ADVERTISEMENT. In the English, Scotch, and Irish newspapers, and other periodical works, there are annually published above two millions of announcements known by the name Advertisement. The duty on a single advertisement was fortherly 3s Gd. in Great Britain, and 2s. Gd. in Ireland ; but by 3 81;4 Wm, IV., c. 28, it was reduced to ls. Gd. in Great Britain, and ls. in Ireland. In the year previous to this reduction the total num ber of newspaper advertisements published in the United Kingdom was 1021,043 ; namely, 787,619 in England, 108,011 in Scotland, and 125,380 in Ireland. The duty amounted to 172,570f., and had been stationary for several years. In 1841 the number of advertisements had increased to 1,778,957 ; namely 1,386,625 for England and Wales, 188,189 in Scotland, and 204,143 in Ireland. The total amount of duty was 128,318/. ; and it has progres sively increased from the time when the reduction took place. In 1840, the total number of advertisements was 2,109,170, of which 1,068,156 were for England and Wales ; 234,100 for Scotland ; and 200,857 for Ireland. In the last session of parliament, a considera ble effort was made to induce the government to surrender this tax upon the publicity of all those announcements which arise out of a highly complicated state of society. The conti nual increase of advertisements, even under the tax, is a proof of the absolute necessity which exists, of supplying the public with informa tion through this medium. No other mode
of publishing is so effectual as the Newspaper Advertisements ; and thus the size of news papers has been doubled in many instances, to allow of the insertion of a greater number. Advertisements generally supply the fund out of which newspapers are supported, as the price at which the newspaper is sold is insuf ficient to pay the cost of the stamp, the paper, the printing, and the editorial management. The lowest price of an advertisement in a London daily newspaper is now 5s. (except applications for places by servants, which, in the last page of the Times,' are 3s. ad.), which includes the duty : such advertisement must not exceed five lines. The usual prac tice is to charge Gd. per line for each line above four ; but when the number of lines ex ceeds about twenty, the rate of charge is increased, the longest advertisements being at the highest rate. The duty on short advertisements constitutes a tax of 66 Per cent. If the duty were abolished, the minimum price of advertisements would pro bably be ls. in all but a few papers. The yearly number of advertisements in the United States, where no duty on them exists, is said to exceed 10,000,000.