at the letter rate by the ounce, but wished to
bring under the Stamp Act that portion of their impression which would
pass by post, and pay duty accordingly on those copies only. This course
was agreed to by the Government in 1838,[290] subject to a maximum limit
of weight per copy of 2 ounces. The privilege was at first conceded only
to periodicals, termed "class" newspapers, dealing with a particular
subject and addressed to a certain class of the community, such as, for
instance, papers relating to law, medicine, or architecture. It was
restricted to papers dealing with what might be termed the higher
intellectual subjects. These were held to form fair ground of
exemption; but other specialist papers relating to subjects less
intellectual then appeared; such as papers relating to turf news, or
reporting cases before the police courts. These papers being entirely
devoted to one subject, it became a question whether the privilege of
stamping only a part of their impression could be given them. Instead of
attempting any sort of discrimination in such cases, the Government made
one general rule that all papers devoted to the discussion of one
subject should be accorded the privilege. Thereupon a great variety of
such papers came into existence, and very soon some of them began to
include in their issues matter which could only be regarded as news of a
general character. This raised a further question: how much such general
news should be regarded as destroying the "class" character of the
publication. The Government found themselves in a difficulty. If the law
was not rigorously enforced, the papers paying the tax raised a great
outcry against the injustice to themselves; and if the law was enforced
in respect of those "class" publications which published general news,
there was a great outcry against the discrimination between the "class"
papers.[291]

The whole position in regard to these papers became unsatisfactory and
anomalous.[292] It was, in point of fact, found impossible to enforce
the law. The outbreak of the Crimean War led to a development which
reduced the whole position to absurdity. Publications were issued giving
the latest and fullest available intelligence from the seat of war.
These publications confined themselves strictly to the subject of the
war. They published nothing on any other topic; and on that ground,
although devoted entirely to the publication of news of burning
interest, they claimed to