THE BEST MEANs of expediting BUSINESS.

To concentrate the employment of workmen as much as possible in every branch of business, is the best and only sure means of acquiring expedition and dispatch. This observation most forcibly applies to the Art of Printing. When pamphlets and other works of temporary and urgent nature are required at a very short notice, great exertion must be made, together with skilful management, to attain the object in view: we shall now submit the following plan, which we doubt not will answer the purpose.

When a work of this nature is put in hand, it is the province of the Overseer to select those men that are best able to go through the quantity of work required within the given time. The number being now selected, their first concern should be to fix upon the person best acquainted with his business, to take upon himself the entire management of the work; to make up, and do every thing which interferes with the regular business of distributing, composing, and correcting.

Having done this, they next proceed to the distribution of their letter; and the clicker (the person so appointed) applies to the overseer for the copy, receives instructions respecting it, and procures leads and every other necessary sort. He then draws out the following table:

Compositors' Names.

| Folios of Lines
Copy.

com DOS.

Memorandums.

In the first columu he sets down the name of each compositor when he takes copy; and, in the second, the folio of the copy, that he may be able to ascertain instantly in whose hands it lies. In the third column he notes down the number of lines each man has composed, opposite tu his name, as fast as the gallies are brought to him. In the fourth he sets down such remarks respecting the copy, &c. as may be necessary, and also any circumstance that may occur in the companionship.

By this means each compositor will receive a share of amount according to the number of lines he composes,

clicker must have an equal share with the person

who sets the greatest quantity: or it may be done by Hmit. ing the quantity each man is to compose in an hour; whoever is deficient in this quantity must suffer a proportionate reduction from his share of the work.

When the companionship are ready for their first taking of copy, they are to receive it from the clicker in pieces as short as possible, taking eare that the two first have shorter takings than either of the others, to prevent as much as possible, any delay in the making up. During the time the first taking is in hand, the clicker sets the half-head, head lines, white lines, and signature lines, together with notes (if few), and other extraneous matter.

As soon as the first person brings him his matter, he counts off the number of lines, and inserts them in the table; then gives him another taking of copy, and proceeds with the making up. The same plan is observed with the rest of the companionship.

When the first sheet is made up, he lays the pages on the stone, and informs the overseer of it, who will then immediately procure chases and furniture.

The work will now proceed rapidly, provided the compositors stick close to their business, and there be no delay with respect to letter, &c. which depends on the good management of the overseer. If the clicker finds that he cannot make up the matter as fast as it is composed, he should call one of the compositors to his assistance, who must be the person last in copy. In this case he counts the lines he has composed, sets them down in the table, and takes notice of the time he is off, which is to be made up to him by a deduction from the share of each person.

The proofs should be read immediately after they are pulled, and given to the clicker to be corrected. As soon as this is done, he lays up the forms, and gives the proof to the compositor whose matter stands first, who should immediately correct it, then forward it to the next, and so on, till the sheet be corrected; the clicker then locks it up, and carries the forms to the press.

As soon as one of the companionship is out of copy, and there is no more to give out, the lines of the whole must be counted off, and set down in the table, which closes the account, and then every one does as much as he can, for the general benefit. If there be not work enough to employ the whole, those who are not wanted may go to their regular work, and the time of their absence, till the rest of the companionship return to theirs, be deducted from their respective shares.

It would save time in making calculations, could the companionship agree to divide the amount of the bill between them in equal proportions, and merely fine those who may absent themselves from the office; but as some

compositors will set considerably more thau others, the above mode will, we conceive, be found to answer best, as it excites a spirit of emulation, and induces them to pursue their work with vigour.

RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN COMPANIONSHIPS.

The disputes which frequently arise in printing-offices upon trifling as well as intricate points, can only be settled by a reference to the general custom and usage of the trade. These misunderstandings, which annoy and retard business, often take place in companionships consisting of three or four compositors; it is therefore highly desirable that the generally received rules and regulations on this subject should be explicitly and clearly laid down for the future comfort and government of the compositor.

Taking Copy.

If printed copy, and the compositor is desired to follow page for page, each sheet, as it is given out, should be divided into as many parts as the companionship may consist of, and the choice of each part, if it materially varies, should be thrown for. During the absence of either of the companionship, if he be likely soon to return, some one should throw for him, on condition that he will be able to get through this fresh taking, with what remains of the last, so as not to impede the imposition of the sheet.

Another method may be adopted, viz. for each person to agree to receive regularly of the different takings a certain number of pages; but if this plan be followed, the bulk of the copy must not be subject to the inspection of the companionship, but kept by the overseer, and dealt out by him as it is wanted, or it will inevitably cause contention; for the com positor likely to be first out of copy, if he has free access to that which remains unfinished, will observe whether the next taking be fat or lean-if the latter, he will hold back and loiter away his time, in order to avoid it, and thus materially delay the work. On the other hand, if this taking appear to be advantageous, and there should happen to be two or three of the companion. ship out of copy at the same time, a sort of scramble will take place who shall have it, which will end in dispute and confusion:--on no account, therefore, should the copy be open to examination, unless for the purpose of ascertaining the charge per sheet. With manuscript copy it will be better to take one from the other in such a manner as not in the smallest degree to delay the imposition, or block up the letter; that is, that no compositor may retain the making up too long by holding too large a taking of copy. Compositors are apt to grasp at a large portion of copy, with the view of advantage in the making up, though nine times in ten it will, as before observed, operate as a loss to them, by their eventually standing still for want of letter. If by raistake too much copy has been taken, the com

positor should hand a part of it to the person next in the mak. ing up, to set up to himself.

If parts of the copy should be particularly advantageous or otherwise, each of the companionship should throw for the chance of it: the person to whom it may fall, if he have copy in hand, must turn that copy over to him who is about to receive more copy; but for trifling variations from the general state of the copy, it cannot be worth the loss of time necessary to contest it; though it frequently happens that a litigious man will argue half an hour on a point that would not have made five minutes' difference to him in the course of his day's work.

If one of the companionship absent himself from business, and thereby delays the making up, and there is the smallest probability of standing still for want of letter, the person who has the last taking must go on with this man's copy, whether it be good or bad."

Making up of Letter.

The number of the companionship, if possible, should always be determined on at the commencement of the work, that they may all proceed upon an equal footing. It should be well ascertained that the letter appropriated for the work will be adequate to keep the persons on it fully employed.

If any part of the matter for distribution, whether in chase or in paper, be desirable or otherwise, for the sorts it may contain, it should be divided equally, or the choice of it thrown for.

When a new companion is put on the work after the respective shares of letter are made up, and if there be not a sufficiency to carry on all the companionship without making up more, he must make up an additional quantity before he can be allowed to partake of any part of that which comes from the press.

Making up Furniture.

Two of the companionship who may have the greatest propor tion of the first sheet, should make up the furniture for that sheet; and though it may be thought that a disadvantage will be felt in making up the first sheet, they having to ascertain the right margin, yet, properly considered, this disadvantage is sufficiently balanced by their not being likely to meet with a scarcity of furniture, which will frequently occur after several sheets are made up. The other companions in rotation, as their matter is made up, will take an equal share of the furniture. Should an odd sheet be wanted, it will be better to throw for the chance of making it up.

Imposing and distributing Letter. The person to whose turn it falls to impose, must lay up the form for distribution; but as continual disputes arise on this subject, and as it can only be ascertained by comparing the number of pages composed, with the number put in chase by each person, we therefore recommend their keeping an exact account of these pages, which had better be done agreeable to the following plan:

This scale should always be kept by the compositor in the making up; who, when he gives it away to the person that fol lows him, marks down the number of pages he has made up opposite to the proper signature, and under his own name; also when he imposes, he inserts his name in the column ap propriated for that purpose. By following strictly this mode, every sort of dispute will be prevented: and though a private account may be necessary for individual satisfaction, yet it will not avail in settling a general misunderstanding, as the various private accounts may differ, and the charge of inaccuracy may be alledged with as much reason against one as the other; but in this general scale a mistake can be immediately detected. It also operates as a check on those who may be inclined to write out of their proper signature, or to charge more pages than they have imposed.

As the letter is laid up it should be divided in equal propor tions; and, if it can be so managed, each person had be ter distribute the matter originally composed by him; for by this means, the sorts which have made his case uneven will again return to him. It may happen, from one of the companionship absenting himself, that his former share of letter remains undistributed at a time a second division is taking place; under these circumstances, he must not be included in this division. In the event of a scarcity of letter, if any man absent himself beyond a reasonable time, his undistributed matter should be divided equally among his companions, and when he returns, he may then have his share of the next division.

Correcting.

The compositor, whose matter is in the first part of the proof, lays up the forins on the imposing stone, and corrects. He then hands the proof to the person who has the following matter. The compositor who corrects the last part of the sheet, locks up the forms.

The compositor having matter in the first and last part, but not the middle of the sheet, only lays up the form and corrects his matter; the locking up is left to the person who corrects last in the sheet.