§ MR. LEWISI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the Official Gazette belongs to the Government or to a private firm?
§ MR. HANBURYThere are three Official Gazettes—the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Gazettes—all being Government publications, but they are published under different systems. The London Gazette, to which the honourable Member probably refers, is published by a private firm under a contract obtained by open competition in 1889. They edit the Gazette, print it at their own cost, and sell it for their own profit at prices fixed by the contract. For this privilege they pay the Government £1,250 a year, and the Government receives also the sums paid for advertisements. The Edinburgh and Dublin Gazettes are printed and sold by the Government.
§ MR HANBURYI am not quite sure.