6 Demy, Pica 'Type' . 0 3 0 Pica Letter, crown pa 0 1 8 per'. .0 1 8 This first column exhibits the prices of Bibles to the people of England-the regular publishing prices. The prices which, for a short period, have been charged to the Bible Society for certain editions, have nothing to do with the general question;-they are the exception; those above set forth are the rule. This fact has, by Mr. Spottiswoode and his abettors, been carefully kept out of view. Englishmen such are the figures and the facts; such is your advantage and your honor! Yours is the delightful privilege of paying nearly one hundred and fifty per cent. more for the Word of God than is paid by the people of Scotland! Behold the blessings of monopoly! You should also remember, that we are not comparing petty and needy tradesmen, or reckless and unprincipled speculators with Mr. Spottiswoode; a course which might be justly excepted against as a matter of doubtful justice. No; the comparison is between the present patentee of England and the late patentee of Scotland-whose Bibles are in most respects equal, and in some points superior, to those of Mr. Spottiswoode-both of them gentlemen of the first respectability. This is a circumstance of the utmost importance. Nor is this all; Sir D. H. Blair pays duty on every page of his books; Mr. Spottiswoode pays not a farthing! This, too, is a circumstance of considerable moment, since it diminishes the profits of the former and augments those of the latter. You will recollect, also, that Sir D. H. Blair is not, like Dr. Thomson's board, selling his Bibles at prime cost, but at a fair living profit. We must, therefore, add the profits of Sir David and his duty on paper to the nearly one hundred and fifty per cent. profit received by Mr. Spottiswoode beyond the prices of Sir D. H. Blair. What then will be the aggregate profits of Mr. Spottiswoode? How much will they fall short of two hundred per cent.?' The gist of Dr. Thomson's plan is to raise, by subscriptions and collections, a fund sufficient to purchase stereotype plates for the respective editions which he purposes to publish; and then to give the Scriptures at the prime cost of paper and press work. This measure is every way as beneficial as it is reasonable and practicable. The objections we have seen urged against it are wholly unworthy of notice. They apply with equal-if not greater-force to all Bible, Tract, and Missionary operations. The expense of the plates divided by 200,000 or 300,000, the number of copies which a set will throw of, sets forth a most insignificant fraction against each copy-a fraction so small that it is scarcely worth the trouble of collecting for it. Dr. Thomson thus details his prices :— I am able to speak distinctly as to the prices of the different kinds of Bibles proposed to be published, and that on the authority of estimates actually received from highly respectable printers on both sides of the Tweed. They are as follow; and, on the terms just to be stated, I may notice that some of the Bibles are actually printing, and will soon be completed. 1. A Pocket Bible, stereotyping and printing in Scotland, from a very beautiful type, price, in sheets, Ild. 2. Another Pocket Bible, of a different size and thinner, of very superior typography, stereotyping in England, but, of course, to be printed in Scotland, price, in sheets, 1s. 3. A Small Pearl-Diamond Testament, price, in sheets, 3d. 4. A School Bible, the same as that issued by the Edinburgh Bible Society, without the Scotch Psalms and Paraphrases, in sheets, Is., or 1s. 6d., bound in sheep; with Psalms and Paraphrases, 1s. 2d. in sheets, or 1s. 8d. bound in sheep. The usual selling price of this Bible, in retail shops, has been 3s. Separate portions of it, for the use of schools, could be purchased at the following rates, viz.:-The Prose Version of the Psalms under 1d. per copy; the Proverbs, three copies for 1d.; the Four Gospels, 1d. per copy; the Acts and Epistles, 14d. per copy; and the New Testament entire, including Metrical Psalms, Paraphrases, &c., 44 per copy. 5. An Octavo Bible, with Psalms and Paraphrases, printed from a large and bold type, and with fine paper, for the use of the aged, price 4s. 5d. in sheets. 6. A Royal Quarto Bible, for the use of families, containing the whole of Brown's Marginal References, making it what he called 'The Self-Interpreting Bible;' together with about 5,300 Critical and Explanatory Notes, and Introductory Remarks to each Sacred Book, by his grandsons, the Editors. This very superior Family Bible, the selling price of which, in shops, would not be less, when bound, than from 30s. to 35s. will cost only 8s. in sheets, and 13s. bound in calf.' Messrs. Renshaw and Kirkman succeed Dr. Thomson, and ex hibit estimates which show that his scale may be reached without subscription. Printers of eminence, indeed, will be found ready at once to merge the plates on orders of hundreds of thousands, or on smaller numbers. Messrs. Renshaw and Kirkman have issued the following proposals for publishing Bibles and Testaments printed from the authorized translation, with Brown's valuable marginal references, at prices greatly below those now charged by the Bible Society. The people of Oxford, finding that something must be done, have issued the following advertisement. CHEAP BIBLES AND TESTAMENTS. The following Bibles and Testaments, printed on a less expensive paper, are now in preparation at the Oxford University Press, and will speedily be published, wholesale, on the following terms:— No. Bibles (in quires) cash price: 1. Demy 4to, English' type, large letter, for the use of aged persons. 2. Small Pica, 8vo..... 3. Brevier, 8vo. s. d. 100 at 7 3 per copy. 300 3 7 300 28 2 3 1000 1 7 . ditto... .. .. Testaments (in quires) cash price: 1. Brevier, 12mo..... 1000 -0 7 2. Brevier, Crown 12mo, School Edition.. 1000 -0 5 This table is, in certain material points, both defective and deceitful. Our space at present forbids analysis and discussion, else we could easily show that, the monopoly apart, it is a very unsatisfactory document. But this matter will no doubt be sifted by those who are watching the movements of the monopolists; to them, therefore, and especially to the editors and correspondents of the Patriot, who have labored in the cause with a zeal so ardent and persevering, and a success so signalwe leave it. After this table we shall hear no more of' exaggera'tion,' 'absurdity,'' impossibility,' and so forth. The Oxford University, which does more Bible business than Cambridge and Mr. Spottiswoode united, has turned queen's evidence against the other monopolists. The case against them is now fairly made out; and it only remains for the people of England to pronounce judgment, and to see that the sentence be fully executed. With us price and quality are very great matters, but we are far from setting lightly by the principle. The detestable monopoly still remains! We earnestly desire to celebrate its funereal obsequies! We long to see it laid in the grave of its forgotten sister, the mother of the almanack imposture! O for another Carnan to assert the liberty of the press in respect of Bible circulation-the great object, doubtless, for which heaven bestowed the art of printing on mankind! To Dr. Thomson, the honored originator of the present movement, we beg to tender our cordial thanks for the signal services which he has rendered to England and to the world by his efforts in this great work. He has aroused not a few minds of powerful grasp and various knowledge, who have in divers ways effectively co-operated in furtherance of the same object. It is needless, we trust, to recommend to our readers the careful perusal of his instructive letter to Lord Bexley, as also of the letters of the author of 'Jethro,' which exhibit the subject in all its varieties of aspect. The contemplation of the foregoing tables and commentaries will surely awaken the attention of our readers to the true nature of the system which has hitherto prevailed in this kingdom. The Bible monopoly is one of the most scandalous abuses of our age and country. Truly may we say with Mr. Martin, in the great parliamentary debate upon patents in the days of Elizabeth, the monopolitans are the bloodsuckers of the com'monwealth!' The profits of this single monopoly to a few individuals, for a long series of years, have been at least twice, if not nearly thrice, the amount of the parliamentary grant bestowed even so late as 1840, for the education of all the youth of this mighty nation! Wisely appropriated, the profits of this monopoly during the last fifty years, might have sufficed for the creation and sustenance of a thorough system of education for every boy and every girl in England. Is the dreary reign of remorseless rapacity to endure for ever? Is the discreditable patience of England not yet nearly exhausted? Will she not at length open her eyes to the fatal and all-pervading operations of this most unjust, and most iniquitous restriction? If it be only, like the patent for almanacks, a shadow, is it not time to look through the mist, and to dissipate the deadly delusion? If it be a legal reality, is it not the first duty of the whole population resolutely to assail it by all constitutional means? The opposition of this enormous evil is not a matter of taste or choice, but of high and solemn obligation. No friend of his country can safely keep back from the struggle; no Christian can, with a good conscience, stand aloof from it! With its abolition are bound up the dearest interests of the churches of Christ at home, and the salvation of all nations. THE CHRISTIAN OBSERVER. In the Christian Observer' for December last, the Editor has been pleased again to honor the Eclectic Review with his notice, and the mode of his doing so has afforded another illustration of the disingenuous spirit of which we have previously had occasion to complain. The reference occurs in a long note appended to a communication from the Rev. Dr. Pye Smith, whose admirable spirit honorably contrasts with that of his commentator. To the general strictures passed upon our Journal we have no intention at present to refer; it is enough to remark that, without claiming infallibility for ourselves, we plead Not Guilty to the charges preferred by our contemporary. Our object in referring to the Observer' respects more particularly the following sentence: 'So much in strict argument; but we have no 'intention of availing ourselves of this latitude, for even in the speeches, writings, and doings, of the particular class to which our correspondent himself belongs, we could point out much, alas! that is neither peaceable' nor equitable;' for, as the Eclectic Review oracularly said, in an oft-quoted passage, Pure attachment to dissenting principles requires to be kept up in minds of a certain class [say nineteen twentieths of the lay-members, and many of the ministers] by a keen hatred, and now and then a little round abuse, of the Church."' --Christian Observer, p. 728. |