when Benjamin Fletcher, who had faith in types and printing-ink, became Governor of New York, feeling a little jealous of the progress of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in the typographical art, induced William Bradford, of Philadelphia, to migrate to that state and set up a printing-office in New York City, and in 1696 he had the London Gazette, which contained an account of an engagement with the French previous to the general peace of Ryswick, reprinted and circulated in that city. There was, we believe, only one issue. Of course the reprint had no local news. Its contents embraced

merely the events in Europe. It was not intended for an American newspaper. It was issued to give a piece of important news to the people toward the close of a great war which the governor could not keep to himself. But the fact indicated the necessity of newspapers.

Nearly fourteen years elapsed after Harris's Occurrences, and eight years after Bradford's republication, before another attempt was made to give the news of the day to the American people in printed sheets! Meanwhile the newspapers of England arrived from time to time, feeding the public mind with news from home, and creating a desire for such an institution in the colonies. It was impossible for every one to get copies of the few London publications sent across the Atlantic, and the contents of those received had to be retailed in coffee-houses and on the streets. Written news circulars were also used to disseminate the latest intelligence. No doubt there was as much interest, all things considered, in Boston and New York on the arrival of an English mail, to get hold of a London paper, as there was in California, in the early days of the gold fever, to hear from the Atlantic slope, when a single copy of the New York Herald, received in San Francisco overland by the way of Mazatlan, sold for five dollars, and when the fortunate possessor of a copy of that paper had to mount a stump and read its contents to the assembled miners of 1848-9, and afterward pass it through the "diggings" till it was worn threadbare, with scarcely a printed word remaining visible on the sheet.

Thus was the necessity for a newspaper created in Massachusetts Bay and in America, as in all other parts of the world, and this brings us down to 1704.

THE SECOND EPOCH.

1704-1748.

CHAPTER II.

THE COLONIAL PRESS.

THE BOSTON NEWS-LETTER.-THE DEPENDENCE OF THE PRINTER ON THE GOVERNING CLASSES. THE EARLY POSTMASTERS The First Editors. THE FIRST REPORTING. THE BOSTON GAZETTE AND PHILADELPHIA MERCURY. THE FRANKLINS. — CONFLICTS WITH THE AUTHORITIES. THE FIRST NEWSPAPER WAR.-THE ORIGINAL JENKINS IN AMERICA. THIS period of nearly half a century embraces the Colonial Press -a period of the incipient newspapers of the country. Now and then there was an exhibition of independent opinion, a premonition of what was coming, but the repressive acts of the public authorities did not permit this to proceed far, or become in any way chronic. The few newspapers published in this epoch were, therefore, as a general thing, mere chroniclers of bald facts that did not affect the government. Society, too, was puritanical, and the press, under these circumstances, could not be free and unfettered. tion an incident which happened on the eve of this will illustrate this point.

We will menperiod which

Increase Mather, in March, 1700, published a treatise called “The Order of the Gospel Professed and Practiced by the Churches of Christ in New England Justified." Shortly after, a pamphlet appeared under the title of "Gospel Order Revived, being an Answer to a Book lately set forth by the Rev. Mr. Increase Mather, President of Harvard College, etc., by sundry Ministers of the Gospel in New England." It was remarkable for its calm and candid spirit. Yet it could not be printed in Boston. It was issued in New York with this advertisement:

The Reader is desired to take Notice, that the Press in Boston is so much under the aw of the Reverend Author whom we answer, and his Friends, that we could not obtain of the Printer there to Print the following Sheets, which is the only true Reason why we have sent the Copy so far for its Impression, and where it is Printed with some Difficulty.

The printer in Boston was Bartholomew Green. It was necessary for him to vindicate himself, and this he did in a hand-bill which appeared in December, 1700, with some remarks prefaced by

Cotton Mather. This led to a paper war in pamphlets and handbills, which materially aided in breaking the sanctity and inviolability of the opinions of the controlling classes, and leading, in the course of time, to the establishment of newspapers in the colonies.

There were other circumstances tending to the same result. The colonists, in the absence of reliable intelligence printed at home, depended upon the English papers, sparingly received, official publications of proclamations and oppressive laws, and the gossip of the street and coffee-houses, and mostly on the latter source of information, for intelligence. The postmasters were the newsmen of the day. They were the ones that "told you so." They supplied their friends and patrons with the news, as the news-letter writers of Rome and Venice did in their time, and as Butters and Renaudot did in England and France prior to the establishment of newspapers in those countries. They used the Pen instead of the Press.

John Campbell, in virtue of his office as Postmaster of Boston, was the news-vender of Massachusetts Bay, and, indeed, of all New England on the opening of the eighteenth century. It soon became evident to him, from experience, that the time had come for the establishment of a newspaper as a better mode of circulating “publick intelligence" than written news circulars, so laborious to prepare and tedious to multiply, and the necessity was too apparent to be overlooked by a man of ordinary spirit and energy. After fourteen years of deprivation, the tastes and opinions of the public had sufficiently ripened for the authorities to tolerate and authorize the enterprise, under great restrictions however, such as prevailed in England a century before, and the newspaper was accordingly started, which became from that time a permanent institution in the country.

Approaching this important event, we find, in the "Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society of 1866-67," nine of Campbell's news-letters or circulars, which had been written to Governor Fitz John Winthrop, of Connecticut, beginning in April and ending in October, 1703, the last one only six months prior to the issue of his newspaper. One of these letters, the first of the nine, we give entire, as a specimen, to enable our readers to see what sort of news was circulated, and how it was spread among the people in colonial times on this continent:

JOHN CAMPBELL TO GOV, WINTHROP.

Boston. Aprill 12th 1703.

Last week arrived a Vessell from ffyall and tells that about nine weeks from this time Two Vessells arrived from Scotland and one from Corke, in Ireland, that gave an Acco that the Union between England and Scotland was concluded upon and said master from ffyall sayes he see it in publick prints.

Cap Smith In the Gospert ffrigett from Jamaica arrived here also Last Week,

John Campbell's News Circulars.

53

and by him are we Informed of the union being Concluded upon, he came from Jamaica about midle or tenth of March.

Wee do apprehend that the union is only agreed upon by the Commissioners, which if true will be a great step Towards both parliam's Concluding it being the Commissioners are some of the greatest men of both nations.

They Talk from Jamaica of the Spaniards sueing for a peace. That about 20 Grandees were come to Portugale, to get the King of Portugale to Interceed with her mage of England to appoint Plenipotentiary to mediat. Capt Lawrence is arrived at Rhode Island & a Bermudas Sloop, both Privateers, who In Comp with Capt Blue an other privateer, took a Spanish Ship of 8 guns, Loaden with Canary and Brandy, and other goods, bound for the Havanne, who had on board 12 families consisting of above 130 Soules. The Prisoners they put on shore in N. Spain, all to about 7. The Three Consorts put 17 men an a Quarter Master on board. Capt Blue attended her with his sloop or vessell. The Prize is not yet arrived. The Prize said to Come from Spain and touched at the Canary's. Capt Southack with our Western fleett arrived yesterday.

Capt Delbridge will sayle for London In 20 days, Ten guns, & Capt Dows, lyke guns, in a moneth. BOSTON. April 12. 1703.

Honoble Sir:

I'm favoured with your hons of the 9 Instant. Came in too day about ii a cloucke & do despatch him again at ffiue because should have no excuise to hinder his Coming In on Satterday, so have no tyme, either for selfe or man, to go to MadTM Richards, but the Letter I sent theire Two days after its receipt.

On other Syde is what occurrs, with the Inclosed print, and with humble service Yor hors humble Serv

am Sr

Gor Winthrop.

[Superscribed]

JNO CAMPBEL.

To the Honoble John Winthrop, Esq' Gov' of Connecticut, New London. ffranck.

[Indorsed by Gov Winthrop]

Publick Occurrences & the adres to her Maje. Aprill 12th 1703.

The other eight letters, so interesting as the precursors of journalism in America, embraced the news of the day, mostly foreign, accounts of the stirring events of that eventful period, briefly related, and in a style similar to the above letter. These circulars were sent to each governor of the New England provinces, and must have been prepared with considerable labor. The writer made use of them, as journalists now make use of their columns, as a means to influence the authorities of that period to accomplish some reform or good to the public, or perhaps for themselves. In his letter of Sept. 20, for instance, he asked some aid for the post-office in Boston. He made the same sort of appeal to Governor Winthrop for this public institution that he afterward, in his paper, so often made to the people for the support of the News-Letter. On the 20th of September, 1703, he wrote:

I must represent to your hor and Assembly The state of the post office, as I have done to this Govt and New Hampshire; In order to have some encouragement for the support of it, as they have done; else of necessity it must drop.

Those veteran journalists who became postmaster generals of this country in after years, one before and two since the RevolutionBenjamin Franklin, Amos Kendall, and John M. Niles-could scarce

ly have had more trouble, even with the chronic financial distress of that department in their day, than this primitive postmaster and journalist had in his small local institution, with his fears lest the office should" drop."

But thus prepared, with experience as a news correspondent, and the machinery of the post-office in his hands for the distribution of his paper, John Campbell, on Monday, the 24th of April, 1704, issued the initial number of the Boston News-Letter. It was an event in Boston. Its appearance was a feature of that period. There was a visible sensation. The first sheet of the first number was taken damp from the press by Chief Justice Sewall to show to President Willard, of Harvard University, as a wonderful curiosity in the colony. When this occurred the population of Boston was only eight thousand.

The News-Letter was printed sometimes on a single sheet, foolscap size, and oftener on a half sheet, with two columns on each side. No 'subscription price was mentioned. It was "printed by authority," and the following was the prospectus, advertisement as Campbell called it, as it appeared in the first number:

Advertisement.

His News-Letter is to be continued Weekly; and all Perfons who have any

tents, Goods,

dizes, &c. to be Sold, or Let; or Servants Run-away, or Goods Stole or Loft; may have the fame inferted at a Reasonable Rate, from Twelve Pence to Five Shillings, and not to exceed: Who may agree with John Campbel Post-master of Boston.

All Perfons in Town and Country may have faid News-Letter every Week, Yearly, upon reasonable terms, agreeing with John Campbel, Poft-mafter for the fame.

There were no useless words in this announcement. There were no great promises of what the publisher intended to do, as we now often see. It is practical and to the purpose. No advertisement was to be inserted costing over five shillings for its insertion! John Campbell, who then spelt his name with one 1, thus burst upon the world as the father of the American Press. We suppose that Harris must have been its grandfather. All that is known of Campbell is that he was a Scotchman, a son of Duncan Campbell, the organizer of the postal system of America, a bookseller, and the postmaster of Boston. The printer was Bartholomew Green, our handbill hero of 1700, eldest son of Thomas Green, printer to Cambridge University, where the Greens had been located, as such, since 1649, and where Samuel Green printed the first Bible in America, not in English, but in the Indian language, a copy of which recently sold in New York for $300. Bartholomew Green was a member in “ "good standing" of the Old South Church.