done. Already large fortunes have been made by both authors and publishers, and but few other industrial pursuits are more honoured in the country. Within the memory of men now living, the American book-trade has sprung from an incipient to a flourishing condition; and yet, great as has been its progress within the past few years, we look upon it as still in its infancy. Our mental eyes see a future advancement before which all past achievements sink into insignificance; for the time is not far distant when American readers, through the present admirable system of public schools, and the growing power of an able press, will be counted by millions instead of by thousands, and both American and British authors will have their minds brought into contact with that of every intelligent being in a nation of fifty millions of people.

It is quite apparent the age of pernicious literature has nearly past. The tendency is upwards, and public attention is now directed to healthy sentiment. Works of fiction, to be read, must contain something of poetry, elevated sentiment, historical portraiture, or incitement to social improvement. And history, to be popular, must be truthful and ably written. Compilations without ability, and love stories devoid of moral precept, are becoming the garbage of literature.

CHAPTER XII.

NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

ONE of the most powerful engines in the creation of a taste for literature among the masses in the United States is the Newspaper and Periodical Press. The extent and character of this instructor of the public mind, when once fully described, will in some degree explain that universal love of reading so observable in the Republic; and we deem a brief history of it essential to our present object.

This great power in the dissemination of knowledge does not appear to have been extensively used during the colonial periods of American letters; but it is worthy of note, alike in an historical point of view, and as exhibiting the wants of the settlers of New England, and the enterprise of the times, that a news-placard was printed in Boston, in 1689, and that a newspaper was begun in the same city, on the 25th of September, 1690. But one copy of this is now known to exist, and that is in the State Paper Office in London. It attracted the attention of the legislative authorities, and as they alleged it came out contrary to law, and contained reflections of a very high nature," it was suppressed. It was to all intents and purposes a newspaper, being devoted to the record of passing events, domestic and foreign; and was therefore really the first of its kind issued in what is now the United States, and as such deserves mention in history. As a further item of historical interest which has been strangely overlooked by American historians, we may here state that in the same year, Governor Fletcher, of New York, caused a

London Gazette to be reprinted in that colony. It contained the details of an engagement with the French.

This first Boston newspaper effort was not forgotten, but in due time was successfully revived. In 1704, one John Campbell, a bookseller, then Postmaster in Boston, established a weekly journal under the title of the Boston News Letter, the publication of which was continued until 1776, a period of 72 years. This was followed by the Boston Gazette, begun December 21, 1719; and on the next day the American Weekly Murcurie was issued from the printing office of William Bradford at Philadelphia, being the third successful American newspaper. The fourth attempt, which resulted favourably, was made on the 18th of August, 1721, by James Franklin, an elder brother of Dr. Franklin, in the establishment at Boston of the New England Courant. It was for a time issued in the name of Benjamin Franklin as publisher, then an apprentice in the office, and was discontinued in 1727.

Somewhat more than four years after the publication of the first number of the above-named journal, or on the 16th of October, 1725, William Bradford issued the fifth successful American newspaper under the title of The New York Gazette, it being the first journal established in that city. Prior to its appearance no journal had been published between Boston and Philadelphia. Bradford continued its publication between 16 and 17 years, after which it was issued for a time by James Parker.

There was not much increase in the number of newspapers in the colonies up to 1754. In that year there were four in New England, all published in Boston, with an average circulation of but six hundred copies. There were no papers then printed in either Connecticut or New Hampshire, but Pennsylvania and New York each had two.

From 1754 until 1776 the increase was considerable. Seven papers were then published in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire, two in Rhode Island, four in Connecticut, four in New York, nine in Pennsylvania, two each in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, three in South Carolina, and one in Georgia, or thirty-seven in what afterwards became the Thirteen original States of the American Union; and nine of these were still published in 1810.

It does not appear that a journal was then published in New Jersey, although a Magazine had been printed there as early as 1752.

All the above journals, with one exception, that of the Advertiser of Philadelphia, which was published twice a week, because Congress assembled there, were weeklies, which must not be forgotten in the further consideration of this subject.

According to the statistics of the period, the number of newspapers in the United States had increased in 1801 to about 200, or 166 more than existed in 1776. Of these, several were dailies and it is proper here to state that the first American journal of this description was issued at Philadelphia, in 1784. It was called the Pennsylvania Packet; or, the General Advertiser, and was continued under the name of The Daily Advertiser, until about the year 1837. Another daily, entitled The New World, printed in 4to, on half a sheet of medium, was published every morning and evening, Sundays excepted, at Philadelphia, in 1796; but the novel experiment of two daily papers from

the same press does not appear to have been successful at that early date, as the project was abandoned after a few months' trial.

A great increase, however, was exhibited both in the number of journals and their circulation, by the census of 1810, at which time there were 359 newspapers in the Union-27 being dailies-with an annual issue of about 22,321,000 copies. In 1814 the yearly circulation of American newspapers exceeded that of the newspaper press of Great Britain by more than 3,000,000 copies, and since then the excess has been almost quadrupled. For, we find that, while the annual circulation of stamped papers in Great Britain, in 1850, was not quite 92,000,000, the annual issue in the United States at that time was 426,409,978 copies.

In 1824 there were eleven daily papers in Philadelphia, and twelve of the same description in New York. The editions of those of the latter city varied from one to four thousand, which, when we reflect that they were printed on hand presses, must be regarded as a very creditable circulation. From that period forward editions increased even more rapidly, and in 1831 the Christian Journal and Advocate, a weekly issue, and the organ of the Methodist persuasion in the United States, had a circulation of twenty-five thousand copies, which was wonderful in those days of hand-presses and balls.

The number of Journals had been greatly augmented in 1828, at which time there were 852 published in the country, with a yearly issue of 68,117,796 copies; and in 1830 this number had increased to 1000, the circulation doubtless being in proportion. The census of 1840 manifested still more wonderful progress. The number was then 1631, and the yearly issue 195,838,673 copies. And in 1850, the number had reached to 2800, with an annual circulation of 426,409,978 copies, or an increase in about twenty years of considerably more than 2000 distinct newspaper publications.

As an appropriate illustration of this increase, it appears that in 1810 there were 3.81 copies to each person; in 1820, the number was 5.92 copies to each person; in 1828, 13.80 copies to each person; in 1850, 21.81 copies to each person in the Union, while there were 12.9 publications to every 100,000 inhabitants, being a condition of the press unknown in any other country.

As before stated, the number of dailies in the United States in 1810 was 27. In 1840, it had increased to 138, and in 1850, to 254. At the latter date there were 14 daily papers published in London, 2 in Dublin, and 1 in Glasgow, there being none others in the United Kingdom. There was a paper issued every day in Liverpool, but not from the same press. The issues were from different offices, and on alternate days. The contrast is remarkable.

Above we have a chronological narrative of the origin, increase, and extent of the American newspaper press up to 1850. Since that period the augmentation has been in character with past progress. We are not in possession of comprehensive data on the subject, but a few reliable materials at our command would seem to indicate with some degree of certainty the gigantic advances the American newspaper press has made since then.

In 1850 there were 106 newspapers published in New York City. In the autumn of 1856 the number had reached 120, with an aggregate annual circulation of 80,000,000 copies, the population at the period being about 850,000. At the same time there were 113 newspapers published in Boston,

having a yearly issue of 34,000,000; and 76 in Philadelphia, with a circulation of 48,000,000, making a total in these three cities alone of 209 journals, whose combined annual issue, it is fair to presume, is now 162,000,000 copies. Cincinnati has 30 papers, 16 of which are dailies, with an annual circulation of 9,000,000 of impressions. And although printing was not practised in Minnesota until April, 1849, at a time when nearly the entire country was a wilderness, there were 3 daily journals in St. Paul, in 1856, all well supported, and 31 different newspapers in the Territory. In June, 1857, there were about 20 journals printed in Kansas, not one of which existed in 1853.

Several individual papers in the large cities have an immense circulation. The New York Herald in June, 1857, had a daily issue of 70,000 copies. The Times circulated 42,000, and the Tribune 29,000 daily. The Sun, a cent paper published in the same city, had a daily circulation, in 1856, of 50,000.

From three of these establishments dailies, semi-weeklies, and weeklies are issued. The aggregate circulation of one issue of these various editions of the Herald is 100,000 copies; of the Times, 89,000; and of the Tribune, 214,000 copies. The Public Ledger, a cent paper published at Philadelphia, has a daily circulation of about 65,000.

We have no means of accurately ascertaining the number of copies daily printed of the leading journals in the southern and western cities, but it is doubtless as great, in proportion to the population, as that of the northern papers named.

In 1850, the dailies of the Union averaged a circulation of 3200 copies cach; the tri-weeklies, 851; the semi-weeklies, 1200; and the weeklies, 1365 copies each. The average number issued of each journal was 1785. It is said on good authority that there are firms in New York and Boston who sometimes sell 100,000 papers each in a single day; but many of these are sent to country dealers, or to persons in the large towns near at hand. No person, we feel confident, will venture to doubt that the American people have a greater love for newspaper reading than those of any other nation. This is a wellestablished fact. In 1850, no less than fifteen newspapers were printed in the United States for every inhabitant of the country.

It is estimated that there are now about 4000 newspapers in the Republic. A Press of such magnitude must exert a corresponding influence, nor do we over-estimate its power when we assert it to be more potent, as a whole, than that of Great Britain. Its universal popularity and cheapness extend its dominion, and create readers. And we must not forget, in our description, that it is not merely local, nor even national, but has a world-wide character. It registers the news of the globe; and in this respect differs essentially from the press of all other countries. It is the daily reading book of the working man, the public educator, and the political instructor. So popular has it become that a town of 2000 inhabitants, which in England would not support a journal of any description, in America has its daily; and cities of 20,000 persons, which in England are content with their semi-weeklies, or weeklies, in the United States support four or five dailies, with as many weeklies. Even villages of a few hundreds of inhabitants have their papers, which, if not supported in the hamlet, draw patronage from the surrounding rural population, and there is scarcely such & curiosity in town or country as a family not in re

ceipt of a journal. In the cities the working man looks for his morning paper as naturally as he does for his breakfast.

Mr. Knight Hunt, in his "Fourth Estate," makes the following sensible remarks on the influence of the press, and we quote them for their truth: "The prevalence," says he, "or scarcity of newspapers in a country affords a sort of index to its social state. Where journals are numerous the people have power, intelligence, and wealth; where journals are few, the many are in reality mere slaves. In the United States every village has its newspaper, and every city a dozen of these organs of popular sentiment."

Cheapness is a marked peculiarity of an influential portion of the American press. Until 1833, this was not generally the case. In January of that year the first paper for the "million" was tried in New York. At the commencement it was sold at two cents a copy, but at the end of a fortnight was reduced to a cent, and three days after ceased to exist. This failure did not dishearten other capitalists, and in September following the Sun was successfully started. It was sold to "carriers" at 62 cents the hundred, who resold it a cent per copy. It continues to be published, and is profitable. Cent papers were soon after tried in other large northern cities, all of which now support daily penny journals.

That many American journals are carelessly conducted we do not deny, but, as a whole, they pay strict attention to morality. Attacks upon religion or delicacy are scrupulously excluded from their columns, and the public fully sustain them in this. No publication of disgraceful character has ever succeeded in the United States. The political press we know is, at times, exceedingly harsh in tone, partisan feeling getting the mastery of sober judgment, but this is not common. It is but proper to say that an indulgence of personality cannot be fairly charged to the American press, the few vile prints that are addicted to the habit being the most decided exceptions and excrescences. A powerful moral force is found in the Religious press. There are 120 papers of this character in the United States, with an estimated weekly circulation of 500,000!

The Journalism of the United States, like the character of the people, is versatile, flexible, and practical. Every interest, every social, and every political doctrine has its organ. Brevity, point, and terseness, characterize the editorials. The editor aims less at fine writing than at felicity and force. At times careless writing is discoverable, but this is owing mainly to the fact that the whole literary labour is too often performed by one man, and he is not equal to the task of always writing elegantly. In truth, the wonder is how one person manages to write so much, and so well, daily, as some American editors we could name.

Of the able journals of the United States, the National Intelligencer, at Washington, for moral tone and literary worth has no superior in Europe. The Journal of Commerce, Evening Post, Courier and Inquirer, Commercial Advertiser, Tribune, and Times, at New York; Pennsylvania Inquirèr, Press, and Evening Bulletin, at Philadelphia; Patriot and American, at Baltimore; Courier and Bulletin, at New Orleans; Traveller, Post, Advertiser, and Courier, at Boston; Inquirer and Commercial, at Cincinnati; Whig, at Richmond, Va.; Journal, at Louisville; and Republican, at St. Louis, would do credit to the