Only freemen of London who were members of the Company
of Stationers could sell books. The Company of Stationers had the
authority accompanied by a constable to search all houses and
shops where they knew or had "probable reason" to suspect books
were being printed. They could search houses of persons of other
trades only by special warrant. They could examine books found to
determine if they were licensed and, if not, to seize them.
Justices could imprison offenders. The first offense by offending
printers was to be punished by suspension from printing for three
years, the second offense by permanent disallowance from printing,
fine, imprisonment, and corporal punishment not extending to life
or limb. This statute was enforced by frequent prosecutions, such
as of publishers of pornographic books.
The only newspapers to appear between 1660 and 1679 were official
government sheets. But in 1695 freedom of the press was
established by the abolition of the licensing of publications,
including newspapers. Locke had argued for this freedom, stating
"I know not why a man should not have liberty to print whatever he
would speak and to be answerable for the one just as he is for the
other..."In 1702 the first daily newspaper in the world came into
existence in England. The Stationer's Company monopoly of printing
also ended in 1695. Printing was not regulated and no longer
criminal just because it was unauthorized.
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