[jack] ACADIAN MAGAZINES 179 



volume five, June, 1846, to May, 1847, inclusive, was published bv 

 James Hogg at Fredericton, N.B. 



In the month of January, 1841, there was issued by Robert Sliives 

 the first number of The Amaranth. 



Eobert Shives was a great-grandson of Robert Kilgour, Bishop 

 of Aberdeen, one of the Consecrators m 1786 of Dr. Seabury, 

 of Connecticut; the first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 

 America. Tlie father of Robert Shives was a native of Aberdeen, 

 came to St. John -and engaged in commerce. In 1811 he married a 

 daughter of John Wiggins, of Portland, not long after which he visited 

 Scotland, and there his son Robert was born. Mr. Shives, Sen., died 

 at St. John, December 30th, 1824, at the early age of 37 years, and 

 was buried in the old historic burial ground adjoining King Square. 



On the 27th June, 1827, Robert entered the printing office of The 

 Convier as an apprentice. In 1834, ui^on completing his time, as it 

 was called, he went to Scotland where he spent two years. On his 

 return in 1836, he re-entered the office of The Courier, where he 

 remained until 1840, when he commenced tlie publication of The 

 Amaranth, a monthly magazine. 



During the apprenticeship of Robert Shives the volumes of The 

 Courier were enriched by the letters of John Gape, which continued 

 for a year, increasing the circulation of the paper from 800 to 1,500 

 copies, creating a sensation in New Brunswick not unlike the letters of 

 Junius in England. They related chiefly to the Crown Land Depart- 

 ment. At this time the offices of Commissioner and Surveyor-G-eneral 

 were held by Hon. Thomas Baillie, and from them he received salaries 

 amounting to £2,019. 



One of the grievances complained of by John Gape, was the large 

 amount paid to Mr. Baillie.^ 



The Amaranth was the first literary magazine published in New 

 Brunswick, which contained much literary material of value and 

 interest, and it was without dou])t the best effort yet made to estab- 

 lish ai magazine of a high class of literary excellence in the Acadian 

 Provinces. Indeed, it may well be claimed that for fascinating interest 

 and artistic word painting, the articles which appeared therein from the 

 pen of Moses H. Perley, have possibly not been equalled and certainly 

 not excelled by any other Acadian magazine writer. The sketches first 

 appeared in The London Sporting Review and were republished in The 

 Amaranth. Mr. Perley was a native of New Brunswick, a man of 

 great literary capability and one who, from his knowledge of his native 



^ (From manuscript of late J. W. Lawrence on Early Printers and Early 

 New^spapers of New Brunswick, now in possession of Frank B. Ellis of St. 

 John). 



