Person other than a Commissioner of Stamps and Taxes, or Officer of
Stamp Duties, to sell, supply, or part with any Paper stamped for
the purpose of being used for printing Newspapers thereon, unless
nor until such Person shall be duly licensed and authorized by the
said Commissioners to vend Newspaper Stamps, and shall have given
Security by Bond to His Majesty, with sufficient Sureties, to be
approved of by the said Commissioners, in such Sum as the said
Commissioners shall think reasonable, and the several Conditions of
such Bond shall be as follow; (that is to say,) that such Vendor of
Newspaper Stamps shall and will deliver or cause to be delivered to
the said Commissioners, within Four Days after the End of every Six
Weeks, a true and accurate Account of the Quantities and Kinds of
all Paper stamped as aforesaid by him sold, supplied, or delivered
during such Six Weeks immediately preceding, and to what Persons,
naming them; and that such Vendor will not sell, supply, or part with
any such Paper to or on account of any Person other than a Printer,
Publisher, or Proprietor of a Newspaper; and that such Vendor will
not sell, supply, or part with such Paper to or on account of any
such Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor, until the Person applying
for the same shall have delivered to such Vendor a Certificate
signed by One or more of the said Commissioners, or by the proper
authorized Officer of Stamp Duties, purporting that such Security as
is required by Law hath been given by the Printer, Publisher, and
Proprietor respectively of the Newspaper for the printing of which
such stamped Paper is to be sold, supplied, or parted with, and that
such Declaration hath been made and delivered respecting the same
as is by this Act required; and that such Vendor will not sell,
supply, or part with any such Paper to or on account of any Printer,
Proprietor, or Publisher of any Newspaper, with respect to whom
Notice shall be given to such Vendor by the said Commissioners or any
such Officer that such Security has not been duly given, or has not
been renewed, pursuant to this Act, or is not remaining in Force,
or that the Parties or any of them who have given the same are or
is dead, or gone Abroad, or are or is not to be found, or that such
Parties or any of them have or hath given Notice that they or he are
or is no longer concerned as Printers, Publishers, or Proprietors,
or as a Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of such Newspaper, or that
no such Declaration respecting the same, as required by this Act,
hath been made and delivered, or that any such Printer, Publisher,
or Proprietor hath become disabled or disqualified under this Act to
be the Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of any such Newspaper or to
receive stamped Paper for the Purpose of printing the same; and if
any Person as aforesaid shall sell, supply, or part with any such
stamped Paper for the Purpose aforesaid without having given such
Security as aforesaid, or if any Person who shall obtain or receive
any stamped Paper for the printing of any Newspaper of which he is
or shall be the Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor, shall furnish or
supply any other Person with any such stamped Paper, or if any Person
shall use for the printing of any Newspaper any stamped Paper which
he shall receive or be furnished with by or from any Person other
than the said Commissioners or their Officers, or some Person duly
authorised to sell or distribute such stamped Paper, every Person
so offending shall for every such Offence forfeit the Sum of Fifty
Pounds; and in any Proceeding for Recovery of such Penalty in the
last-mentioned Case, it shall lie on the Person sought to be charged
with such Offence to prove that the stamped Paper used by such Person
in the printing of any Newspaper was obtained by such Person from
the said Commissioners or their Officers, or from some Person duly
authorized to sell or distribute such stamped Paper; any Law or Usage
to the contrary notwithstanding.
s. 16. “And be it enacted, That every Person printing or publishing,
or being concerned either as Proprietor or otherwise in printing
or publishing, any Newspaper upon Paper not duly stamped, shall be
deemed and taken to owe to his Majesty such Sums of Money as would
have accrued to his Majesty in case the same had been printed upon
Paper duly stamped; and whenever any Information or Bill shall be
filed, or other Proceeding shall be had on His Majesty’s Behalf, for
Discovery of the Matters aforesaid, and for an Account and Payment
of such Sums, it shall not be lawful for the Defendant to plead or
demur to such Information, Bill, or Proceeding, but he shall be
compellable to make such Discovery as shall be thereby required to be
made: Provided always, that such Discovery shall not be made use of
as Evidence or otherwise in any Proceeding against any such Defendant
except only in that Proceeding in which the Discovery is made.
s. 17. “And be it enacted, That if any Person shall knowingly and
wilfully print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any
Newspaper on Paper not duly stamped according to Law, or if any
Person shall knowingly and wilfully sell, utter, or expose to Sale,
or shall dispose of or distribute, any Newspaper not duly stamped
as aforesaid, or if any Person shall knowingly and wilfully have in
his Possession any Newspaper not duly stamped as aforesaid, every
Person so offending in any of the Cases aforesaid shall for every
such Newspaper, and for every Copy thereof not duly stamped, forfeit
the Sum of Twenty Pounds; and moreover it shall be lawful for any
Officer of Stamp Duties, or for any Person appointed or authorized by
the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes in that Behalf, to seize and
apprehend any such Offender as aforesaid, and to take him or cause
him to be taken before any Justice of the Peace having Jurisdiction
where the Offence shall be committed, who shall hear and determine
the Matter in a summary Way; and if upon Conviction such Offender
shall not immediately pay the Penalty or Penalties in which he shall
be convicted, such Justice shall forthwith commit him to Prison for
any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months, nor less than One
Calendar Month, unless such Penalty or Penalties shall be sooner
paid: Provided always, that if any such Offender as aforesaid shall
not be apprehended and proceeded against in the Manner herein-before
directed, then the said Penalty or Penalties incurred by any such
Offence as aforesaid shall be recoverable by any other of the Ways
and Means provided for the Recovery of Penalties incurred under this
Act.
s. 18. “And be it enacted, That if any Person shall knowingly and
wilfully directly or indirectly send or carry, or endeavour to send
or carry, or cause or procure to be sent or carried, or do or cause
to be done any Act whatever for or towards the sending or carrying,
or for or towards the causing or procuring to be sent or carried, or
with Intent that the same should be sent or carried, out of any Part
of the United Kingdom, any Newspaper, the same not being duly stamped
according to Law, such Person shall forfeit for every such Offence
the Sum of Fifty Pounds; and it shall be lawful for any Officer
of Stamp Duties, or for any Person appointed or authorized by the
Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes in that Behalf, without any other
Warrant than this Act, to seize and take away all Newspapers not duly
stamped wheresoever the same shall be found, unless the same shall be
in the Possession of some Person having the Custody thereof by lawful
Authority; and all Newspapers not duly stamped which shall be seized
or taken under any of the Provisions of this Act shall be destroyed
or otherwise disposed of as the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes may
direct.
s. 19. “And be it enacted, That if any Person shall file any Bill in
any Court for the Discovery of the Name of any Person concerned as
Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor of any Newspaper, or of any Matters
relative to the printing or publishing of any Newspaper, in order
the more effectually to bring or carry on any Suit or Action for
Damages alleged to have been sustained by reason of any slanderous
or libellous Matter contained in any such Newspaper respecting such
Person, it shall not be lawful for the Defendant to plead or demur
to such Bill, but such Defendant shall be compellable to make the
Discovery required: Provided always, that such Discovery shall not be
made use of as Evidence or otherwise in any Proceeding against the
Defendant, save only in that Proceeding for which the Discovery is
made.
s. 20. “And be it enacted, That the Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor
of every Newspaper shall, within Twenty-eight Days after the last Day
of every Calendar Month, pay or cause to be paid the Duty chargeable
on all and every Advertisement and Advertisements contained in or
published with such Newspaper during the said Calendar Month to
the Receiver General of Stamps and Taxes, or to the proper Officer
appointed to receive the same, at the Head Office for Stamps in the
Cities of _Westminster_, _Edinburgh_, or _Dublin_ respectively,
if such Newspaper shall be printed or published within any of the
said Cities, or within Twenty Miles thereof respectively, and if
the same shall be printed or published in any other Part of the
United Kingdom, then to the Distributor of Stamps in whose District
such Newspaper shall be printed or published; and if any Printer,
Publisher, or Proprietor of any Newspaper shall neglect to pay
within Ten Days next after Notice given to him by any Officer of
Stamp Duties, after the Expiration of the said Term of Twenty-eight
Days, the Duty on any such Advertisement, it shall be lawful for
the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes and their Officers, and they
are hereby required, to refuse to sell or deliver, and also to give
Notice to and to require any Vendor of such stamped Paper to refuse
to sell or deliver, to or for the Use of such Printer, Publisher,
or Proprietor, any such stamped Paper for printing such Newspaper
thereon until all Arrears of Advertisement Duty, to the Payment of
which such Printer, Publisher, or Proprietor may be subject, shall be
duly paid and discharged up to and for the last Day of the Month next
preceding the Month in which such Payment shall be made.
s. 21. “And be it enacted, That One printed Copy of every periodical
literary Work or Paper (not being a Newspaper), containing or having
published therewith any Advertisements or Advertisement liable to
Stamp Duty, which shall be published within the Cities of _London_,
_Edinburgh_, or _Dublin_ respectively, or within Twenty Miles thereof
respectively, shall, within the Space of Six Days next after the
Publication thereof, be brought, together with all Advertisements
printed therein, or published or intended to be published therewith,
to the Head Office for Stamps in _Westminster_, _Edinburgh_, or
_Dublin_, nearest to which such literary Work or Paper shall have
been published, and the Title thereof, and the Christian Name and
Surname of the Printer and Publisher thereof, with the Number of
Advertisements contained therein or published therewith, and any
Stamp Duty by Law payable in respect of such Advertisements shall be
registered in a Book to be kept at such Office, and the Duty on such
Advertisements shall be there paid to the Receiver General of Stamps
and Taxes for the Time being, or his Deputy or Clerk, or the proper
authorized Officer; and One printed Copy of every such literary Work
or Paper as aforesaid which shall be published in any Place in the
United Kingdom not being within the Cities of _London_, _Edinburgh_,
or _Dublin_, or within Twenty Miles thereof respectively, shall,
within the Space of Ten Days next after the Publication thereof, be
brought, together with all such Advertisements as aforesaid, to the
Head Distributor of Stamps for the Time being within the District
in which such literary Work or Paper shall be published, and such
Distributor is hereby required forthwith to register the same in
manner aforesaid in a Book to be by him kept for that Purpose,
and the Duty payable in respect of such Advertisements shall be
thereupon paid to such Distributor; and if the Duty which shall be
by Law payable in respect of any such Advertisements as aforesaid
shall not be duly paid within the respective Times and in the Manner
herein-before limited and appointed for that Purpose, the Printer
and Publisher of such literary Work or Paper, and every other Person
concerned in the printing or publishing thereof, and the Publisher
of any such Advertisements, shall respectively forfeit the Sum of
Twenty Pounds for every such Offence; and in any Action, Information,
or other Proceeding for the Recovery of such Penalty, or for the
Recovery of the Duty on any such Advertisements, Proof of the Payment
of the said Duty shall lie upon the Defendant.
s. 22. “And be it enacted, That upon Information given before any
Justice of the Peace upon the Oath of One or more credible Person or
Persons (which Oath such Justice is hereby empowered and required to
administer) that there is reasonable and probable Cause to suspect
any Person of being or having been, at any Time within One Calendar
Month last preceding, in any Way knowingly and wilfully engaged or
concerned in printing, publishing, vending, or otherwise distributing
any Newspaper not duly stamped as required by Law, or of being
unlawfully possessed of any Newspapers not duly stamped as aforesaid,
or that any Printing Press, Engine, Machine, Types, or other
Implements or Utensils for printing is or are or have been by any
Person knowingly and wilfully used within the Time last aforesaid for
the Purpose of composing or printing any Newspaper not duly stamped
as aforesaid, or that any such Newspapers are sold or distributed,
or kept for Sale or Distribution, or are unlawfully deposited in
any Place, then and in every such Case it shall be lawful for such
Justice and he is hereby required, upon the Application of any
Officer of Stamp Duties, to grant a Warrant under his Hand, directed
to any Constable or other Peace Officer, or any Officer of Stamp
Duties, or other Person or Persons named in such Warrant, authorizing
and empowering him or them, with such other Person or Persons as he
or they shall call to his or their Assistance, to enter and search in
the Daytime, any House, Room, Shop, Warehouse, Outhouse, Building,
or other Place belonging to such suspected Person, or where such
Person shall be suspected of being engaged or concerned or of having
been engaged or concerned in the Commission of any such illegal Act
as aforesaid, or where any such Printing Press, Engine, Machine,
Types, Implements, or Utensils suspected to be or to have been used
for any such illegal Purpose as aforesaid shall be or be suspected
to be, or where any such Newspapers as aforesaid are suspected to
be sold or distributed, or kept or deposited as aforesaid; and if
upon any such Search as aforesaid any Newspapers not duly stamped as
aforesaid, or any Printing Press, Engine, Machine, Types, Implements,
or Utensils which shall have been used in printing or publishing
any such Newspaper as aforesaid within the Time last aforesaid,
shall be found, it shall be lawful for the Person or Persons named
in such Warrant, and his or their Assistant or Assistants, to seize
and take away the same, together with all other Presses, Engines,
Machines, Types, Implements, Utensils, and Materials for printing
belonging to the same Person, or which shall be found in the same
House, Room, Shop, Warehouse, Outhouse, Building, or Place; and all
such Presses, Engines, Machines, Types, Implements, Utensils, and
Materials shall be forfeited to the Use of His Majesty, and shall be
proceeded against to Condemnation in His Majesty’s Court of Exchequer
in _England_, _Scotland_, or _Ireland_ respectively, in like Manner
as in the Case of any Goods seized as forfeited for any Breach of the
Laws relating to His Majesty’s Revenues of Customs or Excise.
s. 23. “And be it enacted, That upon the Execution of any Warrant
granted under this Act, authorizing any Search to be made in any
House, Room, Shop, Warehouse, Outhouse, Building, or other Place,
if on Demand of Admittance and Notice of any such Warrant the Door
of any such House, Room, Shop, Warehouse, Outhouse, Building, or
other Place shall not be forthwith opened, it shall be lawful for
the Constable or other Peace Officer having the Execution of such
Warrant, or for any other Person or Persons to whom such Warrant
shall be directed, in the Presence of any Constable or other Peace
Officer, in the Daytime, to break open such Door and to enter thereat
for the Purpose of making such Search as aforesaid; and if any Person
shall refuse to permit any Constable, Peace Officer, or Officer of
Stamp Duties, or any other Person duly authorized in that Behalf, to
enter into any House, Room, Shop, Warehouse, Outhouse, Building, or
other Place for the Purpose of making any Search by or under this
Act directed or authorized to be made, or shall resist, obstruct,
molest, prevent, or hinder any such Constable, Officer, or Person
as aforesaid in the making of any such Search, or in the Execution
of any Warrant issued under or in pursuance of this Act, or in the
seizing or taking away of any Goods, Chattels, Articles, Matters, or
Things which may be lawfully seized or taken, or in the apprehending
or detaining of any Offender or other Person who may lawfully be
apprehended or detained, or otherwise in the Execution of any of
the Duties, Powers, or Authorities given to or vested in any such
Constable, Officer, or other Person as aforesaid by or under any of
the Provisions of this Act, every Person so offending in any of the
several Cases aforesaid shall forfeit for every such Offence the Sum
of Twenty Pounds; and all Constables and other Peace Officers shall
be and they are hereby required to be aiding and assisting in the
Execution of all Warrants issued under this Act; and if any Constable
or other Peace Officer shall neglect or refuse to do or perform
any Service or Duty by this Act required or directed to be done or
performed by him, or shall neglect or refuse to aid and assist in
the Execution of any such Warrant as aforesaid, or of any of the
Provisions of this Act, upon proper Application or Notice made or
given to him in that Behalf, or shall neglect or refuse to execute or
serve any Warrant or Summons granted or issued pursuant to any of the
Provisions of this Act, every such Constable or Peace Officer shall
forfeit Ten Pounds for every such Neglect or Refusal.
s. 24. “And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for every Person
having in his Possession any Printing Press, or any Engine or
Machine for printing, if he shall think fit, to deliver or cause to
be delivered in the Manner herein-after mentioned a Notice thereof
signed with his own Hand in the Presence of and attested by an
Officer of Stamp Duties, which Notice shall specify the Christian
Name and Surname and Place of Abode of the Person possessed of any
such Printing Press, Engine, or Machine, and a true Description of
the House or Building and Place in which the same shall be kept
and used for printing; and every such Person who shall give any
such Notice as aforesaid shall also at the same Time, if he shall
think fit, deliver or cause to be delivered in like Manner a List of
all or any of the periodical Papers for the printing of which any
such Press, Engine, or Machine is used or intended to be used, and
every such Person as aforesaid shall afterwards from Time to Time
quarterly, that is to say, within Seven Days after the First Day
of _March_, the First Day of _June_, the First Day of _September_,
and the First Day of _December_ in every Year, deliver or cause
to be delivered in like Manner a similar List of all or any of
such periodical Papers as aforesaid; and in the meantime and from
Time to Time as often as such Person shall undertake or permit
the printing with any such Press, Engine, or Machine as aforesaid
of any periodical Paper not specified in the last quarterly List
delivered by such Person, he shall, if he shall think fit, before
the Commencement of the printing of such last-mentioned Paper, or
within Three Days next after any Part or Number thereof shall be
first printed with any such Press, Engine, or Machine as aforesaid,
give Notice of the printing thereof in manner herein-after mentioned;
and every such List and Notice of Papers for the printing of which
any such Press, Engine, or Machine is used or intended to be used
shall be signed by the Person possessed of such Printing Press,
Engine, or Machine with his own Hand, or by some Person appointed
and authorised by him for that Purpose, and of whose Appointment
and Authority Notice in Writing signed by the Person possessed of
such Press, Engine, or Machine as aforesaid, in the Presence of and
attested by an Officer of Stamp Duties, shall be given to the said
Commissioners, or to the Officer to whom such Lists as aforesaid are
to be delivered; and every such List and Notice of Papers printed or
to be printed as aforesaid shall specify and set forth the correct
Title of every such Paper, and the Name and Place of Abode of the
Printer thereof as the same shall appear in the Imprint, and also the
Name and Place of Abode of the Person who shall employ the Person
possessed of such Press, Engine, or Machine to print or work off
such Paper, or who shall engage or use any such Press, Engine, or
Machine for that Purpose; and every such Notice as aforesaid relating
to the Possession of any Printing Press, Engine, or Machine, and
also every List or Notice of the Papers printed or to be printed
therewith, shall respectively be delivered to the Commissioners of
Stamps and Taxes, or to some Officer appointed by them to receive the
same respectively, at the Head Office for Stamps in _Westminster_,
_Edinburgh_, or _Dublin_, according as the Person giving any such
Notice or List shall reside in _England_, _Scotland_, or _Ireland_,
or to the Distributor of Stamps for the District in which such Person
shall reside.