USA > New Jersey > Documents relating to the colonial history of the state of New Jersey, Vol. XII > Part 10
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professed in his proposals. Speculations, whether moral or political, will find a ready in- sertion ; and any strictures, in answer, will be equally acceptable. The Orrery will be the agent of all parties, but the slave of none. As subjects of discussion, it will never be the trumpeter or the denouncer, of public men or national measures :- Republicans have the eye of an eagle, and can penetrate their spots, while they admire the splendor. The ad- ministrators of a free government should expect the scrutiny of their political creators ;- but the demon of private slander shall never conduct the orbit of the smallest satellite, that twinkles in the horizon of the Orrery.
A number of writers wrote for the Orrery, chiefly on politics, the paper being ardently Federal, and merciless toward its opponents.
Thomas Paine was born at Taunton, Mass., December 9, 1773, the sec- ond son of Robert Treat Paine, an eminent lawyer. Soon after leaving college he entered the counting house of a merchant in Boston, intending to pursue a mercantile profession, but was persuaded to commence the publication of the Orrery, of which he was the projector and probably the sole proprietor. His reputation for scholarship and literary talents was so high that his proposals for publishing the Orrery were received by the public with extraordinary favor, so that the subscriptions to the paper, even before the appearance of the first number, far surpassed those which had been given beforehand to any other Boston paper. Unfortunately, how- ever, he devoted much of his time to other pursuits, and the public expec- tations were not fully realized. After publishing three volumes, of fifty- two numbers each, Paine retired from the paper, April 18, 1796, with the following address :
To The Public. The subscriber, having sold the Proprietary right to the Federal Or- rery to Mr. Benjamin Sweetser, takes this opportunity of returning his sincerest thanks to his friends and the Public, for the liberality, which they have been ever pleased to extend him ; and hopes, in retiring from the publication of the paper, whose existence has imme- diately emanated from their benignity, that he may safely bequeath to his successor a continuance and extension of their patronage and favor.
The public's most obedient servant,
Thomas Paine.
The sale of the Orrery was fatal to its existence. Scarcely an original paragraph can be found in its columns after it passed from the possession of Paine. It was made up, in a great measure, of extracts from the Farmer's Museum, and other popular gazettes. Sweetser, its new proprietor, in November, 1796, changed the title of his publication as follows:
The Courier and General Advertiser.
No. 15, Vol. V.] Thursday, December 8, 1796. [3 Dols. pr. Annum. Published every Monday and Thursday, by Benjamin Sweetser, at his Printing-Office, No. 57, State-Street, Boston.
It was printed on a sheet 19 x 23 inches, four pages, four columns to a page. This paper is often confounded with The Courier, begun by Sweet- ser and Burdick on July I, 1795 (see that date) ; but it will be noticed that Sweetser continues the numeration of The Federal Orrery, even after changing the name. The alteration in the title failed to inspire the paper
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
with any new life, and it is understood to have expired with the year 1796.
After disposing of the Orrery, Mr. Paine studied law and was admitted to the bar, but his passion for dramatic literature interfered with the prac- tice of his profession, and in 1809 he gave up his office. He died Novem- ber 13, 18II. In the year 1801, annoyed at being mistaken for Thomas Paine, the author of The Age of Reason, the Massachusetts editor and lawyer petitioned the Legislature of his State to change his name, as- signing as a reason that he desired to be known by a Christian name. His petition was granted, and he took the name of his father, and was thereafter known as Robert Treat Paine, Junior. His works were pub- lished in 1812, in an octavo volume of pp. xc, 465.
1795, April 30 (Thursday )-Political Gazette, at Newbury- port, Massachusetts, by William Barrett.
This paper was very neatly printed on a sheet 17x21 inches, four pages, four columns to a page. The exact title and imprint appear below :
Political Gazette.
Newburyport (Massachusetts)-Published on Thursdays, by William Barrett, Merrimac Street, Where Subscriptions for this Paper, Advertisements, and Articles of Intel- ligence are gratefully received.
Vol. I. ] Thursday, May 28, 1795. [No. 5.
AT The Price of the Gazette, is Nine Shillings per Annum, exclusive of postage, and Six Cents single.
* Advertisements inserted reasonably.
The paper contained many excellent original articles, furnished by cor- respondents. The editor's labors appeared to extend no further than to the selection of news and recording of deaths and marriages in the vicin- ity. The Republicans were the subject of much clever satire in prose and verse in the columns of the Gazette. No. 30, Vol. I., Tuesday, November 17, 1795, was printed at the "West Corner of Market Square." The price was $1.50 per annum, exclusive of postage, or six cents single. The editor announced : " *** Advertisements inserted reasonably. The increased circulation of this paper, renders it advantageous for this business." No. 29, of Vol. II., Total No. 81, is dated Friday, Novem. II, 1796. The issue for Friday, September 7, 1797, has but three columns on the first page, probably owing to some mechanical misfortune in the office. The last number of the Gazette known is No. 27, Vol. III., Total No. 131, Friday, October 27, 1797. With the next issue the paper was consolidated with the Impartial Herald, and the joint paper was called Newburyport Herald and Country Gazette, issued semi-weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays. In
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NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
1832, the paper was changed to daily and weekly. It is still published, as the Newburyport Herald.
1795, July I (Wednesday)-The Courier, at Boston, by Benjamin Sweetser and William Burdick.
Printed on a sheet 18 x 22 inches, four pages, four columns to the page. The following shows the arrangement of the title, imprint, etc., of the sec- ond number :
The Courier.
15f. Per Annum. ]
4} d. single
Boston, (Massachusetts)-Published on Wednesdays and Saturdays, by Sweetser and Burdick, at their Printing-Office, Opposite the Court-House, Court-Street. Where Subscriptions for this Paper, Advertisements, and Articles of Intelligence, are thankfully received.
No. 2.] Saturday, July 4, 1795. [Vol. I.
As appears by the imprint, this was a semi-weekly paper, and was re- ceived with a fair degree of public favor. In the course of a few weeks, to the original title, The Courier, was added in a separate line Boston Even- ing Gazette And Universal Advertiser. The heading was adorned with a bird's eye view of Boston, and there was appended in the line below the title, the motto :
"Reason and Truth Impartial guide the way."
Such was the title of No. 33 of Vol. I., Wednesday evening, October 21, 1795. The imprint remained as above. The subscription price was now stated to be "2 Dols. 50 Cts. pr. Ann." Burdick retired from the paper at the end of the year, and the issue for Wednesday evening, Jan- uary 6, 1796, No. 3, Vol. II., was published by Benjamin Sweetser alone, at the same place as formerly. He changed the title slightly, substitut- ing the word General for Universal in the second heading. The latest number known is No. 15, Vol. II., Wednesday evening, February 17, 1796, which was printed on a sheet 16 x 19 inches, four pages, four columns to a page, at No. 63 State street. Shortly after this date the office was de- stroyed by fire, and the paper was discontinued. As already stated, Sweet- ser purchased the Federal Orrery on April 18, 1796.
1795, August 15-American Intelligencer, at West Spring- field, by Richard Davison.
Printed on a sheet 18 x 21 inches, four pages, four columns to a page, the office being "a few rods west of the Meeting House." Davison was an Englishman who had come from Boston for the purpose of starting this paper. The arrangement of title and the conditions were as follows :
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
American Intelligencer. Printed by Richard Davison, In West-Springfield, Massachusetts.
Vol. I. Tuesday, February 23, 1796. No. 28.
Conditions.
One quarter's advance is required on subscribing for this paper, and the payments afterwards to be made at or before the expiration of each half-year. Advertisements inserted on reasonable terms. (The extensive circulation of this paper, makes it worthy of attention for advertising. )
He soon sold out to Edward Gray, the former publisher of the Chroni- cle, whose name appears in the issue for Tuesday, October 4, 1796, No. 60, Vol. II. The latest number known with Gray's imprint is the issue for Tuesday, November 14, 1797, Vol. III., No. 118. Gray continued the paper until it was about three years old, when it was discontinued for lack of support. He removed his types in 1798 to Suffield, Conn., 1 where he printed until 1805,2 and afterwards went to Hartford.
1795, September 5 (Monday)-The Boston Price-Current and Marine-Intelligencer, Commercial and Mercan- tile, at Boston, by John and Joseph N. Russell.
This was a small quarto of four pages, published at $3 per year, the publishers being brothers of Benjamin Russell, of Boston. It was one of the earliest purely commercial journals published in the country. The ar- rangement of the heading, etc., is given herewith :
No. IX .- Monday,
November 2, 1795.
The Boston Price-Current and Marine-Intelligencer.
Printed by J. and J. N. Russell,
Bird's eye view of the Port of Boston.
at their Office, Quaker-Lane, near State-Street.
Commercial and Mercantile.
Terms of Subscription-The price of this Publication is three dollars per Annum, exclusive of postage, one dollar paid in advance, one dollar in six months, and the other dollar at the expiration of the year.
With the issue for March 7, 1796, the form was enlarged to a crown sheet, folio. At the end of the following June, No. 43, Monday, June 27, 1796, Joseph N. Russell withdrew from the firm, and the paper was con- tinued by John Russell, semi-weekly, Mondays and Thursdays, at $4 a year. On June 7, 1798, it was enlarged to a folio sheet, four pages, four
1 See page 52.
2. Brinley, 7161, 7207, 7209, 6039.
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NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
columns, and the title was changed to Russell's Gazette : Commercial and Political. On introducing this change, Russell addressed the public thus :
The portentous aspect of our political horizon, connected with the important events, which are daily passing on the great theatre of the European world, designate the present period as one, which loudly calls for the virtuous energies of all good citizens ; and ought to inspire, in the breast of every man, a solicitude to contribute his efforts in support of the cause of virtue, freedom, and independence. Under this persuasion, and influenced by the advice of many valuable friends, the editor, in the humble hope of being able to extend the sphere of its utility, has deviated so far from the plan which he adopted in originating the Commercial Gazette, as to enlarge its dimensions, thereby to afford an opportunity of rendering it an important and useful vehicle of political information, as it is admitted to be of commercial and maritime intelligence. He confesses to have been stimulated to this alteration by the ambition he feels to take a share (he hopes it may be a conspicuous one) in the dissemination of those important political truths and opinions, which the fertile genius and talents of our countrymen, urged by the critical state of the times, daily produce in such rich exuberance. To the friends and supporters of the con- stitution, and those who administer it, he declares his paper exclusively devoted. To the enemies of either he avows himself an enemy. These are his sentiments ; and, on these terms does he solicit the patronage of the public ; for, on no other, does he think himself deserving it, or could he expect it to be permanent.
At the beginning of the year 1800, in consequence of ill health, Russell resigned the printing and publishing department into the hands of James Cutler, a young man who had been in the office from the commencement of the paper. In October, 1800, Russell and Cutler formed a partnership, publishing the paper and doing an extensive job printing business. The paper was thenceforth called simply the Boston Gazette. It became a daily, May 5, 1828.
Russell was a capital paragraph writer, and had the assistance of many able correspondents. For fifteen years no paper was more ardent in sup- porting Federalism. Robert Treat Paine wrote for the Gazette many of his most elaborate criticisms and reviews. The commercial and marine intelligence was compiled under the superintendence of Cutler, and was managed with talent and industry. About 1815, Simon Gardner, a young man of great activity, was taken into the business as partner, and the firm was then Russell, Cutler & Co. Cutler died after a short illness, April 18, 1818, and the business was continued by Russell & Gardner, till the end of the year 1823, when Mr. Russell withdrew, with an able and interesting address to the public. Soon after this he removed to Maine, where he re- sided with relatives till his death, at the age of 60. Gardner being now the sole proprietor of the Gazette engaged as editor Samuel L. Knapp, a well known lawyer and writer. On April 19, 1824, Mr. Gardner died. The paper thereafter passed through many hands, and in 1840 was merged in the Boston Daily Advertiser.
1795, October 22 (Thursday)-The Rural Repository, at Leominster, by Charles Prentiss.
Printed on a sheet 173 x 23 inches ; four pages, four columns to a page The appearance of the title and the conditions are shown herewith :
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HISTORY OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.
The Rural Repository.
Quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non,
[I Dol. 50 Cents per annum. ]. -docet. [6 Cents single. ] Horace.
Published every Thursday by Charles Prentiss, south of the Meeting- house, in Leominster, (Massachusetts.)
Vol. I.] Thursday, November 12, 1795. [No. 4.
Conditions of the Publication of this Paper.
The Rural Repository will continue to be published every Thursday, on paper of it's present size, and the type which is now exhibited.
Payment will be expected quarterly, except where, for mutual conven- ience, stipulations to the contrary are made.
Subscriptions for this paper will be gratefully received. Advertisements inserted reasonably.
A quarters advance payment will be expected from those, who subscribe after the first of the present month.
All kinds of Printing performed with accuracy & dispatch at this Office.
In his prospectus, Mr. Prentiss says : " It has long been a general and just complaint that too large a proportion of most of our papers has been devoted to uninteresting intelligence and political altercations-or adver- tisements, useful perhaps to the man of business, but no dainty to the lit- erary epicure. In the proposed paper, from the locality of the publica- tion, advertisements will be, in a considerable degree, avoided .. Most of its pages will be filled with original essays, moral and humorous, biograph- ical anecdotes, criticisms, &c., together with the selected pieces, calcu- lated to improve and embellish the mind. The multiplicity of periodical papers, and the editor's own 'mediocritas ingenii' considered, nothing would have induced him to the trial, but a safe dependence on a number of literary friends, and his conviction that most would be willing to patron- ize and encourage so laudable an attempt. But if his utmost exertions are unable to preserve it from the Syrtes of Dullness and the rocks of Disap- probation, he requires nothing more than what they will readily grant, namely, a discontinuance of their favors."
The paper had unusual literary merit, and, conducted in accordance with the editor's prospectus-the fond dream of a youth just fresh from college-lasted much longer than might have been reasonably expected. The latest copy known is No. 77, Vol. II., Thursday, April 6, 1797. It was probably discontinued about this time, or soon after.
Charles Prentiss graduated from Harvard on June 21, 1795, commenced the publication of his paper in October, and was married in November of the same year. He has been previously mentioned in these pages, and will be again.
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NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
1796, October 6-Polar Star and Boston Daily Advertiser, at Boston.
At the head of the title was the cut of a five-pointed star, under which was a scroll bearing the words "Polar Star." It was printed on a crown sheet, afterwards enlarged to a demy sheet, and, in about six weeks, to a sheet of royal size. This was the first daily paper published in Boston. The imprint states that the paper was "Printed by Alexander Martin for the Proprietors." The editor was John O'Ley Burk, an Irish refugee, who had been connected with the United Irishmen, in Ireland. In his opening address, after expressing his gratitude for the patronage his paper had re- ceived in advance, and descanting on the advantages of a daily paper, Burk says :
This, Fellow-Citizens ! is a proof of the advantages arising from a daily publication. I call you Fellow-Citizens! for I too am a citizen of these states. From the moment a stranger puts his foot on the soil of America, his fetters are rent in pieces, and the scales of servitude, which he had contracted under European tyrannies, fall off ; he becomes a Free Man ; and though civil regulations may refuse him the immediate exercise of his rights, he is virtually a citizen. He sees a moral, intrepid, and enlightened community ranged under the banners of equality and justice; and, by the natural sympathy, that subsists between the mind and everything that is amiable, he finds his affections irresisti- bly attracted ; he resigns his prejudices on the threshold of the temple of liberty ; they are melted down in the great crucible of public opinion. This I take to be the way in which all strangers are affected when they enter these states ; that I am so, will be little doubted, when it is known how much I am indebted to their munificence and liberality. I shall give better proofs of it than words-there is nothing that I would not resign for your service, but what there is little I fear I shall be ever called on to surrender,-my GRATITUDE and LOVE OF LIBERTY.
In fervid language, he denounced, from time to time, everything per- taining to the British, and with equal warmth espoused the cause of France. The paper ran afoul of the Chronicle, Centinel, and Mercury, and Burk chafed under their contemptuous silence. In the issue for Octo- ber 25, he said "The Polar Star has gained by its impartiality, in fourteen days, 213 new subscribers. It has lost two, because it supported the Fed- eral constitution and did not rave in favor of the ridiculous and absurd establishments of royalty and aristocracy." Apparently encouraged by this success, the proprietors of the Star announced their intention of pub- lishing a semi-weekly paper in connection with their daily, to be entitled The Columbian Citizen ; and Gazette for the Continent; but financial reverses befell the concern; the semi-weekly was never published, subscribers failed to comply with the conditions of subscription, and the Star sank below the horizon in about four months. The latest number known is dated February 2, 1797. Martin, the printer, was shortly after engaged in the printing of another newspaper in Philadelphia.
1796, October II (Tuesday) --- The Minerva, at Dedham, by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton.
Printed on a sheet 18 x 23 inches, four pages, four columns to a page.
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The first number had the following title and imprint, with the rather in- teresting and suggestive salutatory of the publishers :
The Minerva.
Dedham, (Massachusetts). Printed and published by Nathaniel and Benjamin Heaton, about 60 Rods east of the Court-House ; where Sub- scriptions for this Paper, Advertisements, Articles of Intelligence, &c. are gratefully received.
Volume I.]
Tuesday, October 11, 1796. [Number I ..
To the Public.
The first appearance of the Minerva has been postponed beyond the intentions of the publishers. If the candid patrons of this publication should require an apology for the delay, it is presumed they will find a valid one by attending to the obstacles which begin- ners (and especially such as are young and unexperienced) have to surmount in every un- dertaking. They have not waited to solicit subscribers and patrons for their paper within but a small part of the sphere of its expected circulation. As far, however, as time and opportunity have permitted them to ascertain the degree of encouragement they may hope to receive from the liberality of the public, they acknowledge with the most lively sense of gratitude, that it is ample. Their feelings, as well as their interest and duty, will exact the zealous and faithful application of their whole time and abilities, such as they are, to satisfy their present subscribers, and to encrease their number. As from youth and want of experience they are justly diffident of themselves, all they ask from the can- dor of the public is, that they will excuse some mistakes, but no negligencies. The latter, far from meriting pardon, will be aggravated by the sin of ingratitude.
It may be very properly demanded, why should the public encourage another news- paper? It is very true, newspapers are numerous, and several of them merit the great favors thev receive.
The editors of the Minerva presume nevertheless to maintain that their newspaper will be neither useless nor unnecessary. It would be arrogance to pretend that it will be bet- ter than some of the Boston Gazettes ; they will endeavor that it shall be as good, so far as relates to real information. As the middle and southern posts pass through Dedham, they have no doubt, and they do not hesitate to promise, that the intelligence contained in the Minerva shall be as early as can be procured, and as accurate and impartial as will be found in any of the Boston papers. Several of the latter, it is true, are printed twice a week ; but after the numerous advertisements, and the matter that is merely local to the town of Boston are deducted, the room in the Minerva, though published but once a week, will be found sufficient for all the articles that will be curious or interesting to the gener- ality of country readers. Party spirit, that is always so bitter, and often so long winded, in the newspapers of every large city, shall have no place : It is believed that the types of the Minerva may be used more agreeably as well as more usefully. The editors rely on this opinion the more confidently, as the body of the enlightened yeomanry, on whose patronage the Minerva will depend, live dispersed, and of course are less liable to the violent impulses and sudden alarms of city factions. They are certainly not less enlightened than the great mass of their brethren in town, and are not on that account the more likely to be moved by light causes and groundless suggestions. *
For these and many other reasons, the editors of the Minerva are confident that in common times the turbulent spirit of party will not infest the greater number of their customers. By resolving to them the company of all such wranglers, and to exclude as far as possible all such articles as would provoke or maintain this brawling kind of warfare, they conceive that they comply no less with the taste of their readers than with their duty as citizens. As the post will leave their office on the morning of the publica- tion of the Minerva, their customers, on the middle road especially, may have the papers n better season than they could be obtained from Boston,
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NEW JERSEY COLONIAL DOCUMENTS.
It is their ardent wish to make the Minerva interesting and useful to the farmers ; they earnestly, solicit therefore the communication of such facts and experiments as will answer this design. No branch of the common interest is more important, and there is no subject perhaps which has at this inquisitive day more undecided points. It would be the pride of the editors to distinguish the Minerva as the vehicle of agricultural knowledge. It shall be at all times devoted to the interests of peace and order of science virtue and religion .- With these sentiments, which are no less ardent than sincere, they presume to hope for approbation and encouragement. They even hope that the advantages of their situation for obtaining and circulating intelligence, together with the obvious motives for encourag- ing a country paper, will procure them some respectable patrons in every town through or near which the post from Dedham will pass, who will recommend the Minerva to the at- tention of their neighbors.
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