same way as all other newspaper matter—that is, to give it the benefit of equal treatment with matter sent at the letter rate.
Note on Supplements.
A decree of the 24th November 1860 gave to the two Chambers the constitutional right of discussing the policy of the Government at home and abroad, and as a natural corollary of this it was desired to secure the untrammelled publication and distribution of reports of the debates. This was attained by exempting from postage the supplements of journals when they were devoted entirely to the reproduction of the official reports of the proceedings of the Chambers, the motifs des projets de lois, reports of parliamentary commissions, or official documents deposited by the Government at the office of the Chambers.
The Press law of the 11th May 1868 extended the exemption to supplements devoted to the extent of one half to the publication of reports of parliamentary debates or documents, but only on condition that the supplements contained no advertisements. The privilege was continued by the law of 1878.[374] In order to obtain the privilege the supplements must be printed on sheets detached from the main publication, but they must be enclosed with the publication. They must not exceed in size that part of the paper subject to postage, and if sent separately, they are liable to postage at the ordinary rate. In 1869 the official reports of parliamentary debates were exempted from postage when sent by the printer to the editors of country papers, or by those editors to their subscribers, if enclosed with the local paper.
M. Jaccottey's view is that in order to conform to the spirit of the law, the rate for periodicals ought to be confined to newspapers and other periodical publications devoted to letters, science, and arts; and that it is an abuse of the privilege that commercial advertising should avail itself of the privilege by, say, publishing at regular intervals successive editions of library
catalogues, or by borrowing the titles of illustrated journals, their outside covers, and the methods of distribution, and inserting in them prospectuses which are not of the nature of periodicals.[375]
Ordinary supplements may be enclosed in newspapers. They are weighed with the paper, and postage is charged according to the total weight. If sent separately, they are regarded as a number of the paper, and postage is charged accordingly. In order to obtain the benefit of the privileged rate, all supplements must bear printed indication of the fact that they are supplements, and must bear the title and date of the main paper.[376]
These definitions were amplified by the administration in 1896 by an instruction (No. 468) which provided that detached advertisement sheets of any sort, issued exceptionally (feuilletons, fiction, stop press news, late articles, pictures, artistic engravings, or others), which are the genuine production of the publication, whatever the size and shape or pagination, ought to be regarded as fulfilling the conditions prescribed by law for supplements and to be admitted to the privilege of the reduced rate.