[The following remarkable passage occurs in a pamphlet written by Tom Paine, entitled: Thomas Paine to the People of England, on the Invasion of England; Philadelphia, printed at the Temple of Reason Press, Arch Street, 1804.
“The original plan, formed in the time of the Directory (but now much more extensive) was to build one thousand boats, each sixty feet long, sixteen feet broad, to draw about two feet water, to carry a twenty-four or thirty-six pounder in the head and a field-piece in the stern, to be run out as soon as they touched ground. Each boat was to carry a hundred men, making in the whole one hundred thousand, and to row with twenty or twenty-five oars on a side. Bonaparte was appointed to the command, and by an agreement between him and me, I was to accompany him, as the intention of the expedition was to give the people of England an opportunity of forming a government for themselves, and thereby bring about peace.”—Ed.]
THE COURIER.
The Courier, in the time of the war, was the great paper; it obtained a large circulation, and consequently exercised considerable influence. It was started by John Parry in 1792, and he carried it on for some years with tolerable success, till he was ruined in 1799 by a government prosecution for a libel on the Emperor of Russia. It was bought by Daniel Stuart, who left The Morning Post for The Courier in 1803. During three years, says he, at the time of the overthrow of Buonaparte, The Courier, by the able management of Peter Street, who was editor and half-proprietor, sold steadily upwards of 8000 per day; during one fortnight it sold upwards of 10,000 daily. At the end of 1809, S. T. Coleridge contributed to it some Essays on the Spaniards; and in 1811 he wrote for it on a salary. At this time the paper was much under ministerial direction. From about the year 1818 till 1829 The Courier was conducted by W. Mudford, with whom William Stewart was a proprietor. After 1819 D. Stuart took no interest in it, and parted with his last share in it in 1822. After the year 1825, James Stuart, a Scotch gentleman of great talent and respectability—the same that unfortunately killed Sir Alexander Boswell in a duel, and was author of Travels in the United States—became editor. True to his principles, he gave in this capacity every support in his power to the Whig or Liberal party. He was appointed by Lord Melbourne to the situation of Factory Inspector, which he held till his death, at the age of 74, in 1849. When Jas. Stuart obtained his factory appointment, Sam. Laman Blanchard became editor. The paper having become, like other evening papers, less profitable than of old, the proprietors sold it to the party they had so long opposed. It took Tory politics; Laman Blanchard, of course, resigned; and a few short years were sufficient to destroy a journal which had once been the most valuable newspaper property in England. Its last number appeared 6th July, 1842.
It is a curious, but not creditable, circumstance that The Courier was in the habit of re-printing, from year to year, without acknowledgment, the able leading articles from The Liverpool Courier, written by the Rev. Richard Watson, secretary to the Wesleyan Missionary Society, by whom, in conjunction with his friend, Mr. Kaye, this newspaper was established upon loyal and constitutional principles.
“The Courier, in 1814, was supplied by R. Peel, Lord Palmerston, and J. W. Croker, with political squibs and lyrics, resembling in general features The Anti-Jacobin and The Rolliad. The verses are chiefly parodies of Moore’s Irish Melodies, or of Byron’s songs, and are far above the ordinary level of such compositions.... The various pieces were collected and published in 1815, under the title of The New Whig Guide.”—Croker Papers, vol. i., p. 58.
This statement contains several inaccuracies. The pieces forming The New Whig Guide were first collected and published in 1819, and not in 1815, for Byron’s Fare thee well was not written till April, 1816. The parody on it was entitled The Leader’s Lament. By the Right Hon. George Ponsonby. A. Hayward says in his review of The Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin, in The Edinburgh Review, 1858—that “Canning has been traditionally credited with the parody of Moore’s. Believe me, if all those endearing young charms, the gentleman addressed being a distinguished commoner afterwards ennobled (the first Lord Methuen), who was far from meriting the character [of a foolish fop] thereby fastened on him”. The other parodies were by John Calcraft, the Hon. W. H. Lyttelton, Dudley North, M.P., Kirkman Finlay, M.P. for Glasgow, &c. Mr. Methuen, in return, wrote many clever squibs and parodies against the Tories, which were collected, under the title of The New Tory Guide, and reproduced, like its rivals in 1819. “Talking of The Morning Chronicle,” says T. Moore (Diary, 19th March, 1831), “Paul Methuen told us he was the author of almost all those about The Rat Club; which are certainly some of the best.”
THE STAR.
The Star, the first London daily Evening Newspaper, was started in 1788 by Peter Stuart, brother to Daniel Stuart, of The Morning Post. Its first editor was Andrew Macdonald, author of Vimonda, a tragedy, and other works: and after him another Scottish poet, John Mayne, author of The Siller Gun, was editor. Robert Burns was offered an engagement to write poetry for it, at the rate of one guinea an article per week. The arrangement was not completed. It was to Peter Stuart that Burns addressed his “Poem, written to a gentleman who had sent him a Newspaper, and offered to continue it free of expense”. The facetious Bob Allen, of whom Charles Lamb has such pleasant reminiscences, was for many years a contributor to this paper. Subsequently, Dr. A. Tilloch, editor of The Philosophical Magazine, was for many years editor of The Star. After Oct. 15, 1831, The Star became incorporated with The Albion newspaper, under the title of The Albion and Evening Star.