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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 pkices 4 i > f ratffisaal amusement on Sunday . Sir Josntfitf ± WABii&i , ET hadiWi ' ia motion on the subject in the BBnse of Commons ]; and the report of the debate appeared in the joi ** nals of the morning ^ The motk » was not- carried , on grounds perfect ^ -well " stated by LordrrPAi ,-mebston—namely , that the majority of the public represented in Parliament is disinclined
to-interfere with the observance of the Sunday . Lord Staxlet , however , lard- the reasonibirthemotion 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 society , the world , and th& ~ uni verse : and hence it is an auxiliary to religion , when rational amusements not only serve as attractions frdm 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 which the public at large regard 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 jthfs neglect \ p f " 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 the divine governmentj and earns the right to a judgment 1 in-his favour .
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ME CASE OFXOKD LIJCAN . IiORD Ltxcan 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 tlieTlrfatureof "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 llaglan 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 ho refused to advance , and had left the French to bear the brunt of the encounter . In ( e xplanation of his not having ordered a troop of horse artillery to accompany , lie said that they would infallibly have stuck fust 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 Comtnanderin-chief , and the War-office , and concluded by renewing his demand for a court-martial . —Lord Panmure , in reply , asserted that Lord Xucan ' s rocal aroso from no suspicion of lus professional ability , or
his courage , but from discordances which rendered his continued service under Lord Eaglan inexpedient . He said that , Lord Luoan 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 bo unprecedented , and indeed impossible- —After some remarks from . Lord Hakdinob ( who said thathe . considered the order of Lord Raglan discretionary , not imperative , and that it was impossible under tho circumstances to grant an inquiry ) , from tho Duke of Richmond , the Earl ' of Derby , the Duke of Newcasti-b :, and the Earl ' of Haudwickb , Lord Luoan replied , and tlw motion was agreed to .
THE NEWSPAPER 8 TAMIV The House of Commons having resolved itself into Committee upon Newspaper Stamps , &c , tho Cuanoiuub » R of the iEjcohkqukk made a statement of the intentions , of Government upon this subject . He referred to the appointment of the select committee of 1851 , -which , after Investigating . the question o £
the newspaper stamps reported that it was not a desirable sulijcat of - 'tnfccatioivf and to the resolution of the House last session , on t ! ie motion of Mr . M . Gibson , that tlwklaw was ill-defined , and that the subject dcrnandedsahe earliest consideration of the _ House-i lie than-adhrerted to the plain of the late Chancellor of th&dSxchequer , observing that the reasons which had amTuenced Lord Aberdeen's Goverrmientfswere partitive resolutions of the House of Commonsmnd partl * Hhe anomalous state ofrfthe law- whieteOiad - uater the Boatd of Inland Reven « j * anct-.
grownup the circuiafctoh of claa ** uew 8 papers , part < st « rmped and part-not stamped- / 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 lqw 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 tc-relax the law , and to make it uniform ; and the plan now submitted to the House was substantially the same :
" The outline of tlie bill which . I shall ask permission of the House to lay upon the table , if these resolutions shall be agreed to ,, is based upon the 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
sheets upon which to print any portion of their 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 jespect . to _ th . em : _ .. _
" 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 , orequal to 26 , 620 , 000 per annum—a circulation , in fact , exceeding by 10 , 000 , 000 that of tlie Times , though it appears only ; once a week . I have examined certain numbers of this ' periodical , and find that it somewhat resembles the Penny Magazine , which was well known several years ngo . Tho London Journal appears to me to be perfectly unexceptionable in point of morality ; its matter may not , indeed , bo of the most instructive character—it is , in fact , rather amusing than
instructivo-rbut , 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 nlso soinowhnt nnnlagous to tho Penny Magazine , which is novr extinct , and which at ono time had a circulation of about 200 , 000 copies per week . These facts must bo considered ns showing that the spontaneous taste of tho . poorer classes of rondors in this country , as regards cheap unstamped periodicals at tho present moment , lends them to prefer a species of literature wholly innocuous in its character , and quite
frco from all tho dangerous elements which have been hold up to our fonrs . Now , let us look to tho rcvorso of tho picture . Some years ago , I am informed , there wcro five or six publications in London of a djneront description from tire foregoing . Among them were the Town , and- others of a similarly licentious character . Tho illustrations they contained corresponded with their letterpress . They obtained a certain circulation ; but a gontlomnn who- made are inquiry into this ; subject a few years since ,, and who recently comploted his inquiry , assures mo that tho entire cluos of publications of this nature is now extinct ; that out of five or six which Iio moticcd a few years ago not ' ono now remains in existence . It will bo in tho recollection of tho House that '
there wsWlikewis . e a higher class of publications same char «« jte >« as * those to which I am now re comfH ^ singiiiie ^ l ^ a , the Satirist , and the Argus enjoyed- a tottsiderable circulation some few yeai but they hfeoe now also ceased to exist . It malieve , be gaid iSvitfi * perfect truth , that no inrai lieentionsspijblWirtioh has a long life or obtains tensive- pcgnilarity : " Id ansWer » toV the " objection that there would press for-il ^ a-ich-anrr-Hnother for the pbor , Si
Le * riBi * ancrii <§ rthought itvwotild be an advanti tlt&'unedtfcate'd to poss £ 9 S » ewspapers suited 1 capacities . Tfie alteration ^ tlie law which 1 posed would certainly entail a 4 oss of revenue , amount of about 200 , 000 / - a-year , and this undoubtedly be inconvenient at the presenl but the House should recollect that to refuse peal of the stamp would be to recede from i resolution , and to render necessary the pas some more stringent law .
Mr . Gladstone was glad to hear that the cellor of the Exchequer was not indisposed to favourable consideration to the establishmen low postal tariff for printed matter , the el which , he believed , would tend to indemnify ] the loss of revenue on the stamp duty . He o to the proposed retention of securities as a co for postal facilities ; and thought that the pro of literary property should receive some exi
with reference to newspapers . Sir Francis Baking disputed the Chanci the Exchequer ' s assertion that the loss revenue would be only 200 , 000 / . a year . He j from calculations made by Mr . Rowland Hi the loss would he 250 , 000 / . He thought it v advised to introduce such a measure before 1 troduction of the Budget , and that the House not to vote away so large a sum until it kn whole state of the finances of the country .
Mr . Milker Gibson deprecated discussn measure purely on revenue grounds , since tin tion was something more than a mere fiscal tion ; and he regretted that * the Chancellor Exchequer had omitted that p _ art of Mr . Glad scheme winch provided for-the transmission 1 of all printed matter at a rate of one penny f ( ounces—an arrangement which , he contended , have more than replaced the loss by opening source of revenue . The measure , as a whol not so good as that already before the House . Mr . Bright considered that the objectioi respect to the loss of 200 , 000 ? . of revenue was < worth . The fact was , that both the late . a present Chancellor of the Exchequer , as ; many other gentlemen who had examined t ' jecthad discovered that the law was in such
, dition that it could not be worked by the autl at Somerset House . With regard to the ques literary piracy in connexion with newspap thought there was no fear of that to any grea tent than already exists . The evening pap said , are made up from the morning papers ; ; believed that the instinctive dislike which Ei nienfeeT to anything mean and dishonest prevent the publication at ten o'clock in tho m of a penny paper made up from the denrer and papers . He was convinced , ' however , that a number of good and cheap daily papers woi published if the stamp were abolished ; and 1 sure that live or six years would show that ; votes of Parliament for educational purposes been as mere trifles compared with the vast 3 which would flow from this measure .
Air . John M'Gregor , Mr . Bentinck , Mr . Mr . Laing , Mr . Packe , and Sir II . Willou spoke against the measure } and Mr . Warne Mr . J . G . Phillimoke in favour of it . — -Ultin the resolutions were agreed to . —On Tucsdn bill was read for the first time , and the second ing was fixed for Monday next . THE UNFUNDED I > EBT . On the order for going into Committee of Si Sir IT . Willouohby cnlled attention to tlie and amount of the unfunded debt . It appeal him that a sum of 1 , 750 , 000 / . had been added t debt without sufficient notico to the House . ItrcAitDO agreed with Sir II . Willounliby , thought that Mr . Gladstone had broken his pr loaii
of not adding to tho permanent debt by a . Mr . J . Wilson , in reply , said that theiinti debt at the beginning of 1853 consisted of no Exchequer-bills to the amount of 17 , 74- > , OO 0 ' ., « the beginning of the present year only l " ;; being a reduction of 559 , 000 / . ; that t ho U debt when Lord Aberdeen came into oinco , 701 , 622 , 000 ? ., and on the 5 th of January 7 f > l , 039 , O 0 O / .-a reduction of 9 . 783 , 000 / . ; tlio amount of Exchequer-bonds on the 8 th ot jw 1855 , wns 1 , 043 , 000 / ., and , deducting tins sum 9 , 783 , 000 / .,. there was still a reduction ot the i debt to the extent of 8 , 710 , 000 / ., and of the unt debt to that of 559 , 000 / . } so that the « P ^ cgn c funded and unfunded , was less by 0 . 2 "» "' than at the commencement of 1853 . Ho s latcx while all tho expenses of the war had been
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g 66 ^ THE LEADE B , jHatukdj j
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IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 24, 1855, page 266, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2083/page/2/
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