NEWSPAPERS. (Hansard, 27 April 1809)

§ Mr. Huskisson
stated, that according to an agreement entered into, in the year 1797, it was stipulated that the proprietors of Newspapers should be allowed 12 per cent duty on stamps, provided they were restricted in the sale of their papers to the price of six-pence. They were to be allowed this discount provided the price did not rise above sixpence; but if it did, the discount was discontinued. This agreement, at the time it was made, was just, for the expences attending the publication were commensurate to the restriction. Since that period, however, owing to the rise in paper, the additional expence of labour, and a variety of other circumstances, the present profits were not adequate to the expenditure. It surely, then, could not be just to continue an agreement which had been made under very different circumstances from those now existing. Two modes were proposed, in order to meet the present circumstances. The first 267 was, to take off the discount altogether, and allow the proprietors of papers to sell at their own prices; the other was, to raise the limits of the discount: the latter method was in his opinion preferable, for though the consequence he had no doubt would be the raising the price of newspapers one half-penny each, still this would not place the proprietors in as prosperous a situation, owing to their additional expences, as they were in, in the year 1797, when the agreement was first made. In the year 1801, an additional duty had been laid on paper, and of course an additional discount was allowed; but the duty having been repealed, the additional discount was also taken off. He then moved, "That leave be given to bring in a Bill in order to amend the 37th of George 3, relating to the restrictions on Newspapers."

§ Mr. G. Johnstone
was surprised at the motion which had been made. He had rather expected that the discount would be taken off entirely, and that the price should remain as it at present was. Various circumstances concurred to shew, that newspaper proprietors considered they had a good trade of it. For instance, a paper had been lately set up, which thought proper to extend itself from four (the usual number of columns,) to five columns. It was, in his opinion, impossible that the size of the articles should be increased, unless the value of it rose in proportion. He did not see, then, if this was the case, why this additional encouragement should be given.

§ Mr. Huskisson
said, that he for his part would be glad to take off the discount altogether, and leave the restriction in price to the fair efforts of competition. He was sure, however, that the immediate effect of that would be, the increase of the price to sevenpence. With respect to the objection of one paper having increased the number of its columns to five, the reason of that he supposed was, that its proprietors thought they should profit by the additional number of advertisements, in which the chief value of a newspaper consisted. This was the exact case, he believed, with this individual paper, which had been established by a body of auctioneers, who looked chiefly to advertisements. The great evidence of the burthen of the restriction was, that the aggregate number of daily papers was not increased since 1797. This was a fact which he had ascertained from the commissioners 268 of stamps. It was very true, that a number of additional denominations of papers had been lately established, but still the risk attending such establishment was not less than that of a lottery, and had been often followed by ruin to the adventurers.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer
, said, it was very true that an additional number of papers were continually appearing; but these papers were not diurnal prints, which incurred necessarily a very heavy expense in their establishments, but weekly and two days a week papers, which could glean their intelligence from the daily papers, without having to pay the sources from whence it was derived; of course, the circumstance of their appearance ought not to militate against the daily paper, which gave to them much of its advantages, while it could not extend any of its expences. The paper which had extended its columns to five was a daily paper, it was true; but then, in order to support itself, it was compelled to publish at an early hour, which early publication necessarily prevented it from participation in the sources of information from which other papers derive much of their interest; for instance, it was not able fully to give intelligence of what was passing in that house. He supported the present measure from an absolute conviction of its justice and its policy; for, surely, it would not be equitable to keep newspaper proprietors to the strict limitation or letter of an agreement, when the foundation on which such agreement stood had sunk. Why should they be restricted in the price of their paper, when the expence attending it had been extended? Papers which had a variety of advertisements might profit by it, but that was the result of much labour and a long establishment, and was at all events no reason why those which had fewer should suffer. A multiplicity of papers were now printed in this town, but such speculations were extremely hazardous, and were often kept alive at absolute ruin from too long protracted hope and a natural disinclination to dissolve a regulated establishment.