Selected quad for the lemma: book_n
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A58261
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Reasons humbly offered to be considered before the Act for Printing be renewed (unless with alterations) viz. for freedom of trade in lawful books, and setting severe penalties on scandalous and seditious books against the government
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1692
(1692)
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Wing R548A; ESTC R217973
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5,962
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5
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Reasons humbly offered to be considered before the Act for Printing be renewed unless with Alterations viz. for Freedom of Trade in Lawful Books and setting severe Penalties on Scandalous and Seditious Books against the Government THE Trade of Printing hath been an Ancient Manufacture of this Kingdom and as such fit to be Encouraged for the publick good yet by that Act and the great Powers thereby given or at least colourably thence taken by the Masters and Wardens of the Stationers Company and other Patentees to the very great Prejudice and publick Damage of the Nation by inhauncing the Price of Books and also to the Impoverishment of the generality of the Members of that Company viz. Printers Booksellers Book-binders Haberdashers and several other considerable Traders who have been thereby restrained from the most beneficial part of their Ancient Trade and Right by their Apprenticeship King James I. about the thirteenth Year of his Reign granted to the Master Wardens and Comminalty of the Mystery of Stationers London a Patent of Priviledge to Print Utter and Sell all manner of Primers Psalters Psalms Almanacks and several other Books for ever with a Clause of Prohibition to all others therein also giving Power to the said Master Wardens and Assistants to make By-Laws for the management of the said Patent who have so effectually contrived their own Profit therein that for thirty Years last past they have constantly divided above 12 l. per cent yearly besides other frequent and more private Dividends and extravagantly chargable Feastings out of the Profits of the thus monopolized Trade excluding the generality of the Members of that Company from any Benefit of the said Patent though it was granted to the whole Body In the year 1662. they did by the Solicitation of Sir R. Lestrange obtain the said Act under the specious Colour of Preventing Seditious Scandalous and Treasonable Books c. which indeed was principally by them designed to support their intended Monopoly for in a very short Time after they purchased into their Hands several other Patents which they had set Agents on to beg of the then King To purchase which Patents they have engag'd the Corporations Inheritance and brought a Rent-charge thereon to almost 600 l. per ann to the very great Injury of the Corporation in general to serve a particular End And then confederating with other Patentees Bibles and the generality of other Books of publick and general use were got into Patents and that so comprehensive that near seventy several Books were got into one Patent and thereby advanced to above double the Price they were sold for before And to secure their Monopoly from expiring and to tye up the Crown therein from investing any others during that Time they obtained two or three Patents for the same Books to take place in Reversion almost to an hundred Years to come Our own Printers being thus restrained the greatest part of the Printing-trade was carried hence into Holland viz. English Bibles Common-Prayer Books Testaments Psalters Grammars Almanacks and multitudes of other Books of general and perpetual use and from thence exported to all our Foreign Plantations Ireland Scotland and also hither for the gain of above cent per cent to the Traders therein Vast Quantities of these Books have been seized by these Patentees who besides Seizure did also prosecute the Persons in whose Hands they found them by vertue of the said Act and thereby extorted exorbitant Sums of Mony beyond the Penalty of the said Act they having taken Care to have the Penalty of their thus monopoliz'd Books ascertained by the said Act the Penalty being 6 s. 8 d. per Book But Seditious and Treasonable Books they were thereby only charged as an Offence against the said Act which was an Offence by other Laws before that Act and will be so when it is expired These Patentees after having as aforesaid by Seizure amassed great numbers of these Holland printed Books they on purpose forbear to furnish the Market with the same of their own Printing all other Printers being by the said Act restrained from that part of Trade have to a thus empty Market sold again the said seized Books and have further reseized the very same Books themselves sold and likewise prosecuted the Persons again in whose Hands they found them extorting from them the Penalty of the said Act of 6 s 8 d. to the utter Ruin of many considerable Merchants and other Traders They having procured an Agent of their own whom for his Encouragement they made Partner in this their Monopoly to be made Messenger of the Press under the specious Pretence of serving the Government in suppressing Seditious Books which was only a Colour to carry on the Ends aforesaid They joyned together and bought three Horses and sent the Clark and Beadle the Servants of the Master and Wardens and a Secretary's Messenger to ride all England over to seize on the Books in their Patents which they alledged to be counterfeit Who did seize accordingly though on many of such as were of their own Printing And after two or three Months Ravage they returned back giving an Account to the said Master and Wardens and the other Patentees what Books and from whom they had seized them These Patentees sent Writs out of the Exchequer and King's-bench to prosecute the Persons from whom they had seized upon the Penalty of the said Act many of which Books thus seized had been before sold by the Plaintiffs in the Prosecution and did force exorbitant Compositions Mr. John Jekil stood Trial for about 25 Bibles before Judge Hales and was cast upon the said Act and paid 6 s 8 d per Book for the Bible to one Patentee and 6 s 8 d. per Book for the Psalms to the other Patentees though but one Book yet thus divided made two Penalties Mr. Jekil paid about fifty Pounds Costs and Forfeitures How many Times these Bibles had been seized before they came to Mr. Jekil's Hand and how many times they have been sold and seized since is worthy consideration and this practised under the Authority of that Act. The Noise of Mr. Jekil's Judgment upon his Trial coming abroad into the Countries to the Knowledg of those prosecuted there frighted them so that some came up to Town and others sent to their Correspondents and Friends here to compound with the Prosecutors at any Rate whose Composition was usually 6 s 8 d per Book and 40 or 50 Shillings for pretended Charge of Seizure and Prosecution But if a Bible had the Common Prayer in it then there were three times 6 s 8 d. Composition Mony viz. Bible Common Prayer and Psalms how much of which hath come to the King half being his due the Records thereof in the Exchequer may shew It is suggested in the said Act That the Trade of Printing is over-charged with Printers and therefore fit to have their Number retrenched which is Enacted accordingly thereby To which is humbly
supposed That if the Manufacture of Printing were left free as other Trades it would employ above double the number of Printers that are in England and that on Lawful Work too For since the Year 1662. when the Act was made there have more English Bibles and other English Books been printed in Holland by one Athias a Jew among many other Printers there than have been printed by any four Printers in England in that Time which Holland-printed English Books have been merchandized to us and to the King's Subjects in our Plantations abroad which might have been so done from hence had they been afforded here at the same reasonable Rates Which they might have been had the Trade been free Freedom of Printing here would soon produce a Manufacture to export as well to our Plantations as to those very Countries who now furnish us and them whereby the King's Customs would be advanced by Paper imported and Books exported the Merchant enrich'd and the Printer and Book-binder and many other Trades employed which by these Monopolies have been hitherto frustrated These Books being prohibited are always imported by Stealth so that the King is always defrauded in his Customes The Government of all the Printing in England except the two Universities is by the said Act vested into the Hands of the said Master and Wardens who to gain the Universities also into their Hands have farmed the whole Printing in Cambridg And in the year 1688. did petition King James under pretence to be enabled to suppress seditious Books their old Stalking-horse That they might in his Majesty's Name prosecute the Oxford-printing by a Quo Warranto which being granted by the said King the Master Wardens Assistants and the other Patentees did solicit Father Peters and other such fit Instruments to promote the same And in return of this Service besides Clusters of Guineas they suffered their publik Ware-house-keeper to propagate to Sale their Popish Books which was notified to their Party all over the Nation as a happy Omen of its speedy Conversion to the Catholick Faith their Books were now freely printed and sold by the Governours of that Company at their Common Hall Which Prosecution was carried on at the joynt Charge of these Patentees who have since used other means to get the Oxford printing into their Hands for about twelve Months since they did so far endear themselves to Dr. Edwards and Dr. Aldrich one Vice-chancellor of Oxford last Year the other this to whom they gave Bond of many thousand Pounds Penalty to save them harmless in the disposessing the University's Printers and farming the same to these Patentees who had kept down the Price of Books to one third of what these Patentees sold them at before which the said Vice-chanchellors did undertake and effect though contrary to the general Inclination of that venerable Body whereby above 35000 Bibles and many thousands of other Books three quarters finished were rendred waste Paper And twenty or thirty Families that for twelve or fourteen years last past have been maintained by this Manufacture in Oxford are many of them now utterly ruined to make way for present Sale of many Thousands of their formerly seized Holland printed Books and for the rise of Books printed by these Patentees which are already advanced one third Penny and are threatned to be raised double if the Act be renewed which Holland Books by the renewal of the said Act may be re-seized and Prosecutions made again though sold by these Patentees as they formerly have done many times over They are now Zealous to get that Act renewed that they may be enabled to continue these Practices and to tax the Publick as they have done for 30 years past They have thus long taxed the Nation 1500 l. and upwards yearly in the Almanack Trade only and this is their aim in getting the Act renewed they do thereby sell that for three Pence which at one Penny would be a sufficient Trading price and sufficiently gainful They do likewise discourage Authors who for Commenting or Expounding upon part of a Book which is their Text as they use the Term must be constrained to pay them a Premium for it or be forced to fell their Works to them though but for one fourth of what others would give if they had the freedom to Print them which none will dare to do if that Act be renewed Dr. Hammond Mr. Pool and many other Reverend and Learned Authors have been compelled to pay them their extravagant Demands for using the Bible Text to Comment upon tho' but a small part thereof as the Book of Psalms c. The like practised upon Virgil Ovid Terence c. or any of the old Classick School-books which were got into their Patents in some of which the sole Printing of 50 or 60 were contained By the said Act it is Enacted That a Book being Licensed and Entred into the Register Book of the Company of Stationers it is forbid to be Printed without the Owners Licence who by Vertue of that Entry is Owner under the Penalty of 6 s. 8 d. per Book which Register hath by the undue Practices of the Master and Wardens been so ill kept that many Entries have been unduly made insomuch that the true Proprietors both by Purchase License and Entry all duly made of several Books which afterwards have been erased or the Leaves wherein they were written have been cut out and undue Entries made to others who had no right which is directly contrary to the plain words and meaning of the said Act whereby the Owners have not only been defrauded of their Right but also rendred liable to the Penalty of 6 s. 8 d. per Book for all the Books they Printed Sold or bound Many learned Authors have been defrauded of their Rights thereby who after many years Pains and Study and afterwards by a bare Delivery of their Books to be Licensed or Transcribed have been barred by surrepitious Entries made in the said Register to instance in the Book called Regula Placitandi among many others written by a learned Lawyer and worthy Member of this Parliament Wherefore it is humbly represented whether the Irregularities aforesaid may not have rendred the Act impracticable to be executed agreeable to Justice and Equity and if the Act be renewed if it may not establish a wrongful Possession unless that Register be first duly rectified The Property of English Authors hath been always owned as Sacred among the Traders and generally forborn hitherto to be invaded but if any should invade such Properties there is remedy by Laws already made and no other were ever thought needful till 1662. The Works of Homer Hesiod Horace Ovid Virgil Caesar Lucan Plautus Tully Florus Curtius and Multitudes of other ancient Classick Authors which were always free to all Printers and Booksellers to Print before the making of the said Act but since are got into Patents and by that Act prohibited from being Printed under the Penalty of 6 s. 8 d. per Book to the inhansing the Prices the hinderance of the Printer and are only an encouragement for Foreigners to import upon us which are the Grievances long endured and now complained of and humbly Prayed to be considered before the Act for Printing be continued It is said The Charter to the University of Oxford for Printing of all manner of Books which the Master Wardens c. have now farmed into their own Hands is now proposed to be confirmed in Parliament Which Charter if confirmed without a saving to every Man his particular Property seems to defeat all particular Properties in Copies both in respect to Booksellers and Authors and makes the Owners liable to the Penalties in that Charter which are very severe besides the loss of their Property the Patentees will agree the saving of Patent-books peradventure well enough but will readily consent that particular Property may be gain'd into their Controle Till the year 1662. it was not thought needful by any precedent Parliament of England to make an Act for to regulate or restrain Printing more than other Trades neither doth that Act inflict any new Penalty for seditious Books but leaves them to the former Laws About the beginning of the Popish Plot this Act was discontinued and Sir Roger Lestrange Surveyor of the Press and the Messenger of the Press were both severely censured in Parliament and that Act was not thought fit to be renewed till the late King James's Reign where Sir Roger Lestrange being a Member of Parliament got the said Act to be renewed Now if the Tables were turned That scandalous and seditious Books c. were forbid under the Penalty of 6 s. 8 d. or 100 l. per Book and Books thus monopolized by Patents were left to the determination of the Law it is humbly presumed the Government would be much less pestered with them than heretofore neither would there be need to charge the Government with two hundred Pound per Annum for a Surveyor of the Press nor fifty Pound per Annum for a Messenger of the Press as it was formerly to Sir Roger Lestrange if it be not still done so to others If Books Mechanical Mathematical Trade Cookery Husbandry Phisick Surgery Geography and the like were not required to be Licensed the Bishops Chaplains would be so much the less disturbed from their Studies and it is humbly presumed the Government can scarcely be harmed thereby By that Act Printers are restrained from setting up their Trades to which they served their Apprentiship whereby Multitudes of them have been forced to go to Holland and other Countries to work as Journy-men there in Printing English Bibles and other English Books vast numbers whereof have been brought over into England by Merchants for gain one Merchant among many others importing near twenty thousand English Bibles yearly besides vast quantities of our English Books that were got into Patents and restrained by the said Act under the Penalty aforesaid All which Matters are humbly offered to be considered before the said Act be renewed by many hundreds of Traders in the said Manufacture who by having freedom to follow their Trades on lawful Work shall not be necessitated to betake themselves for a Livelihood to unlawful Work as too many have been forced to do or to turn Porters or some other servile Employments which their Parents and Friends little dreamed of when they placed them Apprentices to their Trades FINIS