DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

lence to many causes, chief among them being the liberty of the Press. For this we are indirectly indebted to John Wilkes, in 1768, who, by his bold defiance of a tyrannical Ministry, and the arbitrary imprisonment he suffered for publishing the Parlia- mentary debates, which were then considered secret, excited public opinion to such a degree that re- porters henceforth were admitted to the galleries. Public opinion soon demanded greater excellence and better information in the papers, and the latter were put upon their mettle to satisfy this demand. The liberty to publish the debates in Parliament was still further supplemented by modification of the law of libel. At the beginning of this century invention followed upon invention, lowering the cost of printing and of paper, enabling newspapers to enlarge their space, while at the same time the increased facilities of communication and the dimi- nution in the charge for postage increased their circulation. The last impediment was removed when the newspaper tax was abrogated in 1855. In 1776 the stamp duty was threepence-halfpenny, but it had been reduced to a penny before it was abolished. The history of the newspaper press of this century, of its editors, writers, and correspondents, would suffice to fill a volume in itself, and would be full of attractive episodes. I shall be satisfied