That great engine that never sleeps, as Thackeray once described
the press, not unfrequently displays its energy and enterprise in
the performance of feats both novel and interesting. All are more
or less familiar with the daring and intrepidity of its ‘specials,’
who in their eagerness to supply those at home with full and graphic
descriptions of stirring scenes, expose themselves to the risk of
being shot; while the public spirit and enterprise of the different
journals are shown by the lavish way in which they spend their money
in the laying of special cables or in the hiring of special steamers
or trains. These are matters of every-day occurrence, on which plenty
has been, and will continue to be written; but at the present moment we
wish to confine the attention of our readers to the history of a few
novel and curious broadsheets which have appeared at different times.
In 1828 a paper was published called the _Cherokee Phœnix_, which is
interesting on more accounts than one. It was published in English and
Cherokee, the latter portion being printed with characters invented
after years of patient labour and thought by one of the Indians,
whose curiosity had been excited by the ‘speaking leaf,’ as he called
a newspaper which he one day heard a white man read with surprising
readiness and facility. After producing his alphabet, he taught it to
the other members of his tribe, and eventually, with the assistance of
government, was enabled to start the _Phœnix_. Very similar was the
_Sandwich Islands Gazette_, first started in 1835, and boasting of
wood-cuts, for which the publisher received a license from the king,
worded as follows: ‘_To STEPHEN D. MACKINTOSH._—I assent to the letter
which you have sent me. It affords me pleasure to see the works of
other lands and things that are new. If I was there, I should very much
like to see. I have said to Kivan, “Make printing-presses.” My thought
is ended.—Love to you and Reynolds.—_By KING KAINKEAGUOLI._’ This paper
was of eight octavo pages, and was published in English. The present
ruler of the Sandwich Islands shares the liberal views expressed in
the above letter of his predecessor. Since that time, the practice of
publishing papers in the native tongues has spread rapidly; and in
India alone at the present moment no fewer than three hundred and
thirty newspapers, with a total circulation of more than one hundred
and ten thousand, are printed in the languages spoken in the different
provinces.
A most curious paper is the official Chinese paper, called _King-Pan_,
which claims to have been started as early as 911, and to have appeared
at irregular intervals till 1351, when it came out regularly every
week. At the commencement of the present century, it became a ‘daily,’
at the price of two _kehs_—about a halfpenny. By a decree of the
emperor, a short time back, it was ordered that three editions were to
be printed every day—the first or morning edition, on yellow paper, is
devoted to commercial intelligence; the second or afternoon edition
contains official and general news; and the third, on red paper, is a
summary of the two earlier editions, with the addition of political
and social articles. The editorial duties are performed by six members
of the Scientific Academy, who are appointed by government. The
circulation is about fourteen thousand daily.
On board the _Hecla_, one of the ships belonging to Captain Edward
Parry’s expedition in search of the north-west passage, a paper was
printed called the _North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle_. The
first number was dated the 1st November 1819, and its twenty-first and
last the 20th March 1820. The _Great Britain_ steamer, which started
for Australia on the 21st of August 1852, may claim to have inaugurated
the practice of publishing a newspaper on board ship, as a paper,
entitled the _Great Britain Times_, was published every week during the
voyage, and distributed amongst the passengers. At the present time,
these sea-born broadsheets are a source of considerable amusement, and
go a long way to relieve the monotony of the passage, as the passengers
not only read but supply the articles. Burlesque telegrams, jokes made
by the passengers, and all the news, whether social, nautical, or
personal, of the voyage, are published in their columns. One well-known
American journal has even purchased a steamer and fitted it up as
a regular floating newspaper office. The editors, sub-editors, and
journalists all live on board; and by this means, news which has been
picked up during the voyage can be set up without loss of time; whilst
the details of any incident can be fully authenticated by the steamer
calling at the scene of action. This steamer plies between Memphis and
New Orleans, distributing the papers on its journeys, and collecting
every item of news current along the banks of the Mississippi.
Before the 67th Regiment left England for British Burmah, the officers
spent a sum of money in purchasing a printing-press and types, with
which they published a paper called _Our Chronicle_, soon after
they landed at Rangoon. The editorial staff and compositors were
all connected with the regiment, and the journal was regarded as
a phenomenon in the annals of the press. Another military journal
deserving mention is, or was, the _Cuartal Real_, the official organ
of the Carlists, published during the war on the almost inaccessible
summit of the Pena de la Plata.
Though America is the land of big things, in newspaper matters it can
boast of possessing the smallest paper in the world. This diminutive
journal is the _Madoc Star_, which very properly has for its motto,
‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star.’ It is published weekly. Its dimensions
are three inches and a half by three inches; and it consists of
four pages, the first being devoted to foreign news, the second to
mining notes, the last two to local news. If we may believe the Paris
_Rappel_, America has recently issued two startling novelties combining
utility with entertainment. The first is a newspaper printed on cotton
cloth, and is called the _Pocket-handkerchief_, which at once explains
the purpose to which it is to be put when intellectual demands have
been satisfied. The other is called the _Necktie_, being printed with
gold letters upon silk, and is said to be highly ornamental and of
great elegance. This is practical literature with a vengeance.