Note 282 — II THE RATE FOR NEWSPAPERS

"The market for a Newspaper at twopence appeared to be insatiable, and this ready demand produced an ample supply. In vain the police apprehended hawker after hawker; in vain the Stamp Office gave the informers and detectives additional premiums for vigilance, the trade went on with an exciting degree of activity. As the London gaols became crowded with 'victims,' the public sympathies were touched, and a fund was raised by subscription to support the families of the men and women (for women were seized and imprisoned) whilst under sentence."—F. K. Hunt, The Fourth Estate, London, 1850, vol. ii. p. 75.