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266 THE LEADER. [Saturday ,
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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. THE CASE OF LORI) L...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Ft1he Congress At Vienna Is Still Going ...
The Times enabled persons , whose minds were thus bent upon religious considerations , to use the materials for reflecting upon a great moral , religious question—the opening of the British "Museum and similar ^ p lacfes of national anwWfcment on Sunday . Sir JostftM * W * xSmsi . ey iarii ' had a motion on the subject in the ffiouse of Commons , and the report of the debate Sgppeared in the journals of the morning . The md * ion was not oairfed , on grounds perfectly well stated by LoYtfPAi .-mebston—namely , that the majority of the public represented in Parliament is disinclined to interfere with the observance of the Sunday . Lord
Stanley , however , laid the reason for t & emc-tum on higher ground . The observance of the Sunday , he said , is not the end , but only the means towards encouraging a moral and religious feeling ; knowledge has the same effects—particularly when it > leads the ' mind to study the laws which govern soeiety ,-the-world , and the universe : and hence it is an auxiliary to religion , when rational amusements not only serve as attractions from a more vicious indulgence , but positively enlighten and elevate the-mind . There are some men in the House perfectly capable of understanding that argument—235 cannot ; hence they voted for that exclusion " whichthepublic at large Tegard as a mean and canting exhibition of class tyranny .
It was with the accompaniment obligato of that debate reported in the journals , that the preachers of the day uttered their-sermons to many who attended in church for the sake of appearances . The holiday , the compulsory holiday , would enable multitudes again to traverse the familiar streets to see the poor neglected alike by the wealthy , the Legislature , and the Church ; to see disordered abodes ;¦ to see the neglect and defiance of" the laws of nature and of the God of nature " everywhere ; and to contrast this neglect of " works" with the new doctrine that is unquestionably beginning to make progress in the pulpit —That it is by works that man shows his obedience to th « divine government , and earns the right to a judgment- in his favour .
266 The Leader. [Saturday ,
266 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,
Imperial Parliament. The Case Of Lori) L...
IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . THE CASE OF LORI ) LTJCAN . Lord Lucan again brought forward his case on Monday night . He moved for copies of reports and correspondence' relating to the charge of the Light Cavalry Brigade at Balaklava ; and , after having minutely described the proceedings of the day , contended that ^ 'tlie ~~ nature ^ Of "Lord Raglan ' s orders ; taken with the position of the English and French forces at the time , left him entirely without discretion to delay or decline the attack . He complained that he was not supported , as he should have been , with infantry ; and stated , with respect to the French cavalry which Lord Raglan had said were on the left , that he thought they were
advancing to join , his division , and that he should have incurred a grave responsibility had he refused to advance , and had left the French to bear the brunt of the encounter . In explanation of his not having ordered a troop of horse artillery to accompany , he said that they would infallibly have stuck fast in the ploughed fields over which they would have had to proceed , and been destroyed in their inability to retreat . His lordship commented upon the letters which had passed between himself , the Commanderin-chief , and the ' War-Office , and concluded by renewing his demand for a court-martial . — Lord Fanmt / rb , in reply , asserted that Lord Lucan ' s recal arose from no suspicion of his . professional ability , or
his courage , but from discordances which rendered his continued service under Lord Raglan inexpedient Ho said that , Lord Lucnn having'been employed by Lord Raglan since the charges against him had been made , the offence has been condoned , and that therefore a court-martial would be unprecedented , and indeed impossible . — -After some remarks from Lord Hahdinge ( who said that he considored the order of Lord Raglan discretionary , not imperative , and that it was impossible under the circumstances to grant an inquiry ) , from the Duke of Richmond , ' the Earl of Derby , the Duke of JSTjbwoasjmjb ,. and . fche < Earl ¦¦ of Hakdwickje , Lord Luoan replied , and the ¦ motion was agreed to .
THE NEWSPAPER STAMP . The Houso of Commons having resolved ltseflf into jGommitteo upon Newspaper Stamps , & c , tho ChanjOMllob of the Exchjequjeb made a statement of tho Intentions of Government upon this subject . 'Ho Teferred to tho appointment of the select committee of 1851 , which , after investigating tho > auestion < of
the newspaper stad » p , ?« 9 ported that it was not a desirable subject Sf ttaxatton ; and to the resolution of the Ilouse 4 ast session , on the motion of Mr . M . Gibson , that * fee law was ill-defined , and that the subject demands the earliest consideration of the House . He th * n «** dverted to the . plan of the late * Ghancellor . oftfhe ^ xiytequer , observing that the * ea » ofl »* which had iinflueseed Lord Aberdeen ' s Government were parity thes * esolutions 4 > f the * House of ComnWtts and par & y the Anomalous -sstat ' e tif the law whi « i had ( Trami un ^ Ettder the Beard of AInland Reved * e ,-and
the -feiwsitlation of © faWs "newspapers , pa * t stamped and pa ¥ t not stamper ! . After a time a portion of these newspapers introduced news , and , no doubt , according to the strict interpretation of the law , they were subject"to " a penalty when" . unstamped . But if the law had been enforced strictly there must have been numerous prosecutions , and Parliament must have been asked to make the law more severe . Mr . Gladstone had decided toretax the law , and to make it uniform ; and the p lan now submitted to the House was substantially the same :
" The outline of tbe bill which I shall ask permission of the House to lay upon the table , if these resolutions shall be agreed to , is based upon tbe principle of abolishing the legal definition of a newspaper , and extending the existing rules respecting newspapers to all printed , periodical publications -which appear at intervals not greater than 31 days . In the case of all periodicals falling within that definition , the present penalty for the publication of any newspaper without a stamp will be repealed ; and it will be optional with the proprietors of any such periodical either to stamp any portion of their publication , or . to leave it altogether unstamped . If they come to the Stamp-office and apply for stamped of their
sheets upon which to print any portion , impression , they will be subjected to precisely the same rules with respect to superficial contents as existing newspapers are subjected to . That is to say , the first sheet will contain 2295 superficial square inches at Id . stamp , and the second sheet containing 1148 square inches , -will be covered by a stamp of one halfpenny . In this respect I propose to make no alteration , but simply to extend the present limit of superficial contents to all periodical publications which shall appear within intervals of ~ 31 days . With regard to all periodical publications which shall stamp any portion of their circulation , I propose that they should be subjected to the present rules respecting registration and sureties . "
Sir-G . C . Lewis then replied to the objection that the contemplated measure will cause great confusion in newspaper printing establishments , owing to one portion of the impression being on stamped paper , and another portion on unstamped ; and stated that the opinion of practical men is altogether against any such apprehension . With respect to the anticipated flood of seditious , blasphemous , and immoral publications , which it is thought would ensue upon the proposed measure , he remarked that there are already several cheap publications exempt from the stamp , and circulating most extensively ; and he vindicated the character of these publications , adding some curious particulars-with . re . spe . ct to , them :
" One of these is a periodical of which 1 confess that I never heard the name until recently . I mean a penny weekly publication called the London Journal , and which , I am convinced upon very sufficient evidence , circulates 510 , 000 , or more than half a million copies per week , or equal to 26 , 520 , 000 per annum—a circulation , in fact , exceeding by 10 , 000 , 000 that of the Times , though it appears only once a week . I have examined certain numbers of this periodical , and find that it somewhat resoinbles tho Penny Magazine , which was well known several years ago . The London Journal appears to me to be perfectly unexceptionable in point of morality ; its matter may not , indeed , be of tho most instructive character—it is , in fact , rather amusing than
instructive—but , certainly , it does not at all correspond with tho very frightful picture of cheap periodicals which has been drawn to us by the objectors to the repeal of the compulsory stamp . There is another publication , similar in its character—tho Family Heraldwhich circulates about 240 , 000 weekly , or at tho rate of 12 , 500 , 000 per annum . It is also somewhat analagous to tho Penny Magazine , which is now extinct , and which at ono time had a circulation of about 200 , 000 copies por wcok . These facts must bo considered as showing that the spontaneous taste of tho poorer classes of readers in this country , as rogards cheap unstamped periodicals at tho present moment , loads them , to prefer a species of literature wholly innocuous in : its character , and quite
free from all tho dangerous elements which have been hold up to our foars . Now , let us look to tho reverse of tho picture . Some years ago , I am informed , thoro were flvo or Bix publications in London of a different description from tho foregoing 1 . Among thorn wore tho Town , and others of . a similarly licentious character . Tho illustrations they contalnod corresponded with their letterpress . They obtained a certain circulation j but a gentleman who mado an inquiry into' this subject a few yoarS'since , 'and who recently completed his inquiry , assures mo . that tho ontiro class of publications of this nature is now extinct ; that out of flvo or six which ho noticed a few years ago not one "now remains in oxistenco . It will be in tho recollection of the Houso that
tfcere * M ! Bs likewise a higher class of publications of the same'clittatter-flRS those to which I am now referringcomprising * tiie Age , tbe Satirist , and the Argus , which " wajOyediiBfiConsrderable circulation some few years since but theyJlftnte-now also ceased to exist . It may , I believe , : be ?* akl "" With perfect truth , that no immoral or licentiottsfpittScaiiori has a long life or obtains an extensivenp 95 > ularity . " In answer tto the objection that there would be one press'f or ^ be ridrtmd another for the poor , Sir G . C .
S » 6 PW * s * Safd * fte thoughts would be an advantage for ttte uneduc * te & to pos * C * s newspapers suited to their capacities . The alteration of the law which he proposed -would certainly entait-aioss of revenue , to the amount of about 200 , 000 / . a-year , and thi s would undoubtedly be inconvenient at the present timej but the House should recollect that to refuse the repeal of the stamp would be to recede from its own resolution , and to render necessary the passing of some more stringent law .
Mr . Gladstone was glad to hear that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not indisposed to give a favourable consideration to the establishment of a low postal tariff for printed matter , the effe ct of which , he believed , would tend to indemnify him for the loss of revenue on the stamp duty . He objected to the proposed retention' of securities as a condition for postal facilities ; and thought that the protection of literary property should receive some extension
with reference to newspapers . Sir FkAncis Baring disputed the Chancellor of the Exchequer ' assertion that the loss to the revenue would be only 200 , 000 / . a year . He argued , from calculations made by Mr . Rowland Hill , that the loss would be 250 , 000 / . He thought it very illadvised to introduce such a measure before the introduction of the Budget , and that the House ought not to vote away so large a sum until it knew the whole state of the finances of the country .
Mr . Milnek Gibson deprecated discussing the measure purely on revenue grounds , since the question was something more than a mere fiscal question ; and he regretted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had omitted that part of Mr . Gladstone ' s scheme which provided for the transmission by post of all printed matter at a rate of one penny for four ounces—an arrangement which , he contended , would have more than replaced the loss by _ opening a new source of revenue . The measure , as a whole , was not so good as that already before the House . with
Mr . Bright considered that the objection respect to the loss of 200 , 000 / . of revenue was of little worth . The fact was , that both the late and the present Chancellor of the Exchequer , as well as many other gentlemen who had examined the subject , had discovered that the law was in such a condition that it could not be worked by the authorities at Somerset House . With regard to the question of literary piracy in connexion with newspapers , he thought there was no fear of that to any greater extent than already exists . The evening papers , he
said , are made up from the morning papers ; and he believed that the instinctive dislike which Englishmen feel-to-anything mean and-dishonest would prevent the publication at ten o ' clock in the morning of a penny paper made up from the dearer and earlier papers . He was convinced , however , that a large number of good and cheap daily papers would be published if the stamp were abolished ; and ho felt sure that five or six years would show that all the votes of Parliament for educational purposes have been as mere trifles compared with the vast results which would flow from this measure .
Mr . John M'Gbegor , Mr . Bbntinck , Mr . Kirk , Mr . Laino , Mr . Packe , and Sir H . Wiixouohbit , spoke against the measure ; and Mr . Warner and Mr . J . G . Phiiumoee in favour of it . —Ultimately the resolutions were agreed to . —On Tuesday tlie bill was read for the first time , and the second rending was fixed for Monday next .
THE UNJPDNDED DEBT . On tho order for going into Committee of Supply Sir H . Wilt . ouoiibv called attention to the state and amount of the unfunded debt . It appeared to him that a sum of 1 , 750 , 000 / . had been added to tins debt without sufficient notice to tho House . —w r . Kicaudo agrocd with Sir H . Willoughby , and thought that Mr . Gladstone had broken his promise of not adding to the permanent debt by a loan . Mr . J . Wilson , in reply , said that the wftiM debt at . tho beginning of 1853 consisted o floating " 17742000 / ami at
Exchequer-billsto the amount of ,, ., tho beginning of the present year only ' 7 , 183 , « ow j being a reduction of 559 , 000 / . ; that the fund d debt when Lord Abordcon came into office , vn » 761 , 622 , 000 / ., and on the StU of -Jflnuj y WJ 751 039 OOO / .-a reduction of 9 , 783 , 000 / . ; that the nmotmt of Exchequer-bonds on the 5 th of J « J 1855 , was 1 , 043 , 000 / ., and , deducting this sum 1 ™* 9 , 783 , 000 / ., there was still a reduction of tho Ajndg dobt to the extent of 8 , 740 | 000 / ., and of the « " « J ™ ° debt to that of 559 , 000 / . ; so that the < W K fJ JJJ funded and unfunded , was less by 9 , 29 Q , oj o / . nJ than at the commencement of 1853 . Ho stated U while all tho expenses of tho war had been i >»» >
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 24, 1855, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24031855/page/2/
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