Press, FREEDOM OF THE, the expression used to denote the absence of any official restraint on the publication of books and other printed matter. In England, at the Reformation, the control of the press came to be centred in the crown, the ecclesiastical in addition to the secular government being vested in Henry VIII. as temporal head of the church. The Company of Stationers, who came to have the regulation of printing and publishing, were servants of the government, subject to the control of the Star Chamber. The censorship of the press was enforced by the Long Parliament, in spite of Milton's eloquent protest (see his Areopagitica), and was re-established more rigorously at the Restoration. It was continued at the Revolution, and the statute regulating it was renewed from time to time till 1693, when the Commons by a special vote struck it out of the list of temporary acts to be continued. Since that time the censorship of the press has ceased to exist in Britain. But, though there are no official restrictions on what shall and what shall not be published, the authors and publishers of criminal or injurious matter are amenable to the law of libel; and there are certain statutory requirements in force to enable them to be traced. Every person who prints anything for hire or reward must, under a penalty of £20, keep one copy at least of the matter printed, and write on it the name and place of abode of the person who employed him to print it. Every person who prints any paper meant to be published must print on the first or last leaf his name and usual place of business; and on failure to do so he forfeits the sum of £5, and so does any person publishing the same. There are a few printed papers exempted from conforming to the above requirement—as, for instance, papers printed by parliament or in government offices, engravings, auction lists, bank-notes, bills of lading, receipts for money, and a few other similar matters. In the case of a libel legal publication is constituted by sending or showing a copy printed or in manuscript to any person; the sale of a newspaper or other publication in a shop, or its delivery to an officer at the Stamp-office, is also considered an act of publication. The truth of the statements published may be urged as a plea of defence in an action for libel; in criminal proceedings truth is a defence if the publication is for the public benefit. The publisher of a book or newspaper may also defend himself by showing that the matter complained of was published by order of either House of Parliament, that it is a fair criticism on a public person or act, or that it represents the honest belief of the defendant, and is published by him in the course of his official or moral duty. If a bill shall be filed in any court for the discovery of the name of the printer, publisher, or proprietor of a newspaper or other publication, with the view of rendering him liable in damages for slanderous matter, the defendant is bound to make the discovery required, which, however, cannot be made use of against him in any other proceeding than that for which it has been made. The penalties against newspapers can only be sued for in the name of the Attorney-general or Solicitor-general, or Lord Advocate. Certain regulations also exist regarding the exhibition of Plays (q.v.). Subject to these restrictions, the freedom of the press has subsisted in Britain since 1693. At least an equal degree of freedom obtains in the United States, where privilege is much more widely extended. See LIBEL.
A more or less rigorous censorship of the press exists in most European states. There is often no direct supervision previous to publication, but the official censor has it in his power to stop any publication which he deems objectionable, to confiscate the edition, and to prosecute the author and editor. Newspapers and pamphlets are generally subjected to a stricter censorship than larger works. See INDEX; also Odgers on Libel, and Paterson on the Liberty of the Press.—For Correction of the Press, see PROOFS.