the smallest vernacular edition of the Scriptures ever yet issued in India. The American Mission Press has also raised the standard of printing throughout the Tamil country.

Native Printing.-The Rev. W. Taylor states* that up to 1835 the only Tamil works printed by Natives were the Kural and some trifles by Auvaiyar. In that year Sir Charles Metcalf removed the restrictions on printing, and soon afterwards native presses began to to be established.

In 1863 ten Native Presses in Madras, printing in Tamil, furnished returns of their publications. There are several more presses. Generally they are on a very small scale. According to Hindu custom, related families herd together. A wooden printing press is owned in common; some members act as printers; others attend to sales. This, indeed, was the early practice in Europe. Hallam says "The first printers were always booksellers, and sold their own impressions. These occupations were not divided till the early part of the sixteenth century."+

Three or four native printers have iron presses, and even claim to hot-press their sheets. Some books printed by them are of very fair workmanship. Three specimens of native printing are given-bad, medium, and good.

By the new scheme of taxation in the Madras Presidency, every Printing establishment is to pay Rs. 50 annually for a license. It is said that this will cause. some of the smaller presses to be given up.

Charges. When natives print for themselves, the rates are low. 500 copies of a half sheet demy, containing 12 pages the same size as this work, cost from Rs. 1-2 (3s.-4s) if a wooden press is employed. If printed by an iron press and hot-pressed, the charge is Rs. 3. The terms for binding are equally low. A work containing 100-200 pages 8vo. is half bound in .

cloth for half an anna, or d. In this case, however, the book is stitched, not sewed. A volume of 400 pages 8vo. in the usual style of bazar books, is bound for one anna. The rates, of course, are higher for superior workmanship.

A tale or drama containing about 100 pages, 8vo. half bound in cloth, is sold for about 24 annas, (3 d.); works which have a small circulation are more expensive. The medium specimen of native printing is a part of the dramatic Ramayana. The work forms an octavo volume of 394 pages. The compiler paid 12 annas (1s. 6d.) for a copy. The best specimen of native printing is a part of an edition of the Kural, containing 389 pages 8vo., strongly bound in sheep. The price was Rs. 14 (2s. 6d.) As Europeans almost invariably are charged more than Natives, the usual selling prices are probably lower.

Book-hawking, &c. The agencies for the circulation of Native books are effective. As already mentioned, Tamil books may be purchased in the bazars of every town in the country. The Rev. J. F. Leeper kindly caused inquiries to be made at Combaconum about the books sold there. He obtained a list of 296. The Rev. J. Guest, by similar investigation, secured 430 names at Tanjore; and the Church Mission writer, 184 titles of books sold in Tinnevelly.

It has been stated that the printers generally sell their own publications. Many of them are taken by book-hawkers, though men of this class are frequently relatives of the printers. Often the book-hawkers have small boys with them, to help in carrying their stock. A little fellow told the compiler that he got 12 annas (1s. 6d.) a month as wages.

During the early part of the day, many of the bookhawkers perambulate the town; in the afternoon they resort to the market, but a few spend the whole day there. In the evening about 25 book-hawkers may be seen at the bazar, sitting behind their piles of books. The book-hawkers visit the principal temples in the neighbourhood, when feasts are held, and large num

F

bers of people assemble from different parts of the country.

The ordinary book-hawkers do not sell Christian books. There is little demand for them on the part of the people. Another objection is that the system of trade allowances has been adopted only to a very limited extent in the Madras Presidency. The Madras Tract Society does not appear to make any reduction to the trade. It is true that the prices are moderate, and book-hawkers might raise them. However, it would perhaps be desirable to permit book-hawkers to purchase at lower rates. The Christian Vernacular Education Society allows 12 per cent. ; but this is insufficient. If ever Christian publications are to be extensively circulated, they must find their way into the ordinary channels. The subject deserves more attention than it has received. The just remark was made in a Report of the Calcutta Vernacular Literature Society, "As much energy must be devoted to securing a circulation for books as is expended in their preparation, or they will lie as lumber on the shelves."

COPYRIGHTS.

A considerable number of native books now bear on their title pages, "Registered Copyright." This is always printed in English, being considered much more effective in that language. Sometimes it is expressed, "Rehistered," " Coby Right," "Copy write," &c. During the recent trial at Bombay, Mr. Howard said, "The earlier books printed by Government are not registered. The mark of their being registered must have been put upon them as a matter of routine." It is possible that at Madras some books may also be marked as registered, though such actually is not the case.

Native publishers tell the compiler, that at the Department where books are registered, the grand consideration is the fee of Rs. 2. Books existing in manuscript over the country, and professedly written at the commencement of the Kali Yugam, or Iron Age, are claimed as copyright by the first man who gets them

registered. The compiler is told, that in some instances parties enter books which they propose to publish, without doing so.

The fact that every case about the violation of copy right must come before the High Court of Judicature, is a great bar on both sides to the institution of suits. One, however, was decided on May 23, 1865. A Native Doctor demanded Rs. 5,000 damages from two Native book-sellers for reprinting a well-known Medical treatise, Patartta Kuna Sintamani (See page 175), claimed as copy-right. The Court ordered a " perpetual injunction," restraining the defendants from further selling the book, and decreed that the defendants pay Rs. 5 damages, with Rs. 578 costs. |

While original works should receive due protection, it is questionable whether old books, of which numerous manuscript copies exist, should be registered.

Native publishers complain much about the necessity of going to the High Court in a suit. A cheaper and more summary process seems preferable.

DUTY OF GOVERNMENT WITH RESPECT TO VERNACULAR LITERATURE IN INDIA.

The Fourth Session of the International Statistical Congress was held in London in 1860, under the Presidency of the late Prince Consort. Mr. Monckton Milnes, in bringing up the Report on the Statistics of Literature, made the following remarks :—

"I think that all the members will agree in this, that the Statistics of Literature are in truth the complement and crown of the Educational Statistics of a country. We can show by Educational Statistics what we teach, and we may show by our books what we have learnt. Therefore I think that every body will agree that the Statistics of Literature are as necessary as Educational Statistics." p. 126.

The subject has received some attention in India. In 1865 the Bengal Government published in its Records a Catalogue of Sanskrit and Bengali publications, compiled by the Rev. J. Wenger, Officiating Bengali

Translator. The following is an extract from the Introduction to the Catalogue :

"In the year 1863, the Director and Vice-Presidents of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland applied to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for India, for assistance in rendering available to Scholars in Europe a knowledge of the current literature of the people of this country. They said :-'It is doubtless well known to you that of late years the Hindoos have shewn great literary activity, partly by editing numerous texts of their ancient Sanscrit literature, partly by translating English and Sanscrit works into their Vernacular dialects, and partly by producing original compositions on subjects of a political, scientific, and religious character. But though these books are very numerous, and in many respects important, and though they have an extensive circulation among the Natives of India, only a very inconsiderable portion of them is at present accessible to European Scholars; and the knowledge of these few is, in most instances, due to chance, or to the good-will of disinterested persons residing in India. It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the serious hindrance which has arisen from this circumstance to a proper appreciation of the actual condition of India and its inhabitants, equally from a scientific and a political point of view, and in some degree, we may add, to a proper administration of the country itself. Frequent attempts have, indeed, been made by scholars and booksellers in this country to remove this impediment, but they have hitherto proved unavailing. It is, therefore, our conviction that there is here an urgent necessity for the authoritative assistance of Government, and that by this means alone the claims of oriental studies in England can be adequately satisfied.' To carry these wishes into effect, it was suggested that a catalogue of past publications. might be prepared, so far as the means at command would allow; and the Local Governments were requested to furnish the information desired by the Royal Asiatic Society in the form of an Annual Return, as well as to follow out systematically the long standing instructions of the late Court of Directors, for transmitting to England copies of all works of interest and importance issuing from the Press in India." The means adopted by the Government of India to