Sum than Sixpence, exclusive of the Duty by this Act imposed thereon: Provided always, that no Quantity of Paper less than a Quantity equal to Twenty-one Inches in Length and Seventeen Inches in Breadth, in whatever Way or Form the same may be made or may be divided into Leaves, or in whatever Way the same may be printed, shall, with reference to any such Paper, Part, or Number as aforesaid, be deemed or taken to be a Sheet of Paper:
“And provided also, that any of the several Papers herein-before described shall be liable to the Duties by this Act imposed thereon, in whatever Way or Form the same may be printed or folded, or divided into Leaves or stitched, and whether the same shall be folded, divided, or stitched, or not.
“Exemptions.
“Any Paper called ‘Police Gazette, or Hue and Cry,’ published in Great Britain by Authority of the Secretary of State, or in Ireland by the Authority of the Lord Lieutenant.
“Daily Accounts or Bills of Goods imported and exported, or Warrants or Certificates for the Delivery of Goods, and the Weekly Bills of Mortality, and also Papers containing any Lists of Prices Current, or of the State of the Markets, or any Account of the Arrival, Sailing, or other Circumstances relating to Merchant Ships or Vessels, or any other Matter wholly of a Commercial Nature; provided such Bills, Lists, or Accounts do not contain any other Matter than what hath been usually comprised therein.”
The printing of daily newspapers in the metropolis is a distinct branch from that of printing books and jobs, and is governed by different rules and regulations, so as to require a separate account of the process. The routine of business is uniform and regular, without that variety which occurs in a book house: the qualifications requisite for a compositor on a newspaper are, punctuality, quickness in composing, and clean proofs, so that no delay may take place from the deficiency of any one individual.
As the Times newspaper is one of the largest daily papers in Europe, and as it is printed in a smaller type, and contains more matter than any other, it consequently requires and employs more people to prepare it for publication; and as it is generally acknowledged to be one of the best conducted papers for the arrangement of its matter, and the punctuality of its publication, I have selected it to give as a specimen of the manner of printing a daily morning newspaper in London.
The compositors employed to compose this great mass of intelligence day by day, and every day throughout the year, Saturday excepted, there being no publication on Sundays, are seventy-five, who are divided into two classes; viz., the night or news hands, and the advertisement hands. The first class consists of 39, who are divided into full hands, 14; supernumeraries, 10; assistants, 15; to these may be added 10 “outsiders,” who fill the frames of absentees in cases of sickness, or from other causes: they are not considered as belonging to the establishment, inasmuch as they hold no situation, and are consequently dependent upon the workmen. The advertisement department consists of 36 hands.
As it is desirable not to have to distribute letter after copy is taken, the compositors usually put their letter in after all the composing is completed, or take the opportunity when waiting for copy, to be ready for the evening, or else they attend sooner in the afternoon than the usual hour, for that purpose.
The full hands take copy at six o’clock in the evening, precisely, and go on without regard to the old rule of first work and finish, and the day’s work is considered to be completed at the expiration of eleven hours, five o’clock in the morning; if engaged after that time all hands are paid by the hour, the printer never availing himself of the choice of beginning an hour later on account of the lateness of the preceding morning. The full hands are expected to compose two galleys each per night, and all over lines are paid for extra, even though they are composed within the time prescribed by the rules laid down for the guidance of compositors.
The supernumeraries are expected to compose one galley each per night, and all over lines are paid for extra, the same as with the full hands.
The full hands have each three pairs of cases—Nonpareil, Minion, and Bourgeois; and as the most advantageous matter is generally set up in the smaller type, they claim the benefit of it as an equivalent for the labour of putting the forms to the machine.
The supernumeraries and assistants take copy at seven o’clock in the evening, and continue to work till all is composed, and should there be any standing still for want of copy, they are allowed at the rate of a quarter of a galley per hour for all the time they may have lost during the night. The assistants have no stated salary, but are paid by the galley, and share the same advantages as the supernumeraries, no distinction being made in the giving out of the copy.
The compositors in the news department have the privilege of composing a considerable quantity of extra or “back” matter to enable the printer to have at all times a resource in case of accident. This extra copy is given out and divided into half galley shares, and taken in rotation, thus preventing monopoly or favouritism.
As there is an immense quantity of letter in use, the division of which for distribution would occasion loss of time, and frequent disputes, the companionship pay a man to lay up the forms, mark the letter off for each individual, and distribute the useless heads. He is also answerable for the clearance of the boards.
Each compositor has a number attached to his frame, and when he takes copy, his number is placed on the back of the copy, so that each man’s matter is immediately identified, and in case of a foul proof, or an out that will occasion much trouble, it is immediately handed to him who composed it without further inquiry, which prevents exposure and annoyance to the individual. The copy is also marked with progressive numbers, which prevents confusion by enabling the compositor to know with certainty, whom he follows in his composing, and to empty his stick in the proper galley so as to join the preceding matter.
As the matter is composed it is taken, a galley at a time, by the printer, and made up into columns; a proof of the column is then pulled upon the galley by one of the compositors, who all take it in turn; it is then given to the reader; after being attentively read and corrected, it is returned to the compositors to make the corrections, who take it in turn, two and two; the column is divided into four, the first compositor takes the first and third parts, and the second takes the second and fourth parts, and he who is the last in making his corrections, pulls a second proof, which is carefully revised, and when the revise is corrected the matter is ready for the paper. It thus goes on column after column, till the whole paper is composed, when it often occurs that the arrival of foreign intelligence increases the quantity considerably; matter of less immediate interest is, in this instance, taken away, and kept as back matter for a future day, to make room for the latest intelligence.
If the first compositor has six or more lines to compose of copy that he has in hand, he must give it up, and begin to correct immediately; but if he has less than six lines of copy in hand, he finishes it before he commences correcting: this regulation is adopted to prevent any interruption or delay in the progress of getting the paper out.
The full hands take it in turn to correct the revises, lock up the forms, and take them to the machines to be worked off.
The advertisement department is not regulated after the same manner as the news department, there being no distinction of grades, nor any fixed salaries, nor is there any precise time of commencing work, the uncertainty as to the time of advertisements being received at the office rendering it an impossibility to appoint any regular hour for beginning. The compositors are paid by the galley, not according to the scale of prices fixed for morning papers, but more after the scale of evening papers. The method adopted in this part of the establishment in taking copy is the same as in other offices, the first out of copy taking first, and so on, and as the compositors come out of copy their numbers are placed on a slate, which prevents disputes or confusion. The compositor marks his copy by putting his initials at the back of it; so that if any gross error be committed, and remain uncorrected, a wrong number in a reference, for instance, it can immediately be ascertained who composed it, and either the reader or the compositor is held responsible for the advertisement duty, the proof deciding which is to pay the fine for negligence.
The salary of a full hand is 2l. 8s. per week, but the average earnings are 3l. 12s. 6d.; the salary of a supernumerary is 1l. 3s. per week, and the average earnings are 3l.; it often happens that much higher bills are written, but the above may be taken as a fair average.
The whole establishment of the Times newspaper, including editors, reporters, compositors, readers, engineer, overseers of the machines, persons to lay on, and to take off, clerks, &c. consists of one hundred and thirty-seven persons.
The following is the number of Stamps issued to four of the principal London morning newspapers in 1838 and 1839, and also the amount of advertisement duty paid by the said papers in each of the years 1837, 1838, and 1839, from official returns.
| Number of Stamps issued. | ||
| 1838. | 1839. | |
| The Times | 3,355,000 | 3,650,000 |
| Morning Herald | 2,078,000 | 1,925,000 |
| Morning Chronicle | 2,200,000 | 2,075,000 |
| Morning Post | 797,000 | 875,500 |
| Amount of Money paid by each Newspaper for Advertisement Duty. | |||
| 1837. | 1838. | 1839. | |
| £ s. d. | £ s. d. | £ s. d. | |
| The Times | 8,817 16 6 | 9,600 12 0 | 11,238 3 0 |
| Morning Herald | 5,217 12 0 | 4,263 0 0 | 4,796 9 6 |
| Morning Chronicle | 4,047 3 0 | 4,079 11 0 | 4,619 0 6 |
| Morning Post | 2,980 19 0 | 2,713 11 6 | 3,191 9 6 |
Number of Newspapers published in the United Kingdom. November, 1840.
ENGLAND.
London.—Daily, 6 morning, 5 evening; twice a week, 3, including London Gazette; three times a week, 4; weekly, Monday, 2; Tuesday, 3; Wednesday, 4; Thursday, 2; Friday, 1; Saturday, 8; Sunday, 27; tenth of every month, 1; first and fifteenth of every month, 1. Total, 67.
Country.—Bedfordshire, 1; Berkshire, 4; Buckinghamshire, 3; Cambridgeshire, 3; Cheshire, 6; Cornwall, 5; Cumberland, 4; Derbyshire, 4; Devonshire, 12; Dorsetshire, 3; Durham, 5; Essex, 5; Gloucestershire, 8; Hampshire, 4; Herefordshire, 2; Hertfordshire, 2; Kent, 13; Lancashire, 26; Leicestershire, 4; Lincolnshire, 5; Monmouthshire, 2; Norfolk, 2; Northamptonshire, 2; Northumberland, 6; Nottinghamshire, 3; Oxfordshire, 4; Shropshire, 6; Somersetshire, 14; Staffordshire, 5; Suffolk, 5; Surrey, there are no papers printed in this county, but there are 3 circulated by agents; Sussex, 6; Warwickshire, 9; Westmoreland, 2; Wiltshire, 5; Worcestershire, 5; Yorkshire, 28; Berwick-on-Tweed, 2. Total, 228.
Wales.—9.
SCOTLAND.
Edinburgh.—Twice a week, 6; three times a week, 2; weekly, 6. Total, 14.
Aberdeen, 4; Ayr, 3; Dumfries, 3; Dundee, 3; Elgin, 1; Fife, 2; Glasgow, 11; Greenock, 2; Inverness, 3; John O’Groat’s Journal, 1; Kelso, 2; Kilmarnock, 1; Montrose, 1; Paisley, 1; Perth, 4; Stirling, 2. Total, 44.
IRELAND.
Dublin.—Daily, 3; twice a week, 2; three times a week, 6; weekly, 8. Total, 19.
Athlone, 1; Ballyshannon, 1; Belfast, 6; Carlow, 1; Clare, 1; Clonmel, 1; Connaught, 1; Cork, 3; Downpatrick, 1; Drogheda, 2; Enniskillen, 2; Fermanagh, 1; Galway, 1; Kerry, 2; Kilkenny, 2; Leinster, 2; Limerick, 3; Londonderry, 3; Mayo, 2; Munster, 1; Nenagh, 1; Newry, 2; Roscommon, 2; Sligo, 2; Tipperary, 2; Tuam, 1; Ulster, 1; Waterford, 4; Westmeath, 1; Wexford, 2. Total, 55.
BRITISH ISLANDS.
Guernsey, 3; Jersey, 7; Isle of Man, 4. Total, 14.
ABSTRACT.
| England:— | ||
| London | 67 | |
| Country | 228 | |
| Wales | 9 | |
| --- | 304 | |
| Scotland:— | ||
| Edinburgh | 14 | |
| Other parts of Scotland | 44 | |
| --- | 58 | |
| Ireland:— | ||
| Dublin | 19 | |
| Other parts of Ireland | 55 | |
| --- | 74 | |
| British Islands | 14 | |
| --- | ||
| Total | 450 |
Newspaper Postage.—3 & 4 Vict. c. 96. “An Act for the Regulation of the Duties of Postage.”
s. 1. “Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That all Letters and Newspapers and other printed Papers, which shall be posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom, or shall be brought from Parts beyond the Seas to any Port or Place within the United Kingdom, or shall be sent by the Post between the United Kingdom and Places beyond the Seas, or between any of the other Places herein-after mentioned, or shall pass through the United Kingdom, shall be subject to the several Regulations and Rates herein-after contained.”
s. 12. “And be it enacted, That all Letters posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom shall, if written on stamped Paper or enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp or Stamps affixed thereto, and all printed Votes and Proceedings of the Imperial Parliament, and all Newspapers which shall be liable to Postage under this Act, shall, if posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom and enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp or Stamps affixed thereto, (the Stamp or Stamps in every such Case being affixed or appearing on the Outside, and of the Value or Amount herein-after expressed and specially provided under the Authority of this Act or of the said recited Act, [2 & 3 Vict. c. 52.] and if the Stamp shall not have been used before,) pass by the Post free of Postage, as herein-after mentioned.”
“And on all such printed Votes and Proceedings of Parliament and Newspapers the Stamp or Stamps shall be equal in Value or Amount to the Rates of Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would have been liable under this Act:
“And that in all Cases in which the same shall be necessary, in order to place on any such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, and Newspapers, the full Amount of Stamps hereby required as aforesaid, there shall be affixed thereto such a Number of Adhesive Stamps as alone or in Combination with the Stamp on such Letters or Packets, or on the Envelope or Cover thereof, will be equal in Amount to the Rate of Postage to which such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, and Newspapers would be liable under this Act.
s. 13. “And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which Letters posted in and addressed to Places within the United Kingdom shall be posted without any Stamp thereon, and without the Postage being pre-paid, there shall be charged on such Letters a Postage of Double the Amount to which such Letters would otherwise be liable under this Act; and in all Cases in which printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers liable to Postage under this Act, shall be posted without any Stamp thereon, there shall be charged on such Votes and Proceedings or Newspapers the Postage to which the same would be liable under this Act.”
s. 16. “And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which any Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, Newspapers, addressed to Places within the United Kingdom, shall be posted, having thereon or affixed thereto any Stamp or Stamps the Value or Amount of which shall be less than the Rate of Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would be liable under this Act, there shall be charged on such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers a Postage equal to the Amount of the Difference between the Value of such Stamp or Stamps and the Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would be liable as aforesaid.
s. 17. “Provided always, and be it enacted, That it shall in all Cases be optional with the Parties sending any Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, by the Post, to forward the same free of Postage by means of a proper Stamp or Stamps thereon or affixed thereto in manner herein-before provided, or to forward the same in like Manner as the same might otherwise have been forwarded under this Act; but nevertheless, in case any Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, addressed to Places out of the United Kingdom, shall have thereon or affixed thereto any Stamp or Stamps being less in Amount or Value than the Rates of Postage to which such Letters, or such Votes or Proceedings, or Newspapers, would be liable under this Act, such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, if the Postage thereon be required by the Postmaster General under the Provisions of this Act to be paid when posted, shall not in any Case be forwarded by the Post, but shall, so far as may be practicable, be returned to the Senders thereof through the Dead Letter Office; and if the Postage on such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings, or Newspapers, be not so required to be paid when posted, the same may be forwarded charged with such Postage as if no Stamp had been thereon or affixed thereto.”
s. 32. “And be it enacted, That the Foreign Postage marked on any Letter or Newspaper, or other printed Paper brought into the United Kingdom, shall in all Courts of Justice and other Places be received as conclusive Evidence of the Amount of Foreign Postage payable in respect of such Letter, Newspaper, or other printed Paper, in addition to the British Postage; and such Foreign Postage shall be recoverable within the United Kingdom and other Her Majesty’s Dominions as Postage due to Her Majesty.”
s. 36. “And for encouraging Masters of Vessels, not being Post Office Packets, to undertake the Conveyance of Letters; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may allow to Masters of Vessels, on Letters and Newspapers conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office between Places within the United Kingdom, a Sum not exceeding Two Shillings and Sixpence for each and every Number of One hundred of such Letters and Newspapers, and for any less Number in the like Proportion, and may allow to the Masters of Vessels bound from the United Kingdom to the East Indies a Sum not exceeding One Penny for each Letter and One Halfpenny for each Newspaper conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office, and may allow to the Masters of all other Vessels a Sum not exceeding Two-pence for each Letter conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office from the United Kingdom to Places beyond Sea, and may allow to the Masters of all Vessels not exceeding Two-pence for each Letter brought into the United Kingdom, which they shall deliver at the Post Office at the first Port at which they touch or arrive, or with which they communicate, (all which Gratuities may be paid at such Times and Places, and under all such Regulations and Restrictions, as the Postmaster General shall in his Discretion think fit); and every Master of a Vessel outward-bound shall receive on board his Vessel every Post Letter Bag tendered to him for Conveyance, and having received the same shall deliver it, on his Arrival at the Port or Place of his Destination, without Delay; and every Master of a Vessel inward-bound shall cause all Letters on board his Vessel (except those belonging to the Owners of the Vessel, or of the Goods on board, which do not exceed the prescribed Weights,) to be collected and enclosed in some Bag or other Envelope, and to be sealed with his Seal, and to be addressed to any of Her Majesty’s Deputy Postmasters, that they may be in readiness to send on shore by his own Boat, or by the Pilot Boat, or by any other safe or convenient Means, in order that the same may be delivered at the first regular Post Office which can be communicated with, and at the regular Port or Place where the Vessel shall report, shall sign a Declaration in the Presence of the Person authorized by the Postmaster General at such Port or Place, who shall also sign the same.”
s. 42. “And be it enacted, That printed Newspapers may be sent free of Postage, or liable to Postage according to the Regulations and Rates herein-after set forth; (that is to say,)
Printed British Newspapers,
By the Post, from one Town or Place to another, within the United Kingdom (except by private Ships), free:
By the Post of a Post Town, within the United Kingdom, addressed to a Person within the Limits of that Place or its Suburbs, One Penny each:
Between Places within the United Kingdom by private Ships, One Penny each:
Between the United Kingdom and Her Majesty’s Colonies, as follows:
By Packet Boats to any of Her Majesty’s Colonies and Possessions beyond the Seas, (including the East Indies, by Packet Boats from the United Kingdom, viâ Syria or Egypt,) free:
By private Ships, One Penny each.
Printed Colonial Newspapers,
Brought from the Colonies to the United Kingdom by Packet Boats, (including Newspapers from the East Indies, by Her Majesty’s Mediterranean Packet Boats,) whether directed to a Place within the United Kingdom or to any of Her Majesty’s Colonies beyond the Seas, to be forwarded from the United Kingdom by Packet Boats, free:
Brought from the Colonies to the United Kingdom by private Ships, addressed to Places within the United Kingdom, and delivered by the Master at the Post Office, One Penny each:
Sent by Packet Boat through the United Kingdom to a Foreign State, (subject to the Consent of the Lords of the Treasury,) free:
Newspapers between Foreign Countries and the United Kingdom, as follows:
Printed British Newspapers,
Sent from the United Kingdom to any Foreign Port, either by Packet Boats or private Ships, Two-pence each:
When British Newspapers are allowed to pass by Post in a Foreign Country free, then British Newspapers addressed to such Foreign Country may be transmitted to any Foreign Port by Packet Boats, free:
If transmitted by private Ships, One Penny each.
Printed Foreign Newspapers,
Brought into the United Kingdom by Packet Boats or Private Ships, Two-pence each:
If British Newspapers are allowed to pass by Post free in a Foreign Country, Newspapers printed in that Country brought by Packet Boat to the United Kingdom, free:
If brought by private Vessels, One Penny each:
Foreign Newspapers sent by Packet Boat through the United Kingdom to the Colonies (subject to the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury), free.
s. 43. “And be it enacted, That although Newspapers may be sent by the Post, and thereupon subject to the Rate of Postage set forth in the above Table, it shall not be compulsory to send them by Post.
s. 44. “And be it enacted, That no printed Paper, whether Newspaper or Votes and Proceedings in Parliament, or of the Colonial Legislature, shall be sent by the Post, either free or at the aforesaid Rates of Postage, unless the following Conditions shall be observed:
First, It shall be sent without a Cover, or in a Cover open at the Sides.
Second, There shall be no Word or Communication printed on the Paper after its Publication, or upon the Cover thereof, nor any Writing or Marks upon it or upon the Cover of it, except the Name and Address of the Person to whom sent.
Third, There shall be no Paper or Thing enclosed in or with any such Paper.
Fourth, The said printed Papers shall be put into the Post Office at such Hours in the Day, and under all such Regulations, as the Postmaster General may appoint, including therein the Payment of Postage on such as are going out of the United Kingdom when put into the Post Office, if the Postmaster General shall so require.
Fifth, All Foreign Newspapers brought into the United Kingdom under this Act are to be printed in the Language of the Country from which they shall have been forwarded, unless the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury shall in any Case direct that any Foreign Newspapers shall be exempted from the Restriction hereby imposed.
s. 45. “And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may examine any printed Paper or any Packet which shall be sent by the Post, without a Cover or in a Cover open at the Sides, in order to discover whether it is contrary in any respect to the Conditions hereby required to be observed, or to any Regulations which the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, may from Time to Time make in respect of any Paper or Packet of such a Description, and also, in the Case of Newspapers, to ascertain in what Language the Newspapers brought into the United Kingdom from any Foreign Country shall be printed and published; and also in order to discover whether the Newspapers printed and published in the United Kingdom (excepting those printed in Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, which, for the Purposes of this Act, are to be considered as Part of the United Kingdom) are duly stamped; and in case any one of the required Conditions has not been fulfilled, the whole of every such Paper or Packet shall be charged with Treble the Duty of Postage to which it would have been liable as a Letter, except as to Foreign Newspapers not printed in the Language of the Country from which they shall have been forwarded, which shall be charged with full Postage as Letters; and as to every such printed Paper going out of the United Kingdom, the Postmaster General may either detain the Paper or forward the same by the Post, charged with Treble the Duty of Postage to which it would have been liable as a Letter; and in case a Newspaper printed in the United Kingdom (except as aforesaid), and transmitted by the Post under this Act, shall appear not to have been duly stamped, the same shall be stopped and sent to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes.
s. 46. “And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which a Question shall arise whether a printed Paper is entitled to the Privilege of a Newspaper or other printed Paper hereby privileged, so far as respects the Transmission thereof by the Post under the Post Office Acts, the Question shall be referred to the Determination of the Postmaster General, whose Decision, with the Concurrence of the Lords of the Treasury, shall be final.
s. 47. “And for providing for the Transmission of Newspapers between the United Kingdom and Foreign Countries free of Postage, when satisfactory Proof shall be laid before the Postmaster General that British Newspapers addressed either to a Person or to a Place within a Foreign Country, and also that Newspapers addressed to a Person or a Place in the United Kingdom from such Foreign Country, are respectively allowed to pass by the Post within that Country free of Postage; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, transmit by the Post British Newspapers addressed to a Person or to a Place in such Foreign Country from the United Kingdom, to any Port out of the United Kingdom, other than Her Majesty’s Colonies and Possessions, free from Postage; and he may, with the like Consent, receive from such Foreign Country Foreign Newspapers free from Postage, or he may, with the like Consent, charge for every Newspaper transmitted to or received from a Foreign Country a Rate of Postage which he may consider equivalent to the Rates of Postage payable in that Country on Newspapers either transmitted from or received in that Country, but in all Cases, whether the Newspaper be transmitted free or otherwise, subject to a Sea Postage of One Penny, payable on the Newspaper being put into the Post Office, for every Newspaper delivered at the Post Office to be conveyed by Vessels not being Post Office Packets, and also to a like Postage for every Newspaper received by Vessels not Post Office Packets addressed to a Person or to a Place within the United Kingdom.
s. 48. “And whereas by reason of the Postage which may be charged on Newspapers in Foreign Countries, or from other Circumstances, it may be expedient again to impose the Rates of Two-pence on Newspapers; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Lords of the Treasury, may again charge and demand the said respective Rates of Two-pence on Newspapers received from and sent to any Foreign Country.
s. 49. “And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, may allow Colonial Newspapers to pass by the Post between Places within any of Her Majesty’s Colonies, or by Packet Boat or private Ship, from one Colony to another Colony, whether through the United Kingdom or not; and also allow Foreign Newspapers to pass through the United Kingdom either to Her Majesty’s Colonies or from one Foreign Country to another Foreign Country, by Packet Boat or private Ship; and also allow British Newspapers to be sent to the Colonies through a Foreign Country, and Colonial Newspapers to be sent through a Foreign Country to the United Kingdom, or through the United Kingdom to a Foreign Country, free of Postage, or subject to such Rates of Postage and under all such Regulations and Restrictions as the Postmaster General, with such Consent as aforesaid, may think fit.
s. 50. “And be it enacted, That every British Newspaper sent by the Post to Places out of the United Kingdom shall in all Cases be put into a Post Office or Receiving Office in the United Kingdom within Seven Days next after the Day on which the same shall be published, the Day of Publication to be ascertained by the Date of such Paper; and in case a Paper shall be put into a Post Office after the Expiration of such Seven Days, the Postmaster General may either detain the Paper, or forward it by Post charged with full Postage as a Letter.
s. 51. “And be it enacted, That in case any Person to whom a printed Newspaper brought into the United Kingdom shall be directed shall have removed from the Place to which it shall be directed, before the Delivery thereof at that Place, it may (provided it shall not have been opened) be re-directed and forwarded by Post to such Person at any other Place within the United Kingdom free of Charge for such extra Conveyance; but if the Newspaper shall have been opened, it shall be charged with the same Rate as if it were a Letter from the Place of Re-direction to the Place at which it shall be ultimately delivered.
s. 52. “And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may allow the Masters of Vessels, other than Packet Boats, a Sum not exceeding One Penny on every printed Newspaper, Foreign or Colonial, brought into the United Kingdom from a Port or Place out of the United Kingdom, and delivered by them at the Post Office of the Post Town at which they shall touch or arrive, and a Sum not exceeding One Penny on every printed Newspaper conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office from the United Kingdom to any Port or Place out of the same, in respect of which no Gratuity is herein-before authorized to be allowed.”
s. 57. “And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may at any Time hereafter charge, for the Use of Her Majesty, on all Letters, Newspapers, and other printed Papers sent by the Post, on which the Postage shall not be pre-paid, and which shall not be duly and properly stamped, and also on all Letters sent by the Post without being duly and properly stamped, although the Postage thereon shall be wholly or in part pre-paid, such higher Rates of Postage than would otherwise by Law be payable on such Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers as the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury by Warrant under their Hands shall from Time to Time deem expedient, and may also remit any of the Rates of British Postage or Inland Postage for the Time being payable by Law on the Transmission of Post Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers, to such Extent as the Lords of the Treasury shall from Time to Time direct.
s. 58. “And whereas Communications may from Time to Time be opened with Foreign Post Offices, which may render an Alteration in the Rates of Postage expedient; be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury from Time to Time, and at any Time after the passing of this Act, by Warrant under their Hands, to alter and fix any of the Rates of British Postage or Inland Postage payable by Law on the Transmission by the Post of Foreign or Colonial Letters or Newspapers, or of any other printed Papers, and to subject the same to Rates of Postage according to the Weight thereof, and a Scale of Weight to be contained in such Warrant, and from Time to Time, by Warrant as aforesaid, to alter or repeal any such altered Rates, and make and establish any new or other Rates in lieu thereof, and from Time to Time, by Warrant as aforesaid, to appoint at what Time the Rates which may be payable are to be paid, and the Power hereby given to alter and fix Rates of Postage shall extend to any Increase or Reduction, or Remission of Postage.
s. 59. “And be it enacted, That the Rates of Postage from Time to Time to become payable under or by virtue of any Warrant of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, under this Act, shall be charged by and be paid to Her Majesty’s Postmaster General, for the Use of Her Majesty, on all Post Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers to which such Warrant shall extend; and that in all Cases in which any Rates of Postage shall be made payable under any such Warrant, every such Warrant shall be published in the London Gazette, and shall, within Fourteen Days after making the same, be laid before both Houses of Parliament (if then sitting), or otherwise within Fourteen Days after Parliament shall re-assemble; provided that any Rates made payable by any such Warrant may be demanded and taken immediately after they shall have been so published in the London Gazette, although the same shall not then have been laid before Parliament.
s. 60. “And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which the Postage of any unstamped Letter shall not have been paid by the Sender, it shall be paid by the Person to whom the Letter is addressed on the Delivery thereof to him; but if the Letter be refused, or the Party to whom it is addressed shall be dead, or cannot be found, the Writer or Sender shall pay the Postage; and this Enactment shall apply to every Packet, Newspaper and Thing whatsoever chargeable with Postage which shall be transmitted by the Post.
s. 61. “And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury to make any Reduction or Increase or Alteration they may consider expedient in the Gratuities allowed by this Act to Masters of Vessels for Letters and Newspapers conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office, or delivered by them to the Post Office, and to allow and authorize such Gratuities for the Conveyance of Letters and Newspapers to Masters of Vessels passing to or from or between any of Her Majesty’s Colonies or Possessions beyond the Seas, as they shall think fit, and also to allow and authorize any Gratuities to be paid to Pilots, Seamen, or others on the Letters and Newspapers they may bring to any Post Office from any Vessels.”
s. 71. “And be it enacted, That the following Terms and Expressions, whenever used in this or any other Post Office Act, shall have the several Interpretations herein-after respectively set forth, unless such Interpretations are repugnant to the Subject or inconsistent with the Context of the Provisions in which they may be found; (that is to say,) the Term “British Newspapers” shall mean Newspapers printed and published in the United Kingdom liable to the Stamp Duties and duly stamped, and also Newspapers printed in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, although not liable to Stamp Duties; and the Term “inward-bound” shall be held to include Vessels bound as well to any Port in the United Kingdom as to any Port in any of her Majesty’s Colonies; and the Term “outward-bound” shall be held to include Vessels bound as well from any Port in the United Kingdom as from any Port in Her Majesty’s Colonies; and that the Term “United Kingdom” shall mean the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Islands of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, and Alderney; and that the Term “Her Majesty’s Colonies” shall include every Port and Place within the Territorial Acquisitions now vested in the East India Company in Trust for Her Majesty, the Cape of Good Hope, the Island of Saint Helena, the Ionian Islands, and Honduras, as well as Her Majesty’s other Colonies and Possessions beyond the Seas (the Islands of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark only excepted); and that the Term “by the Post” shall extend to and include the Transmission of Post Letters as well by any General or Twopenny or Penny or Convention Post as by Packet Boat; and the Term “Post Town” shall include every City, Town, and Place where a Post Office is or shall be established; and that the several other Terms and Expressions used in this Act shall be construed according to the respective Interpretations of the Terms and Expressions contained in the said Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for consolidating the Laws relative to Offences against the Post Office of the United Kingdom, and for regulating the Judicial Administration of the Post Office Laws, and for explaining certain Terms and Expressions employed in those Laws, so far as those Interpretations are not repugnant to the Subject or inconsistent with the Context of such Terms and Expressions.”
Newspapers, Ireland.—4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 71. “Whereas by an Act passed in the Parliament of Ireland in the Thirty-eighth Year of the Reign of King George the Third, intituled An Act to amend an Act passed in the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Years of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled ‘An Act to secure the Liberty of the Press by preventing the Abuses arising from the Publication of traitorous, seditious, false, and slanderous Libels by Persons unknown,’ it is amongst other things enacted, that if any Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor, or Printers, Publishers, or Proprietors of any Newspaper, Intelligencer, or Occurrences, or any Paper serving the Purposes of a Newspaper, Intelligencer, or Occurrences, shall have become and be found a Lunatic or non compos mentis, or shall become and be found bankrupt, or shall be outlawed for any Crime, or shall be found guilty and receive Judgment for printing or publishing any traitorous, scandalous, false, or seditious Libel, or shall be charged by Indictment or Information with having published a traitorous, scandalous, false, or seditious Libel, and shall not within Six Days after a Copy of such Indictment or Information shall be served upon such Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor, or at the House or Place of printing or publishing the Paper in which the Newspaper containing such Libel shall be printed, surrender himself, herself, or themselves to take his, her, or their Trial at the then next Commission of Oyer and Terminer, Quarter Sessions of the Peace, or Assizes for the City or County where he, she, or they shall be indicted as aforesaid, or where such Information as aforesaid is to be tried, every Printer and Publisher so neglecting, shall from thenceforth be disabled to be the Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of any Newspaper, Intelligencer, or Occurrences, and the Commissioners of Stamp Duties are thereby required to refuse to deliver to such Person or Persons stamped Paper for the Purpose of printing a Newspaper; and by an Act passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of His said Majesty King George the Third [55 Geo. 3. c. 80.], intituled An Act to provide for the Collection and Management of Stamp Duties on Pamphlets, Almanacks, and Newspapers in Ireland, it is also amongst other things enacted, that if any Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of any Newspaper in Ireland, shall be by due Course of Law outlawed for any Criminal Offence, or receive Judgment for printing or publishing a traitorous or seditious Libel, the said Commissioners of Stamps in Ireland and their Officers respectively are thereby prohibited to sell or deliver to or for the Use of any such Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor so outlawed, or who shall have so received Judgment for such Libel, any stamped Paper for printing any Newspaper; and it is also further enacted, that if any Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of any Newspaper which shall be at any Time published in Ireland shall have become a Bankrupt or non compos mentis, or shall be outlawed for any Crime, or shall receive Judgment for printing or publishing any traitorous or seditious Libel, then and in every such Case such Printer or Printers, Publisher or Publishers, Proprietor or Proprietors respectively, shall no longer be entitled to print or publish such Newspaper, but shall as to any such Right be considered from thenceforth as if he, she, or they never had made such Affidavit as in the said last-recited Act is mentioned: And whereas it is expedient to repeal the said recited Enactments; be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the passing of this Act so much of the said respective Acts as is herein-before recited shall be and the same is hereby repealed.”
Nichols, John. See Donations.
NICK.
A nick is a hollow cast crossways in the shanks of types, to make a distinction readily between different sorts and sizes; and to enable the compositor to perceive quickly the bottom of the letter as it lies in the case, when composing; as nicks are always cast on that side of the shank on which the bottom of the face of the letter is placed.
A great deal of inconvenience frequently arises, owing to the founders casting different founts of types with a similar nick in each. Although this may, at the first sight, appear of little moment, yet it is attended with much trouble: and works are frequently disfigured by it, notwithstanding all the care of the compositor and the reader, as will appear from the following statement.
A printer has cast a fount, we will suppose of Pica, in addition to another he had in the house, and this new Pica is of a different face from his old one; but not having given any particular directions, the founder casts it with a nick precisely the same as the other. The consequence is, when a compositor is distributing head lines, lines of italic, small capitals, or small jobs—in the hurry of business—through inadvertency—or carelessness—he frequently distributes them into the wrong cases, when it is almost impossible for another compositor who has occasion to use these cases next, to detect the error till he sees the proof; unless he is in the habit of reading his lines in the stick, which many are not. He has then a great deal of trouble to change the letters; and, with all the attention that the reader can bestow, a letter of the wrong fount will frequently escape his eye, and disfigure the page.
Even in founts that are next in size to each other; for instance,—Bourgeois and Long Primer, Long Primer and Small Pica, Small Pica and Pica, and Pica and English, head lines, &c., are not unfrequently distributed into wrong cases, where the nick is the same; and always occasion loss of time in correcting the mistakes, and sometimes pass undiscovered.
I would recommend, in furnishing a new office with types, that every fount, commencing with the smallest, should have a different nick from that of the next size: thus Brevier, supposing it to be the smallest, might have three wide nicks, Bourgeois two closer ones, and Long Primer one; Small Pica the same as Brevier, Pica as Bourgeois, English as Long Primer; and here it might stop, for there is difference enough in the sizes above English for the eye to distinguish them readily, without varying the nick.
By going as far as three nicks, which is now generally done, a sufficient variety may be obtained to distinguish one fount from another without hesitation; but I would strongly advise that the nicks should be deep, as it allows the compositor to see quickly how the letters lie in the box, and enables him to pick them up with greater facility, particularly by candlelight.
A single nick may be—low on the shank, in the middle, or nearer the top; two nicks may be close together—at the bottom, in the middle, or at the top, or they may be wide apart; three nicks may be—two at bottom and one at top, two at top and one at bottom, or the three close together, at the bottom, the middle, or the top, or wide apart. Where there are a great number of founts, it would add to the distinguishing mark, if consisting of more than one nick, that one of them should be cast shallow: but where there is only one nick it ought always to be cast deep.
Niskhi. See Persian.
NONPAREIL.
The name of a type, one size larger than Pearl and one smaller than Minion. Moxon spelt the name Nomparel, and the French to this day spell it Nompareille.
NORTHERN LANGUAGES.
For the allowance of the duty on paper used in the printing of books in the Northern languages within the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the universities of Scotland, and the university of Trinity College, Dublin, see Paper.
A great deal of information respecting the Northern languages will be found in Recherches sur les Langues Tartares, par M. Abel Remusat.
Norton, William. See Donations.
Notation, Chemical. See Formulæ.
NOTES.
Quotations down the side of a page are called Notes.—M. At the present day we term these Marginal Notes; and usually mean, when we speak of notes, those at the bottom of a page, although they are sometimes termed Bottom Notes, or Foot Notes, which see.
Notice for entering printing press, types, &c., with Clerk of the Peace, see Certificate.
Number Laid On. See Lay On.—M.
NUMERALS.
The names of numerals are very different, not only in several parts of Asia, but in both North and South America.
“Small stones were used amongst uncivilized nations: hence the words calculate and calculation appear to have been derived from calculus, the Latin for a pebble-stone. Alphabetic letters had also a certain numerical value assigned them, and several Greek characters were employed to express particular numbers.
“The combination of Greek numerical characters was not well known to the Latins before the thirteenth century, although Greek numerical characters were frequently used in France and Germany, in episcopal letters, and continued to the eleventh century. But of all the Greek ciphers the Episema ϐαῦ was most in use with the Latins: it gradually assumed the form of G with a tail, for so it appears in a Latin inscription of the year 296. It is found to have been used in the fifth century in Latin MSS. It was reckoned for 6, and this value has been evinced by such a number of monumental proofs, that there is no room to give it any other. Some of the learned, with even Mabillon, have been mistaken in estimating it as 5, but in a posthumous work he acknowledges his error.
“Those authors were led into this error by the medals of the Emperor Justinian having the episema for 5; but it is a certain fact that the coiners had been mistaken and confounded it with the tailed U, for the episema was still in use in the fourth century, and among the Latins was estimated as six, but under a form somewhat different. Whenever it appears in other monuments of the western nations of Europe of that very century, and the following, it is rarely used to express any number except 5.
“The Etruscans also used their letters for indicating numbers by writing them from right to left, and the ancient Danes copied the example in the application of their letters.
“The Romans, when they borrowed arts and sciences from the Greeks, learned also their method of using alphabetical numeration. This custom however was not very ancient among them. Before writing was yet current with them they made use of nails for reckoning years, and the method of driving those nails became in process of time a ceremony of their religion. The first eight Roman numerals were composed of the I and the V. The Roman ten was composed of the V proper, and the V inverted (Ʌ), which characters served to reckon as far as forty, but when writing became more general, I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, were the only characters appropriated to the indication of numbers. The above seven letters, in their most extensive combination, produce six hundred and sixty-six thousand ranged thus, DCLXVIM. Some however pretend that the Romans were strangers to any higher number than 100,000. The want of ciphers obliged them to double, treble, and multiply their numerical characters four-fold; according as they had occasion to make them express units, tens, hundreds, &c. &c. For the sake of brevity they had recourse to another expedient; by drawing a small line over any of their numeral characters they made them stand for as many thousands as they contained units. Thus a small line over Ī made it 1000, and over X̄ expressed 10,000, &c.
“When the Romans wrote several units following, the first and last were longer than the rest IiiiiI: thus vir after those six units, signified sex-vir. D stood for 500, and the perpendicular line of this letter was sometimes separated from the body thus (IƆ,) without lessening its value. M, whether capital or uncial, expressed 1000. In the uncial form it sometimes assumed that of one of those figures, CIƆ, CD, ∞, ო. The cumbent X was also used to signify a similar number.
“As often as a figure of less value appears before a higher number, it denotes that so much must be deducted from the greater number: thus, I before V makes but four, I before X gives only nine, X preceding C produces only 90, and even two XX before C reckons for no more than 80. Such was the general practice with the ancient Romans with respect to their numerical letters, which is still continued in recording accounts in our Exchequer.
“In ancient MSS. 4 is written IIII and not IV, 9 thus VIIII, and not IX, &c. Instead of V five units IIIII were sometimes used in the eighth century. Half was expressed by an S at the end of the figures, CIIS was put 102 and a half. This S sometimes appeared in the form of our 5.
“In some old MSS. those numerical figures LXL are used to express 90. The Roman numeral letters were generally used both in England, France, Italy, and Germany, from the earliest times to the middle of the fifteenth century.
“The ancient people of Spain made use of the same Roman ciphers as we do. The X with the top of the right hand stroke in form of a semi-circle reckoned for 40; it merits the more particular notice as it has misled many of the learned. The Roman ciphers however were continued in use with the Spaniards until the fifteenth century. The Germans used the Roman ciphers for a long time, nearly in the same manner as the French.”
“The points after the Roman ciphers were exceedingly various, and never rightly fixed. It is not known when the ancient custom was first introduced of placing an O at top immediately after the Roman characters, as Ao Mo Lo VIo &c.”—Astle.