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was then republished in book form by Jewett, of Boston. It was estimated that up to the period of the breaking out of the rebellion in the spring of 1861, that half a million copies of this tale were sold in the United States, half a million in Great Britain, and half a million on the Continent of Europe. It was translated into all languages, and dramatized every where. It had a run of hundreds of nights in the theatres on the Bowery and Chatham Street, New York City, where the "huge fisted" Democracy, with their families, "most do congregate ;" and while Little Topsey nightly produced a most profound effect in tears and applause upon the masses in the theatres, the polls at the elections in the metropolis invariably showed the curious anomaly of annually increased majorities against the Abolition Party!

The colored people of Washington have produced a new paper called the New Era, which fully represents their interests. It is edited by Frederick Douglass and the Rev. Stella Martin, both colored men.

There are now published in the national capital seven newspapers:

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The Chronicle, a paper owned for some time by John W. Forney, occupied some attention. Its editor had been an editor in Philadelphia, a working Democratic politician in Pennsylvania, an ardent political friend of James Buchanan, and Secretary to the Senate. After he joined the Republican Party he was equally prominent as a working politician on that side. He sold the Chronicle in 1870, and fell back on the Philadelphia Press, which he owns. In 1871 he was appointed Collector of the Port of Philadephia by President Grant, a place he has since resigned.

When the Chronicle passed from the hands of Mr. Forney, its new proprietor defined its position after this manner :

The End of the Government Organs.

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No person in any way connected with the Executive Department of the Government; no advocate of San Domingo; no aspirant for the Presidency, or for any office in the gift of the President; no person connected with any railroad project, or with any other special project, has furnished one dollar to purchase the Chronicle, or now owns an interest of one dollar in it. The present owner of this journal is absolutely untrammelled.

The Patriot was established early in 1870 as a Democratic organ. James E. Harvey was its first editor. He had been, before the rebellion, the leading Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia North American and New York Tribune, and minister to Portugal after the inauguration of President Lincoln.

There are none of the old names represented in the above list ; none of the old fire of the Globe; none of the old dignity of the Intelligencer. None of the papers in Washington now speak as "I am, sir, an oracle." Now the Independent Press of the nation, the Associated Presses north, east, west, and south, are the recognized organs. May they always be the Voice of the People.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE DEMOCRATIC TRIUMVIRATE.

THE CHARLESTON COURIER.-JAMES GORDON BENNETT's Advent as a Jour-1 NALIST. THE MORNING CHRONICLE OF NEW YORK.- WASHINGTON IR

VING.—Singular DUEL-HARRY CRoswell and the HUDSON BALANCE.| -Libel on JEFFERSON.-OPINIONS OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON. THE RICHMOND ENQUIRer and Thomas RITCHIE.-ANDREW JACKSON ON RITCHIE. -THE NEWSPAPER TRIUMVIRATE. — THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PATRIOT AND ISAAC HILL. —"ORIGIN" OF THE WAR ON THE UNITED STATES BANK. THE ALBANY REGISTER AND SOLOMON SOUTHWICK.-MOBBING THE OFFICE OF THE BALTIMORE REPUBLICAN. -THE ALBANY ARGUS AND THE REGENCY. EDWIN CROSWELL.-Judge Kent ON NEWSPAPERS.

WE leave the newspapers of Washington to look after the journals in other sections of the country. New organs of political parties, and of the governing commercial and material interests of the nation, were making their call upon public attention.

Quite an important newspaper was issued in Charleston, South Carolina, in the first year of this century. Loring Andrews, of Hingham, Massachusetts, who had previously published the Herald of Freedom in Boston, the Western Star in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and the Centinel in Albany, New York, established the Charleston Courier in 1800. In 1807 he died, but the Courier continued in existence, and became an influential commercial newspaper in that section of the country. It was never a violent political journal, but it was the most enterprising paper in Charleston. A. Willington & Co. were for many years its proprietors and publishers, and it was edited, prior to the Rebellion, by Richard Yeadon, who made himself singularly notorious by addressing Edward Everett as the "Great Laudator," in speaking of the famous lecturer on Washington for the preservation of Mount Vernon.

James Gordon Bennett commenced his career as a journalist in the office of the Courier. Willington and Bennett met in New York, where arrangements were made for the latter's removal to Charleston. This was in 1823, forty-nine years ago. It was the custom of Willington, at that time, to board the vessels on their arrival at Charleston from Havana with a small row-boat, à la Topliff of the Boston News-rooms, and get the latest Havana papers. On taking them to the Courier office, they would pass into the hands of Mr. Bennett, who would translate the news from them. Through the

James Gordon Bennett's Newspaper Cradle. 263

Cadiz packets, which ran regularly to Havana, news from Europe would thus sometimes reach America before it arrived at New York by the old London, Havre, and Liverpool ships. In this way the Courier would frequently obtain important advantages over its less enterprising contemporaries. This was during the famous Duc d'Angoulême excitement. In Yeadon's summer trips to New York in 1850-1, or thereabouts, he would, with the usual weakness of editors, boast of the Courier, and claimed, with great unction, that it was in that office where Bennett took his first lessons in journalism -that it was, indeed, Bennett's newspaper cradle.

Willington's news-boat arrangement, we believe, embraced nearly the whole scope and extent of the enterprise of the Courier, but it was useful and instrumental in building up that establishment. Its power and influence, however, like the power and influence of hundreds of other leading journals at the South, disappeared in the cloud of the Rebellion, and other journals, with other editors, with exceptions here and there, are taking their place. There has been, as the natural consequence of the war, a new infusion of newspaper talent in the Southern States, which will ultimately leaven the entire press of that section, and make it more comprehensive in its character, and homogeneous with the journals of the North, East, and West.

Mr. Willington's daughter, we think, married William Young, for many years editor of the Albion, the acknowledged English organ in New York, edited, till lately, by Kinahan Cornwallis, a well-known writer and political economist.

When the American Citizen denounced Aaron Burr for his desertion of the Democratic Party, the friends of Burr established a paper in New York to neutralize the attacks of Cheatham. The new paper was called the Morning Chronicle, and was first published in 1802. It was edited by Dr. Peter Irving, a man of much literary ability and erudition, but not equal, as a political journalist, to his opponent. Washington Irving first made his appearance in the Morning Chronicle of New York as a writer over the signature of Jonathan Oldstyle, as Charles Dickens did in the Morning Chronicle of London over the signature of Boz.

The publisher of the Chronicle was William A. Davis, brother of Matthew L. Davis. The Van Nesses, the Swartwouts, Matthew L. Davis, and other leading friends of Burr, were contributors to its columns. There was a semi-weekly, entitled the Chronicle Express, connected with the daily issue.

The Citizen charged Burr with intriguing with the Federalists for the defeat of Jefferson for the presidency. The Chronicle, not so keen, was still sharp enough to draw blood. In its efforts to bol

ster up the character of Burr, it bitterly attacked the Clintons and Livingstons, accusing them of a desire to absorb all the offices and all the spoils of party. With the Chronicle Burr was a saint. The old Manhattan Bank entered the arena against Burr, and, in the heat of this remarkable political contest, the bank managers refused to re-elect as director Colonel John Swartwout, one of Burr's personal and political friends. Brockholst Livingston was chosen in his stead. The contest was a warm one, and, in a political conversation growing out of the campaign, De Witt Clinton called Swartwout "a liar, a scoundrel, and a villain." Colonel S. immediately demanded an apology, or a recantation of this offensive language. Mr. Clinton stated that Swartwout had charged him with selfish and unworthy motives in his opposition to Burr, and the epithets were simply a strong denial of that charge; if Colonel S. would withdraw his charge, Mr. Clinton would take back what he had said, and not otherwise. This led to a duel. It was believed by many at that time that there was a plan on foot to draw Colonel Hamilton into a personal conflict for the purpose of getting him out of the way, and that this affair was a part of the conspiracy. Five shots were exchanged by Clinton and Swartwout, during which the latter was twice wounded. There were three shots without injury to either party. "Is your principal satisfied?" asked Richard Riker, acting as Clinton's second, after each fire. "He is not," replied Swartwout's second. The fourth shot was then exchanged, and Swartwout received Clinton's ball in the calf of his leg.

"Is your principal satisfied now?" again demanded Riker. "He is not," reiterated Swartwout's second.

The fifth shot was then exchanged, and Clinton's ball again lodged in Swartwout's leg.

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"Is your principal now satisfied?" once more demanded the amiable and accommodating Riker.

There was a moment's consultation with Swartwout while the surgeons were probing the wounds, and, in spite of their protests, he declared he was not satisfied. Clinton, who was shooting at a man against whom he entertained no personal enmity, then said, "Well, well, he may go to the devil, for I will fight no more," and, with his friends, immediately left the field.

It is thought that a letter from Albany, which was published in the Chronicle in February, 1804, describing the deliberations of a secret meeting of a number of Federalists, where Colonel Hamilton spoke strongly in opposition to Burr, and which led to his defeat for governor, was the beginning of the scheme to draw Hamilton into the duel which ended in his death.

The Chronicle continued to be published, notwithstanding the po

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