By the Act 18 & 19 Vict., cap. 27, any periodical publication, pub lished at intervals, not exceeding thirty-one days, of which the print does not exceed the prescribed superficies, may claim to be stamped as a newspaper ; but in such case the title must be printed on the top of every page, with the date of publication ; and, when posted, must lie folded so as to show the stamp denoting the duty. Newspapers to be sent abroad by post may be registered at the General Post-office, for which an annual fee of 5s. is charged, the year always terminating on the 30th of June. It is not absolutely necessary that the newspapei should be registered, but the English Post-office then charges 2d. in addition to the foreign or colonial postage. Before a newspaper can be published a notice must be given at the Inland Revenue Office, Somerset House, or at the District Stamp-office, where the form of a "declara tion " will be given, in which is to be stated—the title of the intended paper, quoted literally ; the place where it is to be printed, giving the number of the house, the name of the street and of the parish in which it is situated, and the name of the occupier if it forms part of a dwelling-house ; and the like particulars respecting the place of publi cation if it differs from the place of printing ; the Christian and sur names of the printers and publishers ; the number of shares into which the property is divided whenever the number, exclusive of the printer and publisher, exceeds two ; and the Christian and surnames, residences, and occupations, of every proprietor, with the number of shares to each when two, exclusive of the printer and This declaration must be made by the proprietor, or two proprietors, or by tevo of the largest shareholders where the number exceeds two, who must also furnish two respectable householders as sureties against the publication of seditious, blasphemous, or personal libels, to the amount of 400/. in London and 300/. elsewhere. A news paper published before these securities are given subjects the proprietors to a penalty of 20/. The paper when published must have across the bottom of the last page or the last column, the names and residences of the printer and publisher, the place of publication, tbe date, and the price, under a similar penalty for neglect. A supplement nmst not be issued without the paper itself ; and a copy of the paper, which is paid for, must be transmitted to the Stamp-office on the day of publication or the day after in London, Edinburgh, or Dublin, and elsewhere within three days, under tbe like penalty of 20/. for, each offence; but the penalties can only be sued for by the Attorney-General or the Stamp office.
The size and amount of stamp-duty for newspapers are defined as follows by the 16 & 17 Vict., cap. 63 :—Newspaper stamps are to be ld. only, for a superficies of print, on one side of the paper, not ex ceeding 2295 inches, whether published as a supplement or not ; any supplement that with the paper does not exceed that quantity is to be exempt ; and any other supplement to a duly stamped newspaper not containing a superficies on one side of more than 1148 inches of print is to be subject to a stamp of one halfpenny ; and any two supplements not containing more than 2296 inches, to a duty of one halfpenny each, provided each be published on one sheet of paper only. Newspapers
not stamped go by post at the book-post rate of a penny for 4 ounces, twopence for 8 ounces, and then ascending by twopence for every fraction of 8 ounces; and any number may be sent in one envelope open at the ends.
The largest collection of newspapers in England is in the British Museum. This collection was commenced by a considerable number being sent there, at the time when the Museum was established, with the library of Sir Haus Sloane. Another collection, of itself valued at 1000L, was purchased in 1813 with the library of the late Dr. Charles Burney. At the end of two or three years from the time of publication the commissioners of stamps now transfer to the British Museum, for public use, copies of all the stamped newspapers, both of town and country.
In Germany newspapers originated in the 'Relations,' as they were termed, which sprung up at Augsburg and Vienna in 1524, at Ratisbon in 1528, at Dillingen in 1569, and at Nurnberg in 1571, and which appeared in the form of letters printed, but without date, place, or number. The first German newspaper in numbered sheets was printed in 1611 Italian journals were also early, and France has many news papers, both in Paris and the provinces, but they were started under the protection of the government, and have never been long free from government control. At present all are liable to warnings for any infraction of prescribed rules, involving suspension and ultimate suppression, a power that has been very freely exercised. Every civiliacd country has now ita newspapers; and in the founding of au English or American settlement, the is among the first establishments.
In the United States the increase of newspapers has been more rapid than in England. In the year 1704, the first Anglo-American news paper, called the 'Boston ews Letter,' was published at Boston. In 1719 the first newspaper was published in Pennsylvania ; and in 1733 the first newspapers were published in New York aud Rhode Island. Now there is hardly a petty town in any of the twenty-six states with out its newspaper, and in the large cities, such as New York, several are published daily. At the Census of 1850, as far as returns were made, there were 254 daily papers published in the United States ; 115 " trbweekly ;" 31 " semi-weekly ; ' and 1902 weekly. Among these nearly 50 papers were published in the German language; about a dozen in French ; several in Spanish, Italian, &c. In Pennsylvania a considerable number of newspapers are printed in the German language, and distributed among the numerous German settlers in that state. One German newspaper at least is also published in Maryland, and perhaps more. In Louisiana, some papers aro printed both in French and English.