Art. 21. Be it also ordained, that, in the event of the resignation or suspension of any officer or officers employed as collectors of any of the branches of the revenues belonging to either of the municipalities, he or they shall be forthwith required to deliver up to the treasurer of the municipality whence his or their appointment was derived, all his or their books, accounts, and vouchers appertaining thereto. Art. 22. The present ordinance shall be put in force in ten days after its promulgation by the Mayor; and the execution of such dispositions thereof as relate to the police of the port, shall specially belong to the officers appointed by each of the municipalities for this purpose. Art. 23. All previous ordinances, or parts of ordinances relative to levee dues, and to the police of the port, and which may be at variance with, or opposed to, the provisions of the present ordinance, shall be, and the same are hereby repealed.--(New Orleans Price Current.) The following are the rates imposed on every description of merchandise, by an ordinance of the general council of New Orleans, which was put in execution on the first day of November, 1839. On each bale of cotton, hay, or moss Cents. Cents. .2 On each hogshead of sugar On each hogshead of molasses On each hogshead of tobacco On each 1,000 feet of lumber or 1,000 staves On each ton of pig lead, pig iron, iron and copper nails, iron articles, coal, salt, slates, flag stones, bricks, pav. ing, curb, and gutter stone, stone, bar iron, sand or ballast, or other articles of great weight, computing the ton at 2,000 lbs. On each keg of lard, butter, &c. On each pipe of wine, brandy, or other liquors, exceeding 60 gallons On each bale, box, case, truss, or other package of less weight and dimensions than a bale of blankets, including soap, fish, candles, &c. . 4 25 On each cask of wine, brandy, or other liquors, of 60 gallons or less. -121-2 6 - 15 On bulk pork, per ton of 2,000 lbs. - 15 1 On each case of copper. 8 On each firkin of do. On each bag of coffee - 3 On each piece of bagging, coil bale rope, packing yarn, &c. 21-2 On each box of sugar - 10 21-2 On each empty hogshead, tierce, bundle of chairs, buckets, &c. 3 There were in this city, in 1830, 4 banks, with a capital of 9,000,000 dollars, exclusive of a branch of the Bank of the United States, having a capital of 1,000,000 dollars. The aggregate amount of dividends on bank stock during that year amounted to 542,100 dollars. But one of the banks, having a capital of 2,500,000, had only commenced; and as the whole capital of another bank had not been paid up, the dividend was really the produce of a capital of 6,750,000 dollars; being at the rate of 8:037 per cent. thereon. In April, 1835, there were 10 banks in the city having an aggregate paid up capital of 26,422,145 dollars, exclusive of about 6,000,000 to be paid in. There were, in 1830, 6 insurance companies in the city, having an aggregate capital of 2,400,000 dollars.-Statement by J. H. Goddard, Esq., New York Daily Advertiser, 29th of January, 1831; and Letter by the Secretary of the Treasury, 5th of January, 1836.) For Monies, Weights, and Measures, see NEW YORK. NEWSPAPERS. Publications in numbers, consisting commonly of single sheets, and published at short and stated intervals, conveying intelligence of passing events. Importance and Value of Newspapers in a Commercial Point of View.-It is foreign to the purposes of this work to consider the moral and political effects produced by newspapers: of the extent of their influence there is no doubt, even among those who differ widely as to its effect. Their utility to commerce is, however, unquestionable. The advertisements they circulate, though these announcements are limited in Great Britain by a heavy duty, the variety of facts and information they contain as to the supply and demand of commodities in all quarters of the world, their prices, and the regulations by which they are affected, render newspapers indispensable to commercial men, supersede a great mass of epistolary correspondence, raise merchants in remote places towards an equality, in point of information, with those in the great marts, and wonderfully quicken all the movements of commerce. But newspapers themselves have become a considerable commercial article in Great Britain: In the year 1830, the produce of the stamp duty, deducting the discount, levied on newspapers, was 410,9807. 6s. 6d. The gross produce of the sale must have been more than double this sum, without allowing for the papers sold at a higher price than 7d.; so that the consumption of newspapers must have amounted, in that year, to nearly 1,000,000% sterling. Newspapers, in London, are sold by the publishers to newsmen or newsvenders, by whom they are distributed to the purchasers in town and country. The newsmen, who are the retailers, receive, for their business of distribution, a regulated allowance. The papers which are sold to the public at 7d., which form the great mass of London newspapers, are sold to the newsmen in what are technically called quires. Each quire consists of 27 papers, and is sold to the newsmen for 138.; so that the newsman's gross profit on 27 papers is 28. 9d. In some instances, where newspapers are sent by the post, d. additional on each paper is charged by the newsmen to their country customers. Some of the clerks at the post-office, called clerks of the roads, are considerable news-agents. The stamp duty on a newspaper is, at present, nominally 4d.; but a discount is allowed on those papers which are sold at a price not exceeding 7d., of 20 per cent., which reduces the stamp duty actually paid to 3 1-5d. Each paper being sold to the newsman at a little less than 5 d., the sum which is received by the newspaper proprietors for paper, printing, and the expenses of their establishments, is a small fraction more than 24d. for each copy. Advertisements form a considerable source of profit to newspapers; and without this source, some of the most widely circulated of them could not support their great expenditure. Each advertisement is now charged, without distinction of length, with a government duty of 1s. 6d. ; but until last year (1833), the duty was 3s. 6d. In 1832, the advertisements produced 155,4007. 168. in Great Britain, and 15,248. 178. 4d. in Ireland. We have no means of ascertaining exactly the portion of this sum derived from newspapers, as distinguished from other publications, but we believe we should under-estimate it by taking it at 3-4ths of the whole. The charges of newspapers for advertisements are proportioned to their length, and to the character of the newspaper itself. The sum received for them may now be taken, inclusive of the duty, at 200,000/. Newspaper stamps are obtained at the Stamp Office, where the paper is sent by the sta tioners to be stamped. The stamps are paid for before the paper is returned. The duty on advertisements, which is also under the management of the commissioners of stamps, is paid monthly; and, for securing these payments, the printer and 2 sureties become bound in moderate sums. The London newspapers have become remarkable for the great mass and variety of matter which they contain, the rapidity with which they are printed and circulated, and the accuracy and copiousness of their reports of debates. These results are obtained by a large expenditure and considerable division of labour. The reports of parliamentary proceedings are obtained by a succession of able and intelligent reporters, who relieve each other at intervals of of an hour, or occasionally less. A newspaper cannot aim at copious and correct reports with less than 10 reporters for the House of Commons; and the expense of that particular part of a morning newspaper's establishment exceeds 3,000l. per annum. Regulations as to Newspapers.-The 38 Geo. 3. c. 78. enacts, that no person shall print or publish a newspaper, until an affidavit has been delivered at the Stamp Office, stating the name and places of abode of the printer, publisher, and proprietor; specifying the amount of the shares, the title of the paper, and a description of the building in which it is intended to be printed. A copy of every newspaper is to be delivered within 6 days, to the commissioners of stamps, under a penalty of 100%. The act 39 Geo. 3. c. 79. requires that the name of every printer, type founder, and maker of printingpresses, shall be entered with the clerk of the peace, under a penalty of 201.; and every person selling types or presses must, if required by a justice of the peace, state to whom they are sold. A printer is bound to print, upon the front of every page printed on one side only, and upon the first and last sheet of every publication containing more than 1 leaf, his name and place of abode. He is also required to keep a copy of every work he prints, on which shall be written or printed the name of his employer; and shall produce the same to any justice, if required, within 6 months. Persons publishing papers without the name and abode of the printer may be apprehended, and carried before a magistrate; and a peace officer, by a warrant of justice of peace, may enter any place to search for printing presses or types suspected to be kept without the notice required by the act, and may carry them off, together with all printed papers found in the place. The 1 Geo. 4. c. 9. enacts, that all periodical pamphlets or papers, published at intervals not exceeding 2 days, containing public news, intelligence, or occurrences, or any remarks thereon, and not containing more than 2 sheets, or published for less price than 6d., shall be deemed newspapers, and shall be subject to the same regulations and stamp duties. Influence of the Tax on Newspapers.-At present it is impossible, without a violation of the stamp laws, to sell newspapers under 7d. or 74d.; so that those poorer persons, who cannot afford so large a sum, or who have no means of getting a newspaper, in company with others, are obliged either to be without one, or to resort to those low priced journals that are circulated in defiance of the law. It has been proposed to reduce the duty to 2d.; but it may be doubted whether this would be any improvement, and whether the duty be not at present sufficiently low on a paper sold at 7d. or upwards. All fixed duties on newspapers seem, however, to be essentially objectionable, inasmuch as, by effectually hindering the free and open circulation of the cheaper sort, they throw their supply into the hands of the least reputable portion of the community, who circulate them surreptitiously, and not unfrequently make them vehicles for diffusing doctrines of the most dangerous tendency. The better way, therefore, would be to assess the duty on newspapers on an ad valorem principle, making it, in all cases, 50 per cent., that is, 6d. on a newspaper sold at 18., ld. on one sold at 2d., åd. on one sold at 1d., and so on, proportionally to the price. Several advantages would result from such a plan. It would remove the unjust stigma that now attaches to low-priced papers; and men of talent and principle would find it equally advantageous to write in them as in those of a higher price. Were such an alteration made, it seems probable that the present two-penny papers, than which nothing can be conceived more utterly worthless, would, very soon, be superseded by others of a very different character; and if so, the change would be in the highest degree beneficial. It would also, we apprehend, introduce into newspaper compiling, that division of labour, or rather of subjects, which is found in every thing else. Instead of having all sorts of matters crammed into the same journal, every different topic of considerable interest would be separately treated in a low-priced paper, appropriated to it only, and conducted by persons fully conversant with its principles and details. Under the present omniverous system, individuals who care nothing for the theatre are, notwithstanding, unable to procure a paper in which it does not occupy a prominent place; and those who cannot distinguish one tune from another have daily served up to them long dissertations on concerts, operas, oratorios, and so forth. The proposed system would give the power of selecting. Those who preferred an olla podrida to any thing else, would be sure of finding an abundant supply; while those who wished for a more select regimen-who preferred one or two separate dishes to a multitude huddled together would be able,-which at present they are not,-to gratify their taste. Neither can there be much doubt that an ad valorem dety would be more productive than the present duty; inasmuch as, by legitimatising the circulation of low-priced papers, their number would be prodigiously augmented. It also would have the advantage of being easy of collection; for, being a certain portion of the price, no question could arise with respect to it. Instead, however, of imposing an ad valorem duty on newspapers, it has been proposed to repeal the duty entirely, and to substitute in its stead a post-office duty, similar to that charged in the United States. A scheme of this sort would entirely exempt all newspapers printed and sold in large towns from the duty; a result which, we confess, we do not think is in any respect desirable, but the reverse. In our view of the matter, the object ought not to be to relieve newspapers from the tax, or to create differences in their price by charging a duty only on those carried by post, but to assess the duty so that it should fall equally on them all. Notices of Newspapers.-The history of newspapers, and of periodical literature in general, remains to be written; and were the task executed by an individual of competent ability, and with due care, it would be a most interesting and important work. It appears, from the researches of Mr. Chalmers, that the first newspaper published in modern Europe made its appearance at Venice, in 1536; but the jealousy of the government would not allow of its being printed; so that, for many years, it was circulated in manuscript! It would seem that newspapers were first issued in England by authority, in 1588, during the alarm occasioned by the approach of the Armada to our shores; in order, as was stated, by giving real information, to allay the general anxiety, and to hinder the dissemination of false and exaggerated statements. From this era, newspapers, of one sort or other, have, with a few intermissions, generally appeared in London; sometimes at regular, and sometimes at irregular intervals. During the civil wars, both parties had their newspapers. The carliest newspaper published in Scotland made its appearance under the auspices of Cromwell, in 1652. The Caledonian Mercury was, however, the first of the Scotch newspapers of native manufacture; it made its appearance at Edinburgh, under the title of Mercurius Caledonius, in 1660; but its publication was soon afterwards interrupted. In 1715, a newspaper was, for the first time, attempted in Glasgow. The Daily Courant, the first of the daily newspapers published in Great Britain, made its appearance at London in the early part of the reign of Queen Anne.-(See the Life of Ruddiman, pp. 102—121.) From the Stamp Office Accounts, it appears that the number of newspapers sold annually in England, during the 3 years ending with 1753, was 7,411,757; in 1760, 9,464,790; in 1790, 14,035,639; in 1792, 15,005,760. 1. Account of the Aggregate Number of Stamps issued for Newspapers in each of the undermentioned Years; distinguishing the Numbers in England, Scotland, and Ireland. * Until 1817 no distinct account was kept of the stamps issued for newspapers in Ireland. II. A Return showing the Number of Stamps issued for London Newspapers during the undermentioned Years, ending with 1835. Note.-As a few of the London newspapers are supplied with stamps through stationers (who also procure stamps for the provincial newspapers), the total number of stamps issued for the whole of the London newspapers cannot be furnished." III. An Account showing the Number of Stamps issued to each of the Provincial Newspapers in England, in the Year ending the 1st of April, 1833, with the duty on Advertisements paid by the same during the Year ending the 5th of January, 1833.-(Parl. Papers, Nos. 569. and 524. Se ss. 1833 ) Note. This return is founded upon periodical accounts rendered by stationers, who procure the stamps at this office for newspapers. The papers marked thus being the property of 1 person, in whose name the stamps are taken out, the number used for each paper cannot be distinguished. We extract the following important paragraph from a note by Mr. Wood, the intelligent chairman of the Board of Stamps, subjoined to the Parl. Paper, No. 758. Sess. 1533. It shows that the retura given above, of the circulation of country newspapers, cannot be much depended upon. Of course, there are no such inaccura cies in the accounts of advertisements: **Supposing, however, that the returns had been correct transcripts of the books in this office, it is worthy of remark that they would not have afforded accurate information as to the circulation of newspapers. The circumstances hereinafter detailed will show that such returns must be always incomplete and fallacious. "In the instance of the London newspapers, the account may ap proach to tolerable correctness, as the stamps are usually obtained by the parties directly from this office; but it may be observed that these papers borrow from each other, and we have also reason to believe that agents of country papers have been induce! by London printers to take out stamps in the name of the latter which were in tended for country use; so that, even with regard to the London pa pers, perfect accuracy cannot be attained. "But in the case of country papers, still less reliance can be placed on these accounts. The supply of stamps to country papers is effect. ed through London stationers and paper-makers, and sometimes also through country stationers. These persons take out large quantities of stamps, and furnish them, from time to time, to the respective newspapers as required. It is only from the returns made by those stationers that the number of stamps obtaine! by each country paper are known at this office. The stationers are bound to make these returns, but in general they furnish them with much reluctance an irregularity, and frequently omit them altogether. It is well known Whitehaven Herald Wiltshire Standard Wolverhampton Chronicle Herald. 22,000 200 0 6 2.400 34,500 270 10 0 41,100 403 9 0 60,000 668 1 0 73,000 598 6 6 York Chronicle 16,000 93 5 6 Herald and York Courant Yorkshire Gazette • 120,000 935 14 6 Racing Calendar 72,500 6,150 543 0 6 19 5 0 that the Board have no means of detecting or punishing any mis statement, and it is therefore believed that, even when furnished, little regard is paid to accuracy. "The trouble occasioned at this office ought not to be a considera. tion, if the returns were really a source of useful and authentic information. But the preceding observations show that no useful re sults arise; on the contrary, such returns occasion endless complaints from persons whose circulation is under-rated, and on whom positive injury is thus inflicted. It is, therefore, worthy of consideration whether similar returns should in future be allowed. "J. W." IV. A Return of the Number of Stamps issued by the Stamp Office, for the following London Newspapers, in the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835. N. B. The foregoing are all 4 d. stamps, with the exception of the General Advertiser for Town and Country, and Bent's Monthly Lite- V. An Account of the Sums paid by the Publishers of the following London Newspapers, for the Duty on Advertisements in the Years 1833, 1834, and 1835. |