NEWSPAPER TAXES.
THE subject of the taxes on newspapers will be brought before Parliament in the ensuing session, by a petition from a gentleman
to whom, in consideration of the goodness of his intentions in this, and we believe in all the projects in which he has engaged, we feel disposed to forgive many of those—extravagancies we can hardly call them, but to us at least—unintelligibilities, with which his projects are mixed up. Mr. OWEN is a Deist, but he is a pious Deist. The most orthodox Christian does not exhibit more purity of morality, or more honest zeal for the diffusion of truth, than ROBERT OWEN. He has given what we are sometimes taught to consider an infallible test of his sincerity—he has devoted his fortune as well as his time to the promulgation of his doctrines ; and his steady pursuit of that object through bad report and good, is a still better test than money spent or labour rendered. It is Mr. OWEN'S favourite theory that the great bar to the infinite improvement of the human race is superstition. His definition of superstition is rather a loose one ; but we believe that he means, not so much religion, as its extrinsics contradistinguished from its essentials. Were Mr. OWEN as good a logician as he is a moralist, he might, we think, discover among the drawbacks of society, many equally heavy with that against which he so uniformly declaims. There can be no doubt, that in some cases a church monopoly may come in the way of the diffusion of truth, in the same way as an agricultural monopoly may come in the way of the dif. fusion of bread: but we hold that it is not so much the religion or the land that is in fault, as the exclusive privileges enjoyed by the guardians of either. But whatever be our estimate of Mr. OWEN'S theory—whic.h we have no intention at present to discuss—there is one of his arguments that we cordially concur in—namely, that the grand regenerator of mankind is knowledge, and that of all the methods of diffusing knowledge, the press affords the readiest and most efficient. It is of no importance that we spend nights and days in the pursuit of the good of our fellows, if we are denied the means of communicating with them ; and every bar to the most absolute freedom of communication, we consider, with Mr. Owsil, to be indefensible on any principle of justice, policy, or to use an all-prevdlinp; arguMent,: of. sound finance. We do not here allude to the cemmon. and Ortiewhat stale a'.,•gument, that when a duty is lowered, the revenueis for the Mr,ist part not only not diminished, but augmented. Although in any individual case this may, and commonly will be faunal() be true, it is not true in . . all cases. If the duties on every article of expenditure were lowered fifty per cent., nothing can be more ;unreasonable than to suppose that the gross amount of revenue would increase. We are at present rack-rented, and how are we to pay more than the land will yield? We may give Government the half of the loaf and the halt' of the cheese, or the whole of the cheese and none of the loaf; but we cannot give it.the whole of both. But although we doubt, if the duty on newspapers were reduced to a penny, whether the revenue would not suffer—and though we are sure that the gross revenue would not rise in consequence—there is an indirect effect of the diffusion of knowledge, which would not fail in the long rim to raise the revenue, large as it at present is ; or what is equivalent, would render the payment of the present revenue a matter of ease and comfort.
When the rulers of the earth are told that all knowledge is power, they are very apt to conclude,that the power derived from knowledge must be a mischievous power: it comes to their imaginations in the shape of clamouring against abuses, opposition to taxes, demands of liberty, of power political in a word. It is true, that as people get knowing, they do acquire a capacity of investi vat;n.. Government errors ; but their capacity of investigating error t,` • s is not limited to one department. Knowledge gives a community not only more power to assert its rights, more power to punish its wrongs, but more power to increase its comforts—more power to make money. We need not use many words to prove this last fact; for let the advocates of ignorance declaim as they will, none of them is so hardy as to deny that the more knowledge there is in any kingdom, the more wealth is ever found in it. All ignorant nations are also poor—poor in the precise degree of their ignorance. Here: then is our argument with Mr. -GOULBURN, or his successor whoever he may be—" Give the people cheap information, give them increase of knowledge ; and you will enable them to see their interests better, to pursue it more undeviatingly, to realize higher returns on their transactionsond, as a crowning mercy, to pay your other imposts with readier hands and a more willing heart."
Mr. Owsses remarks on the press of Great Britain—bating always his theory of superstition, which, as we have said, mingles with all that he advocates—are judicious.
The press of Great Britain is essentially influenced by the press of London ; and in most cases, the wisest conduct is to meet every difficulty fairly, and to go at once to the root of the evil. The root of this evil, then, is in London, and chiefly in the Daily Press, which directly and indirectly has a considerable influence in forming the public opinion of Great Britain. The Weekly Press of London has also some share in forming the opinion of the multitude. But the great engine for good or evil in this country, is the continued impression made day by day by the London Press on the minds of all ranks, and to a considerable extent on the civilized world. It is capable of being made r,lither a blessing of the very highest magnitude, or the very bane of so. -iety. As it is now directed, it is neither the one nor the other. Its .power is neutralized by the mixture of truth and error which it daily disleminates. It is therefore of the greatest importance that measures 'should be devised to improve the character of the London Press, and to emancipate it from the influence and oppression of superstition, that it 'may become a vehicle of truth and valuable knowledge to the public. 'Were it relieved from the trammels of superstition, the London Press might be made to diffuse more useful and valuable knowledge over the "British dominions and the civilized world in one year, than it has done tor the last hundred years ; and at a very small part of the expense, which is now daily incurred, to keep the population in ignorance of its true interests."
The above formed part of a speech delivered at Freemason's Hall on Tuesday, at a meeting called for the purpose of considering the defects of the press and the best means of remedying them. In the course of his argument, Mr. OWEN was led to give a character of the different London Journals. We cannot say that his observations display much discrimination, or a very intimate knowledge of the subject ; but as a matter of curiosity, they are not without value. The public has often enough heard our opinion of one another ; for the mere novelty of the thing, it is worth while to listen to the opinion entertained out of doors as well as in. The following is his estimate of the Daily Morning Journals, the most important in the list.
"The Times, which may be called the leading journal—not of Europe only, but of the civilized world—is an extensive commercial establishment, too valuable in the estimation of the proprietors to be injured in its pecuniary affairs by attacking superstition in its strong holds. It maintains its superiority at a large annual expenditure, and is conducted with great ability as a commercial concern. It is of use to the public in preventing some of the grossest acts of oppression from the powerful to the weak ; but it cannot afford to advocate fundamental truths of the highest importance to society, when those truths are in opposition to the notions on which the superstition of Europe has been established, and is now maintained. The second morning paper in circulation is said to be the Morning. Herald. This paper, 'during the lifetime of the late proprietor, Mr. Thwaites, who lately died, was more free from the influence of superstition than any other daily paper. Its columns were occasionally opened to arguments on both sides of the great question of religion, as far as those in favour of truth could be admitted by a commercial establishment without altogether compromising its pecuniary interest 'with the public. But since the death of Mr. Thwaites, it has become a mere party paper in support of the superstition of the country, without any of the former impartial principles remaining which made it so "value* to, the public, The Morning Chronicle is the jaw* of the Whigs—one of the chief advocates of the Modern Political Economists ; and although it pretty boldly attacks the most glaring errors and oppressions of the Church of England, it cannot venture to attack the fundamental notions of superstition, and for its sale it must be subservient to the
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Whig party, and to the Modern Political Economists. The former s a political party who desire to obtain the government of the country from their opponents : the latter are a strong party of Economists, who have
powerfully attacked old commercial monopolies, an i
d are useful n pulling down error ; but they possess no practical knowledge how to build up. They have performed all the good their theories will permit them to do ; and now they are themselves obstacles in the way of important improvements. The Morning Chronicle is, however, a useful paper, inasmuch as it attacks again and again some of the outworks of superstition, and is conducted with considerable liberality and ability. The Morning Post is supported by that part of the aristocracy of the country who desire that old institutions should remain untouched, and, more especially, that the superstition of our forefathers should be held sacred. It therefore, cannot avoid defending what may be called the errors of antiquity, in opposition to modern discoveries and improvements in religion, governments, and laws. It has, however, upon several occasions, liberally admitted into its columns sentiments and arguments directly opposed to the professed principles of the paper, and of course to its pecuniary interests. This is more than can be reasonably expected from any parties who support their families by the profits of their paper. The Morning Advertiser and Public Ledger are fairly-conducted papers, but purely commercial, written for and supported by particular commercial interests, and it cannot be expected that their columns can be occupied with anything in opposition to their interests."
Mr. OWEN proposes to place the Newspaper Press of this coun try on the same fmiting as that of America. In the United States, there is no duty but a post-office duty, on the transmission, of papers ; and that is extremely small—about fd. for the whole extent of the States. The petitions to the King and the two Houses of Parliament, which Mr. OWEN submitted -and which were agreed to after a good deal of discussion—pray that the same measure of indulgence may be extended to Englishmen that is enjoyed by the citizens of the United States. Mr. OWEN admitted that he did not expect that the prayer of the petition would be granted immediately ; but he hoped that.others might be induced by his example to come forward. We do think, that if many come forward, they will compel attention, and we sincerely hope they may. The amount of the tax is too Contemptible to be retained even were its object legitimate.
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