NEWSPAPERS 



211 



Paraguay excepted, have likewise periodical journals. 

 In Chile, which received its first printing press from 

 the United States, in 1810, there are now seven 

 gazettes. The British colonies have likewise their 

 journals. At the Cape, the South African Commer- 

 cial Advertiser, established in 1824, is valuable for 

 its statistics. 



No country has so many newspapers as the United 

 States. The following table, arranged for the 

 American Almanac of 1830, is corrected from the 

 Traveller, and contains a statement of the number of 

 newspapers published in the colonies at the com- 

 mencement of the revolution ; and also the number 

 of newspapers and other periodical works, in the 

 United States, in 1810 and 1828. 



The present number, however, amounts to about a 

 thousand. Thus the state of New York is mentioned 

 in the table as having 161 newspapers ; but a late 

 publication states Unit there are 193, exclusive of 

 religious journals. New York has 1,913,508 inhabi- 

 tants. There are about fifty daily newspapers in the 

 United States, two-thirds of which are considered to 

 give a fair profit. The North American colonies, in 

 the year 1720, had only seven newspapers: in 1810, 

 the United States had 359 ; in 1826, they had 640 ; 

 in 1830, 1000, with a population of 13,000,000 ; 

 so that they have more newspapers than the whole 

 ^190 millions of Europe. 



We have seen that newspapers were first issued in 

 England by authority, in 1588, during the alarm oc- 

 casioned by the approach of the Spanish armada, in 

 order, by giving authentic information, to allay the 

 general anxiety, and prevent the circulation of false 

 rumours. From that time, newspapers have, with 

 a few intermissions, generally appeared in London, 

 sometimes at regular, and sometimes at irregular, in- 

 tervals. During the civil wars, both parties had their 

 newspapers. The Daily Courant, the first daily 

 newspaper published in Britain, made its appearance 

 at London in the early part of the reign of queen 

 Anne. The earliest newspaper published in Scot- 

 land, was issued, under the auspices of Cromwell, in 

 1652. The Caledonian Mercury was, however, the 

 first of the Scottish newspapers of native manufac- 

 ture ; it made its appearance at Edinburgh, under 

 the title of Mercurius Caledonius, in 1660; but its 

 publication was soon afterwards interrupted. In 

 1715, a newspaper was, for the first time, attempted 

 in Glasgow. See Chalmers's Life of Ruddiman, pp. 

 102 121, for some interesting researches regarding 

 newspapers. 



The stamp duty on British newspapers used to be 

 4d., with a discount of twenty per cent., which 

 reduced the duty actually paid to 3$d. This tax 

 brought annually to the revenue about half a million 

 pounds sterling. In 1836, however, the duty was 

 reduced to one penny on each newspaper, without 

 discount ; so that ordinary sized newspapers, which 

 used to sell at Id. or 7 .'// , are now sold at -\ii. and 

 4-!,d. The change in the price of the stamp came 



into operation on the 15th September, 183G. What 

 effect it may have on the general economy of news- 

 papers, is yet to be seen. 



Advertisements form a considerable source of pro- 

 fit to newspapers ; and without this source, some of 

 the most widely circulated of them could not support 

 their great expenditure. Each advertisement is now 

 charged, without distinction of length, with a govern- 

 ment duty of 1*. 6d. ; but until 1833 the duty was 

 3*. 6d. 



In drawing a comparison between the newspapers 

 of the three freest countries, Britain, France, and the 

 United States of America, we find, as we have just 

 said, those of the last country to be the most nume- 

 rous, while some of the French papers have the lar- 

 gest subscription ; and the whole establishment of a 

 first-rate London paper is the most complete. Its 

 activity is immense. When Canning sent British 

 troops to Portugal, in 1826, we know that some 

 papers sent reporters with the army. The zeal of 

 the New York papers also deserves to be mentioned, 

 which sent out their news-boats, even fifty miles to 

 sea, to board approaching vessels, and obtain the news 

 that they bring. The papers of the large Atlantic 

 cities are also remarkable for their detailed accounts 

 of arrivals, and the particulars of shipping news, in- 

 teresting to the commercial world, in which they are 

 much more minute than the English. From the im- 

 mense number of different papers in the United 

 States, it results that the number of subscribers to 

 each is limited, 2000 being considered a respectable 

 list. One paper, therefore, is not able to unite the 

 talent of many able men, as is the case in France. 

 (See the article Constitutionnel.) There men of the 

 first rank in literature or politics occasionally, or at 

 regular periods, contribute articles. In the United 

 States, few papers have more than one editor, who 

 generally writes upon almost all subjects himself. 

 This circumstance necessarily makes the papers less 

 spirited and able than some of the foreign journals, 

 but is attended with this advantage, that no partic- 

 ular set of men is enabled to exercise a predominant 

 influence by means of these periodicals. Their abun- 

 dance neutralizes their effects. Declamation and 

 sophistry are made comparatively harmless by run- 

 ning in a thousand conflicting currents. How diffe- 

 rent would be the case if there existed in the United 

 States but a few papers, with from 25 to 30,000 sub- 

 scribers, and five times as many readers ! It seems 

 to us highly necessary for France to render the 

 papers in the departments more important, and to 

 counteract the overwhelming influence of a great 

 city like Paris, always injurious to the free action of 

 liberty. The leading French papers differ much 

 from those of Britain and the United States, by the 

 absence of advertisements, while some American 

 papers allow little space to any thing else. As re- 

 spects propriety of tone, generally speaking, the 

 British, and especially the French papers, excel the 

 American ; and perhaps future ages may look upon 

 the violence of political controversy which disfigures 

 the journals of America in the present day witii 

 somewhat the same feeling as that with which we 

 regard the intemperance of religious controversy at 

 the period of the reformation. The leading spirits of 

 that time used language which, at the present day, 

 is mostly banished to Billingsgate. 



The following account will show the gigantic ap- 

 paratus of a London daily paper. The copy-right of 

 the Times has been calculated at from 100,000 to 

 120,000 ; but it would be difficult to affix a correct 

 value to Mich an establishment. If it be true that 

 the shareholders have sometimes divided a net profit 

 of .24,000 per annum, the capital must be estimated 

 at * much higher rate. Employed upon each morn. 

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