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HISTORY OF PRINTING.
honuur, and arms, or concerning the office of earl-marshall, are to be licens'd by the earl- marshall for the time being ; or in case there shall not then be an earl-marshall, by the three kings of arms, or any two of them, whereof garter to be one. This is to be the subject of another surveigher's care.
4. Books of history, politiques, state-affairs, and all other miscellanies, or treatises, not com- prehended under the powers before mentioned, fall under the jurisdiction of the principal secre- taries of state, to be allow 'd by themselves, or one of them, or by their, or one of their ap- pointments.
The care of the press concerning these parti- culars may be another surveigher's business ; so that six persons may do the whole work, with good order and security. Three substitutes for uie bishops, and chancellouis, and one a-plece for the rest. A word now touching the encou- ragement of these officers, and then concerning penalties to be inflicted upon offenders, and re- wards to be granted to eniormers.
The inward motive to all publique and honour- able actions, must be taken for granted to be a principle of loyalty and justice : but the question 18 here concerning outward encouragements to this particular charge. There must be benefit and power. Benefit, that a man may live honesUv upon the employment ; and power, for the creait and execution of the trust
The benefit must arise partly from some cer- tain and standing fee ; and in part from accessory and contingent advantages, which will be but few, and small, in proportion to the trouble and charge of the employment : for there must be, first, a constant attendance, and a dayly labour in hunting out, and over-looking books and presses; and secondly, a continual expense in the enterteynment of instruments for discovery and intelligence, which, being deducted out of the pittances of licenses and forfeitures, will leave the surveigher a very small proportion for his peyns.
The next thing is a power to execute; without which, the law is dead, and the officer ridiculous.
Now concerning penalties and rewards: —
1 . The geyn of printing some books is ten times greater, if they scape, wen the loss, if they be taken ; so that the damage bearing such a dis- proportion to the profit, is rather an allurement to offend, then a discouragement.
2. As the punishment is too small for the offender, so is the reward also for the enibrmer; for reckon the time, trouble, and monev, which it shall cost the prosecutor to recover his allot- ment, he shall sit down at last a loser by the bargain, and more than that, he loses his credit and employment, over and above, as a betrayer of his fellows ; so great is the power and confi- dence of the delinquent party.
The way to help this, is to augment both the punishment and the reward, and to provide that the inflicting of the one, and the obteyning of the other, may be both easie and certain ; for to impose a penaltv, and to leave the way of raysing it (0 tedious and difficult, as in this ca^ hitherto
it is, amounts to no more than this : if the ea- former will spend ten pound, 'tis possible he ant recover five ; and so Uie prosecutor must iiopoH a greater penalty upon himself then the law ooes upon the offender, or else all comes to nothing.
An expedient for this inconvenience is higbh necessary; and why may not the oath of oae credible witness or more, before a master of iJk chancery, or a justice of the peace, serve toi» conviction. Especially the person accused beiiy left at libertv before such oath taken, either tu appeal to the privy-council, or to abide the decision. Now to the several sons of penalties, and to the application of them.
The ordinary penalties I find to be theae>- Death, mutilation, imprisonment, banlshmcBt, corporal peyns, disg^race, pecuniary muku; which penalties are to be apply'd with regard I* the qualitv of the offence, and to the coodilioa of the delinquent. The offence is either blas- phemy,heie8ie,schi8m, treason, sedition, scandaL or contempt of authority.
The delinquents are the advisers, anthoB, compilers, wnters, printers, correctors, stitchox, and hinders, of unlawful books and pamphleO: together with all publishers, dispersers, and ooa- cealers of them m general, and all statj o a wn . posts, hackny-coachmen, carryers, boatmen, an- riners, hawkers, mereury-women, pedlers, nai ballad-singers, so offending, in particular.
Penalties of disgrace ordinarily in practice ait many, and more may be added.
Pillory, stocks, whipping, carting, stigmatiz- ing, disableipent to bear office or testimcav, publique recantation, standing under the gal- lows with a rope about the neck at a publ^w execution, disfranchisement (if free-men),caahiet- ing (if souldieis), degrading (if persons of cos- dition), wearing some badge of infamy, oondoa- nation to work either in mines, plantatioiia, at houses of correction.
Under the head of pecuniary mulcts, are oooi- prehended forfeitures, confiscations, loss of any beneficial office or employment, incapacity to hold or enjoy any; and finally, all damafjet accruing, and impos'd, as a punishment for some offence.
Touching the other penalties before-mentioo'd, it suffices only to have nam'd them, and so to proceed to the application of them, with respect to the crime, and to the offender.
The penalty ought to bear proportion to tk malice, and influence of the offence, but will respect to the offender too ; for the same pnoidi- ment (unless it be death itself) is not the sane thing to several persons, and it may be pnper enough to punish one man in his purse, another in his credit, a third in his body, and ^1 for tke same offence. The grand delinquents are, tke authors or compilers (which I reckon as all out) the printers, and stationers.
For the authors, nothing can be too severe that stands with humanitr and conscience. 1. 'TIS the war to cut off the fountain of our troubles. 2. There are not many of them in u age, and so the less work to do.
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