CURIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
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.