THE 



MONTHLY MAGAZINE. 



VOL. IV.] OCTOBER, 1827. [No. 22. 



THE NEWSPAPER PRESS OF IRELAND. 



A VAST improvement has taken place in the press of Ireland within the 

 last thirty years. Before the union with Great Britain, there were but two 

 daily (morning) journals in the metropolis of the sister kingdom: at present, 

 there are four; and, until very lately, there were so many as six. In the 

 memorable year of 1798, there was but one evening paper in Dublin: now 

 there are four or five. Weekly journals are, in Ireland, the offspring of 

 the last eight or nine years ; yet there are, at present, five published every 

 Saturday in the city of Dublin. 



In the provinces, the spread of intelligence has been as wide as within 

 the city. Formerly, a provincial paper in Ireland was a kind of nine days' 

 wonder : now, the " brethren of the broad sheet" have spread their light 

 wings, and flown all through the country. 



Nor is the writing in Irish papers, or the general matter, of the same 

 character as it was a few years ago. In the best days of the Irish parlia- 

 ment, there was not a competent reporter in the city of Dublin ; and the 

 few hasty sketches of the debates of that period were taken by Sir Henry 

 Cavendish, a member of the hon. house, for the satisfaction of the treasury 

 bench. Sir Henry was what, in parliamentary parlance, is called an 

 excellent hack, or servant of all work. It is recorded that his avarice was 

 equal to his memory ; and the wits of the day used to say that he was 

 a capital hand at taking notes. After Sir Henry's death, his place was 

 sought to be supplied by a regular reporter; but this person made sad work 

 of it, as will appear from the following anecdote. At the period alluded 

 to, Hussey Burgh (afterwards chancellor) was attorney-general. He was 

 one of the most eloquent and persuasive persons that ever sat in a popular 

 assembly if we are to credit the vague and uncertain text of tradition, or 

 the more certain though not less flattering description of his powers 

 recorded in a popular novel of that day " Ned Evans."" It will be 

 readily believed, that to such an advocate was frequently allotted the 

 no very easy task of defending the measures of an administration as cor- 

 rupt as it was imbecile. On one of these occasions, Burgh was arguing a 

 point of constitutional law, and, to enforce his view, quoted the opinion 

 after a suitable panegyric -of an eminent authority Sergeant Maynard. 

 The paper of the next day appeared ; and, after recapitulating the heads 

 of the hon. member's speech, the reporter proceeded as follows : " Here 

 the hon. member became so eloquent and impassioned, that we found it 

 impossible to follow him. He, however, most completely refuted the 



M. M. New Series. VOL. IV. No. 22. 2 



