Lord Hartington appears disposed to concede the halfpenny newspaper postage.
He told a deputation which waited on him on Saturday that his only doubt was about the economic result of the plan. He had found on inquiry that the department could do the work, but was unwilling to tax letter-senders to pay for the carriage of newspapers. That is not a good argument. The letter-senders are not hurt, for their penny will not be increased, and any loss, if any arises, will fall on the general taxpayers. The only question is whether it is for the general good of the com- munity to charge a halfpenny instead of a penny, and we think it is. If newspapers are of any use anywhere, it is in country dis- tricts, which without them would be without intelligence ; and it is on country readers that the tax, a hundred per cent, on prime cost, falls most heavily.
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