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GLASGOW HERALD" BUCHANAN STREET BUILDINGS. 
 
Fifty Years 
 
 OF 
 
 Newspaper Life, 
 
 184^-1895': 
 
 BEING CHIEFLY 
 
 Reminiscences of that Time. 
 
 BY 
 
 ALEXANDER SINCLAIR, 
 
 Of the "GLASGOW HERALD." 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 
 
Note. — Jsih& many looJo *' prefaces/^ this note shoiold 
 Jje a ^' postscript!^ hivt it is necessary to state liere that the 
 greater pjortton of the iooh was printed hefore the latter part 
 was written^ and this explains some slight repetitions and 
 divergency of dates hetiveen the earlier and later portions : 
 imiosual pressure of engagements caused frecj^uent intervals of 
 time, — scrappy as it luas at iest. 
 
 &he Jict for preventiyig jldvertising hy i^ehicles, Sc, 
 yyventioned at page IJf., refers to J'ondon only, and in certain 
 circumstances. delete '^ the satne" on page 77, line 15. 
 %elete quotation marhs page 97, 5th loivest line, dhe short 
 reference to the t^ut^ore of typography, page IH^, should have 
 appeared after the article on Gomposing Machines, page V28. 
 A comma sho^dd precede ''^ facsimile I' and not after ; and a 
 semicolon shoiold he after the word '' glolje,^^ page 16'2^ line IJf.. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAKE 
 
 Preliminary. — The Origin — From a Publisher's Standpoint — Transition 
 time of Newspapers from thraldom to freedom — Beginning of my 
 connection with the Glasgow Herald, ... ... ... ... ... 1 
 
 AovERTisEMENTS, AND THE Advekti.sement Tax. — Imposition of Tax 
 and Varying Rates — Abolition of Tax— Separate Interests — Eates 
 and Sizes of Advertisements — Editing of them — Personal Risks — 
 Imposition on and by Newspapers — State Lottery Advertisements, 
 and their Abolition, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 
 
 The Newspaper Stamp Duty. — Its Imposition, Penalties, and Rates — 
 Pros and (7o«s— Repeal of Tax — Stamps and Circulations in 1845 — 
 Last century papers still living — After the Stamp : For better or for 
 worse— Betting, and its Remedy — The Jockey Club — The Stamps 
 themselves — Seven Illustrations of Stamps, ... ... ... ... 15 
 
 P.vPER Duty and Paper. — Repeal of the Tax — Mr. Gladstone's Budget 
 of 1861 — Precursors of Paper — Paper itself — Paper and Printing — 
 New materials for Papermaking — Prices of Paper for Newspapers 
 during 50 years — Sizes of Newspapers — American Papers — Recovery 
 of Papermaking Material, ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 
 
 Editorial Department. — Editors from 1782 to 1895 — Staff of Herald in 
 1845 — George Outram and James Pagan — Early Editing andDevelop- 
 ments — First Daily Newspaper in Scotland — Daily issue of Glasgotv 
 Herald begun 1859— Daily Editorial Work— Editor's Sanctum- 
 Shorthand Reporting — Reporting half a century ago — Mr. Pagan's 
 Exploits and Influence — Parliamentary Reporters — Reporters' 
 Gallery in House of Commons (with Illustrations) — Descriptive 
 Reporting — General Elections — Reporting Auxiliaries — Lasting 
 Value of Reporters' Work — Commercial News — Book Reviewing — 
 London and non-London Press — News-collecting Agencies — Honours 
 to Newspaper Men, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 34 
 
 Electric Telegraph and New.spaper.s. — Invention claimed for a 
 Greenock Doctor — Submarine Cables — Distribution of News over the 
 World — Post Office Service — Stock Exchange Work — Special Wires 
 — Getting below a Storm — Transmission of News by Post Office — 
 Telegraph Department and Newspapers — Pneumatic Transmission 
 of Copy, 69 
 
 Publishing Department.— flerai(i Office in 1845 (with Illustration)— 
 Personal— Subscribers and Distributors— Mode of producing and 
 despatching the Herald — Advertisement Rates — Complaints — 
 Notices of Births, &c.— Contents Bills— Protection of Readers, ... 85 
 
 411527 
 
PAGE 
 
 Railva'ays and Newspapers. — 1845, Railway Mania Year — Earliest Rail- 
 ways in Scotland — Train Service to London — Newspaper Parcel 
 Service — Overall Rates, 99 
 
 CoJiPOSiTOKs' Department. — Old Glasgow Typefounder (with Illustra- 
 tion) — Our Old Compositors — A Strike — Typographical Errors — 
 Compositors' Chapel— Type and Type-Setting — Wages from 1803 — 
 Odd nomenclature by Compositors — Future of Typography — The 
 Printer's Readers and Authors, 107 
 
 Composing Machines.— The Linotype and other Machines— Output by 
 Hand and Machine — Rates — Mechanism of the Linotype (with 
 Illustrations of the different parts), ... ... 128 
 
 Stereotyping Foundries. — Old and Modern Processes — Start of our 
 Stereotyping— Necessary to multiply plates for several presses (with 
 Illustration), 141 
 
 Machine Printing. —Printing Press in 1845 — Damping Paper — 
 Steam Power and Cylinder Presses— Rotary Machines (with Illus- 
 tration) — A Night Scene in a Press-Room — Web Machines — 
 Mechanism of Hoe's Web Presses (with Illustration) — Improve- 
 ments of Web Machines — Web Presses of great sizes (with Illustra- 
 tions), 143 
 
 Ups and Downs of Newspaper Life. — Glasgow Papers in 1845 and 1895 — 
 
 Money losses in starting and carrying on Daily Newspapers, ... 163 
 
 Our Premises, Fires, &c. — Repeated Extensions — Dangers from Fires 
 
 — Fire Extinguishing Methods — Accommodation in 1845 and 1896, 16 'i 
 
 Various. — Greatest Advertising Newspapers in the United Kingdom — 
 
 Contents of Herald in 1846, and its original in 1796, 170 
 
 Weekly Newspapers. — Last Century Weeklies — Serial Stories, &c., ... 180 
 
 The Evening Times. —Old Halfpenny Papers— Stamp Duty— Evening 
 Newspaper Parasites — Development and Progress— Feat in Tele- 
 graphing and Publishing,... ... ... ... ... ... ••• 185 
 
 Athletics. — Football Results — Descriptions — Number of Clubs — Distri- 
 bution of Evening Times — Golf, ... ... ... ... ... ... 190 
 
 Newspaper Illustrations. — Various Processes, 193 
 
 A Newspaper Conspiracy, 198 
 
Fifty Years of Newspaper Life. 
 
 PRELIMINARY. 
 
 'HE origin of what follows was an Address given to the 
 Glasgow Branch of the British Typographia, a Society 
 of Compositors who have the laudable ambition of making their 
 workmanship in typography more perfect and beautiful. They 
 asked me to occupy an evening with them in their Course of 
 Lectures; and as the series was meant to be of a practical or 
 informing nature, it was arranged that I should say something 
 on the subject of Newspaper Life, with which I have been in 
 touch during my 50 years' connection with the Glasgoiv Herald. 
 Several of those who heard the Address, and other friends who 
 heard of it, urged that it should be printed ; but it seemed to me 
 that if it could interest friends enough to give it such a distinction 
 the subject was entitled to more deliberate and fuller treatment. 
 I therefore venture to deal with it in a more comprehensive form 
 and with kindred material, in the hope that it may form a slight 
 record of the important transition period from long enthralment 
 to the boundless freedom now enjoyed by what has been called the 
 Fourth Estate of the Realm. As the reminiscences, &c., also are 
 almost all from a Publisher's standpoint, they may supply to 
 some extent matter not contained in Books on Newspapers. 
 
 Some of what is given might bo said to belong properly to 
 either of the newspaper departments; but a leading news- 
 paper of the present day must have well defined division 
 of labour, and also unity of action. My subject, therefore^ 
 involves some commingling of matter in the story, and in 
 consequence becomes rather a thing of shreds and patches. I 
 
am not a litterateur, much less a book writer, and at best may 
 try to follow Coleridge's advice to a friend : — "I would inform 
 the dullest author how he might write an interesting book — let 
 him relate the events of his own life with honesty, not disguising 
 his feelings that accompany them." That suggestion, however, 
 involves a little awkwardness in bringing in the element of the 
 autobiographical here and there, but that cannot well be avoided. 
 
 The transition time referred to had not quite begun when my 
 connection with the Herald was formed in September, 1845. I 
 was then engaged by Mr. Alexander Waters, the managing 
 partner, who, after his death, was succeeded by his brother, Mr. 
 James C. Waters, of Craigton, Stirlingshire, my predecessor. 
 
 That transition time was also a transformation period, during 
 which several newspapers which had been published twice or 
 thrice a week developed into " Dailies." The narration of the ex- 
 perience of the Glasgow Herald during these changes, although 
 referring chiefly to one paper,may be considered fairly typical of the 
 experience of the leading daily newspapers out of London. While 
 that transformation some years after 1845 was very critical in 
 some cases, the papers gradually took deeper root and greAV in 
 character and strength, until, by the evolution and use of the 
 Electric Telegraph and Railway systems, these " Country " papers 
 reached a position somewhat parallel in influence to that of the 
 Metropolitan papers. The chief remaining difterence is that the 
 latter give much of their space to foreign ncAvs letters, and ignore 
 to a large extent home news, while the ex-London daily papers 
 reverse that method. 
 
 The abolition of the Advertisement Duty of Is. Cd. on each 
 advertisement in 1853, and of the compulsory Id. stamp in 1855, 
 were both great factors in the making of newspapers; but the 
 latter was supremely important. A few years previous to 
 these events, however, and partly in anticipation of them, 
 the owners of some of the old papers, and many sanguine 
 newcomers, were feeling their way and reconnoitering with 
 
a view to the starting here and there of daily papers. 
 These taxes, with that of l|d. per lb. upon all kinds of paper, 
 were heavy drags upon enterprise ; and they prevented to a 
 large extent the use of what, on the other hand, were the great 
 advantages of prompt conveyance, quick transmission of news, 
 and better processes of newspaper-production, which were taking 
 practical form about that time in Railways, Electric Telegraphs, 
 and rapid Printing Presses, with duplicated stereotyped pages. 
 In 1845 the first two of these were in their infancy, and the 
 last was little more than a dream. Within 16 years thereafter 
 those hindrances had disap23eared, while these means of progress 
 were realised beyond the greatest expectations, and the newsjoaper 
 world came to be like a new creation. As the hindrances and 
 the helps were vital, and as the rise and progress of the latter 
 came more into evidence in connection with the newspaper, it 
 may not be out of place to refer to them separately. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS, AND THE ADVERTISEMENT TAX. 
 
 [HE first advertisements in newspapers of this country seem 
 to have appeared in the first half of the seventeenth 
 century. It is stated that pajoyrus leaves, about three thousand 
 years older, have been found at Thebes, containing an advertise- 
 ment giving a description of runaway slaves and offering a 
 reward for their capture; and on some walls in Pompeii the 
 remains of advertisements may be seen. But we have no 
 information as to the tax they had to pa}'', if any ! There were 
 various methods of advertising in old times, one of which still 
 lingers in the person of the village or toAvn bellman. He was 
 relied upon from an early period as the recognised official for 
 publishing by bell and voice the advertisements of the localit}^, 
 from London do^vuAvard. Glasgow had, for a time prior to any 
 record, its scarlet-coated bellman, for which position there were 
 
gonerally many candidates, and often men of some peculiarity of 
 character or person. One of tliem last century was Dougal 
 Graham, a Highlander who was said to have been out at some of the 
 civil war fights, including the finale of '45 ; and Bellman Geordie 
 thereafter, who was also a "poet," and adapted his gift to occasional 
 announcements. The office was only abolished twenty years ago. 
 Dumbarton had also a quaint Hielan' bellman or drummer last 
 century. The tradition is that, as he could not read, he had to trust 
 to his memory, and when a company of strolling players were there 
 he was asked to advertise their performance of " Catherine and 
 Petruchio; or, The Taming of the Shrew." Donald, however, 
 went through the town with a local female pubhcan " on his 
 mind," and called out that the playactors would give a grand 
 performance of " Kate Macleish ; or. The Turning of the Screw," to 
 which rare invitation a crowd would no doubt appear with lively 
 expectations. 
 
 One account says that in England the first tax Avas imposed on 
 newspaper advertisements, being a charge of a certain amount 
 upon each line. The increase of advertisements was very slow, 
 but few and small though they were, the Government, during 1711, 
 pounced upon them and upon jjaper, because of " finding it 
 necessary to raise large supphes of money to carry on the present 
 war" with France. This tax began on 1st August, 1712, and was 
 Is. on each advertisement, and enacted to apply for 32 years after. 
 Unless this duty Avas paid Avitliin 30 days there Avas a penalty of 
 treble the amount and costs incurred. Some years after, the duty 
 was raised to 3s., in 1815 (Waterloo year) to 8s. 6d. in Britain, 
 and in Ireland to 2s. 6d. These taxes remained till 1833, Avhen 
 they were reduced to Is. 6d. in England and Scotland, Avhilc Irish 
 papers Avere only charged Is. After many years of keen fighting, 
 in and outside of Parliament, against Avliat Avere Avell called the 
 " Taxes on KnoAvlcdge," the first to be abolished Avas that on 
 advertisements. After a resolution to do this Avas carried in 
 the House of Commons, Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the 
 
Exchequer, proposed instead a reduction of the tax to 6d. ; but 
 an amendment was proposed by Mr. Craufurd, the member for 
 the burghs of Ayr, Irvine, and Campbelto\\Ti, and carried by a 
 majority of 9, to substitute in the schedule an (a cypher) 
 for the 6, so that the tax ceased on the 4th August, 1853. In 
 contending for this entire abohtion, Mr. Bright argued that the 
 " miserable sixpence " proposed to be retained would be more 
 than made up by the greater postal correspondence arising from 
 untaxed cheaper advertisements. The forecast of John Bright 
 was soon found to be right ; since the Advertisement Tax ceased 
 the postal revenue increased. There Avas a curious parallel ex- 
 perience with the Advertisement Duty and that on Soap : they 
 both began and ended at the same time, and they had somewhat 
 similar rates of taxation. 
 
 The Tax, " Separate Interests," &c.— In 1845 we paid 
 £1,597 13s. to the Government for its tax of Is. 6d. on each 
 advertisement, representing a total of 21,302 for the year, or over 
 205 for each publication, an unprecedented number up to that time. 
 That Is. 6d. would now prepay for three small advertisements, or 
 one advertisement for four days. If it was levied now on all our 
 advertisements, about £40,000 a year would require to be paid on 
 them to Government ; and the grand total from the newspapers 
 of the Kingdom would form a nice item in the Budget. The 
 revenue from the three greatest advertising media in the 
 United Kingdom — the Times, the Daily Telegraph, and the 
 Glasgow Herald (which are a good way ahead of those that follow), 
 would alone amount to above £130,000 in the year. These figures 
 indicate the vast increase of advertising since " the days of the 
 taxing." I must make an exception and explanation to the rule 
 of Is. 6d. duty on each advertisement. When pricing the 
 advertisements, we had to read them carefully in case there 
 might appear in any one of them the semblance of the interest of 
 more than one person ; because if, for instance, an advertisement 
 referred to more than one property for sale which belonged 
 
to more than one person, tlie Government official would certainly 
 charge us Is. 6d. for each owner. When adjusting our accounts 
 monthly with the sharp-eyed official, I had many a tussle 
 as to what was more than " one interest," — a phrase which 
 occasionally appeared at the end of an advertisement so as to 
 anticipate the official's challenge. But we had occasional trouble 
 also in persuading advertisers that, as we would be charged for 
 more than one, we required to charge them accordingly. On one 
 occasion, for instance, an old house-factor was in this position : 
 as he would not admit that he saw the reason why, I gave 
 him a personal illustration, by saying, that if he and another 
 man each wanted a wife, and stated their wants in one advertise- 
 ment, it would mean two interests (perhaps I should have said 
 four). He paid down without another word for two interests; 
 but I did not learn till he was gone that I was innocently more 
 personal and apt than I had intended to bo, as it turned out that 
 he had recently got his discharge from one wife, and was trying 
 to annex another. 
 
 In connection Avith this frequent wrangle over the tax, a 
 contemporary in October, 1845, was provoked to write on this 
 subject as follows : — " A system of increased rigour has been 
 commenced in the perusal of advertisements and paragraphs, 
 with the view of detecting what are called 'separate interests.' 
 In this way advertisements which formerly paid a single duty 
 are mulcted in two or three duties. For example : a teacher 
 announces at the foot of his advertisement he has accommodation 
 for two or three boarders — this is charged an additional duty ; a 
 steamboat announcement contains, perhaps, an allusion to an 
 excellent hotel, or to an omnibus for convoying passengers, and in 
 both the hotel and onmibus the lynx-eyed officials profess to 
 descry separate mterests, and lay claim to an additional Is. Cd. 
 for each ! But more than this, they have the impudence to 
 interfere with our duty as public chroniclers, and to levy an 
 unwarranted tax on paragraphs of ordinarj^ news, provided only 
 
they contain any intimation whereby they allege private interests 
 may be benefited. Critiques on pictures, announcements of early 
 fruit, which newspapers have been accustomed to insert merely 
 as pieces of news and as likely to interest their readers, have been 
 suddenly discovered to be advertisements and charged by the 
 Stamp Office officia,ls accordingly." 
 
 Rates, Sizes, &c., of Advertisements. — It does not appear 
 what prices publishers charged for advertisements during 
 last century, but they were themselves under the necessity 
 of paying for the theatrical announcements Avhich they in- 
 serted. In 1721 the Piiblic Advertiser stated that theatres 
 were "a great expense to the paper," those of the Drury Lane 
 Theatre costing that paper £64 8s. 6d., and those of Covent 
 Garden £QQ lis. It seems, however, that those papers which had 
 the exclusive right to maintain such a connection made a boast of 
 it. That journal also slated that some papers at that time were 
 in the habit of paying £200 per annum to such theatre managers 
 as supplied them with descriptions of new plays, while the 
 messenger who first brought a playbill received half-a-crown. A 
 reversal of that anomalous state of things took place about the 
 close of last century ; for it seems from marked files of the 
 Herald, at the beginning of this nineteenth century, that Theatre, 
 Concert, and Lottery Advertisements were charged at the rate 
 of l|d. to 2|d. per line. Newspapers were then compelled by 
 law to publish advertisements relating to Bankrupt Estates, 
 Game Lists, &c., at 3s. each, irrespective of length ; and for more 
 than the first half of this century their rate was limited to 8d. per 
 line for Government Notices, Lists of Bank Shareholders (which 
 were then published annually), &c. The injustice of these fixed 
 rates was that they were so nmch under those considered fair for 
 all other advertisements. 
 
 Until the repeal of the Advertisement Tax, our lowest charge 
 for any advertisement was 4s. 6d., covering three lines and 
 under; now the lowest normal rate is 2s. for three lines a»d 
 
under. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, and 
 probably before that time, almost all newspapers had to some 
 extent discriminating rates, — the lowest being for advertise- 
 ments the purpose of which was to earn a living, such as 
 Tradesmen's Business Notices; while the higher rates applied 
 to those which usually represented realised wealth in different 
 forms, — such as Prospectuses of Public Companies, Official 
 Notices, &c. Generally newspaper owners do not covet large 
 advertisements if they can get equal revenue from com- 
 paratively small ones, on the ground that the latter are of 
 more interest to readers. The tendency now with advertisers 
 is to have long advertisements in order to gain the attention of 
 readers better, so that there appear even page and two page 
 announcements of trade specialties. The longest advertisement 
 on record in Britain was that of a Conservative Address to the 
 King, in the Times of 29th December, 1834, which occupied 24 
 columns (or 4 pages of 6 columns each). A page advertise- 
 ment appeared there in 1856, in the form of a petition to 
 Parliament by mercantile firms, &c., against the Sunday de- 
 livery of letters in London. It cost £108. Some time after, the 
 Times had an advertisement exceeding two pages. It was the 
 republication of a pamphlet replying to an attack upon the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. It cost £250. Several page 
 advertisements have appeared this year (1895) of which the 
 Herald has had a good share, at the Times prices. 
 
 It is not a rarity to learn of some readers who go over their 
 newspaper from beginning to end, the advertisements included, 
 although the size of many newspapers must very severely 
 tax their time and perseverance Newspapers, however, are 
 now more than ever daily historians, and contain much 
 information and entertainment in their advertisement columns as 
 well as their news. They tell the facts, and show the enterprise, 
 ingenuity, the manners, fashions, customs, and vagaries of Society, 
 exhibiting a vast quantity of human nature in its mfinite varieties 5 
 
and those who skip the advertisements miss often not a little. But 
 the vast increase and extent of them at higher rates than were 
 paid hitherto form the best proof that they are largely read, and 
 that those who insert them find from the result that they are 
 more than repaid. * 
 
 In contrast with the experience ol newspaper owners of last 
 century, when instead of being paid for the publication of Theatre 
 programmes they had to pay for them, it may be mentioned that 
 the whole libretto of Macfarren's opera of " Robin Hood," 
 occupying 4| columns, appeared in the Times as an advertisement 
 on 16th October, 18G0, for which Mr. Walter and his company 
 were well paid. No doubt, however, the owners of the ©pera 
 would find themselves more than repaid for their enterprise. 
 
 In the year 1865 a now feature in advertising was started by 
 several newspapers opening their columns for small advertise- 
 ments relating to " Vacant Situations," " Wants," " Houses to 
 Let," &c., at 6d. each, prepaid, for a certain number of words, 
 instead of keeping to a minimum of 2s., the normal credit rate. 
 Some years later we extended this ofter to Is. 6d. for four con- 
 secutive insertions, — a system that has been largely v^elcomed by 
 the public, — and adopted by other papers. To many of these 
 advertisements answers are asked, which generally are to be sent 
 to the care of the newspaper publishers. I find that such replies 
 
 * After writing this chapter, the folio-wing illustration of fruitful adver- 
 tising happened to come under my notice — a case of frequent occurrence : — 
 Mr. Edward Scott, an extensive Boot and Shoe Maker in Glasgow, when 
 settling a £300 account for the Herald and the livening Times, stated to our 
 collector that he never paid an account more willingly, because he had got so 
 much good by it. He also wrote to me as follows : — "I have just had presented 
 to me your charge for two weeks' advertising, which amounts to the sum of 
 £300 5s. 6d., being the largest account I ever paid to any paper for so short 
 a period. It affords me pleasure in giving a cheque for the amount ; and, in 
 doing so, I can assure you that this has been the most successful sale of my 
 business experience. This proves that there is nothing like long-established 
 and tried advertising mediums for announcements, especially if carried out 
 on a large scale." 
 
10 
 
 often fill our letter boxes to tlio extent of over 6,000 letters at one 
 time, and that there is an average of fully 500 calls per day for 
 them. It is no uncommon case for such advertisers to be 
 humorously alarmed at the quantity they have to carry away, and 
 in consequence to leave many for our waste basket, while their 
 Avriters are hoping for responses to their applications. Occa- 
 sionally a disappointed applicant finds consolation in his 
 imagination that he had been replying to bogus advertisements, 
 and has written angrily of somebody somewhere, who tried to 
 befool him. 
 
 Editing of Advertisements. — It may safely be said that no one 
 outside of newspaper publishing offices knows how the many and 
 various advertisements received have to be watched and considered 
 to prevent a possible fraud upon readers, defamation of character, 
 entangling statements, &c., &c., sometimes by a single word or 
 under a disguise. These might easily involve the proprietors in 
 actions for damages ; but I cannot remember one such case 
 in our experience. Besides these, many fat orders are refused, 
 such as those from quack doctors, indecent or indelicate, baby 
 farming, personal, and "agony" advertisements. These latter, 
 with varying initials, are liable to be misappropriated by 
 susceptible readers to themselves or their friends, and to cause 
 much trouble. It is much more difficult — indeed impossible — 
 for the Editorial department to guard the news columns so 
 effectively, because of their being dependent upon a host ot 
 correspondents, not only in the United Kingdom, but at the ends 
 of the earth; and because the news is of so infinitely varied 
 a character that its bearings cannot be always estimated. Not 
 long ago, for instance, a small paragraph, supplied by one of 
 the News Companies of London, appeared in some 18 daily 
 papers, referring to a case of supposed deliberate and almost 
 habitual wrecking of vessels on the shores of a distant country. 
 For this they were all pounced upon, and had to settle up. News- 
 papers run more risks in the public interest than the pubhc know. 
 
11 
 
 The editing of advertisements when, as in our case, they are 
 numerous and many of them long, requires to be done, not by 
 one, but by several men — first by the general manager or leading 
 clerk, then by the foreman printer, the compositor, and lastly by 
 the corrector of the press. The first of the two following cases is 
 caught in time, and suspended for examination by the clerk in 
 the public office ; and the second, if it escapes there, naturally 
 falls upon the others to correct the punctuation, and prevent it 
 being laughed at : — " How to make £3 a week without any 
 trouble. Enclose eighteen stamps for sample and information 
 
 to ." The other is : " Wanted, an experienced Cook to 
 
 take charge of the Kitchen, &c., of the Hydropathic at . 
 
 Apply with references and if married to the manager." 
 
 The medical authorities of the United Kingdom forbid their 
 members advertising in any shape, or by " oblique advertise- 
 ments," in the form of testimonials to certain compounds. This 
 is in keeping with medical ethics or etiquette, and while it saves 
 newspaper editing of doubtful matter, it prevents advertising by 
 anyone of a large and important class of society. This course 
 would so far suit Leigh Hunt's brother John, who, when starting 
 the London Examiner, refused to have trade advertisements, 
 because they VN^ere calculated to lower the dignity of their paper. 
 
 Personal Risks. — Besides the burdens of taxation — which 
 window-glass, soap, &c., representing the blessings of sunshine, 
 health, and cleanliness, had also to bear — newspapers and their 
 owners personally had long been under exceptional treatment, 
 as if they were natural enemies to the State. No paper could 
 be legally started until the names of its proprietors had been 
 registered, and at the same time heavy security given by and 
 for them to Government, and as against claims for damages by 
 the public. The capacity of newspapers was rigidly limited by 
 each successive Act, and penalties in connection with that and 
 several other matters abounded. Their OAvners and publishers 
 were, until April, 1852, ineligible for membership of Town 
 
12 
 
 Councils, and also, by custom as rigid as special statute, they 
 were habitually regarded as unfit for the position of Justice of 
 the Peace, nor were they in England allowed to sit as members 
 of Public Health Boards until 1855. It may be mentioned also, 
 but only as an unavoidable hardship, that they and advertisers 
 were liable to a penalty of £50 for publishing an offer of a reward 
 for the recovery of lost or stolen goods with the words "no questions 
 asked." That is one of the things we continue to guard against, 
 because of its self-evident necessity in the interests of the public ; 
 but the legal penalty is still in force. 
 
 Impositions on and by Newspapers. — There are many artful 
 dodgers, and '• respectable " dodgers too, who attempt to get free 
 advertismg, or better than what is paid for, by means of so-called 
 news paragraphs or letters — " A Lieutenant-Colonel home from 
 India," for instance, writing on the extraordinary healing virtue 
 of a special herb used by all the natives. It is rarely they are 
 so frank as one innocent who wrote us lately, enclosing a paragraph 
 for insertion, and saying — " As we do not intend to spend in 
 advertising, we are appealing to the Press to notice our movement 
 in their news columns." There are also attempts to be guarded 
 against in the shape of disguised official, semi-official, and seeming 
 dismterested information ; and another kind by those who give 
 an occasional or short advertisement, and make that a plea for 
 getting puffing matter in as news, from a paragraph up to a 
 column in length, on the plan of " give an inch, take an eU." 
 
 At the anniversary dinner of the Newspaper Society, in May of 
 this year, Mr. Arthur J. Balfour, leader of the Conservative side 
 of the House of Commons, asserted that " Blackmailing by the 
 Press was absolutely unknown in this countr}^" This is too 
 sweeping, for it is only justice to the clever fellows who impose on 
 the Press to state that there are also a few cases of imposition 
 hy newspapers. These are very exceptional to the upright and 
 honourable character of the Press of the United Kingdom. The 
 method of these papers — all or almost all " weeklies " — is to 
 
13 
 
 blackmail those who have an interest in certain advertisements, 
 such as Prospectuses of Companies, by defaming them when 
 thej are withheld or puffing them if orders for insertion are 
 given. This threat is well enough understood, although not 
 expressed in such a form as to convict those who try to victimise 
 advertisers. The editor of Vanity Fair recently stated that an 
 advertisement in praise of certain mining shares which had ap- 
 peared in his paper reappeared as editorial news in some thirteen 
 different papers, which was no doubt paid for, — thereby mislead- 
 ing their own readers. This case is somewhat kindred to a very 
 objectionable feature that seems to be growing of giving advertise- 
 ment paragraphs amongst the news without showing that they 
 are advertisements. 
 
 Methods of Advertising. — The ingenuity of advertisers to 
 get at the best methods of securing attention of likely customers 
 has taken innumerable forms in matter and style of setting. 
 Many are content with honest simplicity and directness of state- 
 ments, others believe in the most lavish Avord pictures of their 
 boundless stores, and " poets " have been employed to tickle 
 the fancy of the public; while there is a tendency to have 
 some advertisements in such prominent type as to make papers 
 very much like placards. It is said that one of the largest 
 London advertisers deliberately misstated in his announcements 
 well-known points in history, with the desired result of getting 
 from 300 to 400 letters per week for a time, expressing surprise 
 that such an ignorant idiot should be kept to write the adver- 
 tisements ; but it paid well. 
 
 During the agitation for the repeal of the Advertisement Duty, 
 a good argument urged against it was : Why tax such announce- 
 ments in a newspaper, and allow those upon walls, hoardings, and 
 advertising vans to escape entirely — the one does not obtrude 
 itself, nor obstruct the streets, &c., as the others do ? But when 
 Parliament abolished it on newspaper advertisements, the members 
 recognised the arguments so far as to pass an Act, which came 
 
14 
 
 into force within a montli of the other, to prevent advertising by 
 means of vehicles, on horseback, or on foot, in the form of pictures, 
 placards, notices, &c. This Act is very sweeping, and if enforced 
 would have cleared the streets not only of the obstructmg 
 advertising vans, but such as the sandwich man, singly or in 
 perambulating troupes ; but except perhaps in London it is almost 
 entirely neglected. London, however, is much disfigured by sky- 
 signs, which Avere not covered by that Act because they were not 
 invented till afterwards; but the Glasgow Town Council put a 
 stop to this dangerous method by getting a clause into their 
 Further Powers Act of 1892, which enabled the authorities to 
 prevent them in future, and to cause two to disappear which had 
 been erected previous to the passing of the local Act. 
 
 Lottery Advertisements. — The 2|d. a line Lottery Advertise- 
 ments referred to State Lotteries, which were brought to an end 
 by Parliament on the 18th October, 1826. By means of them the 
 Government Treasury had a revenue of from £250,000 to £300,000 
 per annum ; but the evil consequences to Society were so great, 
 that even a Parliamentary Committee declared that "idleness, 
 dissipation, and poverty were increased, the most sacred and con- 
 fidential trusts were betrayed, domestic comfort was destroyed, 
 madness was often created, suicide itself was produced, and crimes, 
 subjecting the perpetrators of them to death, were committed." 
 On the morning after the last lottery, the Times said, — "Yesterday 
 terminated the lotteries in this country — may we say for ever ? 
 Looking at the Stock Exchange, at the time bargains, and at all 
 the iniquities practised there, we have only to hope that the place 
 of the lotteries may not be supplied by some more mischievous 
 system of knavery." State Lottery Advertisements from the 
 Continent of Europe are still sent for insertion in newspaj)crs in 
 this country ; gambling and swindling advertisements in numerous 
 disguises are also offered at the highest prices, but self-respecting 
 newspapers, even without legal obligation, prefer to guard their 
 readers by putting them in the waste basket. 
 
15 
 
 THE STAMP DUTY. 
 'HIS stamp, which Government required to be impressed 
 upon every newspaper, varied in price from its first im- 
 position, as also the legal maximum size of each newspaper varied 
 in the succeeding enactments. The tax, with its rigid conditions 
 and penalties, handicapped all newspapers even more seriously 
 than the Advertisement and Paper Duties. 
 
 The imposition of the stamp began on the 1st August, 
 1712, when a penny was charged upon each small sheet. 
 From Id. the tax went up by stages to 4d. in 1815. The legal 
 size then was made 704 square inches (32"x22"), and the 
 price of the paper to buyers was 7d. That size was about haK 
 the size of our Evening Times, and its price is— |d. After much 
 Parliamentary conflict the 4d. stamp was reduced on 15th Sept., 
 1836, to Id. The Irish papers, however, got a further reduction 
 of 25 per cent., " for," as the Act stated, " prompt payment ; " and 
 yet this slur upon Ireland was silently endured ! The English and 
 Scottish papers had, however, to pay their stamps before they got 
 them delivered, without 25 or any other discount. The Govern- 
 ment also kept the whip hand over them by enacting at the same 
 time that the officials might stop the supply of stamps, and thus 
 stop the paper whose proprietor omitted or delayed to pay the 
 Advertisement Duty. 
 
 Pros and Cons. — The one advantage which the stamp 
 afforded was the right given to the newspaper publisher or the 
 bu3^er of the paper to post and re-post it during seven days after 
 publication. That was somewhat counterbalanced, however, by 
 the disadvantage to the pubHsher, that if the stamped paper was 
 not posted or sold he had to bear the loss. The stamp also 
 caused an additional loss by bad debts, and expense was 
 involved in having all the paper made for newspapers from the 
 paper mills sent to and from the Government Stamp Offices 
 in either Edinburgh, London, Dublin, or, I think, Manchester. 
 That necessity involved extra carriage, and the papermaker's 
 
16 
 
 interest upon his account for stamps, and other outlays. That 
 roundabout process sometimes caused critical delays in the 
 delivery of the stamped paper, and left an unprepared pub- 
 lisher so short in his supplies that in the emergency he was 
 constrained to quietly borrow from a neighbour, but this was for- 
 bidden under a penalty of £50. A copy of each edition of every 
 paper had to be sent to the Stamp Office free, with the signature of 
 the proprietor or printer across the stamp, as another guarantee 
 that he took the responsibility for the contents. Besides the Id. 
 stamp on each sheet there was a |d. stamp upon each supplement, 
 which some leading papers issued on occasions of extra pressure, 
 as during the year of the Railway mania. During the latter part 
 of that year (1845) I well remember the anxious cogitations in our 
 office, when through the great pressure of prospectuses of railways, 
 and other such matters, there was scanty space left for news 
 about them or on any other subject. At the same time not only 
 did the issue of a supplement involve a heavy outlay for paper 
 and for the ^d. stamp, but there was also the difficulty of getting 
 it out in time by our one slow printing press, so that the issue 
 of the main sheet might not be blocked. Supplements of two 
 pages, however, were published in October and November of 
 that year — an unprecedented effort, which our readers greatly 
 appreciated. 
 
 Its Repeal. — After a prolonged agitation in and out of Parlia- 
 ment, monthly publications were exempted from the obligatory 
 use of the stamp in August, 1853, and on 1st July, 1855, the 
 coinjndsory stain}') on all newspapers ceased, leaving its use 
 optional for postal purposes. In the months of July and August 
 of the previous year, 1854, there were 19,115,000 newspaper 
 stamps issued; in the same parallel months of 1855, after their 
 use was made optional, 6,870,000 were sold, but even that option 
 for postal purposes ceased also on 8rd October, 1870. Here ended 
 the last semblance of a tax which prevented many newspapers 
 coming into life and killed many prematurely, while the most of 
 
17 
 
 those which managed to Kve had only a stunted and striiggUng 
 life ; it limited the range of thought and checked mental stimulus, 
 and stood in the way of both national and international inter- 
 course. 
 
 The Stamps and Circulations. — Previous to the year when 
 the compulsory stamp ceased, ParUament sometimes published 
 the number of stamps supplied to each paper, and thereby revealed 
 its circulation. It was a compulsory honesty which many did not 
 like, and it was said that in some rare cases publishers tried to get 
 over the difficulty by taking out more stamped paper near the 
 end of the year than they needed, in order to swell their numbers 
 in the Parliamentary Return ; but I never heard of such a case in 
 Glasgow. That plan, as might have been foreseen, resulted in 
 reduced numbers the following year, or in their being out ol 
 pocket for what they could not utilise. There was one advantage 
 to advertisers by the publication of these official returns in giving 
 authoritatively the actual circulation of every newspaper in the 
 United Kingdom. But now few publishers care to do this them- 
 selves, because they know that truthful statements are liable to 
 be compared with exaggerations in other cases. 
 
 After exhausting all likely means of getting correct information 
 as to the stamps issued to the newspapers of these early years 
 and thereby of their circulations, I have been fortunate in securing 
 by my friend Mr. Bernard F. Bussy, the Glasgow Herald Parlia- 
 ment lobby correspondent, through Sir John Leng (of the Dundee 
 Advertiser), and other M.P.'s, the following facts from the House 
 of Commons Blue Books. Besides the Stamp Returns for the news- 
 papers which were published m 1845 in Glasgow and in Edinburgh, 
 and the London daily iKvpers, I give their average issue. 
 
 It may be premised that the N.B. Advertiser and the National 
 Advertiser were issued free with advertisements only, and were not 
 ne^^spapers, nor is the Weekly Citizen such now, as it contains 
 almost only literary and similar matter; while the Edinburgh 
 Gazette, Avithout news, remains the official organ of Scotland. 
 
18 
 
 The 
 
 Stamps Issued to the Glasgow Newspapers existing in 1845, 
 AND their Days of Publication : — 
 
 Stamps. Average. 
 
 Glasgow Herald (Mon. and Fri.), - 380,000 3654 
 
 Saturday Post (Saturday), - - 207,250 3986 
 
 National Advertiser (Saturday, free), 175,000 3365 
 
 Courier (Tues., Thurs., and Sat.), - 140,000 897 
 
 Scotch Reformers' Gazette (Sat.), - 140,000 2692 
 
 Examiner (Saturday), - - 114,000 2192 
 
 Scottish Guardian (Tues. and Fri.), 100,000 962 
 
 Constitutional (Wed. and Sat.), - 98,000 942 
 
 Citizen (Saturday), - - - 81,000 1558 
 
 Argus (Monday and Friday), - 66,000 635 
 
 Chronicle (Wednesday), - - 56,000 1077 
 
 Ptailway and Shipping Journal (Sat.), 13,000 250 
 
 The Edinburgh Newspapers of 1845 : — 
 
 Stamp.s. Average. 
 
 North British Advertiser (weekly, free), 608,500 1 1 ,702 
 
 Witness (Wednesday and Saturday), 270,000 2596 
 
 Scotsman (Wednesday and Saturday), 248,025 2385 
 
 Courant (Mon., Thur., and Sat.), - 253,000 1621 
 
 Advertiser (Tuesday and Friday), - 143,000 1375 
 
 Chronicle (Saturday), - - - 138,000 2654 
 
 Mercury (Monday and Thursday), 101,000 971 
 
 Journal (Wednesday), - - - 41,000 791 
 
 Gazette, official (Tuesday and Friday), 15,000 144 
 
 The 
 
 The London Daily Newspapers of 1845 : — 
 
 Stamps. Average. 
 
 TheThnes, 
 
 Morning Chronicle, 
 Morning Herald, - 
 Morning Advertiser, 
 Morning Post, 
 Standard, - 
 
 8,100,000 
 1,628,000 
 1,608,070 
 1,415,000 
 1,002,000 
 846,000 
 
 25,878 
 5201 
 5137 
 4520 
 3201 
 2702 
 
 It is remarkable that out of all the newspapers issued in 
 Glasgow and Edinburgh in 1845 only the Glasgoiv Herald and 
 
19 
 
 the Scotsman continue to live, and with all the evidences of 
 prolonged life. 
 
 Of the London dailies it need only be stated that the Morning 
 Herald, which has disajjpeared, was practically amalgamated with 
 the Standard under stronger management, and that the Morning 
 Chronicle of 1845 went doivn, although the name, in the Daily 
 Chronicle, has again recentl}'- come to the front. The circulations 
 then of these news]3apers still living and their circulations now 
 form a laughable contrast, and at the same time a striking evidence 
 of the advantages of unshackled trade. 
 
 Last Century Papers Still Living. — When naming so many 
 contemporaries, it may be well to add here a list of the oldest 
 newspapers which exist now as dailies, with the years of origin in 
 order -.—The Leeds Mercury, 1718 ; the Belfast News-Letter, 1737 ; 
 the Dublin Freeman's Journal, 1763 ; the Bristol Daily Times and 
 Mirror, 1773 ; the Morning Post, 1772 ; the Glasgow Herald, 1782 ; 
 the Times, 1788 ; the Morning Advertiser, 1794. 
 
 After the Stamp — For Better or for Worse ? — Before 
 the abolition of the Newspaper Stamp, there was considerable 
 fear expressed that, should it take place, there would be a swarm 
 of low-class papers started over the country, which would be 
 filled with sedition, lewdness, scandal, and other forms of wicked- 
 ness. These forecasts have had little fulfilment, the evils being 
 much less prevalent since then than during the existence of the 
 restrictive stamp. It is curious now to read the following argu- 
 ments of a memorial sent by newspaper proprietors to members 
 of Parliament against the repeal of the stamp, and which formed 
 a sample of memorials to the same effect from London and 
 different parts of the country : — " I. That the abolition of the 
 Newspaper Stamp, and the removal of existing legal securities, 
 are calculated to lower the character and injure the usefulness 
 of the Press. II. That the term ' Taxes on Knowledge,' as applied 
 to the Newspaper Stamp, is delusive and untrue. III. That the 
 privilege of free transmission by post is an ample equivalent to 
 
20 
 
 the stamp charge, and tends to the equal distribution of intelli- 
 gence throughout remote and poor districts, as well as in populous 
 and wealthy localities. IV. That, in the opinion of this meeting, 
 a continuance of the present system is desired by the great mass 
 of the community." 
 
 The compiler of these resolutions, I know, lived to acknowledge 
 that what he and others feared as a calamity turned out to be a 
 change which he had no reason to regret. Instead of lowermg 
 the character of newspapers when freed from the stamp, as the 
 memorialists feared, those of the present day, in comparison 
 with old times, are remarkably free of the objectionable features 
 prophesied, — barring their rather minute reports of the Divorce 
 Courts, &c. 
 
 Betting, and its Remedy. — But the chief blot upon news- 
 papers of the present time is that of being parties to the practice 
 of Betting on Horse Races, which has greatly developed amongst 
 all classes. Mr. Gladstone, in writing to the author of " The 
 Ethics of Gamblmg," characterises the practice as the " false, 
 destructive, and, shall I say, impious principle on which the vice 
 of gamblmg is radically founded." Mr. Arthur J. Balfour, M.P., 
 when speaking at the last annual meeting of the Newspaper Press 
 Society, referred to the same subject, as follows : — " The Press of 
 Great Britain had made such progress that every citizen might 
 be proud of it as an example of skill and enterprise. They nuist 
 add to the telegraph and the railway the Press as a great inven- 
 tion of the epoch. What interested him most was a little-noticed 
 point — that Avas, in estimating the Press as a great social machine 
 and stimulus. What had always struck him as most singular, 
 looked at from an abstract and philosophic point of vicAv, was the 
 manner in which newspapers promoted for commercial purposes 
 subsidised opinion from whi(;h they totally dissented. Some papers, 
 for examjile, recently condcnuied gambling on the turf, while they 
 gave as news all the odds ujion the races. That was a case where 
 the Press subsidised opinions which they thoroughly detested." 
 
21 
 
 Yes , almost all proprietors and editors are " exercised " regard- 
 ing this blot of the gambling evil attending the publication of the 
 betting news, and they generally would gladly be quit of the whole 
 thing. The difficulties in doing so include that of the irreconcil- 
 able competition which prevails, and the lesson gained by the 
 experience some years ago of the Manchester daily papers, which 
 showed not only that the withholding of such matter might end 
 in the stranding of some papers and reducing the circulation ot 
 others, but in bringing into the field some sporting papers which 
 minister to the lowest type of sporting men. One of the best of 
 the English provincial papers bravely refused to give sporting 
 news for many years, but suffered almost to extremity, and had 
 to succumb at length, and give sporting also. The remedy against 
 betting lies in the hands of Mr. BiJfour himself and other legis- 
 lators : they may practically stop the evil he refers to by making 
 it penal to publish by newspaper, circular, or otherwise, these 
 forecasts, odds, &c., and by preventing their telegraphic transmis- 
 sion. This would take the heart out of almost all the betting in 
 the country, stop such an education of our youth, and allow the 
 spirit of the evil to die out by starvation. 
 
 The Jockey Club. — A bold attack is now before the law courts 
 against the stronghold of horse-racing — the Newmarket Jockey 
 Club — on the ground of the betting which goes on in its connec- 
 tion, and from which the leading " tips " for newspapers, &c., are 
 drawn. The Newmarket magistrates, before whom the case first 
 came, have decided that there was no evidence of gambling ; but 
 against this the Anti-Gambling League — the prosecutors — have 
 resolved to appeal to the High Court of Justice. Regarding this 
 local decision the Times says : — " It is gambling made easy and 
 accessible to all comers. If it were true that betting, as it now 
 goes on, were a necessary concomitant of horse-racing, and if they 
 must stand or fall together, we should be well content that they 
 should fall ; but since the worst we have to fear is that the book- 
 maker and his clients will disappear, and that horse-racing will 
 
22 
 
 continue without tlieir support, the prospect is far from terrible. 
 Application was made to state a case, but refused. It is not likely, 
 however, that the business will be allowed to rest at the stage 
 now reached. In so important a matter it is well, for every reason, 
 that some final authoritative judgment should be pronounced." 
 Many other papers also ridicule the defence and the judgment. 
 
 A recent correspondent on the betting mania has analysed the 
 " Sporting Selections " of the Liverpool Daily Post during 1894. 
 His analysis may be fairly taken as a sample of what might be 
 got from other daily papers. He shows that the outcome of 1918 
 prophecies was that " the selected horse is first once in about four 
 and a half guesses, it obtains a place in less than half of the 
 prophet's selections (935 out of 1918), v/hile in more than half 
 of his selections (981 times out of 1918) it either comes in later 
 than third or does not run at all. If readers, therefore, wish a 
 safe tip, let them bet against every selection throughout the year, 
 and the balance Avill be in their favour at the end." But it may 
 be said of these devotees of the goddess of Fortune : — " Though 
 thou should'st bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle amongst 
 bruised corn, yet will not his foolishness depart from him ! " 
 
 This matter seems irrelevant to the subject of the Newspaper 
 Stamp, but it bears on the early question, whether the repeal of 
 that tax was in all respects for the better or the worse. Anyone 
 who is old enough to compare, will, I think, admit that the present 
 is better. 
 
 The Stamps Themselves. — Annexed are facsimiles of seven 
 of the newspaper stamps referred to, from the year 1778 until the 
 compulsory use of them ceased in 1855. The dates indicate the 
 year of the paper from which the copies were made and the period 
 when they were current, but not the date when each began. The 
 first, taken from a newspaper in 1778 when it cost l^d., and the 
 price of the paper, including the stamp, was 3d. ; that of 1790 
 cost 2d. ; that of 1805 was 3|d., and the paper 6d; that of 1814 
 was 3kl, and the paper 6id. The stamp of 1817 reached ihe 
 
23 
 
 maximum ol 4(1., and was imposed in 1815, the price of the 
 newspaper also reaching its maximum price of 7d. a cop}^ The 
 duty was reduced from 4d. to Id. in 1836, as shown by the copy of 
 the stamp in use during 1845, and until it was abolished. At this 
 period the name of each newspaper was placed on the stamped 
 paper used by it. I cannot tell why discounts are marked on the 
 margins of the three preceding stamps, as there is only mention 
 of discount to Irish papers in the Acts, but I know that while 25 
 per cent, was continued to them to the end, the English and 
 Scottish papers paid the full penny. It may be observed that the 
 repetition of the word halfpenny in the three first cases forms a 
 primitive wa}' of counting out the total cost of the taxes. The last 
 stamp is a copy of that now used by the Times — the only news- 
 paper in the United Kingdom which still does so. 
 
 Although formerly no newspaper could be issued unless it had 
 passed through official hands to receive the Government stamp, 
 a curious exception to the rigidity of the rule was made in the 
 case of the Times. For some reason it was allowed to use a 
 special stamp, printed along with the letterpress of the paper in 
 black ink. How the usually scrupulous oflicials of Somerset 
 House reckoned their exact due for the stamps issueil in that 
 Avay was not vrell known. But whatever mystery there may have 
 been, I learn now that the Tivies continues the use of the printed 
 " stamp " for postal purposes ; the Post Office authorities, if not 
 satisfied with the statement of its proprietors, may find the sum 
 due from the newspaper books, or from the locked mechanical 
 indicator of the printing press set apart for the work. This 
 method saves labour and time to both parties : the one in not 
 requiring to affix the usual label, and the other in not obliterating 
 it ; while it also suits the Times, seeing that probably a greater 
 proportion of their circulation goes by post to distant subscribers 
 than that of any other newspaper in the United Kingdom. It 
 will be noticed that the first three stamps have the motto Semper 
 cadem, Avhile the others have the better-knoAvn legend Dieu et 
 
24 
 
 7)ion droit The latter might be taken to mean, God and my right 
 to tax ; but Semper eadevi is inexphcable, unless it was a burlesque 
 
 1805. 
 1790. 
 
 1778. 
 
 
 1895. 
 
 upon the frequent changes in the upAvard charges for the stamps ! 
 Perhaps some " Humanity " scholar or antiquarian can explain 
 
25 
 
 it. Another difference appeared, in that the last century stamps 
 contain only the emblems of the rose and the thistle, while the 
 last three have the rose, thistle, and shann-ock, — no doubt because 
 the union with Ireland was formed in 1800. 
 
 THE PAPER DUTY, AND PAPER. 
 
 *T^ EPEAL OF THE Tax. — No class of the community uses 
 •"^^9 paper to the same extent as newspaper proprietors, so 
 that they are specially affected by whatever influences its price ; 
 and this all the more because the price of newspapers is now 
 almost everj^vhere fixed at a penny or a halfpenj'. After the 
 abolition of the stamp in 1855 there was a decided movement 
 all over the United Kingdom for cheaper papers, and more of 
 them than formerly ; but as the price of white paper then ruled 
 about 7d. per lb., including the Government tax of l|d. per lb., 
 the two things desired were not easily adjusted. The removal 
 of that burden on paper was generally expected, and the forces 
 v^^hich had done their work in getting the two " Taxes on Know- 
 ledge" — the Advertisement and Stamp Duties — repealed, con- 
 tinued to operate until the end was gained in the freeing of paper 
 from all taxation. Mr. Gladstone, in his Budget of 1861, proposed 
 and carried through the House of Commons the abolition of the 
 l|d. duty on all paper; but that was negatived by the House 
 of Lords. It was a crisis betAveen the two Houses, but, led b}' 
 Mr. Gladstone, the Commons withstood this interference of the 
 Peers in financial matters, and again presented the clause, which 
 the Upper House then passed ; so that not only was the l|d. 
 abolished, but the prerogative of the House of Commons in 
 financial matters was more decidedly confirmed. The tax ceased 
 on 1st October, 1861. 
 
 The Precursors of Paper. — The earliest known records show 
 that " the pleasing hope, the fond desire, the longing after immor- 
 
26 
 
 tality " were dee23ly seated in the human heart , and in order to 
 secure that immortality for themselves, and for what they con- 
 sidered precious, various substances, from stone tablets and brick 
 down to paper, have been used throughout the ages. Each 
 succeeding period renewed the demand for something more 
 manageable than its predecessor ; and perhaps in no case more 
 plainly than in this has necessity shown itself the mother of 
 invention. Josephus, for instance, attributed to the children ot 
 Seth, the son of Adam, the plan of carving notices of their dis- 
 coveries in arts, astronomy, &c., upon two pillars — one of stone to 
 Avithstand a deluge, and the other of brick to resist fire. That 
 story may or may not be true, but during this half-century the 
 unearthing of cities of Babylonia, Assyria, and of Egypt (the very 
 existence of which had been declared to be inventions without 
 even the basis of a myth) has brought to light many inscribed 
 bricks, tablets of stone, sarcophagi with mummies, and their 
 records of rulers, events, &c., of very distant ages. The method of 
 making these stamped or inscribed bricks — which were also used 
 for correspondence — was so clumsy even for that age that the 
 ancients would no doubt feel the want of a better medium, and 
 would welcome the discovery that slices of the stem of the papyrus 
 (the origin of the word paper) afforded an easy means of corre- 
 sponding. " The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep," called the oldest book 
 in the Avorld, which is now in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris, 
 is supposed to have been written about 2500 B.C. on papyrus, and 
 yet, old as it is, it is but a coj^y of what was originally written by 
 a Viceroy of Egypt of that name about 3366 B.C. 
 
 Papyrus slips, however, because of their comparatively fragile 
 nature when exposed, could not continue to satisfy the ever- 
 forward look of the human mind for something better and more 
 durable. An instance of this is given by St. Jerome in the case 
 of a valuable library of papyrus books at Ca3sarea, which was 
 undergoing decay within a century of its formation, the writings 
 of which tAvo Presbyters set themselves to transfer, as far as 
 
27 
 
 possible, to parchments. It is impossible to tell when this better 
 method was invented, but although it is supposed to have been 
 brought into use less than 200 years B.C. it may be that Phny 
 referred to it in saying that the first invention of a writing 
 material was achieved upon the conquest of Egypt by Alexander 
 the Great, about 336 u.c. In any case, it is certain that parch- 
 ment was in use about IGO i'..c. Doubtless on account of the 
 growing demand, as well as the costhness of the supply, many 
 parchment MSS. have been found to have been obliterated and 
 used a second and even a third time for later writings, which 
 somethnes cover much more ancient and valuable matter. The 
 wonder is often expressed — How is it that no very early copies ol 
 the Old or New Testaments are found ? The answer as to the 
 Old Testament is that the Jews had an unbending rule to destroy 
 all the copies injured by use, or by any error, however small, while 
 the originals or earliest copies of the New Testament were as 
 eagerly sought out and destroyed, as the hves of the first Christians 
 were, by their unrelenting persecutors. 
 
 Paper Itself. — The first real approach to our modern paper 
 seems to have been made about 600 a.d., when a kind of linen 
 and cotton cloth was used. One of the earliest specimens of writing 
 upon cotton paper extant is in the Bodleian Library of Oxford, it 
 beino- understood to date from 1046. Three centuries later we 
 find that the use of paper was not unconnnon, and that Chaucer 
 was familiar with it. For instance, in his " Words unto my own 
 Scrivener" Adam, in Troylus and Cryseyde, &c., he says of a 
 
 heroine — 
 
 *' Whan this was seyd, with paper she sat doun, 
 And in this manner made her testament." 
 
 Paper and Printing. — M^hat may be called the primitive age 
 of paper closed when the great invention by Gutenberg and 
 Caxton vfedded for ever paper and printing about 1450. Then 
 each became a supreme necessity to the other, and from that time 
 there was bctAvecn them a nmtual stimulus to improvement, on 
 
28 
 
 the one hand in the methods of printing, and on the other hand 
 in the materials for papermaking. Up to the early part of this 
 centmy, linen, cotton, and a few other fibrous things continued to 
 suffice for the purpose of jjapermaking, but the demand gradually 
 led to the miscellaneous " filthy rags " of the world being collected. 
 Now it is estimated that about 400 different articles are turned 
 to account in the manufacture. It will not be difficult for many 
 to remember — if indeed the trade does not yet linger in a few 
 places — the street call of Irish hawkers : " Salt and whitening for 
 ropes, rags, and ould ir'n " ; and the temptation to make boys and 
 girls very industrious for a few minutes was greater when the 
 barter was for " black-man " or sugar candy. It may surely rank 
 among the marvels of modern industry that these collected ropes 
 and rags could be transmuted into pure white paper, upon which 
 the greatest thoughts of the age are now made accessible to the 
 humblest reader. 
 
 In 1845 the price paid by the Herald for paper was 8|d. per 
 lb., while, as already stated, it was 7d. in 1855, and Gid. in 1800, 
 the year before the l|d. per lb. duty was taken off. It was 
 reckoned that after that event the cost of paper would at once 
 take a leap down even m.ore than the abolished l|d. The 
 American Civil War, however, Avhich ran its course from 1861 
 to 18G5, produced the Cotton Famine of that time, and the 
 comparative dearth of cotton, especially in 1862, 1863, and 1864, 
 compelled our textile manufacturers to compete keenly with the 
 paper manufacturers for rags, cotton waste, &c. By this second 
 use of rags (as in the case of the old palimpsests) they tried to 
 " gar auld claes look amaist as weel's the new " by producing what 
 was called shoddy, and in this way so far lessened the paper- 
 makers' supply. 
 
 New Materials for Papermaking. — In these circumstances 
 the benefit of the abolition of the duty on paper seemed in danger 
 of being lost for a time, until a somewhat doubtful relief Avas 
 found in the use of what is called China clay, a preparation of 
 
29 
 
 Cornwall limestone, which bulked and loaded the paper, while it 
 greatly lessened its handling power in the case of large sheets. 
 This material temporarily served a need, and it is now found 
 valuable for giving a highly-finished surface on the thicker papers 
 required for illustrations, and for other special kinds of printing 
 and lithographing. 
 
 But about the same time the mother of invention brought to 
 hand the material required to give the necessary toughness to the 
 much handled newspaper, in the form of esparto grass ; a wild plant, 
 somewhat like the "bent" which may be seen upon our sandy 
 hillocks by the sea shores. This grass grows wild upon the shores 
 and slopes of the Mediterranean, on the Spanish and Algerian 
 coasts, and is remarkable for its strong fibrous nature and com- 
 paratively small non-fibrous waste. At present its home price 
 nms from £2 10s. to £5 per ton, according to quality. The 
 demand for esparto increased so much that the native collectors 
 of it became so reckless of their future interest that they grubbed 
 up the stubble, and reduced both the quahty and the production. 
 This again prompted the inventive mind to look out for " fresh 
 woods and pastures new," and in 1880 the new resource was found 
 where it had been long thought of, in reducing the most fibrous 
 trees into pulp. This wood pulp forms now the chief material, 
 along with some others to help its texture, for the cheaper printing 
 papers. At the beginning of 1895 the price per ton of chemically 
 treated wood pulp was from £7 to £17, and for that mechanically 
 treated the price was from £2 to £8. Norway and Sweden with 
 their pine forests, are the greatest sources of pulp, but Canada is 
 now making attempts to be at the trout, while the United States, 
 especially the Eastern States, go very largely into its manufacture 
 for their own use, as well as for export. For that purpose the 
 American makers in 1894 reduced to pulp, spruce lumber to the 
 extent of 640 miUion feet, and the work is going on so rapidly 
 that it is estimated that in six years the consumpt of wood there 
 for this purpose will be doubled. The quantity of wood pulp 
 
30 
 
 imported into Great Britain from all sources in 1893 was nearly 
 215,920 tons, and in 1894 about 277,000 tons. 
 
 The same material is transformed also into a great variety of 
 other things, such as wheels for machinery, tiles for mosaic work, 
 paper collars, flower pots, house rooting, ladies' dresses, decorative 
 articles (in this country as in Japan), non-conductors of heat 
 or cold, water pipes, boats, barrels, and even pianofortes. If makers 
 of such things, instead of encroaching upon the supply of wood 
 pulp for such purposes, arranged with many newspaper publishers 
 they might find relief in supplies of waste newspapers at a 
 moderate figure ! The use of pulp has increased so much that 
 now it constitutes from 50 to 80 per cent, of the raw material of 
 the paper used for news and other periodicals, the rest being 
 chiefly esparto, to give strength to the paper. It is said that for 
 the paper used by the Petit Journal of Paris (which claims the 
 enormous circulation of a million copies per day) about 120,000 
 fir trees, of an average height of QQ I't., are reduced to pulp during 
 a year. In such circumstances it is probable that the necessity for 
 increased tree culture is upon the world ; or is there to be again 
 some new material about to be discovered ? More improbable 
 events have happened than going back to the growth of the old- 
 world papyrus for the sake of its fibre. There is amj^le room and 
 verge enough near the Nile and the Euphrates, where it formerly 
 was indigenous but is now extinct ; and in other places, such as 
 by the waters of Merom, in the north-east of Palestine, where for 
 about 7 miles, and near old Bethsaida, there are large living- 
 masses to be seen. 
 
 The Prices of News-Paper During Fifty Years. — It will 
 be readily understood that during that period, with so many 
 vicissitudes in the supply and demand of paper, with the tax 
 on and off", and with the changes in the choice of material for 
 paper-making, the cost of that used for newspapers changed fre- 
 quently. The price per lb. supplied to the Hercdd in 1845 
 was 8|d. for good, durable paper ; and it gradually came down to 
 
31 
 
 6|d. in 1855. From that year onward we have been largely 
 supplied by Messrs. Brown, Stewart & Co., Paper-makers, of 
 Glasgow, so that, by fovour of Mr. Brown, I am enabled to give 
 further in the followmg summary the varying prices during the last 
 40 years. From 6|d. in 1855, it came down to 6|d. in 1860 ; and 
 in 1861, when the duty of l|d. was taken off, it fell to that extent, 
 but with a struggle by the manufacturers to retain some " tailings " 
 of the tax. In 1871 the price was 4d., but owing to the Franco- 
 German War, and its disorganising effect upon the importation of 
 Continental rags, it went back to 4id. (less 2| per cent.) in 1873. 
 It then rapidly fell by percentages on the coppers, until in the 
 latter part of 1879 it was 2fd. nett, and by further percentage 
 discounts it reached 2d. in 1886. At this point it was generally 
 thought that the minimum figure had been reached, but it has 
 continued to go down by similar stages, and has become so " small 
 by degrees and beautifully less" that news-paper can now be bought 
 for l|d. per lb. — a farthing less than the old duty ! 
 
 Size of Newspapers. — Many people outside newspaper circles 
 naturally imagine that their proprietors have grown rich because 
 of the gTcat reductions in the cost of paper from time to time, but 
 they do not know that the size of newspapers, and the expenditure 
 upon their upkeep, have been growing in something like the same 
 proportion. In the Act which came into force on 15th September, 
 1836, to reduce the Stamp Duty to Id., and that on Advertisements 
 to Is. 6d. on each, there was also a limit fixed for the size of the 
 main sheet of each newspaper, at 2,295 superficial inches. That 
 sold at a good profit, but the Herald, for example, at a penny, now 
 consists of three sheets of nearly that size, each of which contains 
 more matter ; so that it may be guessed that the profit on the 
 paper, ink, &c., cannot be relied upon. The contents of the 
 modern newspapers, besides, are not unpaid quotations as of old^ 
 but costly news and contributions in costlier setting ; and beyond 
 all that, every year brings fresh demands for more expenditure on 
 fuller news from every part of the world. But a leading news- 
 
32 
 
 paper, if it is to keep its forward position, must be prej)ared to 
 meet these endless outlays, although they swallow what may be 
 saved in other directions. 
 
 Size of Present-Day " Dailies." — In referring generally to 
 the present size of newspapers, the following figures may be added 
 as an indication so far, being the total number of news and adver- 
 tisement columns in each of the papers named during the first five 
 months of 1895 (the time, before the General Election, when this 
 point came before me) :— The total contents of the Times were 
 11,514 columns ; of the Daily Telegraph, 9,660 ; of the Standard 
 9,030; of the Daily News, 10,501; of the Daily Chronicle, 9,142; ot 
 the Glasgoiu Herald, 12,636 ; and of the Scotsman, 10,822. It is 
 right to state that, as the length and breadth of the columns of these 
 papers vary somewhat, the figures only give a general indication 
 of the case. It may also be stated in this connection, especially in 
 regard to the daily papers out of London, that the sizes on the 
 different days of the week are not alike. Many of their publishers 
 seem to cultivate for advertisements a large size on Saturday, 
 although this may be also somewhat because of the preference of 
 their public; in the case of the Glasgow Herald, again, advertisers 
 prefer to hold, more from habit than any superior advantage to 
 them, by the " old days " — Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — on 
 which the paper was published before becoming " daily." 
 
 American Papers. — The country that licks all creation must, 
 of course, have big ncAvspapers and advertisements to corresi^oild 
 with its other huge exploits. Newspapers, and very specially 
 the Sunday papers, are commonly 32 pages, and some few even 
 48 pages on that day. Some years ago, before the recent high- 
 pressure boom had got nuich start, Mr. Bonnar, proprietor of the 
 Public Ledger, a weekly paper, made an agreement with Mr, 
 Greeley of the New York Tribune for a page-advertisement in the 
 daily, Aveekly, and bi-weekly Tribune, but after a time Mr. Greeley 
 intimated his intention to give it up. Upon learning this, Mr. 
 Bennett, the founder of the New York Herald, expressed his 
 
33 
 
 surprise at Greeley's action, and said he would give, not merely 
 one page, but eight pages — the size of that paper then. This 
 semi-joke reached Mr. Bonnar, who at once offered to take the 
 eight pages for his advertisement, expecting thereby to occupy the 
 whole of Bennett's paper; but, with the audacious enterprise which 
 characterised him, he closed with the offer, and brought out the 
 Herald with sixteen pages, five of them in one part and three in 
 another part of the paper forming the Ledger advertisement- 
 That, it is said, was the start of the large-sized New York Herald. 
 An unusual advertisement of a different kind was given in a New 
 York paper a short time ago, with the appearance of a blank 
 page ; upon closer examination it showed, in small type, a state- 
 ment to the effect that " Messrs. , who have engaged 
 
 this page, cannot use it, because they find themselves over- 
 whelmed already with orders." Both the varying exigencies of 
 advertising and the varying requirements for news space affect 
 the size of newspapers. In the former case the cost of enlarged 
 sizes may be understood to be covered, but when the greater size 
 is caused by giving more news it involves proportionate expendi- 
 ture without repayment. For instance, after the size of a paper 
 is arranged for the news which must appear, it may happen that 
 important matter comes in and must be given, and although such 
 news may be less than a column in length, it in effect causes not 
 only the addition of that column on one page but upon every 
 page of the complete paper — say of 12, 16 or more pages. 
 
 Recovery of Papermaking Material. — During the latter 
 quarter of this century, thoughtful manufacturers and others have 
 become increasingly convinced of the old truth, that nothing is 
 intended to go to waste. As already stated, much of what is 
 now sought after for papermaking was formerly neglected, and 
 often allowed to become a nuisance ; just as in other departments of 
 manufacture there are new processes of restoration. There is 
 coal refuse in its various transformations, — for instance, coal 
 tar, with its foul smell and touch, now made to yield several 
 
34 
 
 of our most lovely colours, besides a condensed sweet, while 
 huge mounds of coal debris are turned into fuel, and clouds 
 of smoke, smut, and gases into steam power. Then in the 
 hands of intelligent papermakers the outpourings from their 
 mills, which formerly polluted rivers and streams, yield back 
 to them by the recovery process much of the caustic soda 
 which is a costly requisite in the manufacture of paper, so that 
 he saves by the enterprise about 27| per cent, per annum clear 
 profit upon an outlay amounting to about £3,000 for plant. Can 
 even a third of that be made by papermaking without the 
 recovery process, or earned by many other business men in 
 these years ? It is a lesson to almost all trades to let nothing 
 go to waste. 
 
 THE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 >^HE Editors from 1782 to 1895.— The first editor (and 
 ^-^ proprietor) was Mr. John Mennons, whose wife was a 
 daughter of Bailie (Dr.) M'Nayr, the supposed prototype of 
 Bailie Nicol Jarvie. The paper was started in the year 1782, 
 as The Glasgoiv Advertiser and Evening Intelligencer; there- 
 after the title was altered to The Herald and Advertiser, and it 
 became finally The Glasgow Herald, — a mere changing of names, 
 with continuous numbering from the papers previously issued, 
 and not at all a change of identity. 
 
 At the beginning of 1803, Mr. Samuel Hunter was announced 
 as partner and conductor. As an editor and an outstanding man 
 generally, he took a leading place in Society, and his kindly 
 humour and ready wit made him personally a favourite, while 
 under him the Herald largely gained in influence. His salary as 
 editor was £100 a year, until 1837, when he resigned owing to 
 failing health. Mr. George Outram, then an advocate, was ap- 
 pointed editor, and, no doubt prompted by his professional associa- 
 
35 
 
 tions, produced his volume of " Legal Lyrics," including the well- 
 known song, " The Annuity." Up to this time and till 1845, what 
 is now called the Editorial Department had been manned by the 
 editor alone ; while Mr. James Pagan, who succeeded in 1856 as 
 editor, had been the only reporter. He joined the Herald during 
 the week of 1839 in which Mr. Hunter died. 
 
 Mr. Pagan wrote a History of the Glasgow Cathedral, but it was 
 issued in such an unpretentious form that it failed to win the at- 
 tention it deserved. When the City of Glasgow Improvement 
 Act of 1866, which involved the demolition of old property, came 
 into force, he rendered important and lasting service, chiefly of 
 a social and archaeological nature, by publishing in the Herald 
 articles upon the old mansions, &c., with the family and social 
 associations of those who formerly occupied them. These articles 
 included references to many of the county aristocracy, the mer- 
 chant princes, and the tobacco lords who had made fortunes by 
 raising and importing tobacco from Virginia, and by other Colonial 
 enterprises. In this literary work he was much helped by Mr. 
 Robert Reid (best known under the signature of " Senex "), by Dr. 
 Mathie Hamilton (" Aliquis"), and others, whose retentive and clear 
 memories of what they had heard and known of the past carried 
 them far back into the previous century. These articles, along 
 with additional contributions, Mr. Pagan afterwards collected and 
 edited under the title, " Glasgow, Past and Present " ; the whole 
 being published by Mr. David Robertson, Glasgow, in three large 
 volumes. Mr. Pagan died on February 11th, 1870. For nearly 
 25 years I was much associated with him, as he welcomed friendly 
 talk on all the departments of the paper ; but since that time, — 
 also 25 years, — it has been my lot to be without the company 
 of either partner or other member who had been previously con- 
 nected with the Herald. The nearest approach to this period of 
 50 years in the Herald service seems to have been that of a fore- 
 man printer, Mr. Lindsay Anderson, whose long service of 40 years 
 Mr. Pagan, on a semi-public occasion, spoke of as exceptional. 
 
36 
 
 There have been in succession to Mr. Outram and Mr. Pagan as 
 editors, Dr. William Jack, now Professor of Mathematics in Glasgow 
 University ; Dr. James H. Stoddart, author of " Village Life," and 
 many other uncollected poems, &c. ; and our present editor, 
 Mr. Charles Russell. The first, and then the only, sub-editor 
 was added to the staff in 1845. At that time there were no 
 outside supplementary services in the form of paid contribu- 
 tions or correspondence, except the work of one correspondent 
 in Edinburgh, and shortly after that of another in Paisley, — and 
 altogether the hterary equipment was on a primitive scale. 
 
 Early Editing. — The editorial leaders were generally short, 
 few, and in their treatment of current affairs very mild judged 
 by modern standard ; and yet I well remember, in those hot 
 political days, when the editor gave up Protection for Free 
 Trade, there came in upon us such a flood of orders to " stop my 
 paper " that it looked as if the Herald would collapse, — a con- 
 dition of things which recalled the tradition of what took place 
 during the first Reform Bill agitation. The general contents 
 of Scottish and of English provincial papers were then to a great 
 extent quotations, especially from the London papers. These came 
 to hand at Glasgow shortly after 1 a.m., having travelled by railway 
 to Lancaster, and thence by stage-coach. The coach, after dragging 
 its slow length along until near Glasgow, was habitually announced 
 by the lively bugle-notes of the guard, when pressure was put on 
 the horses, and they came spanking along as if they had been 
 rushing at full speed all the way from Carlisle. Their course was 
 " doon the Gallowgate" and past the Saltmarket, — famous in 
 their association with Bailie Nicol Jarvie, — to the Tontine Hotel, 
 Trongate, now occupied as a Avarehouse by Messrs. Moore, Taggart 
 & Co., or to the Black Bull Hotel, Argyle Street, now part of Messrs. 
 Mann, Byars & Co.'s warehouse. A few short extracts from the 
 London newspapers, say of Wednesday, were made to form a 
 second edition of the Herald of Friday morning, so that what 
 was called " Latest News " was truly late as well as very scanty. 
 
37 
 
 Development. — The process of transformation practically 
 resulted in development for some newspapers, a short feverish Ufe 
 for others, and extinction for several. The Herald, which had been 
 published on Monday and Friday since it was founded in 1782, 
 began a third issue on Wednesday, in July of 1855, immediately on 
 the repeal of the penny stamp. At the same time the price of each 
 copy was reduced from 4|d. to 3d., so that the proprietors were 
 enabled to supply the three papers each week at the same cost as 
 that of the two under the old system. This formed a clear and 
 certain step towards the publication of the Herald as a Daily 
 three-and-haK years later. It was not only the making of it a 
 thrice-a-week newspaper that foreshadowed coming developments ; 
 the spirit of movement was abroad, and in this sphere the higher 
 literary and more " newsy " character of the paper showed a rapid 
 advance upon its former slow and comparatively uninteresting 
 style. Then the unknown quantity and power called Electricity, 
 while getting free of its swaddling bands, was beginning to give 
 youthful evidences of what the Press of the world might expect 
 from it as an all-important auxiliary. But as the work of the 
 Electric Telegraph and that of the Editorial have now such close 
 and extensive relationship, fuller reference to the former will 
 naturally follow this chapter. 
 
 At the early period, and before the Press was freed of the obliga- 
 tory stamp and kindred obstructions, many attempts throughout 
 the United Kingdom were made, in the prospect of that freedom, 
 to steal a march on the Excise by issuing papers without the stamp. 
 The great conflict then being waged with Russia in the Crimea 
 created an intense and general thirst for every line of news on 
 the subject, and caused such an immense demand for papers as to 
 buoy up the owners of non-paying journals with the hope that 
 they would soon see happier days. One gentleman in Glasgow 
 started such a daily paper, but in order to avoid an open breach 
 of the doomed law he changed the first part of its title day by day 
 and retained its surname of Daily News throughout. It 
 
38 
 
 was a brave and ingenious attempt, but althougli the author of it 
 was unsuccessful in this case, he has since been eminently pros- 
 perous in London, where he started and now owns three valuable 
 periodicals. Another enterprising Glasgow gentleman about the 
 same time started a competitor, but published his daily paper 
 with the Id. stamp during its remaining legal existence, and sold 
 the paper at the cost of the stamp, the purpose being even at this 
 expense to occupy the ground in advance of other penny papers 
 which were expected. This venture also resulted m failure and 
 heavy loss. And yet these and other efforts to turn to account the 
 greatly altering circumstances of newspaper life at that period 
 tended in a measure to show what ought to be done, and Avhat 
 ought to be avoided. 
 
 The Fikst Daily Newspaper in Scotland. — In referrmg to 
 these attempts to found daily papers, it may be pointed out that 
 they were not the first in the field. The first to occupy the position 
 in Scotland was the journal called The Day. It was published 
 in Glasgow, and 112 numbers were issued during the first half of 
 1832 at 2d. a copy. The editor was Mr. John Strang, LL.D., the 
 City of Glasgow Chamberlain, and author of " Glasgow and Its 
 Clubs," — a book of rare local interest regarding social club life of 
 old times. The articles were chiefly on literary subjects, and 
 showed the scholarly resources of Mr. Strang and his contributors ; 
 but along with them there were generally paragraphs of news. As 
 The Day had not the red stamp required on every paper con- 
 taining news, it is probable that its owners found that while they 
 dared not proceed longer without the penny stamp, they could 
 not get on with it, and so they dropped the paper. 
 
 The Glasgow Herald, Daily. — Of the new daily papers 
 started in 1855, only two or three continued for a time. One of 
 these had split into two, but by-and-bye exhaustion became 
 extinction for one of them, and the longest liver then combined 
 both titles. There was enough of success remaining amid the strife 
 to show, not that these dailies were paying, but that there was the 
 
39 
 
 possibility of the one with the longest purse having " come to stay." 
 It was at the same time becoming evident that the hold which the 
 Herald had long had upon advertisers was somewhat threatened. 
 At length the crisis came, when our proprietors found it necessary 
 to take the bold step forward, and publish the Herald daily, 
 instead of trying to stand still, and thereby sliding back out of 
 sight, as so many had done since the repeal of the stamp in 1855. 
 It was a time when Shakespeare's lines were illustrated by many 
 such cases throughout the United Kingdom : — 
 
 *' There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
 Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 
 Omitted, all the voyage of their life 
 Is bound in shallows and in miseries." 
 
 Towards the close of 1858, the decision was made to begin the 
 daily publication on Monday the 3rd January, 1859. Mr. Pagan, 
 who was then editor and a partner, was deputed by the other 
 partners to call, as a matter of courtesy, upon the managing 
 partner of the then leading Glasgow daily paper, and inform him 
 of the Herald proprietors' arrangements, and that the price would 
 be the same as his — 2d. per copy — should he agree to continue 
 that price. This was arranged between the representatives of both 
 parties, and shortly after the public were made fully aware of the 
 intended daily pubhcation, the time, and the price. 
 
 It was decided to begin the daily issue at 2d. per copy, — not 
 on Saturday, which was New- Year's Day, but on Monday the 3rd 
 January, — while the last paper of the tri- weekly was published on 
 Friday. On that Friday morning, however, upon reaching our 
 office, I was alarmed to find in our contemporary the unexpected 
 announcement that its price was henceforth to be a penny. I at 
 once hurried with the paper to the editor's house, had him roused 
 from his sleep after his midnight work, and showed him the 
 sudden change we had to face. Upon our partners meeting on 
 Saturday, they at once decided to issue the Daily Herald also 
 at a penny ; and that night the city and other places were placarded 
 
40 
 
 with the announcement of the fact, which on Sunday morning 
 made church-goers stare, and, it may be, feel so much " exercised " 
 as to have their thoughts diverted from what is their ordinary 
 course on that day. As the pubhc are usually interested in conflicts 
 and life struggles for a momentous future, such, as characterised the 
 newspaper transformation period, I may be excused for giving this 
 crumb of ancient history, not now as a personal matter, but to 
 illustrate how serious that struggle was. A few years more 
 showed that it was a good thing for the Herald that its proprietors 
 had been forced to come down to the popular penny, from the price 
 to which they were at first committed. It made a great im- 
 pression upon our readers and the general public, and at the 
 same time gave a strong impulse to the circulation, when it was 
 found that the Herald could be had six days of the week for 6d., 
 instead of three days for 9d. ; or, as it was three-and-half j^ears 
 previously, two days a week for 9d. These are instances of the rapid 
 changes amongst newspapers for the time being, and yet, looking 
 back over the entire half-century, it has been said, perhaps excus- 
 ably, that though the British Press was " a plant of slow growth 
 and of more modern date than the other Estates of the Kealm — 
 the Fourth Estate overshadowed and surpassed them all." 
 
 The starting of the Daily, with a slightly increased force in the 
 Literary Department, and with practically no additional service for 
 the great increase in the publishing and advertising work, brought 
 at once a continuous and severe strain upon everyone. There was 
 no longer the blessed lull of the alternate blank days of the tri- 
 weekly period, but instead the unrelieved daily aj)plication of our 
 efforts to deal with past publications, and to provide for every new 
 day. The over-pressure in our undermanned condition resulted, 
 before the Spring of 1859 was over, in every one of our Literary 
 Staff being time after time laid aside, and all in the Publishing 
 Department except one. Mr. Pagan, the editor, was almost blind 
 for some ten days, but his mind was too active and determined to 
 allow matters in his department to drift in such a critical state, so 
 
41 
 
 that from his darkened chamber at home he gave his orders. No 
 doubt those who were connected with old newspapers which 
 underwent a similar change would have a somewhat similar 
 experience. 
 
 Daily Editorial Work. — The editor's duties were now largely 
 increased. His responsibility was infinitely greater than it had 
 been, and the quantity, variety, and sources of the matter to be 
 given to the pubhc, as well as the higher quality of writing 
 expected from a daily paper, all involved the utmost watchfulness 
 and enterprise, and it was fortunate that we had in command an 
 editor of notable sagacity, and of over twenty years' ncAvspaper 
 experience. It has many a time been the misfortune of those 
 concerned in a newspaper enterprise, to discover too late that 
 experience in the work — a long apprenticeship — is essential to 
 the making of a capable newspaper editor; the assumption of 
 the editorial chair by an inexperienced man has repeatedly 
 turned out a failure and a danger to the property he controlled. 
 This is also true of the men in charge of the other leading depart- 
 ments. About this time there were several such cases, and there 
 are still annual crops of these aspirants, but as Byron said — 
 ". A man must serve his time to every trade 
 Save censure ; critics all are ready-made." 
 
 Instead of the four gentlemen who did the literary work of the 
 paper during the tri-weekly period, the number on the Daily at 
 first consisted of the editor, two sub-editors (who were also leader 
 writers), and three reporters, with two occasional outside leader 
 writers upon special subjects, one of whom is now a judge. The 
 number rapidly increased, until now there are at the head office 
 15 on the editorial staff, and 15 reporters, besides a goodly number 
 of reliable auxiliaries at hand, while there are also in connection 
 with our branch offices in London, Edinburgh, Paisley, and 
 Greenock, 19 reporters and sub-editors, including 6 Parliamentary 
 reporters, all of whom give us their entire services. During these 
 early years the Herald had the advantage of special leaders and 
 
42 
 
 other contributions from able men of all parties, some of them 
 occupying the highest literary and social positions in the kingdom. 
 Besides the number of gentlemen who make up our editorial and 
 reporting forces, there are (as is also of course the case with all 
 leading papers) an innumerable host of regular and irregular paid 
 correspondents and contributors, not only in every part of Scotland 
 but all over the world. Moreover, a great amount of matter 
 is supplied by several news companies in London for every day's 
 paper. In old times no such outlay as all this involves had 
 to be incurred ; indeed, it was considered a favour to be allowed 
 to see oneself in i^rent. 
 
 The Editorial Working Sanctum should be considered 
 sacred at night, except when one has something really important 
 to communicate, as it is a time when every moment is precious to 
 the editor and his assistants. But some gentlemen whose work 
 is over for the day forget that, and drop in to learn the latest, or 
 to have a talk on things in general. Mr. James Grant, the author 
 of a most interesting " History of the Newspaper Press", who was 
 himself editor of the Morning Advertiser for many years, gives a 
 faithful picture there of his experiences of the interior of the 
 editorial department of a morning newspaper. V/hat applied 
 then to a metropolitan paper, is now as applicable to the leading 
 papers out of London, so that it would be difficult to vary Mr. 
 Grant's statement except by slightly modernising it. 
 
 First of all, there is the editor sitting in his own apartment, and 
 at his desk. Usually he has lying before him a heap of news- 
 papers, pamphlets, leading articles, either in manuscript or proof, 
 or both, with letters partly private, and partly intended for publi- 
 cation, should they be so fortunate as to meet with the editor's 
 approval. The conducting, or chief, editor only occasionally writes 
 leading articles himself ; he has duties enough to perform Avithout 
 that. He has abundant work to do in reading all the original 
 matter which comes before him, as he has to decide upon the 
 fitness of the numerous communications, on every conceivable 
 
43 
 
 variety of subject, which are brought under his consideration, and 
 to alter and otherwise adapt to the tone and poHcy of the paper 
 such as may in the main be deemed suitable. He would on many 
 occasions, when the press of that sort of matter is great, have a 
 sufficient amount of labour even had he nothing else to do. But 
 all editors of morning papers have in addition a large quantity of 
 correspondence with contributors, which must be attended to. 
 Then there are the sub-editors, and others on the Uterary staff of 
 the journal, with the head printer, constantly in touch with the 
 editorial sanctum, either to receive instructions with respect to 
 particular points, or to ask questions relative to the views of their 
 chief on the style of setting or adjusting matter. But in 
 addition to all these hindrances to the quiet discharge of the duties 
 of his office which an editor has to meet with, he receives 
 frequent, and often prolonged, interruptions from visits of persons 
 of position in the political world or of social standing, whom he 
 feels he must see. I venture to say, on behalf of the editors of all 
 mornmg papers, that they regard calls from merely idle, gossippy 
 or curious persons as matters of grave inconvenience, especially 
 when they are protracted, and when the subjects about which the 
 visitors converse are neither important nor urgent. 
 
 Then there is this feature in the position of the editor of a 
 morning paper, — that it is one of profound and perpetual responsi- 
 bility. No one can fully feel the force of this remark who has not 
 occupied the editorial chair of a morning journal. The chief editor 
 is responsible for every error, whether of omission or commission, 
 which occurs in the paper which he conducts. 
 
 But in addition to all this are the editor's long and late hours. 
 The time at which he commences his labours varies according to 
 the custom ot his journal or his own views on the subject. Some 
 editors of morning journals go at an early hour in the forenoon, 
 and remain in the office till the afternoon ; others do not go till 
 the afternoon, and remain till an early hour in the evening, and 
 then return at seven or eight o'clock, or even later, according to 
 
44 
 
 circumstances. Some do not go to the office at all till seven or 
 eight o'clock in the evening, having previously received all their 
 letters and papers at home, and provided a certain amount of what 
 is called " copy " for the compositors to go on with. As a rule, 
 editors of morning papers do not go to bed till nearly three o'clock 
 in the morning. I could name one editor of a morning journal 
 who, for the long period of twenty years, regularly left his own 
 home to begin his editorial labours at ten o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, and remained in the office till two in the afternoon ; then 
 left his own house again at half-past six in the evening, and did 
 not go to bed till about three on the following morning. Several 
 times, too, during this prolonged period, he has been two years 
 without a single holiday. Others have been a year without one 
 day of cessation from their labours. "With these facts before 
 them, the public will understand that the office of editor of a 
 morning paper, so far from being a sinecure, is one of the most 
 laborious and responsible, and consequently one of the most 
 anxious, which a human being could lill. 
 
 The sub-editors' duties are chiefly to prepare for the com- 
 positors the " copy " that pours in by parcel or by telegraph from 
 every part of the country and all quarters of the globe, and to 
 write the summaries which put the reader at once in possession 
 of the most important and interesting news of the day. The 
 old practice of giving matter from other papers is so rare now 
 as to be practically a thmg of the past. The difficulty with 
 the best morning newspapers is to get space enough for the 
 original matter that crowds in. What would be most fitted for 
 one paper would be altogether unfitted, or less suited, for another ; 
 and therefore efficient sub-editors require to be gifted with good 
 judgment. It is, too, an essential part of their duty to abridge 
 reports of any kind which are prolix ; or even if they are interest- 
 ing to the extent to which they are given, the exigencies of the 
 paper as regards space must be consulted, and lengthened reports 
 cut down. This part of a sub-editor's labours is one which, to be 
 
45 
 
 done well, requires groat care and judgment, otherwise the matter 
 so abridged will be found disconnected and important portions of 
 it omitted. The chief object to be aimed at in abridging reports 
 is to catch and preserve the " points." When this is done, sub- 
 editors prove themselves most useful auxiliaries on the establish- 
 ment with which they are connected. 
 
 But their hardest and most disagreeable duty is to cut down 
 what is called " flimsy," — a kind of " copy " to which I shall have 
 occasion to revert hereafter. This being written on the manifold 
 system is always more or less difiicult to read ; and when the 
 writino- is otherwise illeofible the sub-editors have work which is 
 alike trying to their eyes and difficult as regards their decision. 
 And of this kind of work they have a great deal to do. 
 
 Shorthand Reporting. — Shorthand writing may be said to 
 be the oldest of all kinds of writing, because words and even 
 thoughts were originally expressed or symbolised by rude pictures 
 of animals or other objects, or their modifications, as in the case 
 of the Chinese language with its 50,000 word-symbols ; and from 
 these old signs most of the characters of the early alphabets 
 of the world have sprung. What is called Shorthand was m 
 rather a crude state until the Phonographic system invented by 
 Mr. Pitman (now Sir Isaac Pitman) came before the public during 
 the year 1837. Up to that time Stenographic S3'stems prevailed, — 
 few of which could be called systems, seeing that the characters 
 were so arbitrary, and that frequently each writer preferred some 
 contraction of his own to those supplied. The combmation of steno- 
 graphic characters often zig-zagged so much, and were so strangely 
 crooked, that they appeared more like the oldest Egyptian hiero- 
 glyphics, than a help to modern intelligence. Pitman's phono- 
 graphy — "sound writing" — is a thorough and beautiful system, 
 and has, because of that and its efficiency, gro^vn to be immensely 
 popular, at least wherever the English language is spoken. Phono- 
 graphy is now taught in many public schools throughout the 
 United Kingdom, and probably in America also. I am, for instance. 
 
46 
 
 informed by Mr. Lauder, Secretary of the Glasgow Athenseum — 
 (an efficient and thriving Institution for educational classes upon 
 various subjects, and for other purposes) — that Mr. Kirkpatrick, 
 the phonographic teacher, had classes there numbering 698 short- 
 hand students during last winter, several of them having gained 
 by examination certificates for reporting at the rate of 150 to 180 
 words per minute, and one of them even up to 200 words per 
 minute. This indicates that Burns' Captain Grose has now an 
 immense following ready to take down any amount of oratory. 
 
 Reporting half a century ago, except on great occasions, was 
 rarely verbatim or as full as it is now ; and, in the case of 
 papers generally, much of it was reproduced more from memory 
 than from shorthand notes. The first development of that branch 
 of newspaper work owed more to the late Mr. Pagan than to any 
 other man, in Scotland at least. He had the stimulus and enter- 
 prise of love for his profession, and was much ahead of his time 
 and of the hmits of what was then expected. One of his first 
 exploits was in connection with his descriptive report of the 
 famous Eglinton Tournament in Ayrshire, where a large portion 
 of the beauty and elite of the United Kingdom appeared. This 
 report was so full and spirited, and so promptly published after 
 the event, that it awakened a widespread interest. About the 
 time, also, when the agitation was gathering to a head which 
 ended in the Disruption of the Established Church of Scotland, 
 he arranged to give unusually full reports of the speeches made 
 in the General Assembly on Friday and Saturday, These were 
 rapidly transcribed and forwarded portion by portion as he could, 
 and the result — unprecedented at that time — was that they were 
 published in Monday's Herald, greatly to the gratification of its 
 readers and others, and as much to the surprise of the Edinburgh 
 newspapers. Formerly such reports, for want of that expedition, 
 only appeared in our next publication on Friday, nearly a week 
 after the speeches were made. In our day, with many reporters for 
 each paper relieving each other, with trains covering the 47 miles 
 
47 
 
 between Edinburgh, and Glasgow in 65 minutes, and with the tele- 
 graph giving momentary delivery direct into the sub-editor's hands, 
 it is almost impossible for the present generation to believe that 
 Mr. Pagan's single-handed feats are worth recording. And yet 
 such efforts, and his continued interest in the work, not only gave 
 the Herald a character for the excellence and fairness of its re- 
 porting, which it has not lost, but they also went far to give start 
 and " go " to the great development whicb bas since taken place 
 in the careful recording of uttered thoughts, from " within the 
 book and memory of the brain." Mr. Pagan was selected at an 
 early stage to be the trusted representative of the Times to look 
 after its interests in the North. That position for all Scotland is 
 now held by his successor, Mr. Thomas Reid, the present chief of 
 the Herald Reporting Staff. 
 
 It cannot be said that reporters, qualiiied for newspaper work, 
 are born not made, because they require almost as much experience 
 as those in other newspaper departments They must have 
 nimble fingers and excellent hearing to fix down what is uttered 
 and to make it readable, to abbreviate at the moment when required, 
 to give the substance of what is best, to do all correctly, and, 
 while distinguishing between froth and real matter, to act strictly 
 in the spirit of fairplay. No newspaperman requires more tact in 
 getting from other men the facts of a case he is after than a 
 reporter, and in stating them truly. After he completes his short- 
 hand report, he requires to exercise his memory in retranslating 
 the phonographic signs into the words spoken, for his signs usually 
 represent consonants only, and abbreviations of several consonants, 
 or signs of complete words ; and should he by lapse of memory 
 read the consonant signs with wrong vowels, different words will 
 of course come out, and probably absurd things may be printed. 
 Such possible inaccuracies are not more probable in the use of 
 phonography than in the old stenography. For such things, and for 
 condensation of speeches, reporters are sometimes blamed ; but as 
 the}'- are not only capable men, but are always expected by reputable 
 
48 
 
 publishers and editors to show an eminently judicial and fair mind, 
 the chances generally are that the grumbler himself is not inno- 
 cent. There have been cases when reporters were so provoked by 
 open and injurious attacks that they have retorted by giving the 
 words of the complainer verbatim et literatim, which was no 
 doubt appreciated still less. On the other hand, many speakers 
 have expressed their gratitude when finding in the printed report 
 their stumbling or wordy utterances greatly improved in style 
 and lucidity; with good sp'^akers, however, no such liberty is 
 taken. About thirty years ago, there occurred the case of a Church 
 magnate who delivered such an extreme pronunciamento that 
 he was brought to task by his fellow-churchmen. His main 
 defence was that he had been incorrectly rejDorted ; but while this 
 enabled him to quiet his Church friends, the statement so 
 incensed the reporters of the different papers interested, that 
 after comparing their notes and finding that they confirmed the 
 correctness of what had been published, they decided to expose 
 the facts to the judgment of the public. By the influence of the 
 editors of the day, however, the exposure was not persisted in. 
 There was an incident in the year 1833, -when the House of 
 Commons reporters were severely blamed for unfairness and 
 incorrectness by the great Irish orator, Daniel O'Connell, who 
 upon that ground took the formal method of expulsion by point- 
 ing out that he " espied strangers in the House." The reporters 
 left the House — and continued absent — thus leavmg the speeches 
 of the members to slip into hopeless oblivion. Parliament and the 
 country, however, could not endure, inside, the still-born speeches, 
 and outside, the death-like silence ; and no more could the great 
 Dan, so that he soon made his amende, and the reporters resumed 
 their work, greatly to the satisfaction of every one inside and 
 outside Parliament. This power of expelling reporters was 
 withdrawn, in 1871, from individual members, and can now 
 be used only by the passing of a formal motion by the House 
 of Commons. But any visitor to the other galleries, however 
 
49 
 
 distinguished, will find himself immediately prevented taking 
 any notes. 
 
 Speaker's Chair and Reporters' Gallery. 
 
 The reporters' seats in front number from 1 to 19, and were in 
 possession of the Metropolitan Press before the Members' galleries 
 were so far appropriated as to make room for 10 additional seats 
 (5 on each side) to accommodate reporters from other cities of 
 the United Kingdom, and two for News Agencies. Several of 
 the seats in the front row are so low as to place the occupants at 
 a disadvantage, while the reporters in the centre canno thear the 
 Speaker well because of the canopy over his chair ; those on either 
 side facing the Government or Opposition benches can both see 
 and hear better. The Glasgow Herald seat is No. 20, at the 
 junction of the side and front galleries below the mark X) where 
 our reporters sit in turn. It is in full view of the Speaker, and 
 faces the Government benches. Four of the side gallery boxes 
 are occupied by the reporters of newspapers which combine to 
 get a report in common. 
 
50 
 
 Plan and Key of the Keporters' Gallery and Part 
 OF the Floor of the House. 
 
 (As stated in 1894 by Mr. John Store of the ''Times" Corps). 
 
 £ 
 
 ' I 
 
 UU-Ux 
 
 CAS CVJ AY "^ 
 
 iJUU 
 
 n 
 
 z 
 o 
 
 -« — 1® 
 D D 
 
 CLERK'S 
 
 ^ TABU 1 
 
 a 
 
 
 o 
 
 1- 
 
 z 
 
 Q Q D 
 
 SPEftKtR^ 
 
 a: 
 
 C«AIK 
 
 3 |4iy|6l 7 I 8 {9|iOJU |ll|l3|t4|l.5|>6|i7 
 
 03 
 
 s: 
 
 gwrKAJ^ct: 
 
 ENTRMsCa 
 
 1. Exchange Telegraph Co. 
 
 2. St. James Gazette. 
 Daily Chronicle, t 
 
 3. Daily Chronicle. 
 
 4. Daily Telegraph, t 
 
 5. Daily News.t 
 
 6. Daily News. 
 
 7. Morning Advertiser. 
 
 8. Times, t 
 
 9. and 10. Times. 
 
 11. Standard. 
 
 12. Daily Telegraph. 
 
 13. Morning Post. 
 
 14. Debates (Hansard). 
 
 15. Standard, t 
 
 16. Morning Post, t 28. 
 
 17. Globe and Morning Advertiser, t 
 
 18. Press Association, t 29. 
 
 19. Central News. + 
 t These seats are reserved for Summary writers, while others find seats 
 
 behind the reporters. The small square spots on the Clerk's table indicate 
 boxes there, one of which contains the Testaments on which the Members 
 are sworn, and the other on the opposite side is empty. Both are frequently 
 used for leading Members to place their papers on when speaking. The 
 mace is near the boxes. 
 
 20. 
 21. 
 
 22. 
 
 23. 
 
 24. 
 25. 
 26. 
 
 27. 
 
 Glasgow Herald. 
 
 Press Association. 
 
 Manchester Courier. 
 
 Liverpool Courier. 
 
 Yorkshire Post. 
 
 Irish Times. 
 
 North British Daily Mail. 
 
 Scotsman. 
 
 Central News. 
 
 Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Reuter. 
 
 Liverpool Daily Post. 
 
 Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 
 
 Aberdeen Free Press. 
 
 Bradford Observer. 
 
 Manchester Guardian. 
 
 Leeds Mercury. 
 
 Freeman's Journal. 
 
61 
 
 Descriptive Reporting is not the least important work of an 
 accomplished professional, for it tests his mental resonrces, 
 his literary skill and his range of knowledge, in a way in which 
 no ordinary litterateur is tested. A man of the high calibre 
 necessary for this kind of service, who also undertakes ordinary 
 shorthand work, and who has the inward stimulus to look out for 
 informing as well as popular subjects, is much more a master of 
 his profession than one who is .tied to a single branch of reporting. 
 Descriptive work is very comprehensive in its application, for it 
 includes many aspects of human affairs, from the oddities and 
 movements of life in Parliament down to those to be found in the 
 Police Court. Many other things come under this class of work, 
 such as specialities in the sciences, in painting and music, 
 engineering and shipbuilding, financial and Stock Exchange trans- 
 actions and prognostication, sporting and athletics, rifle volunteer 
 and other military affairs, up to international wars, and the ex- 
 ploration of the dark places of the earth. The first news and 
 descriptive correspondent the Herald had in London was Mr. 
 William Brown, who undertook the work at a small sum per annum 
 in 1861, when he was an active and highly-prized member of the 
 reporting staff of the Times, — the proprietors of which generously 
 provided for him after his sight failed till his death. A man 
 whose tastes and acquirements are congenial with any one 
 department among newspaper subjects, generally falls to be 
 appointed to deal with it, and thereby becomes less or more 
 a specialist. For instance, of our Parliamentary staff one is our 
 lobby member ; in London and in Glasgow others specially watch 
 and describe the money and Stock Exchange markets, and it is so 
 with other leading subjects. 
 
 Then it will be remembered that within the current half- 
 century the great international conflicts in the Crimea, in 
 America, between France and Germany, &c., begot, as it were, 
 " Our Special War Correspondents," and that after the great 
 Exhibition of 1851, when the world celebrated an unusually long 
 
52 
 
 period of peace and entertained the hope that the time had come 
 when men should "study war no more." During these and other 
 wars, Descriptive Reporting, in the persons of William H. Russell, 
 Archibald Forbes, and many other very able and soldier-hearted 
 men, resulted in what may be termed a new era in that part of 
 newspaper work. In view, for instance, of the revelations made 
 by the correspondents of the shortcomings of our Government in 
 providing for our forces in the Crimea, and their help otherwise, 
 they served their country well through the Press. These 
 reporters were far from being easy-chair, dining-out, or club- 
 lounging men, depending on hearsay ; they were so filled with 
 the spirit of their work as to risk the heat of the battle as much 
 as, and perhaps sometimes more than, commanding officers, and 
 often to endure hardships as severe as those borne by the soldiers 
 in the ranks. In following up their work they were some- 
 times brought into scenes, the descriptions of which not only 
 were of great interest to the newspaper reader at the time, but 
 remain eminently historical. During the Franco-German War, 
 Mr. Forbes and Mr. de Lifde — who was then the special war 
 correspondent sent out by the Glasgow Herald — found them- 
 selves in the immediate presence of an historic scene, that of 
 the surrender of the Emperor Napoleon to Prince Bismarck at 
 the close of the fatal Battle of Sedan, on the 2nd September, 1870. 
 The two correspondents reached the sloping lawn before the 
 cottage near Sedan, and (Mr. de Lifde reported) " the grass being 
 covered with straw I was enabled to throw myself down on it and 
 see everything that went on " ; in full view of the tragic meeting 
 of the two most prominent men of the time, they saw what was 
 in effect the surrender, and, if they did not actually overhear 
 everything, could well interpret what was seen. 
 
 It was, however, not merely what such war correspondents did 
 and saw that distinguished them ; but that their descriptions 
 were of such vivid realistic power, although beside or around them 
 legions of armed men were marching, skirmishing, or engaged in 
 
53 
 
 fierce and deadly conflict, amid confused noises exceeding 
 heaven's loud artillery, and in view of garments rolled in blood. 
 Such circumstances do not give much time to deliberate over 
 literary niceties, or to do reporting bit by bit as their spirit at the 
 time may move them ; instant ^vriting and as instant despatch 
 as possible are clamant necessities of such work, as indeed they 
 sometimes are also in the experience of home descriptive 
 reporters. Many reporters' hasty despatches on home as well as 
 on war subjects are literary gems, and deserve to be saved from 
 forgetfulness. 
 
 During this Franco-German War, and the Paris Commune 
 period, the reports of special correspondents and war telegrams 
 were not uncommon amongst a few leading papers, but it was 
 found in some other cases that the "Special War Correspondent's " 
 skeleton telegrams were amplified in London by a ready writer's 
 imagination ; and it was said that others had not even such a 
 skeleton to work upon. 
 
 Few reporters care to claim a superior capacity for dealing with 
 a murder case ; but if the circumstances require it all the members 
 of the staff are liable to be called upon to hunt up every par- 
 ticular, as every newspaper publisher well knows what a lively 
 and peculiar thirst the pubhc generally has for such news. In a 
 certain case, however, they were all saved that disagreeable work, 
 as the following statement shows. My account is taken from the 
 Evening Times of October last year, when reference was made to the 
 death of a son of the late Mr. John M. Crawford, who, before going 
 to Greenock, was a member of the staff in Glasgow of the Daily 
 Mail: — Mr. Crawford "was a dapper httle man, fresh com- 
 plexioned, cheery of voice, always working, and generally 
 achieving. He wrote with facihty, and fairly well. He liked to 
 get hold of some mystery to unravel ; the seamy side of life found 
 in him an exponent whose art was at least thorough. We used 
 to call him ' Bow Street.' He was a kindly man, but there was 
 a hmit to his wiUingness to obhge a brother in ' flimsies.' Now, 
 
54 
 
 as it happened, there was then a young fellow employed as a 
 reporter on a weekly or bi-weekly paper in Glasgow who was also 
 a student. On the night before publication this young student 
 (who died a few years ago) was accustomed to call at the 3Iail 
 office, and get from Mr. Crawford items of information which he 
 had not had the time or the skill to procure for himself The 
 indefatigable writer of spicy paragraphs and articles full of local 
 colour came to think that his young friend, when he found no 
 one in the reporting room at the Mail office, helped himself rather 
 freely in the way of copying any manuscript intended for pub- 
 lication. He resolved to punish the student, and he did so very 
 effectively. He wrote a long and circumstantial account of a 
 brutal murder which still remains to be perpetrated. He fixed 
 the locale of the tragedy, if I remember rightly, in the neighbour- 
 hood of PoUokshaws, where the dead body of a woman was found 
 under circumstances which implied a crime of the first magnitude. 
 It was skihully done, He began by painting the dawn which 
 revealed the tragedy — Aurora in her winged chariot opening with 
 rosy fingers the gates of the East, and then went on to wallow in 
 sanguinary detail. The poor student fell into the trap. He 
 copied it all. Next morning Glasgow was electrified with the 
 awful news. Detectives tumbled over each other in their anxiety 
 to get at the facts. And for a week or more a series of letters to 
 the editor appeared in the Mail, under the heading ' Who Stole 
 the Murder ? ' " 
 
 It is beyond the function of a shorthand reporter, even if it were in 
 his power without being explicitly descriptive, to give the reader a 
 correct impression of a speaker's peculiarities, his low or loud 
 utterance, his gestures or his emphasising of sentences, some of 
 which peculiarities are often necessary to give character to what 
 is spoken. Mr. James Grant, who himself was a reporter before 
 he became an editor, gives in his book the following amusing 
 incident, which may serve to show how one reporter dealt with 
 the difficulty : — Mr. O'Dwyer, an Irish reporter, was at work in 
 
55 
 
 the House of Commons Gallery, when Mr. Richard Martin, M.P, 
 (a countryman), delivered such a ludicrous speech as to move the 
 House to convulsive laughter. O'Dwyer, in the circumstances, 
 could not suppress his Irish readiness for a frolic or a fight, and 
 thereupon gave in his report with certain sentences underlined, — 
 which, of course, suggested to the compositors that the words 
 were to be set in italics. When the speech appeared in this style, 
 the member was so irritated by the banter of brother M.P.s for 
 " speaking in italics," that he brought the matter before the 
 House as a breach of privilege, by addressing the Speaker as 
 follows : " Sir, you and the honourable members must be aware 
 that I had the honour of addressing this House last night. 
 (Ironical cheers.) Well, my speech is most villainously reported 
 in the Morning Herald of this morning. (Suppressed laughter 
 from all parts of the House.) But, Mr. Speaker, it is not of the 
 inaccurate reporting that I so much complain, as of the circum- 
 stances of the reporter having made me spake in italics. 
 (Renewed bursts of laughter.) You know, Mr. Speaker, and so 
 does every gentleman in the House, that I never spoke in italics 
 at all." He went on further in all seriousness, and ended by 
 moving that O'Dwyer be committed for breach of privilege ; but 
 there being no seconder, it came to nothing. 
 
 Each specialist of course adapts himself to the varied nature 
 of the work he is engaged upon. In the case of dealing with the 
 money market and the numerous details of the Stock Exchange, 
 &c., he has no scope for expatiative or imaginative writing, but 
 must rigidly keep to the facts he has gathered from the most 
 perfectly reliable sources, showing no personal bias for or against 
 any stock. A case occurred not long ago of a distant correspon- 
 dent, who had previously shown himself to be a very capable man, 
 and who was engaged to correspond upon a leading feature of the 
 world's market ; he wrote well and effectively several letters, but 
 after a time it was discovered that he also corresponded with 
 another newspaper, and was actually attempting to bull and bear 
 
56 
 
 the market by turns. That at once ended his connection with 
 the first pajDer, as its editor could not run the risk of his readers 
 being misled or his newspaper being discredited. The opposite 
 extreme from accurate and careful propriety of style may some- 
 times be found in semi-humorous articles, in which the writer 
 has a free hand, and employs it for the display of his am- 
 bitious wut. An example of this happened a goodly number 
 of years ago with a contemporary, when the son of its proprietor 
 had assumed the reins and endeavoured to signalise his advent 
 by a striking feature in the paper. It happened that one evening 
 the large cat of the establishment had taken up his quarters on 
 the cylinder blanket of a printing machine there. In the early 
 morning when the workmen, as unconscious as the cat, started 
 the machine, the poor animal was completely crushed to death 
 between the impression and printing cylinders, and a gruesome 
 mess was scattered over the type, machinery, and paper. The 
 necessary stoppage and delay resulted in the posts of that morning 
 being lost, and the editor had of course to be apprised of the 
 cause. Matter for a descriptive note at once suggested itself, and 
 the tragic death of poor tabby was duly treated by the editor in 
 his own succulent style. The editor of a London sporting paper 
 read the pitiful tale, quoted it, and appended the remark : " We 
 congratulate our contemporary that for once they had brains in 
 their paper." The paragraph and addendum went the rounds, 
 and soon after the " striking feature " disappeared. 
 
 General Elections. — Upon the occasion of a General Election 
 the full reporting forces of the Daily Press are called out, some 
 of the members indeed requiring to take up more than one 
 meetmg per day. Besides our regular staff (which is one of the 
 largest in the United Kingdom), our editor finds it necessary to 
 bring from London all our Parliamentary gallerymen, and to enlist 
 reliable hands from other quarters, while those in our branch 
 offices and correspondents over the country are called upon to 
 deal with their respective districts; except at times when a 
 
57 
 
 declaration of policy or other important oration is expected from 
 a leading statesman, in which case several competent reporters 
 must be sent from headquarters. It is fortunate for newspaper 
 proprietors that a General Election is not spread over such a 
 prolonged period of time now as formerly ; for the expenses 
 involved for travelling, hotel bills, and telegraphing charges, not 
 including those for greater sized papers, &c., even for the short time, 
 considerably exceed the small amount now drawn for advertising 
 election addresses, &c.,— a state of matters very different from the 
 popular estimate. The sum drawn for these during the election 
 of 1895 over the whole country was less than in 1892, and little 
 over a half of that accruing from the election of 1886. The 
 cause of this is not that candidates value the use of newspapers 
 less, but that Parliament itself— by the Corrupt Practices Act- 
 has very much curtailed the former inordinate expenditure, which 
 had been apphed to unworthy as well as to necessary objects. This 
 limitation of outlay according to the numbers of each constituency 
 (Municipal as well as ParHamentary) places candidates often in 
 the position of having their attacks or defences confined to the 
 range of their voices,— for, after all, there is also a newspaper limit 
 to reporting the s^pates of speeches which then go on simul- 
 taneously over the whole country. However urgent, therefore, 
 their necessities may be to have full and far-reaching statements 
 published, the candidates have usually to be content with 
 abridgments or nothing. Candidates generally would gladly have 
 the option of spending freely, or up to a certain sum, on news- 
 paper and other printers (besides the expenditure allowed for 
 other purposes), and the latter, no doubt, would not object to such 
 a course ! By the pressure of this legal hmitation of the candidates' 
 expenditure, it is not an uncommon thing for their law agents to 
 be left lamenting, because of having no balance to square their 
 own accounts. But they can generally find comfort in the hope 
 of favours to come, perhaps in the shape of a profitable connection, 
 or of a nice arrangement by political patrons. 
 
58 
 
 Reporting Auxiliaries. — Transcription from shorthand to 
 longhand is a great weariness to the fingers and the head of every 
 reporter. But the httle mechanical typewriter is now at the 
 command of those Avho can get above a habit, as within the last 
 few years thousands of young men and girls have done, whose ser- 
 vices are prized in counting-houses, warehouses, and other business 
 places for producing statements and letters in a clear, legible 
 style. In some legislative chambers official reporters are pro- 
 vided with tjrpewriters for this process, and no doubt the time is 
 at hand when professional reporters will have to qualify for this 
 method of transcribing their shorthand notes. It will not only 
 relieve their overwrought fingers, but will also lessen the possi- 
 bility of errors on their part and that of the compositor, and at 
 times save the latter some bewilderment in his attempts to 
 decipher " copy." 
 
 Another machine, an automatic reporter, in the form of 
 Edison's phonograph, is coming into use by professional and busi- 
 ness men, who dictate letters, &c., to the machine, by which 
 the utterances are repeated to the shorthand writer or operator on 
 the typewriter. For reporting purposes, however, while it may 
 some day perhaps give aid on special occasions, it is not likely in 
 its present form to do the work with the clearness and efficiency 
 which are given by the discriminating mind and ear of experienced 
 reporters. When made more perfect these machines may some 
 day be tried in front of speakers ; but the Babel of conflicting 
 sounds will probably prevent such use of them. 
 
 The Lasting Value of Reporters' Work. 
 
 When all has been said of the work of reporters, it may be 
 truthfully added that it is invaluable for preserving to the present 
 and to future generations precious thoughts and statements, 
 which otherwise would be lost. Apart from the frothy utter- 
 ances of those who do not regard " the sacred office of speech," 
 
59 
 
 as Milton well names it, reporters' work largely accomplishes for 
 thoughtful speakers what he desired for his writings : — " That by- 
 labour and intent study (which I take to be my portion in this 
 life) joyn'd with the strong propensity of nature, I might perhaps 
 leave something so written to aftertimes, as they should not 
 willingly let it die." 
 
 Commercial News. — There is a manifest contrast between the 
 very scanty information given in old times and the extent and 
 quality of that given now regarding the commercial affairs of the 
 world, — including under that term the markets for money, shares, 
 iron and other metals, produce, cotton, coal, cattle, dead meat, with 
 shipping, freight, &c., &c. The ordinary amount of commercial 
 news in the Herald extends now to an average of about 13 columns 
 daily, while 50 years ago all that was published of such matter 
 reached to only about 2 columns on each of the two days. No 
 doubt much of the commerce which now exists was not then 
 dreamt of, and some departments of it were very small, such as 
 grain and flour in the days of the Corn Laws, and such as 
 shipping. In the case of the latter, it looked, shortly before the 
 steam and iron age of ships, as if the American wooden clippers 
 were about to wrest the carrying trade of the world from us ; but, 
 as we know, our iron steamers have so complefely won the day, 
 that for 1894-95 the tonnage of all ships owned in the United 
 Kingdom and Colonies amounted to 12,969,951 as compared with 
 11,599,545 tons for all the other countries of the world, while of 
 that 2,171,459 tons belongs to the United States. That itself 
 means shipping news extending to an average of about 2^ columns 
 per day, as against two-thirds of a column half a century 
 ago. Included in the market news from America, there is a daily 
 average of 2^ columns, while in old days there was none. For some 
 years before 1881 — when I visited North America — the chief 
 items from it were those under the headings of Shipments and 
 the Visible Supply, until by special arrangements which I then 
 
60 
 
 made with the directors of the New York Produce Exchange, 
 fuller, later, and more reliable information has been regularly cabled 
 for the Herald. " Shipments" means the cargoes of grain and flour 
 loaded on the American seaboard from one week's end to the 
 next ; and " Visible Supply " represents what is in transit to the 
 seaboard, and what is in elevator storehouses at diiferent points in 
 America. " Invisible Supply " is what is supposed to be in farmers' 
 hands. The quantity on passage comprises that on passage from 
 America, Argentine, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Mediterranean 
 and Black Seas. All this means an immense change in our food 
 supply, and in the commerce which deals with it ; and it means 
 also, in the case of some newspapers, a very large amount of land 
 and submarine telegraphing, as compared with the few grain 
 market reports of 1845. At the same time I had in different 
 parts of the United States and Canada several complaints that, 
 although the newspapers there gave a large portion of news from 
 the old country, our papers on this side gave very little from 
 America. The ground for that complaint no longer exists. 
 
 Out-Door Sports are now many and widespread, while 
 formerly they were few and these almost all carried on without 
 any system ; and practically none were reported, except some- 
 times Fox-Hunting. Athletics now, including Golf, Cycling, 
 Football, Cricket, Tennis, Horse Racing, &c. (for each of which 
 the rules are minutely laid down), occupies about 10 columns of 
 each Monday's Herald. As most competitions, especially in 
 Football, are held on the Saturdays, and as players and their 
 friends are hungry for immediate information of the results from 
 all parts of the United Kingdom that same evening, the Evening 
 Times supplies with remarkable promptness and completeness 
 the extraordinary demands week after week during winter and 
 spring. Under the references to the Evening Times this matter 
 will be more fully stated. 
 
 Book Reviewing formerly occupied a small, and only an 
 occcasional, place in newspapers, as much perhaps because of fewer 
 
61 
 
 books being published and sent for the purpose of review as from 
 any indisposition on the part of editors to notice them. This work 
 was either done by the editors themselves, or by some friends for 
 the sake of the books. But now in this generation of School 
 Boards and book readers reviewing has become one of the normal 
 features of daily papers, generally on a special day of the week.* 
 All the year round, and particularly during the publishing 
 season — from September to the end of December — books are for- 
 warded in great numbers for that purpose. Our editor, upon 
 receiving them, immediately allocates and despatches each to 
 some one of the writers upon his reviewing staff whom he knows 
 to be most competent to deal with its subject, so that the work 
 may get justice, and so that readers may find something better 
 than tame puffing or scolding matter. The payment to reviewers 
 amounts to a considerable sum ; but many publishers do next to 
 nothing to recognise by advertisements the outlay such reviews 
 cost, some of them seeming to fancy that the volumes they send 
 amply pay for the review of them. That, no doubt, is the case 
 with newspapers which employ their sub-editors, reporters, 
 and friends to " do " the work in then' own time, and let the 
 book stand for payment ; but reviews done by experts are rightly 
 paid at the best rate in the ordinary money form. 
 
 The London and Non-London Press. — The contrast in 1845 
 between the London papers and the others throughout the United 
 Kingdom was very great with regard to their news as well as the 
 political power of their leaders ; in these features the metropolitan 
 papers were pre-eminent, while the others followed a long way off 
 with pithless leaders in a short paragraph form which had 
 only a limited and chiefly local influence. The difference 
 now in these respects is not a contrast, but rather a parallel, — 
 for the use of the electric telegraph has about equalised 
 
 * On the (lay (Thursday) after the above was written, the Herald 
 contained 14 columns of reviews and notices of the books sent by publishers, 
 and alongside of these were 6 columns of advertisements from publishers. 
 
62 
 
 their positions so far as tlie news of the world is concerned, and 
 the very great advance made in the editorials of the daily papers 
 out of London has made them compeers with those of London in 
 the respective spheres of their circulations. No doubt the 
 editorials of the latter are still looked upon by many as the most 
 important factors in the expression or leading of public opinion ; 
 but that impression is more traditional than correct, and it is 
 certainly not given by the greater literary power of their leaders. 
 Mr. Sala, who is specially a Londoner, and who, according to his 
 own statement a few years ago, has written about 8,000 or 9,000 
 leaders in the Daily Telegraph, frankly says : — " I am inchned 
 to yield to, and adhere to the conviction, that the metropolitan 
 press at the time of which I speak possessed far more direct 
 political power than it enjoys at the present day. . . . When, 
 however, I venture to maintain that there is an appreciable 
 diminution of the direct and tangible power exercised by the 
 metropolitan press two generations since, I should be an imbecile 
 did I underestimate the enormous influence for good or evil — 
 and much more commonly for good — possessed by the actual 
 press not only in London but in the provinces." At one time 
 John Sterling won for the Times its name, " The Thunderer," by 
 the fiery bolts which he launched in its columns on current 
 politics ; but thunder and lightning editorials now would be apt 
 to be laughed at as of the Jingo or spread-eagle style. But well- 
 informed, fair-minded, and otherwise able leaders — written with 
 unpretentious dignity and spirit, and as far as possible without 
 personalities, command respect and influence when clever bom- 
 bast fails. The extent of that influence upon public opinion 
 depends also now much more than formerly upon the extent of 
 the ground which the circulation of the papers cover. As to the 
 journals published in London, the numbers formerly circulated 
 beyond London were no doubt very great; while the copies 
 of those issued in other parts of the country which then reached 
 the metropolis were practically nil. With regard to the American 
 
63 
 
 journals, it is better to let an American testify. Dr. Gordon of 
 Boston, U.S.A., recently stated, after a lengthened visit to this side 
 of the Atlantic, that he had been struck by the disgraceful 
 inferiority of the American secular press as contrasted with the 
 British. " Its tone is 50 per cent, lower than it was 24 years ago, 
 when I first began to read them." This is a comparison that it 
 would be unfair, or at least invidious, even if it were possible, for 
 any but an American to make. 
 
 I remember some thirty years ago saying to an editor that he 
 would be glad to hear that, owing to an expected acceleration of 
 the first train from London, he would get the newspapers from 
 there earher than formerly. He, however, expressed some regret 
 that it should be so, as they would probably come more than 
 formerly into competition with our local journals. Other 
 accelerations giving still earher arrivals have taken place since, 
 but nevertheless the old relative position is reversed by the 
 number of London papers received in Scotland being greatly 
 lessened, while the number of daily newspapers sent to London is 
 greatly increased, and would be nearly doubled if they arrived 
 there as early as the London dailies reach Glasgow and Edinburgh. 
 
 News Collecting Agencies are now indispensable to every 
 daily paper, including those which are most perfectly equipped 
 by their own foreign and home representatives ; and these 
 agencies leave no room for comparison between the supply 
 of news now and that before the telegraphing system came 
 into action. The first agency for collecting and supplying 
 news, as well as for its special purpose of transmitting by 
 electric wires, was the Electric Telegraph Company, which was 
 formed in 1846. That company was followed by the British and 
 Irish Magnetic Company, and both did a similar work for the 
 Press, Stock Exchange, &c. During part of the existence of these 
 companies the special wire plan was begun, when we rented 
 a wire from the Magnetic Company from 6 p.m. onward. 
 Then foUowed Reuter's International Agency, and, when the 
 
64 
 
 Government boiiglit up the telegraph companies which of course 
 then gave up the collecting along with the telegraphing, the 
 Press Association came into existence to supply news and to do the 
 Avork more thoroughly than the defunct telegraph companies. 
 The Central News Company followed, and the Exchange Telegraph 
 Company appeared more recently, — both also for collecting and 
 transmitting news. The proprietors of newspapers had thereby 
 ample opportunity to fill their columns with what they wanted. 
 Besides these collecting agencies and individual effort, syndicates 
 or combinations of newspapers were sometimes formed to get 
 reports on great occasions from common sources. 
 
 The Renter Agency was originated by Mr. Julius Renter, a 
 Prussian, who came to London in 1858, for the purpose of sup- 
 plying the newspapers. Stock Exchanges, and Bourses of the United 
 Kingdom and foreign and colonial countries with international 
 news and news of markets. He had been a courier to several of 
 the European Courts from the Berlin Government, and probably 
 found in that connection some of the sources of news which 
 he afterwards turned to such good account as to enable home 
 newspapers sometimes to anticipate our own Government. His 
 information is usually condensed to the bare facts, but it has 
 been eminently reliable, — a quality of the utmost importance 
 to newspapers. At length, as the telegraph companies were 
 growing into a great monopoly of this new necessity of the 
 business and general public for quick transmission of messages, 
 the Government decided to buy up the telegraph companies, and 
 an Act for that purpose was passed on the 31st July, 1868, and 
 took effect by the Post Office Department beginning to work all 
 the wires on the 5th February, 1872. With this transaction in 
 prospect, it became incumbent upon newspaper men to prepare 
 for the change, seeing that the collection of news would cease 
 with the extinction of the telegraph companies, and that the 
 Government would certainly not continue, nor be asked to 
 continue, that service. A considerable number of newspaper 
 
65 
 
 representatives met on the 28tli October, 1865, at Manchester, 
 with Mr. Taylor of the Manchester Guardian presiding. At Mr. 
 Pagan's request I represented the Glasgow Herald, Mr James 
 Law the IScotsman, and Dr. Cameron (now Sir Charles Cameron) 
 the N.B. Daily Mail. There were several earnest conferences on 
 the subject, and upon the measures to be taken, which resulted 
 in a committee being appointed to mature arrangements for 
 forming a company to collect and supply news upon a thorough and 
 impartial system ; and at the same time for watching newspaper 
 interests in view of the transfer of the wires to the control of 
 the Post Office. This was the origin of the Press Association, 
 which now gives such splendid service without exacting such 
 terras as profit-seeking companies aim at. Its supplies include 
 what the Reuter International Agency collects, — for which the 
 Press Association paid £3000 per annum for several years ; and 
 now a new contract between the two parties has been made this 
 year (1895) for the next ten years. The maximum annual revenue 
 of the Press Association for its news supplies amounted to 
 £81,883 7s. 2d. for the year 1893,— not a General Election year; 
 but since that period the income from that source is down, a fact 
 which the directors attribute partly to Mr. Gladstone's with- 
 drawal from public life. An eventful year, or one with few exciting 
 events, affects demand and supply of news proportionately to 
 the circumstances. 
 
 The longest of all the cablegrams — at least of the commercial 
 news character — which have reached this country, was that of 
 the New American Tariff", which was so anxiously looked for in 
 Eiu'ope by manufacturers, merchants, and others, because of the 
 expectation that it would go in the direction of Free Trade, as 
 against the ultra-Protective system which had prevailed in the 
 United States. It appeared in the Herald of 16th August, 1894, 
 and occupied there 12^ columns, — touching on 3,500 lines. I 
 may here refer to a telegram of unprecedented length 
 (not a cablegram nor such matter as News Agencies supply) 
 
66 
 
 which appeared in the Chicago Times of 22nd May, 1881, in 
 the form of the Revised New Testament. I was fortunate 
 enough to have a Httle association with this big transaction, 
 by being in conversation with the editor in his room at the 
 moment when a messenger came in to say, " The Revised New 
 Testament has arrived at New York, sir. Do you wish any of 
 it telegraphed?" The editor at once said — "Telegraph the 
 whole of it." The four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the 
 Epistle to the Romans were telegraphed that day and evening from 
 New York. That portion of the New Testament, the editor said, 
 contained about 118,000 words, and constituted by many times the 
 largest special despatch ever sent over the wires. The remainder 
 of the work was printed from the copies of the Revised Testament 
 received at night. The whole, which appeared the following 
 morning, occupied 88 1 columns. In an interesting article on " Two 
 Memorable Days in Paternoster Row," in the Leisure Hour of 
 April, 1891, referring to the issue of the Revised Testament, it is 
 stated that the cost of that telegraphing was said to have been 
 $3000 — say £600. As I left Chicago after parting from the 
 editor, I was unable to procure a copy of this rare edition of his 
 paper, much to my regret, but by the kindness of Mr. Henry 
 Frowde of the Oxford University Press Warehouse, London, 1 
 have now a copy before me. By permission of Mr. Frowde, I will 
 hand this Chicago Times to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, so 
 that it may be seen by any person. It may be here pointed out 
 that the setting during the evening of such an amount of matter 
 as that referred to in these two cases was almost as remarkable a 
 feat as the telegraphing. 
 
 Honours to Newspaper Men, which are now fairly numerous 
 as compared with those gained by gentlemen of other professions, 
 atibrd a very great contrast to the dishonour and disabilities 
 endured by them until within 40 years ago. These latter cannot be 
 better summarised than they are in the following statement made 
 by Mr. H. Whorlow, the able Secretary of the Newspaper Society, 
 
67 
 
 when giving a " Jubilee Retrospect " of its work : — " In addition to 
 tlie fiscal burdens which had to be borne by newspaper proprietors 
 at the period under consideration, the state of the law of libel 
 made the proper discharge of the journalist's duty towards the 
 public an absolute impossibility. The State looked upon the 
 newspaper writer as a suspected person, one to be feared and 
 dreaded, as ever ready to asperse the characters of innocent men ; 
 and without honour, conscience, or common decency. The laws 
 were strained for the benefit of plaintiffs in libel actions, and safe- 
 guards and pledges were required from the printers and publishers 
 of news, who were not only assumed to be libellers in posse, but 
 also to be incapable of paying the penalties attaching to their 
 prospective crimes. Consequently, they must find sureties for 
 penalties for State and private libels which they might or might 
 not be guilty of in the future. Then, again, reports of law court 
 and Parliamentary proceedings could only be published at the 
 newspaper proprietor's risk ; any defamatory statement made by a 
 Counsel or Member of Parliament, although privileged as far as 
 the speaker was concerned, becoming a libel when reported in a 
 newspaper. In criminal proceedings, evidence of the truth of the 
 matter complained of was not admissable, and nominal damages 
 awarded on a technical point of law, although in reality implying 
 the justification of the libel, invariably carried damages." Mr. 
 Whorlow referred to other laws formerly noticed, such as the 
 compulsory publication of Insolvent Debtors' Petitions for 3s. 
 without limit as to length, and also of advertisements regarding 
 Game Certificates, Tithe Commutations, the List of Shareholders 
 in Banking Companies, &c. A law also existed to prevent news- 
 paper men being members of Town Councils ; and although a 
 clause to repeal it was inserted in the Municipal Corporation Act 
 of 1842, it was discovered afterwards that it had been dropped 
 out. A similar curious thing happened in a previous case when 
 a relieving clause for newspapers was passed, but left out of 
 the Act. The Public Health Act of 1875, by an oversight, also 
 
68 
 
 omitted the necessary indemnifying clause, and the old disqualifi- 
 cation was revived in the case of Local Boards, and continued in 
 force until 1885, when the Public Health (Members and Offices) 
 Bill was passed into law. Then only by the Newspaper Libel and 
 Registration Act, 1881, were newspaper proprietors relieved from 
 being held criminally as well as civilly responsible for the acts 
 of their employees. The practice of not appointing a newspaper 
 man to be a Justice of Peace, already referred to, continued till 
 recently, and continues yet as far as Lord Lieutenants of the old 
 school can venture. These and other such disabilities have been 
 repealed, or have ceased in practice, — so that we can now turn 
 to the reverse side and find a more pleasant picture. 
 
 The earliest appearance of a change in favour of editors and 
 proprietors of newspapers was in the election of some from 
 amongst them to be honorary members of the Reform Club, the 
 Carlton Club, &c. The Universities, especially in Scotland, 
 showed their disposition to recognise Literature in the persons of 
 editors, by bestowing on several of them the degree of LL.D. ; 
 while Parliamentary constituents have elected this year 31 news- 
 paper proprietors and journalists to the House of Commons ; and 
 the Governments in turn have made up from amongst the same 
 class a goodly number of knights, baronets, and even a peer, in 
 the person of Sir Algernon Berth wick, proprietor of the Morning 
 Post. This great change from the days of imprisonment, fines, 
 and other dishonours, indicates the higher position which news- 
 papers and their conductors have now attained, and the conviction 
 that they are not all agents of wickedness and promoters of sedi- 
 tion ; while perhaps some of the political honours are given also 
 because of the greater political power of newspapers in these modern 
 times. These changes and recognitions are, moreover, valuable to 
 the newspapers of the whole country, because they prove the greater 
 confidence and appreciation of the general public which have been 
 won for the Press of the United Kingdom by its higher tone, and 
 by the vast improvement in the quality of its information. 
 
69 
 
 THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH AND NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 *T^0 one can be ignorant of the supreme necessity now of the 
 '"^w Electric Telegraphing system to newspapers, — that is, to 
 the reading public, — and yet in 1845 news reaching Glasgow by 
 that means was nil. It is stated that the first use for newspaper 
 purposes of Avhat we now call the Telegraph was made by the old 
 Morning Chronicle, in May of that j^ear, when the proprietor had 
 a message transmitted to him by the wire between Portsmouth and 
 Nine Elms, in London, — the only telegraph line then available. 
 Not until after the three first months of 1848 did crumbs, 
 amounting to from 6 to 20 lines, appear in the Herald, regarding 
 Government Funds, markets, and the shares of the few railway 
 companies then in existence. Any telegraphic news which 
 appeared before that year reached us by telegraph to Liverpool and 
 thence by railway and coach to Glasgow, in time for our second 
 edition of the following morning. The transition from that state 
 of things to the present universal and various use of electricity is 
 a marvel of the age, and yet it is not so marvellous as the 
 immeasurable pre-existence of this impalpable power throughout 
 the earth, the air, in man himself, and probably everywhere. More 
 than any other known power, it raises the old and ever-present 
 question : " Which Avas first. Matter or Force ? " — a question which 
 introduced the late Professor Faraday's lectures on " The Physical 
 Forces." 
 
 There have been many for whom the honour is claimed of being 
 the author of the great invention which evoked and brouarht into 
 the service of man this great dormant power, turning what had 
 often been a bad master into a good and great servant of the 
 world. But it is not generally known that one of the earliest 
 for whom the honour is claimed was Dr. Charles Morison, a 
 native of Greenock, who practised in Renfrew. The late Sir David 
 Brewster, himself one of the greatest scientific men of this century, 
 identified Dr. Morison as the writer of a letter, dated from Renfrew, 
 
70 
 
 which appeared in the Scots Magazine, of February, 1753, under 
 the initials of C. M., describing a plan by which messages might be 
 conveyed to distant points. The letter explained his method of 
 telegraphing to other places by a series of wires and electrified 
 balls, which were operated upon so as to spell out words by touching 
 bits of light paper having the letters of the alphabet upon them ; 
 or by electrified bells, varying in size and sound to represent these 
 letters. He also proposed the important plan of insulating the 
 wires by a coating material. These proposals formed at least the 
 " bones " of the system matured by others many years after. Not 
 until 1774, — twenty-one years after Morison's description of his 
 method appeared, — was the first actual experiment publicly shown, 
 and that by Lesage, in Geneva, but not exactly on Morison's lines. 
 Many other attempts were afterwards made in different parts of 
 the world, not only to convey messages by electricity, but to 
 invent an instrument which would clearly and quickly signalise 
 letters, if not words. Cook and Wheatstone succeeded, so far, in 
 1837, but not until 6th May, 1845, did they find themselves able to 
 take out the famous patent for their single-needle instrument, 
 which made the Electric Telegraph a practicable system. It was a 
 start in a course of immense consequence to every class of society 
 and especially to newspapers. This telegraphing, wherever it was 
 installed, put an utter end to the ancient Semaphore with its 
 fantastic limbs swirling in all directions, and to other old-world 
 methods of signalling. 
 
 Sub-Marine Cables. — Other countries on both sides of the 
 Atlantic had their earnest and thoughtful men searching out 
 Nature's secret in this matter, and at length it was demonstrated 
 that electric power could not only be sent by means of a wire from 
 one place on land to another at a distance, but also under water, 
 with the dead-weight of 2,597 fathoms or nearly 3 miles of ocean 
 above the wires in some portions of their routes. The first 
 cable publicly proposed was that registered by Jacob Brett in 
 London on the 16th June, 1845, as " The General Oceanic 
 
71 
 
 Telegraph Co., to form a connecting mode of communication by 
 telegraph means from the British Islands and across the Atlantic 
 Ocean to Nova Scotia and the Canadas, the Colonies, and Con- 
 tinental Kingdoms." The first that was laid and came into 
 actual public use was that from Dover to Calais in 1851; and 
 now up to the end of 1894 there have been 106 cables laid 
 over different parts of the globe. These, which stretch almost 
 everywhere over the globe, do not yet completely fulfil the 
 promise of Puck to " put a girdle round about the earth in 40 
 minutes," for while they go round the earth from Auckland 
 (New Zealand) westward to San Francisco, there is still the 
 Pacific Ocean between these places uncrossed. Newspapers, 
 however, can endure that blank until there are mid-ocean stations 
 by which to send more shipping news ! Meantime it takes 2|- 
 hours to send a message so far round the globe, at a cost of 6s. 8d. 
 a word. The greatest event in connection with practical tele- 
 graphy was the completion of the Atlantic Cable on the 5th 
 August, 1858, — an event which linked the kindred peoples of 
 the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, putting 
 them within five minutes' reach of each other. 
 
 The first message, after some testing and adjustment at both ends, 
 was sent on the 17th August, 1858, by the British directors to their 
 colleagues in America. It made the announcement of a new fact 
 in the world's history, that Europe and America were united by 
 telegraph, appropriately accompanied by the old Christmas 
 message : " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good- 
 will toward men." Including the addresses, it contained 31 words, 
 and took 35 minutes to transmit. Thereafter congratulatory 
 messages passed between our Queen and the President of the 
 United States. This historical act of joining the two continents 
 by wire initiated a great system of 15 Sub- Atlantic cables, which 
 have become a vital factor in the commercial and social interests 
 and in the newspaper work of the Old and New Worlds. The 
 original company, now called the Anglo-American Telegraph Co., 
 
72 
 
 has laid 8 cables, 3 of which (except the portions fished up) lie 
 stranded amongst the hills, valleys, and prairies below the ocean, 
 while the remaining 5 are in full use. Of the younger companies 
 the American Cable Co. has 2, and the Commercial Cable Co. 
 has 3 cables. Two of these 12 living cables lie between France 
 and America; the shortest length of the 12 from land to land 
 is 1,846 miles, and the longest (one from France) is 2,685 miles. 
 Detailed reference to the cables in other parts of the globe, such 
 as those to India and the Far East, to Africa, South America, &c., 
 would carry my paper beyond due limits ; but the comprehensive 
 statement may be added, that within 30 years 152,000 miles of 
 submarine cables have been made in this country, and laid, 
 largely by the Silvertown Rubber Co. 
 
 Mr. Henniker Heaton, M.P., gives the capital of the 26 operating 
 companies which own these lines at £40,000,000 ; their revenue, 
 including subsidies, at £3,204,060; their reserve and sinking funds 
 at £3,610,000; and their dividends at Irom 1 to 14f per cent. 
 Excepting about 8,600 miles they are all in British hands, and 
 the great majority of the stations are in British territory. 
 Some of these figures represent enormous outlay in the cost of 
 the cable, their laying, maintenance, tear and wear, and the 
 actual loss of cables, — such as those abandoned. These great 
 expenses and losses no doubt account for the high charges at 
 first made for the use of those in existence up to 1880, and thereby 
 the small use made of them for newspaper and general purposes. 
 The original rate of £20 for ten words across the Atlantic was so 
 high as to be generally prohibitive, and only in very exceptional 
 cases were long messages sent. The earliest paid messages were 
 those from and to the Queen and President on the completion of 
 the first Atlantic wires, already referred to, which brought the 
 company £500 each. The most costly cable message was said to 
 be one sent m 1867 by the American Government to its 
 Ambassador in Paris, for which £2,000 was paid. The telegraph 
 company probably found, as many monopolists do, that they 
 
73 
 
 were losing more than they made by that high rate ; and they 
 reduced their price to £20 for 20 words. The scale was after- 
 wards reduced to £5 for 10 words, and by-and-bye, in stages, to 30s. 
 Mr. James Grant says that during the high rate the New York 
 Herald paid £1,000 for one message regarding the prize-fight 
 between Heenan, the Irish-American, and Tom Sayers, the 
 Englishman. The public rate now is Is. per word, to or from 
 New York ; and probably the greater use of the cable, the quicker 
 transmission (of 18 words, averaging 5 letters each, per minute), 
 and the duplex system, produce a larger revenue than was got 
 during the high rates. The rate now for news — chiefly sent at 
 night — is 5d. per word. In July, 1870, upon the sudden 
 declaration of war which brought France and Germany into 
 their great conflict, the cables from France, especially those in 
 the English Channel, came at once into extensive use for 
 newspapers and other purposes. The Manchester Guardian, it 
 was said, had a message from its correspondent at the beleaguered 
 city of Metz, which cost £400. Continental and submarine cables, 
 however, are now habitually used by some of the London morning 
 newspapers, which hire special wires for night service between 
 London and the Continent. Five of these special wires are to 
 Paris, and two are to Berlin ; and they are mostly used for trans- 
 mitting to London the letters of the correspondents in those cities; 
 so that their respective newspapers are so far placed in a position 
 equalising in time service that of the Paris and Berlin papers. 
 
 The Distribution of News over the World by cables 
 involves, in most cases, the employment of several marine and 
 land telegraph companies and transfers. The following statement> 
 condensed from an article in the Scientific American, gives some 
 idea of this, and of what may be called the successful " Avorking 
 against time " in the westward transmission of cablegrams : — 
 " ' Early one morning, not long ago, a party of Mohammedans 
 desecrated, in some fashion, a place of worship in Calcutta. A 
 fight followed, and the Brahmin defenders of the temple killed six 
 
74 
 
 of the Mohammedans.' This piece of news reached the offices of 
 all the newspapers in Calcutta long before noon. At 10 o'clock a 
 yoimg man ran into the telegraph station with the message : — 
 ' Press Association, London. — Mohammedans desecrated Brahmin 
 temple here 7 morning. Fight followed. Six Mohammedans 
 killed. All quiet now. Ma}^ lead serious complications.' This 
 brief despatch was telegraphed to Bombay, whence it was trans- 
 mitted to Aden. In a few minutes later it was on its way to 
 Suez, whence another operator immediately sent it to Malta. At 
 this place another operator repeated the message to Lisbon. 
 From there it had only a short stretch of sea to cover to reach 
 Penzance, where it was telegraphed to its destination in London. 
 Now, from the moment that the operator in Calcutta touched the 
 key of his clicker until the message was delivered to the Press 
 Association in London, two hours had elapsed. But although the 
 message had been filed in Calcutta at 10 a.m. it was received in 
 London at about 7 a.m. of the same day. It was then sent by 
 cable to the Associated Press ofiice in New York, and at the same 
 time telegraphed to the offices of all the afternoon and evening 
 papers in England and Scotland. The man in New York 
 received the message shortly after 2 a.m. of that same day. A 
 minute later messenger boys set out for the New York newspapers, 
 and hand in the despatch. At the same time half a dozen tele- 
 graph operators receive copies of it, and as quickly as they can 
 they send it over their wires. One wire runs to Chicago, where 
 the message arrives a little after 1 o'clock. Another wire runs to 
 Albany, another to Philadelphia and Pittsburg, another to Balti- 
 more and Washington, and so on. And so the message flashes 
 across the country, zig-zagging everywhere, like a bolt of lightning, 
 so that no city may be omitted, gaining hour after hour as it 
 strikes westward, until even before midnight it reaches all the 
 newspapers along the Pacific slope that are members of this globe- 
 encircling institution, informing them that at 7 o'clock of the day 
 that has not yet dawned for them six Mohammedans were killed in 
 
75 
 
 Calcutta." If this use of electric power westward so greatly antici- 
 pates solar time, its application eastward will for the same reasons 
 lose proportionately; in the former case the electric flash outruns the 
 sunlight, and in the latter case it runs to meet it in its path. This 
 disturbance of our ordinary ways of reckoning the time sometimes 
 results in rather amusing paradoxes, such as that the birth of 
 the present Emperor of Germany in Berlin was announced to the 
 Queen 53 minutes by the clock before it occurred. 
 
 The Post Office Telegraphing Service has grown so 
 immensely since 1870, when the work was taken out of private 
 hands, that now the head office in London alone has a staff 
 consisting of 3,919 operators, messengers, &c. On some nights 
 when Parliament is sitting there are news messages of as many 
 as half-a-million, and even on occasion above a million, words 
 transmitted. These inland Press messages are charged at the rate 
 of Is. for 75 words or under between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and Is. for 
 100 words or under between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. Although the Act 
 of Parliament says that the messages shall be transmitted between 
 the hours named, the Post Office people refuse to begin the trans- 
 mission of night matter at 6 p.m., and will not receive " copy " 
 previous to that hour so as to enable them to have their pre- 
 liminary work done before 6 p.m., and leave themselves free to 
 begm the actual telegraphing — which preliminary work it 
 seems requires extra hands in «,ny case. This delay appears to be 
 no economy to the Department, while it prevents the sub-editors 
 and compositors of the newspapers getting on with their work. 
 For such messages, when sent to several papers, there is an 
 additional charge for duplicating of 2d. (beyond the normal Is.) for 
 each copy. This cheap service is taken advantage of chiefly by in- 
 dependent newspaper touts, who offer at their own risk paragraphs 
 and reports of a promiscuous and accidental nature, which maj^ 
 have escaped the attention of appointed correspondents ; but the 
 regular correspondents also, when attached to more than one 
 paper and sending similar news to each of them, are expected to 
 
76 
 
 use the 2d. additional rate. The Is. rates are used not only for short 
 news paragraphs, but for long reports of great events or of impor- 
 tant speeches extending often to hundreds of lines. As it would be 
 impossible for reporters to prepay all their long despatches, the 
 Post Office provides guarantee order slips, — for which and for 
 bookkeeping 2^% extra is charged on the amount of the account; 
 these guarantees are handed in by the reporter along with his copy. 
 For all the sums incurred in this way an account is rendered each 
 week for immediate payment by the newspapers thus employing 
 the wires ; but as Government officials never trust newspaper 
 people, or perhaps any people, they take good care to have an 
 ample deposit of cash in advance from the proprietors to cover all 
 contingencies. Mr. Fisher, Controller of the Telegraph Depart- 
 ment in London, has recently stated that, apart from general 
 messages, there is a vast quantity of news sent frequently on 
 Parliamentary nights, amounting to 500,000 words, and some- 
 times even exceeding 1,000,000 words in one night. 
 
 Mr. Preece, the Chief Engineer to the Electric Telegraph 
 Depa^rtment of the Post Office, made a statement two or three 
 years ago regarding Press telegraphing, to the eifect that in 1871 
 the number of words telegraphed to newspapers was 21,701,968, 
 and that twenty years thereafter the number reached a total of 
 600,409,000. The greater amount of that work would no doubt 
 be done at night, when the small -general use of the wires would 
 leave them comparatively idle. For such use of the Government 
 telegi'aph service, for three special wires, for cabling, and for use 
 through news agencies, our expenditure has year by year gone on 
 mounting up from £600 in 1870, until now it touches £7,000 for 
 the year. 
 
 Code Systems for signalling sentences by words previously 
 agreed upon became necessary for economy under high cable 
 tariffs, and also in some cases for secrecy. Many ingenious Code 
 books are published, and others made up for private use, most of 
 them containing words which were never seen before and cannot 
 
77 
 
 be found in dictionaries, and which are meant for the eye only and 
 not for the tongue. The transmission by the Atlantic cables — as 
 tested last year — gave the rate for ordinary code messages at 95^ 
 letters per minute, and for newspaper messages the speed varied 
 from 1 10 to 1 20 letters per minute. By a new automatic signalling 
 method, the number of letters a minute has reached 243. All 
 this, of course, means a remarkable increase in the speed, economy, 
 and utility of the cables since their first use in 1858. Codes take 
 the form of figures, as well as of words, as in the case of those 
 used by the British Government, which are explained in the 
 following paragraph which recently appeared in the Herald 
 London correspondence : — 
 
 " The cipher is one of five figures. It is changed every year in 
 case the key may have fallen into the hands of some one outside, 
 but though changed annually the same five figures are always 
 retained. These figures are manipulated in what, to an outsider, 
 would seem to be an extraordinary manner. The fact that they 
 have been used for over 30 years for this purpose, and that they 
 have been found quite sufficient to convey momentous news, 
 secretly and correctly, from one end of the earth to the other, 
 shows that by this system a few figures, Avith the help of an 
 annual instruction such as ' drop two,' that is, drop the second 
 figure in each group of figures in a message, or ' add 100,' may be 
 made to take the place of the 7,000 or 8,000 words in common 
 use. The process of deciphering is very tedious. A practised 
 hand, even when it is all plain sailing, cannot do more than 300 
 words in an hour, and this does not include the time which he 
 must spend in throwing it back again into cipher to test his 
 ' translation.' During the past few weeks, for the sake of speed, 
 two clerks have got the same message to decipher, and if they 
 both brought out the same result there was no occasion to wait 
 while it was again being turned into the code. Not infrequently 
 the groups of figures get a little disarranged in the course of 
 transmission. Sometimes the context will help the decipherer 
 
78 
 
 out ; sometimes it won't. If the source is a long way off, and the 
 intelligence not of great importance, a couple of clerks are put at 
 it to try to make sense out of it. As much as six hours has been 
 spent this way on one message. If they are not successful a 
 repetition of the groups which have been mixed is called for, 
 while in the case of urgent messages a repetition is requested the 
 moment it is found that the figures are disordered. The India, 
 Colonial, War, and Admiralty Offices have their own ciphers." 
 
 Stock Exchange Transactions and enquiries make perhaps 
 the most difficult telegraph work, in view of the importance 
 of having every name and fraction correct. In the case of 
 the Glasgoiv Herald, as in several of the leadmg newspapers 
 at a distance from London, the work of telegraphing the 
 London Share transactions, British and Foreign Funds, &c., &c., 
 is greatly simplified, and almost absolute correctness secured, by 
 the code devised by us after much consideration. It contains 
 3,411 code-signs, each of which represents a different Stock; but 
 such news varies so much that no code could embrace it all, so 
 that many transactions in the Share market and all the other 
 markets of the world, have to be cabled or telegraphed by name 
 and description in full. Stock Exchanges themselves are very 
 valuable customers to the Post Office for telegraphing hither and 
 thither during the day-time. Mr. R. Belfort has recently given 
 some lively descriptions of cable work in the Windsor Magazine, 
 and there makes the following allusions to the New York Stock 
 Exchange and telegraphing, which may partly apply to other 
 places : — " When the Stock Exchange is agitated the short 
 ' Stocks ' pour in by hundreds, the offices in New York and London 
 are besieged by excited brokers. Prices rise and fall with startling 
 incoherency : the cables literally hum with frantic orders to buy, 
 sell, cancel, and quote. Some firms exchange a hundred and fifty 
 messages on these occasions. Very curious is this battle of the bulls 
 and bears, waged through a copper ' string ' buried beneath the 
 waves, the two armies being three thousand miles apart. The 
 
79 
 
 clerks, becoming as excited as the brokers, work with extraordinary 
 precision and rapidity. Before five o'clock this ' Stock ' work 
 ceases." Most of these transactions are reported in the papers. 
 The cessation of general telegraphing about that time leaves the 
 wires free for the night messages of newspapers of each continent. 
 
 Special Wires originated, in a way, with the old telegraph 
 companies, which, by their Intelligence Departments at first, col- 
 lected and transmitted news. This supply was relied upon almost 
 exclusively until a new feature began upon a small scale in 1866, 
 by a few newspapers having " Special Telegi-ams " to supplement 
 the other telegraph matter. After the telegraph system of the 
 whole country was taken over by Government, newspapers had to 
 rely upon the Press Association and other News Agencies for the 
 greater part of their general news and for Renter's foreign matter, 
 while the " Special Telegram " feature expanded so much that it 
 led to the hiring of Special Wires from the Post Office. Scotland, 
 in 1872, led the way in this feature of daily newspaper work, — 
 perhaps partly because its papers could not receive by railway 
 printed and Avritten matter as soon as places nearer metropolitan 
 sources. The newspapers of the United Kingdom which have 
 now Special Wires are the following : — The Glasgow Herald has 
 three, the Scotsman has two, the N.B. Daily Mail has two, and 
 each of the following has one : Aberdeen Free Press, Belfast News- 
 Letter, Bradford Observer ; the Dublin papers. Express, Indepen- 
 dent, Irish Times, and Freeman's Journal ; the Dundee Advertiser, 
 Leeds Mercury, Liverpool Courier; the Newcastle papers, Chronicle, 
 Journal, and Leader ; Plymouth Western News, and Sheffield 
 Telegraph, — the Manchester Guardian has both a special and a 
 duplex wire, and the Manchester Courier and the Yorkshire Post 
 have each a duplex wire, making in all twenty-three special wires 
 and three duplex wires. The duplex allows two messages to be 
 sent at the same time, one in each direction. 
 
 Great storms sometimes upset the arrangements of the sub- 
 editors in London who have the duty of feeding the Special 
 
80 
 
 Wires with copy. If the effect of the storm on the wires is 
 partial they have to select the most important and urgent news 
 for transmission ; but when it has happened that all the special 
 wires are disabled for service, they turn to the General Post 
 Office as a last resource, in the hope that some there may give 
 help in the emergency. On one occasion, however, when the late 
 Mr. James Walker was on duty, all the public and private wires 
 between London and Scotland were, by a storm, made hopelessly 
 unserviceable. Mr. Walker was one of the most able and experi- 
 enced of the London sub-editors, and had charge of the Herald 
 work since 1871, till his lamented death in June, 1892. On that 
 stormy night his intelligence and ready capacity in dealing with 
 difficulties, which if he could not get over he tunnelled under, was 
 manifested, for when he found himself shut off from the use of 
 land wire connection, he bethought himself of the possibility of 
 getting access to Glasgow by the roundabout way of submarine 
 wires, and on this he immediately handed in a considerable 
 quantity of copy, which was accordingly sent from London to 
 Glasgow via Copenhagen, and appeared in the Herald next 
 day (as the Journalist, when referring to this point in Mr. 
 Walker's life, said), to the great astonishment of other Scottish 
 journals, which were left altogether without intelligence from the 
 British capital. 
 
 Such all-alive attention reminds me of a contrary case which 
 occurred some years ago. At a neighbouring branch office in 
 London, which had a Special wire to Glasgow, it happened that 
 the sub-editor, after supplying the operator with ample copy to 
 keep him telegraphing for some time, left his office, but forgot 
 the key of the door. LTpon his return he endeavoured to get 
 entry, but no knocking at the door, or other expression of his 
 feelings, could awaken the telegraph clerk, who had fallen fast 
 asleep over his weary work. The sub-editor was desperate, for he 
 knew that probably much time and non-transmitted matter were 
 lost for that night ; but at length it was suggested to send a 
 
81 
 
 message by the General P.O. wires to his employers in Glasgow, 
 to start the Special wire from that end so as to rouse the deep 
 sleeper at the London end. This roundabout method, with the 
 extra energy put into the click, clicking of the instrument, 
 fortunately proved effectual. 
 
 Transmission of News — Apart from Special Wires — is 
 fully described by Mr. W. G. Fitzgerald, in an interesting article 
 on " Our News Supply " in the Strand Magazine. The following 
 is an extract : — " Practically the whole of the provincial work of 
 the great London News Agencies is done through the Post Office, 
 where there is a special department for it. Under usual con- 
 ditions, the number of telegraphists on duty in the news division 
 in London varies from 14 between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning, 
 to about 140 between 6 and 8 o'clock in the evening, when the 
 bulk of the newspaper work is dealt with. There are 23 news 
 circuits, and by an elaborate system of classification a vast number 
 of messages are despatched with surprisingly little trouble, the 
 rate of speed varying from 300 to 450 words per minute. At 
 each circuit in the news division there is a Wheatstone Auto- 
 matic Transmitter, through which paper ribbon, prepared by 
 pneumatic perforating instruments, is passed by clockwork. 
 There are 55 perforating instruments, each capable of punching 8 
 ribbons simultaneously. Each of these eight ribbons can be run 
 through several automatic transmitters ; and in this way, one slip 
 passing successively through four transmitters, might supply 16 
 provincial newspaper offices with the same message in two 
 minutes. On occasions of exceptional pressure, the punching 
 staff is largely augmented by other telegraphists ; and about 515 
 ribbons are sometimes prepared simultaneously. 
 
 " The tape machines of the Exchange Telegraph Co. have clock- 
 work mechanism, but their type wheels are rotated by electricity, 
 and controlled by the transmitting apparatus. They print at the 
 rate of from 35 to 40 words per minute, and some of them print 
 about 4,000,000 words Avitliout needing repair. Perhaps the most 
 
82 
 
 astonishing thing about this system is that any number of tape 
 machines can be operated from a single transmitter, even though 
 these machines bo scattered all over the metropolis." 
 
 The Telegraphing Department and the Newspapers. — 
 Repeated grumbles have been heard of the " loss " sustained by 
 the Post Office owing to the " cheap " terms for Press messages. 
 But they are very much the mutterings of ignorance or bad 
 memory, for the complainers overlook the bad bargain the Govern- 
 ment officials made with the Electric Telegraph Co. and the 
 Magnetic Telegraph Co., in buying them up at a cost of 11 millions 
 sterling; and then the unfairness of their demand that the Press 
 should help them to make up the deficiency by paying high terms. 
 I well remember, when the transaction was under consideration, 
 forming one of a deputation to meet Mr. Scudamore, the official 
 representing the Post Office, to whom I put the question if the 
 Newspaper Press would under the Government be as well served 
 and upon as good terms as by the companies. His answer was : 
 *' Certainly you will, and I expect on much better terms." And 
 upon that basis the terms were arranged. This is confirmed by 
 the following extract from the Annual Report for 1894 of the 
 Newspaper Society, which took up this question exhaustively, 
 and pointed out that " it is an undeniable fact that, in the impor- 
 tant matter of quick transmission, the newspapers are at the 
 present day no better off than they were under the old Electric 
 Companies. In this state of things your Committee deem it 
 advisable — as an instance of the pledges which from time to time 
 have been received from the Government — to place in evidence 
 the following communication, which was addressed to the Presi- 
 dent of the Society by the then Secretary to the Post Office, 
 shortly before the taking over of the telegraphs by the State : — 
 
 '"General Post Office, London, February 20th, 1868.— Sir,— In 
 reply to your letter of the 17th inst., I beg leave to inform you 
 that in the event of Parliament giving^ its assent to the Bill about 
 to be introduced, for transferring to the Post Office the contract 
 
83 
 
 and management of the electric telegraphs throughout the United 
 Kingdom, it is the intention of this Department to make arrange- 
 ments for the transmission of intelligence for the Press which, if 
 not identical with those at present in force, shall be at least satis- 
 factory to the proprietors of newspapers. — I am, Sir, your 
 obedient servant, — Frank Ives Scudamore.' " 
 
 An important element in the case is that much the greatest 
 use of the wires by newspapers is during that portion of the 24 
 hours of the day when they are least occupied, or not occupied at 
 all, by higher-priced telegrams. Manufacturers, engineers, &c., 
 generally look upon the use of their machines in such circum- 
 stances as making "found money." As the object of the 
 establishing of the Post Office was the public service, and not the 
 addition of millions to the Exchequer, it is interesting to see how 
 the more needy but less money-making Government at Rome does. 
 Mr. Whorlow, in the monthly statement of the Newspaper Society, 
 gives the following from a good Italian authority : — 
 
 " The Italian Postmaster decided, in October, 1894, to join by 
 telegraph wire with the Central Post Office each newspaper that 
 wished to be so joined. The wire is, in each instance, a direct 
 communication from the newspaper office to the Central Post 
 Office of the town in which the paper is printed, and every local 
 post office has a direct wire to the telegraph office in the Italian 
 Parliament in Rome. Many papers applied for the concession. 
 There is, therefore, now only one staff of reporters in the Italian 
 Chamber, which sends direct reports to all the newspapers simul- 
 taneously. Nothing had to be paid for the instalment, and 
 everything was provided free by the chief of the Post Office, 
 including the telegraph instruments. The new arrangement did 
 not cause any extra expenditure to the Government, which was 
 already under an obligation to provide the Stefani Agency with 
 the reports, that agency in its turn forwarding the service to the 
 newspapers. Now, however, the telegrams go direct to the news- 
 papers without the ijiterveiition of the Stefani Agency. The 
 
84 
 
 official sliorthand report is handed in to the Telegraph Office in 
 the Chamber, and, with a single transmission, is dehvered to each 
 paper." 
 
 The Pneumatic Transmission of telegraph copy from the 
 General Post Offices to a few newspaper offices in Glasgow, 
 Edinburgh, Manchester, and perhaps one or two other cities, is 
 an important addition to the means of quickened delivery. The 
 installation involves an engine and pump, and four containers or 
 closed cylinders, into two of which compressed air is forced in 
 order to propel the carriers, while the other two are used for 
 exhaust purposes in order to draw the carriers. Into these (short 
 leather tubes open at one end) is placed the " flimsy " or other 
 paper upon which the telegraph messages are written. They run 
 swiftly in leaden tubes within cast-metal pipes, which are laid 
 below the street between the General Post Office and the news- 
 paper office. The tube ends in a box placed at the side of the 
 tslegraph operator in the Post Office, by whom the flimsy is sent 
 to the sub-editor at the other end, — whence the empty carriers 
 are returned. This installation, which was finished in 1887, cost 
 us fully £1,200, and requires the day and night expenses of steam 
 power, Avages of attendants, and even the supply of carriers. The 
 result to us, where every moment is precious, is to secure delivery 
 of the telegraph copy in about 65 seconds, instead of our being de- 
 pandent upon the uncertain time of boy-messengers. The result 
 to the Post Office is a saving of stationery knd of a penny to the 
 messengers for each delivery to the newspaper office during the 
 day and night, which cannot amount to less than from £160 
 to £170 per annum; and yet such newspapers are called upon to 
 pay to the Post Office £8 10s. per annum for signalling each 
 despatch placed in the pneumatic tube-box, which message, as in 
 all other cases, they are bound to deliver ! 
 
 Some of my references to these subjects may be considered out- 
 side the province of Newspaper Life; but (as I said at the beginning) 
 
85 
 
 kindred material cannot well be left out regarding the means of 
 Newspaper development, which the Electric Telegraph is to the 
 Editorial Department, and the Railway system to the Publishing 
 Department, which follows. 
 
 A few exceptional Feats in Telegraphing for Newspapers are 
 reserved for what I may add in connection with the Evening 
 Times, as such cases are mostly associated with evening papers in 
 the public mind. 
 
 THE PUBLISHING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 '/'f\ I *HAT is now called the Publishing Department of a 
 ^■^'^ Daily newspaper embraces most of what has been 
 already referred to under the heads of Advertisements and the 
 Advertisement Tax, the Stamp Duty on Newspapers, and the 
 Paper Duty and Paper. These were dealt with first, as it seemed 
 to me better to have done with the taxes and the fettered 
 condition of things of earlier days before referring to some of the 
 remarkable developments which newspapers have undergone since 
 Parliament removed these obstacles. There is consequently less 
 to say now regarding the Publishing Department. 
 
 The whole Herald business in 1845 was situated in the quiet 
 Court at 182 Trongate, — then the busiest street in Glasgow. 
 That building, and the fine block fronting the Trongate, were built 
 by and named after Mr. James Spreul, a City Chamberlain of 
 Glasgow in the early part of this century. In the autumn 
 of that year — about the close of my sixteenth year — I received a 
 note requesting me to call at the Herald Office there, regarding 
 an advertisement headed " Boy Wanted " to which I had rephed. 
 A very few minutes' interview with Mr. Alexander Waters, the 
 managing partner, ended in the formation of my long connection 
 with the Herald. The counting-house, where my duties lay, 
 was then on the right hand of the entrance, shown in the sketch. 
 
86 
 
 The growth of the paper since that time, — the change from the 
 issue twice a week to the issue three times a week, and then to its 
 daily puWication, — its repeated expansions by increase of adver- 
 tisements and news, and the frequent additions of premises, men, 
 
 The Herald Office in 1846. 
 
 and machinery to produce it, can be more easily realised now, 
 upon looking backward over the half-century, than it could be by 
 those taking part from time to time in the actual changes. 
 Perhaps I may be excused for saying that my personal experience 
 in relation to the business during that time is of a somewhat 
 
 
87 
 
 parallel nature, for while I began as Junior Clerk I grew — as it 
 ■were — unconsciously into the several positions occupied by me, 
 without my aiming at any of them. The Cashiership, for instance, 
 fell into my hands because of my early attempts to avoid loss and 
 confusion by having all the payments received entered system- 
 atically and at once, instead of trusting to an antiquated practice 
 — which seemed to be a remnant of an old cashier's habit of 
 keeping all the money in his trousers' pockets. The work of 
 paying, as well as of receiving the cash brought me into touch 
 with all the employees, and led me still more to look after matters 
 which would otherwise have taken their chance of being left 
 unattended to. And it was only after a time, on the occasion of 
 a small social meeting of the clerks, that I was unexpectedly 
 made to realise my more responsible position by its being openly 
 referred to. I count myself exceptionally fortunate in having 
 been so free, both before and since that date, from serious 
 difficulties with any of the employees, whether older or younger 
 than myself ; and of having now such a body of able and willing 
 workers in their respective positions, who are at the same time 
 entirely loyal and contented. 
 
 Subscribers and Distributors of Papers. — The chief duties 
 which fell to my lot as Junior Clerk (work previously done by a 
 senior, as hitherto there had been no junior) were to write and 
 prepare the addressed wrappers of newspapers sent to subscribers, 
 numbering nearly a half of the total issue of about 4,000 copies. 
 Not long after, I had also to take occasional charge of the 
 midnight and early morning work of despatching the papers by 
 post and coach, and to give them out in large portions to elderly 
 men called runners, for delivery to city and suburban subscribers. 
 For although the Id. stamp upon every copy printed covered 
 the postage outside of Glasgow, it did not cover postal delivery in 
 the town where the paper was published. These runners earned 
 a welcome quarterly sum on each paper, which helped to eke 
 out the small Waterloo pension and other limited means which 
 
88 
 
 some of them had. At a later hour a very few booksellers — less 
 than a dozen — got their small supplies, altogether about 210 
 copies, and lent some of them out at a penny an hour, and sold 
 them to small clusters of customers who read them by rotation ; 
 while two veterans, who would have been indignant had they 
 been called hawkers, sold outside. One of the two was an old 
 done cabman, who sold the paper at the station of the Edinburgh 
 and Glasgow Railway in Queen Street, which was then the only 
 passenger railway station of any consequence in Glasgow. The 
 other man, who was a decent church beadle, supplied steamboat 
 passengers at the quay of the Broomielaw Harbour. 
 
 All that small, slow, and primitive style of business was 
 evidently about to change in view of the shadow of the coming 
 event of 1855, when the Id. stamp was abolished. The papers 
 of the petted Isle of Man and the Channel Islands did not need 
 to wait for that change, for they had always enjoj^ed a happy free- 
 dom from the tax, and, I think, even from postage charges. But 
 throughout the "adjacent" islands of Great Britain and Ireland the 
 change came almost as by a bound ; and within a fcAv years after, 
 when weekly and bi-weekly papers became daily, and the people 
 were becoming familiarised to them, the demand grew more and 
 more until news-agents gradually overspread town and country, 
 who received parcels of unstamped papers, and were therefore 
 enabled to supply customers at a penny less than if the papers had 
 been posted. This new method, as may be understood, seriously 
 lessened the subscribers' lists of all newspapers in country towns 
 where parcels were received, and even in cities, although to a 
 lesser extent. But in view of the whole circumstances, we at an 
 early period voluntarily gave up to news-agents, in Glasgow and 
 its surroundings, the hsts of subscribers in their respective 
 districts. The number of subscribers, however, is now more than 
 made up by those who cannot get their unstamped Herald in out- 
 of-the-way towns and districts, especially in the Highlands and 
 Islands, as well as in England, Ireland, the Colonies, the Continent, 
 
89 
 
 &c. In America newspapers are, to a large extent, subscribed for, 
 chiefly by readers of weekly papers. Some of the subscribers 
 there seem to be more deaf to appeals for payment than those on 
 this side generally, if they are to be judged from the following 
 epigram by an editor-publisher on such creatures, and on those 
 who sent him unpaid posted letters : — 
 
 " And if you take a great tooth comb, 
 And rake down all creation, 
 You cannot find a meaner thing 
 In this 'ere mighty nation." 
 
 Instead of the two old outside salesmen referred to, and besides 
 the numerous news-agents who afterwards undertook the sale of 
 unstamped papers, there started up in all directions street 
 haAvkers, who intercepted almost every passer-by and visited 
 every likely house to get casual or regular customers. This 
 house-to-house visitation, by the way, seriously interfered with 
 the sales and profits of those who had shop rents, taxes, &c., to 
 face, while the " Street Arab " secured the cream of the sales — 
 especially when the news excited extra attention — and escaped 
 scot-free. In this way many of the honest poor earn a fair living, 
 but many others of the vagabond sort of lads and girls are in great 
 danger of going from bad to worse. It was probably some one 
 who had suffered by the street hawkers that, in May, 1857, asked 
 the Board of Trade to enforce the Hawkers' Act, and oot the 
 answer that a person carrying newspapers from house to house 
 would require a hcense, but that the Act does not apply to sales 
 on the street. The streets thereby now form the biggest news- 
 paper shop in the world. 
 
 Besides these regular and irregular trade sales, the publishers 
 of the daily papers entered into keen competition to meet the 
 demand awaiting the earliest arrivals of supplies on the part of the 
 numerous families from Glasgow and other inland towns who 
 largely flock to the beautiful shores on the Firth of Clyde during 
 summer and autumn. That competition took the form of racmg 
 
90 
 
 by steamers on the river to Greenock, and to the various ■watering 
 places as far as Rothesay. That foolish competition — 'vhich at the 
 time meant great excitement and expense to those involved in it, 
 and fun to those who got their papers several hours earlier than 
 by the ordinary steamers — gave place to the use of the railway to 
 Greenock, and a joint-steamer from there. The question naturally 
 occurred to the coast-going people, and to the regular residenters 
 there — if private effort could supply newspapers so early, why 
 should not the great Government Department in charge of the Post 
 Office show as much enterprise by having an early morning dehvery 
 of letters, instead of making a mid-day delivery the first ? The 
 agitation at length prompted the Post-Otiice to go the length of 
 asking the Daily Mail proprietors and us to share the use and 
 expense of the joint newspaper steamer during the summer season. 
 The people " doon the watter " have nov\', however, the privilege of 
 a dehvery of letters and papers all the year round earlier than 
 formerly. 
 
 The Production of the Herald Now. — The rotation of 
 work which precedes the pubHcation of the paper, and which 
 brings every one concerned to the highest pitch of effort, may be 
 summarised as follows : — After the editorial and advertisement 
 copy is completed, especially when the last lot of news or leader 
 copy is received by the head-foreman compositor at 1.15 a.m., he 
 immediately cuts it up into small portions called " takes," for his 
 men to lift in the order of their coming, that the}' may set up the 
 matter for the latest news pages with the greatest possible expe- 
 dition, — a process which thoroughly tests each man's capacity and 
 his ydW. to show it. While that is being done, the makers-up of 
 the type pages go on under the foreman's instructions to complete 
 each page so far as its contents are ready, until the whole series 
 of 12, or on some occasions 16, pages are one by one up to the 
 last transferred to the stereot^q^mg foundr}'- at 1.55 a.m. Under 
 the stereo foreman and his men, counterparts of the letterpress 
 pages are taken on paper matrices, from which fac similes of the 
 
91 
 
 original pages are produced in literally hot haste, so as to have 
 the completing stereo page in the printing machine rooms by 
 2.8 A.M. In three minutes after, the first 100 perfect Heralds 
 reach the despatch room, and the actual issue of the First 
 Edition papers begins. Immediately following comes a crowding 
 rush of mechanically counted scores of papers, and the piles are 
 carried in close march upon continuous lifts to the despatch 
 room, where they are at once seized by nimble hands, packed, 
 addressed to the various news-agents, and bundled off by vans, so 
 as to catch the earliest newspaper train at 2.30 a.m. for Edinburgh. 
 From there the Forth Bridge Express drops separate parcels for 
 Dundee .ind other towns on the way to Aberdeen, being due there 
 at 6.25 A.M. ; thence the parcels go by the Great North of Scot- 
 land Railway to Ballater, and round by the north-east towns to 
 Elgin, &c. The north-centre of Scotland is also suppHed much 
 earlier than formerly by the parcels received at Perth at 4.44 a.m. 
 by the Caledonian train, and transferred to the Highland Co.'s 
 train, which drops parcels en route to Inverness, where it is due 
 in the season at 9.15 a.m., and in winter at 11.5 a.m. 
 
 The Second Edition, with corrections and later news than the 
 first, requires to be ready for despatch by 3.40 a.m., early train, 
 taking heavy parcels for Kilmarnock and for various towns 
 along the line to Dumfries, Carlisle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, &c. ; 
 while another special engine and van hired at £600 per annum from 
 the North British Railway Company, start from Glasgow to Edin- 
 burgh at 4.15 A.M., covering the intervening towns, &c., en route, to 
 Edinburgh, and connecting "with the early trains for the towns 
 in the south-eastern counties, on to Berwick-on-Tweed. Besides 
 sending these important supplies at that time, we despatch by four 
 other trains starting at the same hour, all carrying numerous and 
 large parcels coastwards and inland. The despatch of these editions 
 so early enables us to supply the growing demand in all the eastern 
 counties of Scotland, from the Moray Firth to the English 
 border, by breakfast time, as in also most of the inland and 
 
92 
 
 western districts where the Third Edition cannot reach in time. 
 We feared at first that the very early issue would suffer in its 
 news, but were relieved to find instead that by the readjustment 
 of the sources of the news and other measures that serious 
 difficulty was overcome, while at the same time it made a longer 
 interval for producing the greater quantities of the later editions 
 not only for Edinburgh and the east counties, but for Glasgow 
 itself, and wherever the earliest ordinary trains sufficed for 
 other parts of Scotland and England. 
 
 All that work means the transformation by machinery of many 
 webs of Avhite paper, each 3 J miles long, into newspapers printed 
 on both sides, cut into sheets, folded, counted singly and in scores, 
 &c., delivered and ready for despatch. The previous stages in the 
 production of each day's paper (referred to in connection with the 
 First Edition) absolutely depend upon each other by even moments, 
 so that if between them delay takes place the serious result may 
 be the missing of the (£1,000) newspaper train, and the sudden 
 change of heaps of newly printed papers into waste paper, while 
 their intended and expectant readers are disappointed. 
 
 Customers for the papers formed out of all these 3| mile -long 
 webs, must first be secured by the value of the contents, and the 
 number of the readers must not only be great, but also the circu- 
 lation must be of such a quality as to draw advertisers from all 
 classes. Readers and advertisers, in other words, are necessary 
 to each other, and no newspaper can succeed without both, — just 
 as in general no class of a conmiunity can be really independent 
 of the other. 
 
 As those in the Publishing Department have to deal with both 
 these customers, and as they are very numerous and very varied 
 in their several wants, temperaments, and conditions, it is not a 
 simple or easy thing to avoid friction in some cases, — especially 
 as we are commonly regarded by the public as receiving favours, 
 and not as bestowing them, like editors. In our office, however, 
 we have, as far back as I can remember, acted upon the plan of 
 
93 
 
 having a printed scale of advertisement rates open to all, by which 
 the clerks are guided, so as to act without respect of persons. 
 Perhaps I should rather say here — with respect to every person, 
 however humble, and with firmness when it may be necessary. 
 A see-saw mode of dealing, by giving way to exactors, produces 
 distrust, is unjust to the straightforward customer, and is 
 generally damaging to any business persisting in it. 
 
 The Advertisement Rates of the Herald were, I find by 
 marked copies of the Herald in the files, at the beginning of the 
 century from 5s. 6d. for the smallest notice ; and later on, till the 
 repeal of the Is. 6d. duty in 1853, the minimum was 4s. 6d., after 
 which it was 2s. for 3 lines. A few years later our scale was 
 readjusted upon the principle of rating the different classes of 
 advertisements, as fairly as we could judge, according to whether 
 and how far they represented realised wealth, or were published 
 with the object of making a living, — so that now, according to our 
 present scale, Avhile the highest credit rate is charged for pro- 
 spectuses, &c., of public companies, by which the wealthy are 
 trying to add to their wealth, the lowest applies to business cards 
 of tradesmen, &c. Almost all newspapers now have discriminating 
 rates, but none of them can discriminate so exactly as to be free 
 of occasional anomalies ; the important requisite, therefore, is to 
 apply each rate uniformly to all the announcements in the class 
 to which they belong. The Herald was one of the earliest, if not 
 the earliest, to give discount proportioned to the number and 
 frequency of the repeated insertions ordered, and that up to an 
 attractive maximum. The scale for rates per line, and of 
 discounts now rulinof, are as follow : — 
 
94 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT RATES 
 
 OF 
 
 (The Largest and Leading Advertising Medium out of London.) 
 
 Meamrf.d 
 by Space 
 as Under: 
 
 — 1— 
 
 — 2— 
 
 — A— 
 
 — 5— 
 
 — 6— 
 
 — 7— 
 
 — 8— 
 
 — 9— 
 —10— 
 —11— 
 -12— 
 -13— 
 —14— 
 —15— 
 —16— 
 —17— 
 —18— 
 -19— 
 -20— 
 -21— 
 -22— 
 —25— 
 —24— 
 —25— 
 -26— 
 —27— 
 —28— 
 -29— 
 -30— 
 —31— 
 -32— 
 -33— 
 -34— 
 —35— 
 -m— 
 -37— 
 —38— 
 —39— 
 —40— 
 —41— 
 —42— 
 —43— 
 —44- 
 —45— 
 -06— 
 —47— 
 
 Fractions of Qd count as 6rf. 
 Business Cards, Shipping, Trains, Coaches, Hotels, "j 
 
 Hydros. , Auctions, Books, Education, Premises to J- yd per Line. 
 Let, Specific Articles, Wanteds (minimum 2^), -J 
 Double Column i^ dd per line. 
 Selected Positions I J 6^; Double Column - - - 4^ 6^ ,, 
 Dress Cards — Front Page \s ; Double Column - - 3^ ,, 
 Banks, Insurances, Farms, Shootings and Fishings, To\ 07 
 
 Let or Wanted (minimum 35), ..../' " 
 
 Double Column 2s per line. 
 Public Notices, Land and House Property for Public^ 
 or Private Sale or Wanted, Ground Annuals, I . 
 Minerals, Money, Investments, Shares Wanted or | " " 
 
 for Sale, Contracts, etc. (minimum y 6d), ■ -J 
 Double Column 2s 6d per line. 
 Entertainments & Fine Arts, is per line up to 40 lines, \ f-, 
 thereafter j-uo^r „ 
 
 Election and Municipal Notices, Exhibitions, Para-\ 
 
 graphs (minimum 41), / " 
 
 Double Column 3^ per line. 
 Prospectuses and Notices of Joint-Stock Co.s, GovernO 
 
 ment Notices, etc. (First Insertion is id psr line). Vis ,, 
 
 thereafter J 
 
 Double Col. 3^ 3^^ first insertion, then 3^. 
 
 Leader Page, 
 
 Two Line Capital Letter or Figure beyond the first, 
 
 Title Corners of 20 Lines, 60s 
 
 Special or Intricate Setting, 20 per cent, extra. 
 Birth and Death Notices, 25 Words and under, - 
 Marriage Notices, 40 Words and under, 
 
 For each 5 (or fewer) Words additional, 6d. 
 
 
 DISCOUNT RATES FOR REPEATED BUSINESS CARDS (IF PREPAID). 
 
 2S 
 IS 
 
 each. 
 
 - 4J dd 
 
 Number of Insertions, - 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 36 
 
 60 
 
 Daily, 
 
 10 % 
 
 I2i% 
 
 20 % 
 
 33^% 
 
 45 % 
 
 Dates in Advertisers' option : — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Once or twice per week, - 
 
 2i» 
 
 5 .. 
 
 7i., 
 
 10 „ 
 
 IS » 
 
 3, 4, or 5 times per week, - 
 
 5 ,. 
 
 7i., 
 
 10 „ 
 
 IS ., 
 
 20 „ 
 
 Dates in Publishers' option : — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Once or twice per week, - 
 
 7i„ 
 
 10 „ 
 
 15 » 
 
 20 „ 
 
 25 „ 
 
 3, 4, or 5 times per week, - 
 
 10 „ 
 
 12^,, 
 
 20 „ 
 
 25 M 
 
 33*,. 
 
95 
 
 The following — alluded to under the heading of "Advertise- 
 ments, &c.," page 9 — refers to the 
 
 CHEAP PREPAID RATE 
 
 FOR ADVERTISEMENTS REGARDING 
 
 Lost — Found. 
 Partnerships and Agencies. 
 Situations Vacant and Wanted. 
 Teachers, Governesses, &c. 
 Board, Lodgings, \c. 
 Wanted — Miscellaneous. 
 Houses, Shops, &c., Wanted. 
 Houses, Shops, &c., To Let. 
 
 Businesses for Sale and Wanted. 
 
 Articles Private Sale and Wanted. 
 
 Engineering Material. 
 
 Live Stock Wanted or Sale. 
 
 Vehicles Wanted or Sale. 
 
 Money Wanted. 
 
 Education. 
 
 Hotels or Hydropathics. 
 
 Number of Words — Not exceeding 
 
 12 
 
 i6 
 
 20 
 
 24 
 
 /6 
 
 /9 
 
 1/ 
 
 1/3 
 
 1/6 
 
 2/3 
 
 3/ 
 
 3/9 
 
 2/6 
 
 3/3 
 
 4/6 
 
 5/9 
 
 28 
 
 Daily Herald, once 
 
 Herald, 4 days consecutively . 
 Herald <& E. Times ,, 
 
 1/6 
 4/6 
 6/9 
 
 * Each 8 or fewer words above 28, 6d. per insertion. 
 These rates apply also to the Weekly Herald. 
 The reductions apply only to Advertisements of the classes named above. 
 prepaid, the ordinary credit rate, beginning at 2s. , is charged. 
 
 If not 
 
 In acting upon these terms we have very few difficulties, and 
 these arising with regular advertisers are easily settled, either by 
 appeal to the scale or by giving them the benefit of a doubt when 
 it really exists. But new-comers, especially from a distance, who 
 try to supersede ours by a rate of their own preference, soon find 
 that we strictly adhere to what a multitude of our old friends 
 have shown they profit by. Off hona-fide charity advertisements 
 we allow from 15 to 20 per cent, beyond that given in other cases ; 
 while contributions to the Infirmaries are acknowledged in the 
 news columns without charge. 
 
 Complaints. — One of the most common little troubles news- 
 paper publishers have is that of complaints of typographical or 
 other errors, and the trouble is chiefly in fishing up the special 
 scraps of writing in question out of a large and promiscuous 
 heap of advertisement copy. Of course, we are not always right ; 
 but, on the other hand, it is a common experience to find that 
 
most of the errors arise from careless or otherwise bad manuscript. 
 An example of this occurred on one occasion at a New- Year holi- 
 day time, when I happened to be at the counter : — A " gentleman " 
 called to complain of a blunder in his small advertisement, and 
 expressed his belief that our men must have been indulging too 
 deeply at such a time to see what they were doing. I bore this 
 till his manuscript was examined, and showing it to him, he 
 could not avoid being self-convicted of the blunder ; as he made 
 no apology, however, it seemed to me fair revenge to ask him 
 Avhether he now applied his gross charge to the writer himself, or 
 to the compositor who followed the MS. He left silenced and 
 more sober-like. We have occasional visits from cranks, &c., who 
 somehow believe that newspaper offices are the sources of all 
 information and every secret thing, such as wdiere great unclaimed 
 fortunes lie. 
 
 Notices of Births, &c. — In my early years, and for an inde- 
 finite period before them, it was the custom to make no formal 
 charge for Notices of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, but for each 
 a shilling was asked for the compositors' box. This amounted to a 
 goodly sum over the year. It was, however, handed to the men 
 in driblets, and no doubt in many cases disappeared in the 
 dribbling. By-and-bye, when expenditure upon the paper 
 increased, a regular charge was made for these as for other 
 advertisements. Considerable interest in these notices has always 
 been taken by readers, and that chiefly according to their sex and 
 ao-e, — young people, especially ladies, being interested in the first 
 two, and those beyond mid-life looking for the names in the last- 
 named list to see how the thinning- out of their old friends is 
 going on. It is rather curious to us that in many American 
 papers there are no announcements of Births ; they, however, 
 make up for that so far by giving Engagements, or, as they are 
 called, " Matrimonial Alliances." Kindred to our lists of Births^ 
 Marriages, and Deaths, there are now, however, also headings 
 found necessary to provide often for Notices of Silver and Golden 
 
97 
 
 Weddings, and habitually for " In Memoriain," and " Acknow- 
 ledgments " of expressions of sympathy. 
 
 Contents Bills or Placards are now a universal feature of 
 daily and weekly newspapers ; for while publishers themselves live 
 principally on advertisements from others, they cannot disregard 
 the use of advertising their own goods in other directions. Fifty 
 years ago there was almost no such practice in this country ; but 
 the war with Kussia in 1854-55 (a new experience to that 
 generation of our countrymen) became a source of very exciting 
 news, and the eagerness for the news led to the announcement of 
 the main items for the day by placards. This was the practical origin 
 of the Contents Bill. Soon all the newspapers in Glasgow issued 
 them except the Herald, so that the joke went that some of their 
 readers sent in orders to " Stop my paper and send me instead a 
 quarter's (three months) worth of contents bills." Some time after 
 our daily issue began in 1859, I had a talk on the subject Avith 
 the general manager of our chief competitor at that time, in 
 which I told him that unless he ceased the issue of these bills we 
 would begin them, and would be at least on their level as regarded 
 both the advantage and the expense. He at length agreed to 
 drop them ; but the sale of his paper fell so much in their absence 
 that the bills were resumed in less than a month. By-and-bye 
 we got a suitable bill printing machine and type, and from that 
 time we have continued to issue them. Until a few years ago, 
 the Times was the only morning paper in the United Kingdom 
 which did not supply bills, bat now it follows the practice of all 
 other newspapers in seeking to catch the eye of the man in the 
 street by this means. Even Contents Bills require to be edited 
 by someone, else occasionally strange conjunctions of lines appear, 
 such as, " Row in a Presbytery " " A Man Kicked to Death." 
 
 The Protection of Newspaper Readers is a duty on the part 
 of every publisher, but it is one sometimes difficult to perform. 
 Under the sub-head of Editing of Advertisements, I referred to 
 several which reveal their character by the perusal and con- 
 
98 
 
 sideration of tlieiii; but there are other advertisements whose 
 objectionable character can only be learned from those who 
 have suffered by them, or from some other source of informa- 
 tion. Since the references at page 10 to the former and less 
 disguised cases were printed, we have had a new experience of 
 those which had all the appearance of fair business offers in the 
 shape of Money to Lend Advertisements. They were even more 
 seductive and easy in the offers made than those of an undoubted 
 hona-fide nature under the same heading ; but to a certain class 
 of readers they were all the more dangerous, as it turned out, for 
 instead of easy borrowing and low interest some of them publicly 
 confessed that they had suffered cruelly, and some had to court 
 bankruptcy as the best way to settle matters. It turned out that 
 these advertisements, some live or six of them with different names 
 and addresses, had all the same origin, but the name of the author 
 did not appear on one of them. When we had sufficient 
 evidence of the character of these advertisements (for which £389 
 was paid during the previous 12 months) we stopped them ; but 
 the party who had so Tiiuch interest in them was bold enough to 
 make equally tempting offers to have them resumed, but we had 
 now no hesitation in declining them. 
 
 Within a few days after writing about these money lending 
 cases, a circular letter, in gold, blue, and pink colours, to " Sir 
 or Madam," reached my house address, as similar circulars, no 
 doubt, reached thousands elsewhere. It contains lavish promises, 
 and boasts of cash advances to noblemen down to all classes. 
 But it is another attempt of the same person, under another alias, 
 and by a new method, to reach the thoughtless, seeing that the 
 newspaper door is shut against him. 
 
 It is a most regrettable thing that so many people are so 
 credulous, and do not guard themselves by proper enquiry before 
 committing themselves to persons of whom they know nothing. 
 It is impossible for newspapers to know the character and mode 
 of business of all their advertisers. 
 
99 
 
 RAILWAYS AND NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 [HE great associates of Newspaper expansion during the last 
 half century, were, as already said, the Electric Telegraph 
 and the Railway systems, of which neither can well do without 
 the other, so that we might almost fairly regard them twin-born 
 as to time, or even count them and the newspaper together as 
 triplets. After about twenty years of comparatively mild ex- 
 perimenting and slow growth in the use of railwaj-s, the public 
 seemed to come rather suddenly to the conclusion that they had 
 a great and profit-making future at hand. 
 
 The Railway Mania Year. — This impression became so deep 
 and general that it reached the crisis, in 1845, of what was with 
 much truth called the railway mania year. It is well known that 
 the first British railway opened was that between Darlington and 
 Stockton in 1825. It was worked partly by horse power and 
 partly by primitive locomotives, which rather crawled than ran, 
 compared with the present engines, and which were yet fast enough 
 to alarm simple-minded folk. The faith in them, however, rose in 
 twenty years thereafter to flood mark, and so controlled the 
 imagination, and in some cases the conscience, that reckless 
 speculations in possible and impossible projects resulted in the 
 notorious mania and its calamities. It may have been that this 
 spirit Avas excited by the passing of an Act of Parliament the 
 previous year, by which Government was empowered to purchase 
 all the railway lines of the ITnited Kingdom which should be 
 authorised during the following twenty-one years, at a sum equal 
 to twenty-five times the average profits of the previous three 
 years. The prospectuses of the companies advertised during the 
 mania were frequently of such an impracticable character, and 
 the designations of some of their promoters so grandiose, that 
 there was given to the late Professor Ayton a rare opportunity 
 for producing a caricature, which in its way may still be consi- 
 dered a classic. It was first published in Blackwood's Magazine 
 under the title of " How we got up the Glen Mutchkin Railway, 
 
100 
 
 and how we got out of it." The story hit the mark, or rather 
 marks, so exactly by the descriptions of such men and their ways, 
 that many of those promoters were enabled by Ayton's " giftie " 
 to see themselves as others saw them. In the autumn of that 
 year the Herald published the unprecedented number of twenty- 
 five prospectuses of new companies, almost all of railways, and in 
 November we had a similar number of Parliamentary notices. 
 They were not however all mere specs, for some were of the 
 most beneficent kind, such as a prospectus for the supply 
 of water from Loch Katrine, and another from what is now 
 called the Gorbals Gravitation Water Works. The latter 
 scheme was carried successfully through Parliament, and 
 now yields fully 4,000,000 gallons per day to Glasgow and 
 other places. The Loch Katrine scheme Avas postponed then, 
 but greatly matured and extended by the Act for it, which was 
 carried in 1855, for which Glasgow must be ever thankful to 
 the brave hearts who fought for it against all kinds of opposition. 
 By these sources the Glasgow Corporation supplies about 46 
 million gallons of the best water daily, and by extensions of Loch 
 Katrine, *S:c., its two aqueducts and reservoirs, can increase the 
 daily quantity to 110 millions. Many of the prospectuses 
 and notices, but especially the former, Avere expanded to a 
 most lavish extent, so as more effectually to catch the eye 
 of those who had more money than brains to spend. On an 
 evening in October Avhen we were working to a finish at 
 the advertisements sent in for the folloAving day's Herald, a law- 
 yer's clerk rushed in " at railway speed " with a newly hatched 
 prospectus, and met me as I was taking the latest copy to the 
 printers. I told him he was too late ; but he knew the master 
 he Avas serving, and therefore pressed a good " extra " beyond the 
 regular price. I could only tell him that " extras " of any sum 
 would not secure its insertion, as it Avas only a question of possi- 
 bility. In vicAv of the boundless promises made in some of the 
 prospectuses, a case Avhich happened in our experience a few 
 
101 
 
 years ago would liave been very appropriate in these pre-telegraph- 
 ing days. One of the telegraph clerks in our London Office, who 
 was fond of an electric chat and jest with his brother wire-operator 
 in our Glasgow office, when transmitting particulars of a company 
 prospectus one night was so struck with its bouncing statements 
 that he interjected immediately after them the remark, "all hum- 
 bug." As the sense of the words escaped the notice of the Glasgow 
 telegraphist, the compositor, and even the corrector of the press, 
 they were actually printed next morning in the paper as part of 
 the prospectus itself! Both telegraph clerks for some time 
 trembled under the fear that the Post Office authorities would 
 hear of the lark, and make it more of a tragedy than a comedy to 
 them. As many men at all times are liable to indulge in extremes 
 it is not to be wondered at that in such excitement there was a swing 
 from one extreme to its opposite. The collapse came with a re- 
 action more sudden than the rise of the speculative tide, when it 
 was found that the grand promises of 15 per cent, profits and 
 upwards were fruitless. What was a heavy loss to many of the 
 investors was an unusual windfall to the newspapers. This reaction 
 led to an unreasoning distrust, which was carried so far that, for 
 instance, certain creditors of the newly-formed Caledonian Railway 
 Company arrested some of their waggons ; while in the financial 
 crash of 1848 one or two even of the locomotives ran with the 
 names of arresting creditors, who were determined to "mak' siccar." 
 Earliest Railways in Scotland. — The first railway in Scot- 
 land was that between Glasgow and Garnkirk, for which an Act was 
 passed in 1826 ; it was opened on 27th September, 1831, chiefly 
 for the carriage of minerals. In 1835 the Committee (or Direc- 
 tors) in their report referred to an increased expenditure of 
 £57 6s. lid. for advertising and printing, and apologetically said — 
 " The reason is that perseverance in frequently advertising the 
 passenger carriages, by newspaper notices and otherwise, is found 
 to promote an increase of trade amply justifying the expense so 
 incurred." This short line which was extended and called the 
 
102 
 
 Glasgow, Garnkirk and Coatbridge Company, was bought up by the 
 Caledonian Company in 1864, and now forms part of the main 
 line east of Glasgow. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, now 
 a chief portion of the North British system, was opened on 18th 
 February, 1842. In 1837 the Act for the GlasgoAV and Ayrshire 
 line passed ; it was one of the earliest Acts to which Queen 
 Victoria gave the Royal Assent after being crowned ; this line was 
 opened to Ayr on 12th August, 1840, and to Kilmarnock in 1843. 
 The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway was opened in 1841, 
 and had an exceptional patronage from a large portion of the 
 public by its 4th class (somewhat hke a cattle truck), which ran 
 between Glasgow and Greenock for 6d., so as to compete with the 
 river steamers. They were called " stand-ups," because they had 
 no seats, and this of course caused most of the passengers to stand, 
 lean over the open sides, or sit on the floor when they could. On 
 one occasion a sailor going to Greenock and a weaver to Paislej^ 
 happened to be together leaning against the open side. Jack was 
 to win'ard, and went on to squirt his tobacco juice " overboard," 
 but it was blown back in spray to the weaver's face and ear. It 
 was too much for long endurance, so that with a scowl he turned 
 to the self-absorbed sailor, and angrily said to him : " Spit in your 
 ain lug, and be hanged to you." 
 
 Coach and Railway to London. — The Act authorising the 
 Caledonian Railway was passed on 31st July, 1845, and the line 
 was completed and opened between Glasgow and Carlisle on 15th 
 February, 1848, when the through railway connection to and from 
 London and Glasgow was first formed. In 1845, however, the 
 rails from London did not reach north of Lancaster, whence by 
 stage coach passengers, letters, and newspapers were due at Glas- 
 gow at 1.5 A.M. This allowed us to publish a second edition of the 
 Herald at 2 a.m., with a few short extracts from the London 
 papers of two days earlier. When going from Glasgow southward 
 the coach started at 1.15 a.m., and reached Lancaster for the mail 
 train, leaving for London at 6.55 p.m., and getting to Euston Square 
 
103 
 
 at 5.32 A.M. According to Mr. J. 0. Mitchell, of GlasgoAv (who 
 has contributed to the Herald many interesting antiquarian and 
 genealogical papers), the whole journey took, including stoppages, 
 28 hours and 87 minutes ; the fare inside the coaches to Lan- 
 caster was £2 10s., and the same thence to London by first class, 
 or a total, including tips and living, of about £5 10s. Now, 
 however, one may, after having his breakfast without hurry, start 
 from Glasgow at 10 a.m., travel the 405 miles to London in less 
 than nine hours, for £2 18s. first class, or £1 13s. third class, and 
 have on board a good luncheon or early dinner comfortably and 
 cheaply. Newspapers are more concerned, however, with the 
 recent excessive competition by the Caledonian Railway Co. and 
 its English ally, on what is called the West Coast Route, and by 
 the North British Co. and its English allies on the East Coast 
 Route. This racing from London to Aberdeen — a distance of 540 
 miles — which was actually done in less than a minute per mile, 
 a speed, which, if not beyond the limits of Hfe insurance companies, 
 was found profitless to the railway companies, seeing that 
 passengers did not care to be shooting through the air at that rate 
 in order to be delivered in Aberdeen about 4.30 a.m. The com- 
 peting companies have at length agreed to run so as to reach 
 Aberdeen at the more reasonable hour of 6.25 a.m., thereby 
 enabling newspaper parcels from Glasgow and Edinburgh to be 
 transferred to the Great North of Scotland lines for towns between 
 Aberdeen and the Moray Firth, on to Elgin, and by Deeside to 
 Ballater, &c. 
 
 Train Service to England. — At the beginning of the train 
 service between Glasgow and London, the first train left at 11.5 
 a.m., and was due in London at 4.45 next morning; and now, 
 nearly 48 years later, the earliest train leaves as late as 10 a.m., 
 and is due in London past visiting time, especially in the way of 
 business ; while from London there are much earlier trains, one 
 as early as 5.15 a.m., due in Glasgow at 3.40 p.m. Commercial 
 men and others, by leaving Glasgow at 10 a.m., cannot count 
 
104 
 
 on doing their business in Manchester, &c., and returning the 
 same evening ; nor can their letters, &c., from the northern and 
 other parts of Scotland, be delivered in London during business 
 hours on the same day, nor in a large portion of England till the 
 day following. As for newspapers — those from Glasgow and 
 Edinburgh reach Wick, (367 miles) near John o' Groats, at 5.25 
 P.M., — an hour and twenty minutes belore reaching London 
 by express, as against slow speed to Wick. Nine years 
 ago the Caledonian Railway started a train from Glasgow at 
 6 A.M. to overtake the 8.40 train from Carlisle, reaching 
 Manchester and Liverpool about 12.30 p.m., and London at 
 4.15 P.M., the traffic from which, some of the officials assured 
 me, was very promising. It was, however, discontinued in 
 February, 1885, as it seemed the faith of the management 
 failed because the Post Office did not sufficiently recognise the 
 new service. In Parliament an ex-M.P. decried it by calling it a 
 newspaper train, a very strange description, in view of the fact that 
 in this matter Scotland stands not much better than it stood half 
 a century ago, not merely as regards newspapers, but in respect 
 of letters and travellers as well. If those who suffer were clustered 
 in a city instead of being widely scattered, the permanent P.O. 
 officials would be wakened up, and made to provide a remedy. 
 
 Newspaper Parcel Service. — Although the Scottish railway 
 companies lag behind those in England in running early trains, 
 they are to the front with regard to the carriage of newspaper 
 parcels, by which they have earned liberal results. Up to 1864 
 there were no labels for prepayment in Scotland, and the smallest 
 parcels were charged not less than 3d. About that time Mr. 
 James Dickie, Traffic Manager of the Glasgow and South Western 
 Railway Company, told me his Company was then printing a new 
 table of rates for such parcels, which rate he indicated ; but at my 
 request he sent me a proof before issuing it. The result was that 
 the Company adopted the following modified rates which I then 
 proposed: — Parcels not exceeding 1 lb., |d.; under 3 lbs.. Id.; 
 
105 
 
 under 7 lbs., 2d.; under 14 lbs., 3d.; under 28 lbs., 5d.; under 56 
 lbs., 7d.; under 84 lbs., 9d.; and under 112 lbs.. Is.; while over 
 that weight parcels were chargeable at the same scale, plus the 
 rate for 112 lbs. — these rates being applied to the system without 
 respect to distance. This new scale, and especially those rates for 
 small parcels, had, as I had anticipated, the effect of ending the 
 plan of clubbing into one parcel the papers for several newsagents 
 in one toAvn for the sake of economy, each one from that time 
 getting his own parcel direct, and the profit to the Kailway Com- 
 pany being in this Avay considerably increased. By the end of 
 1875 the other Companies adopted the same scale, and at the 
 same time they all agreed to apply these rates irrespective of 
 distance over all the Scottish lines. Since these rates came into 
 force the revenue of one of the Companies alone has mounted 
 from a comparatively small sum to about £7000 per annum from 
 the carriage of newspaper parcels. 
 
 There is a contrast to this in the case of English railway rates for 
 these parcels ; they charge in the old-fashioned way by distance, — 
 for instance, a 14 lb. parcel going 1 to 30 miles costs 3d.; under 50 
 miles, 4d.; under 100 miles 6d. ; from 101 to 200 miles, 9d. ; 
 while a parcel of the same weight (14 lbs.) to or from Carlisle 
 to Aberdeen, 240 miles, the length of the Caledonian Railway, 
 costs only 3d., the rate of the English Companies for 30 miles. 
 There is an illustration of the forbidding nature of the rates in 
 England in the case of several of our Herald parcels sent there, the 
 carriage of them by rail being more than the Post Office rate of 
 ^d. per copy, although for the latter they are delivered to the 
 parties addressed. The fruitful experience of the Scottish 
 Companies, and the longer and more fruitful experience of 
 the Post Office, should be encouragement enough for the 
 English Companies to look at least to their own interests. Our 
 present outlay for parcels over England would probably soon 
 be ten times that of the present were the rates like those in 
 Scotland. 
 
106 
 
 Overall Rates for Newspaper Parcels. — This reduction of 
 the railway rates in Scotland was the means of very greatly in- 
 creasing the number of newsagents throughout the whole country. 
 They were, however, attended by an awkward system which 
 required a joint waybill and prepared label, corresponding in value 
 with the weight of each parcel. The system was very cumber- 
 some, involving not only the expense of printing to the railway 
 companies, but. the services of their men at the despatching and 
 receiving stations for tearing off the waybills, checking them with 
 the weights of the parcels when their time was most needed for 
 other purposes and when at the receiving stations the newsagents 
 were eager to have their parcels. At the same time it prevented 
 the newspaper despatch men readjusting their waybill labels to 
 the altered weights caused by altered sizes of paper, or to increased 
 numbers in the event of unexpected news of importance coming 
 in when about to go to press. To meet these serious disadvan- 
 tages to both parties, I proposed to the railway companies of Scot- 
 land an " overall " rate, based upon the average cost of the waybill 
 labels used for the previous three years. After their full consid- 
 eration of the case, I had the gratification of having all my sugges- 
 tions adopted and put in force in February, 1879. The results have 
 been to the railways a considerable saving in money and in the 
 time of their men at the stations and audit offices ; while, by the 
 increase of newspapers carried, they received from us last year a 
 very large sum more than they got the year before they agreed 
 to the present system. The plan has become a means of promot- 
 ing the mterests of the railway companies and those newspaper 
 publishers whose business is on such a scale as to have it applied ; 
 while it enables us to have newsagents in every nook and corner 
 of Scotland more promptly supplied, and to an extent that accords 
 more exactly with the demands of the public. Meanwhile, these 
 three parties in England — Railways, Newspapers, and Public — 
 suffer in comparison. 
 
107 
 
 THE COMPOSITORS' DEPARTMENT. 
 On a Printing-House. — 
 
 The world's a Printing-House : our words, our thoughts, 
 
 Our deeds, are Characters of sev'rall sizes : 
 
 Each Soule is a Compos'ter ; of whose faults 
 
 The Levits are Correctors : Heav'n revises ; 
 
 Death is the Common Press ; from whence, being driven, 
 
 Ware gather d Sheet by Sheet, and bound for Heaven. 
 
 Francis Quakles. 
 
 XN Francis Quarles' days, and even to within half-a-century 
 ago, the Printing House, in many cases, embraced the whole 
 work of literature-production, from the time that copy reached the 
 compositor till the book, ncAvspaper, &c., were ready for public use. 
 The only modification of this was in the rare cases in which a 
 specially expert man dispensed with copy, composing the 
 thoughts and acting as compositor at the same time ! The 
 printing now requires in fullj^-equipped newspapers — first, the 
 Composing Department, then the Stereotyping, and lastly, the 
 Machine Printing Department. The first is often called the 
 Case-Room, because its chief and most indispensable contents are 
 the cases which hold the type letters, figures, points, &c., required 
 for the setting-up of the matter to be stereotyped and printed. 
 The Type used in the old bi-weekly era was larger than that 
 used generally in daily newspapers now. The type would pro- 
 bably be supplied by the firm of Alexander Wilson & Son, who 
 were the first efficient typefounders in Scotland. The business 
 was started in Glasgow in 1742 by Dr. Alexander Wilson, who 
 became Professor of Astronomy to the Glasgow University; and as 
 the excellence of the metal and the finished style of the work 
 made it famous throughout the United Kingdom and the 
 Colonies, the firm started branches in Edinburgh, Dublin, and 
 London, to which latter city the whole business was ultimately 
 
108 
 
 transferred, and where, in 1850, it was amalgamated with that of 
 Messrs. Caslon & Co. There can scarcely be a doubt that this 
 early foundry supplied the type by which the celebrated classic 
 and other valuable books issued by Foulis Brothers of Glasgow 
 were printed, as the year after the foundry was started, Robert 
 Foulis, who was intimate with Professor Wilson, made an appli- 
 cation to be appointed Printer to the Glasgow University on the 
 
 Professor Alexander Wilson, 
 The " Father of Scottish Letter Founders." 
 
 ground that " he had provided himself with fine types, both Greek 
 and Latin," — as quoted by the Senate in granting the authority. 
 In further confirmation of this, the University made honourable 
 mention of the excellency of Wilson's type in the preface to their 
 folio Homer. In 1744 the foundry was removed to larger pre- 
 mises at Camlachie, then an eastern suburb of Glasgow, but now 
 part of the repeatedly extended City. 
 
 The length of each type is -jYths of an inch, — a fact which will 
 naturally suggest the question why it should be just jVth short of 
 the inch, but I cannot explain it. It is probable that, while formerly 
 every typefounder was a laAv to himself in the matter, the smaller 
 
109 
 
 producers in the long run felt themselves constrained to conform 
 their fonts to the style of the maximum output. It was rather 
 a serious thing for printers who did not want to be bound to any 
 one typefounder to have varying lengths in their stocks, as thereby 
 the ups and downs of the type gave a mongrel appearance to their 
 printing. The practical uniformity which now prevails is there- 
 fore all-important, as is also the uniformity of the side-marks on 
 the type which guide the compositor by touch in giving all the 
 types he sets the upright position. Four fonts of type are used 
 in the construction of the Herald — the largest to the least in size 
 are bourgeois, brevier, minion, and ruby ; but the extent of their 
 use reverses their order of size, for bourgeois is least used and 
 ruby most. Altogether, one day's Herald contains about 34,000 
 lines, and if each letter and space were put end-to-end they would 
 form a single file line of about 25 miles long, not including the 
 type, &c., of larger fonts. 
 
 Our Old Compositors, &c., were — as compared with other 
 workmen of that period — a fairly good class of men, barring 
 the periodical toper, who once in six weeks or more felt that he 
 must make a lunatic of himself At that time they all got their 
 wages on the Saturdays ; but some years after, when the matter 
 came into my hands, I changed the pay-day to Friday, when the 
 men having no such free afternoon as on Saturday would be more 
 likely to go direct to their wives and families without chumming 
 in the public-house. It had a good result in many cases. Their 
 weekly wage per man was 25s. for 54 hours, and 2s. more for 
 Sunday work. At that period there were few printing estabhsh- 
 ments on piece-work. As the number of all the employees was 
 then small, and as several of the compositors helped in the 
 despatching of the papers, while the apprentice boys did the 
 message work of the whole establishment, we were all more in 
 touch with each other than is possible now. 
 
 A Strike of the Men, however, took place during the winter 
 of 1846-7, I cannot remember exactly what the cause was, but 
 
110 
 
 so far as I have been able to learn it was upon the question of the 
 number of apprentices. At that time the limit laid down by the 
 Trades' Union was four apprentices to each case-room, a restriction 
 which still prevails, although the number of the journeymen 
 have been increased tenfold. My impression, confirmed by what 
 I have been told, is that the quarrel rose from our foreman — who 
 had recently come into power — taking on a new apprentice a little 
 before the time of the oldest had actually expired. But, in any 
 case, it was a lamentable blunder on one side or on both, and 
 probably the outcome of bad temper. 
 
 The fight was close and desperate. All the men outside the 
 Trades' Union, which it was possible to secure, Avere utilised by 
 us, so far as they escaped the watchful, and sometimes un- 
 scrupulous, efforts of the strike pickets. Inside all the loyal 
 hands who could place a type were turned to account ; while I 
 remember well seeing Mr. Pagan (who had had some experience 
 of case-room work in the Dumfries newspaper he came from) in 
 the act of filling a compositor's stick with type, and looking as if 
 one eye was on the type case before him and the other upon the 
 heterogeneous collection of men about him, to see it the work was 
 progressing. At length, somewhat after the usual time, the first 
 two pages Avere completed, though in rather a hashy, young- 
 apprentice stjde. These two of the four pages, which allowed one 
 side of the paper to be printed, were promptly sent down to the 
 Press Room for that purpose. Here, however, the pickets seemed 
 to have got us fixed in a hopeless position, by making as drunk 
 as possible an apprentice upon whom alone we had been depending 
 to feed into the machine the sheets to be printed, he being the 
 only " feeder " Avho had remained loyal. In that stupified state 
 he Avas discovered, and brought to the office ; and as the appear- 
 ance of the Herald that day depended upon Avhat he could do, he 
 was helped to his old elevation and steadied there. While the 
 printing press A\'as driven much more sloAvly than usual for his 
 convenience, he fed in the sheets, and gradually improved on his 
 
Ill 
 
 start ; but, when our best was done, the Heralds of that day were 
 distinguished by an unusual number of spoiled copies by turned 
 corners and creases. Nevertheless, the day was won, and the 
 strike was at an end. It ended, however, with painful disaster to 
 many good men, some of whom never recovered the comforts of 
 the easy-going settled connection they had enjoyed. I had 
 recent testimony to that effect from two of our old staff of com- 
 positors, from whom I wished any confirming or correcting infor- 
 mation they might have. One of them, Mr. John Dickson, long 
 in London, wrote me that the men, who had hitherto been as 
 members of a comfortable family home, now found themselves 
 wanderers like Cain in all directions seeking employment and 
 rest, and feeling as if his brand was upon them. 
 
 The kidnapping and disabling of the apprentice feeder would 
 probably be regarded as excellent tactics and humour by the 
 strikers ; but there was a little device employed on the other side 
 of the game, of which I was unaware at the time. I remember 
 well seeing a policeman guarding our workmen's entrance at the 
 back of the premises, to which there was access from two streets. 
 The story seems to apply to the access least used, and therefore 
 least guarded. The more determined picketers, who were of course 
 familar with all the approaches, seem to have arranged to make a 
 bold raid on the premises, perhaps for the purpose of overturning 
 the cases and leaving their contents a litter of type-" pye." When 
 they got near enough, however, they found themselves, as it 
 seemed, face to face with the mouth of a mounted cannon, — one 
 look at which was enough to convict them of a dangerous trespass 
 and to make them suddenly disappear. The alarming apparition, 
 was simply the open end of a small cylinder used for casting the 
 glue and treacle composition into rollers for inking type pages. 
 The cylinder was mounted as if to defend the entrance, but 
 whether an old soldier was there to fire it by a stick tipped Avitli 
 red paint my informant could not say. At any rate, the trick 
 served its purpose without harm to any man's person or morals. 
 
112 
 
 Except a strike in another morning newspaper regarding the 
 charge for waiting-time, and a recent lock-out in an evening paper, 
 there has been no such unfortunate conflict between Glasgow 
 newspaper employers and employed since that time, although 
 there was a danger of that happening about 25 years ago. The 
 compositors of these offices, and those of the newspaper offices in 
 Edinburgh, have now no connection with Trades' Unions. That 
 lock-out in Glasgow, and the experiences in Edinburgh, were some- 
 what like the following case in a Linotype office recently stated by 
 the Journcdist : — " A small body of London compositors received 
 a lesson a fortnight ago which they are not likely to forget in a 
 hurry. They were employed on the Morning, in which office 
 some ten Linotype machines have been introduced. Things 
 came to a crisis one Friday night, when the men presented what 
 was practically an ultimatum to the manager. Having no 
 alternative — for it appeared doubtful at the time as to what kind 
 of paper was likely to make its appearance the following morn- 
 ing — ^lie accepted the terms they imposed. When, however, they 
 presented themselves at the beginning of the following week, they 
 were informed that their services were no longer required, and 
 they were summarily dismissed with a fortnight's salary." The 
 extreme rigidity, and as employers consider one-sided nature, of 
 some of the rules insisted upon by the Trades' Unionists may be 
 judged, for instance, that one rule prevents the use of matter set 
 up in the Herald case-room being used for the Evening Times, 
 or of that set in the Evening Times case-room being used tor the 
 Herald. Here is an actual experience of another kind, on the 
 occasion of a great catastrophe, when particulars had to be issued 
 in the Evening Times at an earlier hour than its usual staff of 
 compositors could be collected to do the work : — Two Herald 
 men refused to go to Evening Times case-room as it was " against 
 the rules of the Society." Three Herald jobbers (not regular 
 hands), who agreed to assist, claimed a full day's pay for two 
 hours' work, on the ground that if a man is started to work he 
 
113 
 
 must have a full day's work or a full day's pay, no matter how 
 short the time may be during which he was employed ; a day's 
 pay is 6s. 6d. each. One Evening Times man was present, who 
 could have claimed 3s. 6d. as a bonus and his time. In the event 
 of any arrangement being made with the J^eraZcZ jobbers to accept 
 less than 6s. 6d., this man would have had to be paid for what they 
 had set ; in other words, he could have claimed about 16s. In 
 view of the havoc and heart-burnings which strikes and lock-outs 
 create, many solutions are proposed, but it seems to be forgotten 
 that in Scotland, at least, there is a legal authority which may 
 intervene to settle such disputes : that is the Court of Session, 
 which has not only judicial but executive powers, and exercised 
 that executive power about the beginning of this century in the 
 case, for instance, of printers' wages. * 
 
 Typographical Errors is a phrase which covers the doings 
 of a multitude of literary and illiterate sinners, although it is 
 supposed to be applicable only to the work of type-setters. These 
 latter are as much sinned against by all sorts and conditions of 
 scribes as deserving of blame for such blunders. On pages 96 
 and 101 there are two cases mentioned in other connections : for 
 one of them — and it was serious enough — the compositor and the 
 corrector had to share the blame, while for the other the com- 
 positors were blameless. An afflicted poet has brought against 
 this class a wholesale charge : — 
 
 " 'Tis dreadful to think what provoking mistakes 
 The vile Printing Press in our prosody makes." 
 
 The truth remains, Tom Moore nevertheless, that many bad 
 writers are conscious that their bad writing is at fault, and some 
 — not so many — candidly admit it. It is told of Dean Stanley, 
 for instance, that in reply to his publisher's complaint regarding his 
 
 * The Trades' Union rule, referred to above, which prevented the transfer 
 of matter set for one paper being used for another paper belonging to the 
 same proprietors, because set in different case-rooms also belonging to them, 
 has now been altered. 
 
114 
 
 manuscript he wrote : " If you cannot read my writing, I am sure 
 /cannot do so ; but I think I meant to say ," and the explana- 
 tory sentence was written hardly more legibly than at first. I 
 had accidental proof of this failing of the Dean's some years ago 
 when I received a post-card which for a time quite baffled me. At 
 length I guessed out the signature as " A. P. Stanley," and finally 
 discovered the meaning of the whole, which showed at the same 
 time that the Post Office experts had failed to read the address, so 
 that it had come into my hands by mistake. Many, however, can- 
 not see or admit that it should be difficult for others to read their 
 caligraphy, since they themselves can read it ; while others again 
 hold that it is the duty of compositors to decipher the worst as 
 well as the best kinds of writing, and also to do the punctuation. 
 This latter some omit altogether, running the risk thereby of 
 finding their meaning reversed or turned into nonsense. But 
 here is the expression of one who goes still further in a letter 
 recently sent to our editor : — " I am well aware of deficiency in 
 the spelling of Scotch, and in the spelling of English make no 
 pretensions to perfection. But I was under the impression that 
 that was a matter for the compositor, and gave the compositor 
 little or no trouble." What an Admirable Crichton every com- 
 positor must be ! These bad writers, &c., do not know, or they 
 do not care, that their bad script involves the employers in extra 
 wages and difficult adjustments. 
 
 Fifty years ago typographical errors in newspapers were rarer 
 than they are now, chiefly because the whole process of pre- 
 paration was much more deliberate, and the issues were at much 
 greater intervals than now. It will readily be understood that bad 
 writing and the high-pressure of present-day compositors' work 
 leads inevitably to errors of all kinds. But errors in printing 
 now often arise also from the telegraph, and still more from the 
 telephone when it must be used for transmitting messages. 
 Here are a couple of errors recently caused by telegraphy : — 
 " Your crime might have brought you to Glasgow " should 
 
Hi 
 
 have been " brought you to the gallows." " Corroborated her 
 sister's glory," &c., should have been "her sister's story." In 
 cases of good copy the compositor is responsible for accuracy 
 in the first place, and after him the corrector (or reader), who 
 should carefully compare the proofs with the original ; the latter 
 especially requires to keep his judgment as well as his eyes on 
 the alert as to the sense of each sentence. Of course, the results 
 of blundering are sometimes serious ; but they are more generally 
 absurd, and occasionally comical. It is easy to manufacture 
 some words into nonsense similar to those that have occurred in 
 newspapers and books, but so far as I know the following in- 
 stances are genuine : — In a Birmingham paper, when referring to 
 the members of a new Parliament, it was said that " the House 
 of Commons contains a pretty large contingent of ' spouters,' — 
 an accidental emendation of " sportsmen." In another place at a 
 Town Council meeting, the proposal was made to add to a certain 
 committee two clergymen, but according to a local paper a 
 member objected " to these white-lied gentlemen," — his actual 
 objection was merely to the " white-tied gentlemen." In the 
 case of newspaper obituary notices in Scotland, where the sentence 
 is added, "Friends will please accept of this intimation," the 
 second letter of the first word was dropped out on one occasion, 
 and the singularly malapropos expression, ''Fiends" took the 
 place of " Friends." About three years ago, when Lord Rosebery 
 announced his intention to bring in a bill for the protection of 
 young girls, the word production was printed in an English paper 
 instead of protection. An American paper recently got the credit 
 of making its editor say that " the Legislature pasted the Bill over 
 the Governor's head," instead of " j^assed the Bill," &c. A printer 
 recently made a felicitous blunder in the report of a speech, in 
 which a political orator was made to say that the well-known 
 " three acres and a cow would give every man a steah in the 
 country." A few years ago the Times contained one of the 
 grossest typographical " errors " Avhich ever appeared in a news- 
 
116 
 
 paper ; but it was suspected that, as it could not be an accident, 
 it must have been made deliberately and surreptitiously by some 
 low fellow in the establishment to satisfy a grudge. We had a 
 somewhat similar blunder a number of years ago ; it was, how- 
 ever, so plainly an oversight — though a serious oversight — on the 
 part of the type-setter and proof-reader that they escaped with a 
 standmg warning. 
 
 The " making-up " of the type pages has been the occasion of 
 another class of the blunders chargeable to the case-room. The 
 frequently extreme pressure of speed at that stage of the work 
 nowadaj^s has, of course, increased the risk of mistakes. The 
 " making-up " means the piecing together of small portions of set 
 matter, so that speeches, articles, or news may be read in the order 
 of their true connection. By an incorrect making-up a part ot 
 one man's speech may aj)pear under his opponent's name, and 
 become an entire contradiction of what the latter said. I do not 
 remember of a newspaper case in point, although many readers 
 must have seen them in one form or other. One somewhat after 
 that kind appeared some years ago in an early edition of " Men 
 of the Time." By the misplacing of matter intended to be under 
 the heading, " Owen, Kobert, Lanark," it was applied to the Right 
 
 Rev. Samuel , Bishop Oxford, under whose name there 
 
 appeared the statement : " A more kind-hearted and truly bene- 
 volent man does not exist. A sceptic as regards religious revela- 
 tions, he is an out-and-out believer in spirit manifestations." The 
 early copies of the book, with that strange transfer of character, 
 were, however, promptly withdrawn ; and the Bishop was satisfied. 
 
 Errors by authors are not all the result of bad writing ; for it 
 may be admitted that every author is not called on to adopt 
 Sydney Smith's confession, that his was like the zig-zag trails of 
 a swarm of ants after escaping from an ink-bottle without wiping 
 their legs. More than good writing is needed to save from errors 
 which the author, and not the typographer, falls into. For instance, 
 Mr, William Black (whose pioneer novel, " A Daughter of Heth," 
 
117 
 
 appeared first in the Weekly Herald), when he intended, in one of 
 his works, to refer to " a dose of opium," is said to have written 
 " a dose of opinion." One leg more to an n in the cahgraphy may 
 have made the difference in the eyes of the comjDositor. Such 
 cases are still more possible when the telegraph, the acoustics of 
 a building, the voice of a speaker, or even the ears of a reporter 
 may be at fault ; but these are not authors' errors. Some years 
 ago a cablegram reached this country to this effect : — " Governor 
 Queensland twins first son " — the Governor of Queensland at the 
 time being a bachelor. The corrected version ran : — " Governor 
 Queensland turns first sod." Reporters find sometimes unex- 
 pected defenders against charges made upon them when doing 
 their best to make speeches more readable and less absurd than 
 the actual utterances would appear. Last year, Dr. Rintoul, an 
 Irishman, and member of the House of Commons, referring to what 
 he considered such an unfair complaint by another member, 
 said — " The Hansard reporter perhaps took the honourable 
 member down more correctly than he expressed himself." The 
 members generally, enjoyed not only the bull, but as much the 
 statement of fact which it conveyed. Newspaper " bulls," how- 
 ever, are not always of Irish authorship ; they are occasionally 
 found in ordinary descriptive reporting, and are more readily 
 discovered after being printed than in the hurry of composition. 
 The following sample appeared some few months ago in a Glasgow 
 evening paper : — " It afterwards turned out that the light was 
 from a lamp which the tossed-about crew had vainly endeavoured 
 to light." A Scottish reporter, with the compositor and reader, 
 were jointly credited with the following achievement : — The 
 reporter, when referring rather indefinitely to an assault case, of 
 Avhich he was not exactly cognisant, stated in bad writing that 
 the wound of the victim Avas " tAvo inches long and somewhat 
 deep ; " the outcome in print made the wound " some feet deep." 
 A Neiv York Times reporter, when describing the proceedings at 
 a public funeral, wrote at first : — " The procession was very fine, 
 
118 
 
 as was also tlie sermon of tlie minister ; " but before handing it to 
 the printer he hurriedly interjected an addition to the first state- 
 ment, and made the whole to read : — " The procession was very 
 fine, and nearly two miles in length, as was also the sermon of 
 the minister." A paragraphist, who perhaps intended to be brief, 
 said in an English Midland paper, under the head line of Signor 
 Mario's Concert : — " This concert takes place to-night (Friday), 
 and not yesterday, as was erroneously announced." 
 
 The Compositors' Chapel. — This singular name, sometimes 
 given to the Case-room, is said to be a memento of the year 
 1476, when William Caxton started in a chapel of Westminster 
 Abbey the first printing establishment in England, By a natural 
 extension the name is used, just as the word " church " is, not 
 only for the place, but also, and indeed more especially, for the 
 people connected with it. The Chapel then, as a society (or 
 rather now as a branch of the Typographical Association), is 
 formed by all the journeymen in each office, as well as the fore- 
 men, who are compelled by the men's rules to be members, al- 
 though they are generally the only men there who can be expected 
 to look after the interests of the employers. The chief objects of 
 the compositors' chapels are to maintain the rules and rates of 
 their trade ; to arrange with the foreman, or the employers, any 
 difficulties ; to adjust any disputes amongst themselves that may 
 arise in the course of the work ; or to consult with the Trades' 
 Society on matters affecting the trade generally. The Chapel 
 also collects and forwards the subscriptions due to the Trades' 
 Union, or contributions the men may make to needy compositors, 
 to infirmaries, &c. There are a president and clerk to each case- 
 room, who are periodically elected; the former is called the Father 
 of the Chapel, probably after the ghostly fathers of mediaeval 
 times. 
 
 The Type and Type-Setting which prevails now has been 
 little, if at all, changed during many past generations. Now, as 
 then, the types are placed apart in small compartments of wooden 
 
119 
 
 cases or trays, of which the one, called the upper case from its 
 position, contains large and small capital letters requiring 98 
 boxes, and the other, the lower case, nearest the hands, contains 
 small letters, spaces, &c., in 53 boxes of sizes varying according to 
 the proportionate demand for each letter. The usual " fount " 
 (or font), which means a complete set of one kind of letters of the 
 alphabet, &c., shows that 11,000 types of the small e are required 
 for 750 of the capital E, while the least required of all the letters 
 of the alphabet is Z, its numbers being 300 for the lower case and 
 150 for capitals. Instead of such compact and convenient cases, 
 the Japanese comp. (not to speak of the Chinese with their mul- 
 titudinous idiographs) has about 4,000 different types to deal 
 with, and needs several boys to be at his call in order to fetch 
 each piece of type required to set the unhandy Japanese vertical 
 column, which runs from the top downward instead of across 
 the page as ours does. It may be noted that, although there is 
 what may be considered a standard number for each letter based 
 on their average use, the exact demand for each varies with the 
 language of writers and speakers. Some one, for instance, has 
 made the statement (but I have not had it confirmed) that Lord 
 Macaulay's style had a preponderance of consonants, and on the 
 other hand the printing of Charles Dickens' novels soon ex- 
 hausted vowel boxes. 
 
 As a small arithmetical curiosity, I may here state that the typo- 
 graphical contents of a 12-page Herald — not including large 
 capitals, prominent setting, &c. — amount to about 34,000 lines of 
 individual types and spaces, each of Avhich has to be taken up and 
 put in readable position in words and lines by the compositors ; 
 and if the types, &c., were taken separately, and placed end to 
 end, the length of the thin lead line would be about 1h\ miles. It 
 may also be stated that the contents of such a paper amount 
 nearly to those of two novels, each of the fashionable three volume 
 size. The life of founts of type varies very much, partly, it may 
 be, because of the quality of their metal ; but chiefly because of 
 
120 
 
 the usage they get in the printing machine if type pages are used, 
 or in the stereo foundry where the treatment may shorten their 
 life or add to it by years. It would be anticipating to refer in 
 detail to these causes here ; but it may be stated that the Herald 
 founts, previous to the present, lasted for the exceptionally long 
 period of 16 years. 
 
 The Wages of Compositors in 1803, when the contents of 
 the Herald was 365 inches of matter, and was issued on Monday 
 and Friday, amounted altogether from £3 to £4 per week. In 
 1845, when it was still a twice-a-week paper, and was nearly three 
 times the old size, the weekly sum was about £28 10s. ; while in 
 1882, when the Daily Herald was well developed and wages had 
 risen, the sum amounted to about £400 per week. Since that 
 year the great extensions of the size of the paper, requiring 
 a proportional amount of setting, have very largely increased 
 the wages-bill. In 1845, the weekly wage for "stab" or time- 
 work, of 56 hours, was 25s., with 2s. extra when there was 
 Sunday work. When the daily issue began the wage was raised 
 to 32s. 6d. ; some years after it was 35s. ; and since 1870, for a 
 week of 51 hours, it has been 37s. 6d., with 2s. 6d. more for a 
 'pull-up after midnight when extra effort is needed. Since 1878, 
 we have acted upon the piece-work system, as we found the 
 necessities of the case had got beyond the slower method of pay- 
 ment by time; while, in any case, it was only fair to pay each man 
 for the work he did, and not an average by which the able and 
 willing man had no more than the less able, or, it might be, the 
 lazy man. When we paid by time it was all the same to a man 
 whether he had " fat " or " lean " matter to set ; but now that the 
 setting is paid by piece, the advantage of setting " fat " matter is 
 very considerable. For copy which is set up well-leaded or spaced 
 out, and it may be with large letters, &c., much less time is taken 
 than ordinary setting, and still less than " lean " matter of small 
 type close set. As an instance of a " fat " advertisement, I may 
 mention the recent case of one which occupied a whole page of 
 
12i 
 
 the Herald. Tho setting of it fell to tlie turn of eight men. As 
 it required extra prominent letters and spacing, the average 
 earnings of the eight compositors touched 20s., with an average of 
 nearly 8 hours' Avork. The most fortunate man (getting the 
 " fattest " portion) made 29s, 7d. in six hours, and the least 
 fortunate earned 16s. 5d. in 11 1 hours. 
 
 Odd najies are given by compositors to the various things, 
 &c., used in their work, which many have punned upon in rhyme, 
 and someone has summarised the most of the words as follows : — 
 
 A printer is a most curious being. He may have a " bank " and " coins," 
 and not be worth a penny ; may handle " pearl," "diamond," and " ruby," 
 and know nothing of precious stones. Others may run fast, but he gets 
 along swifter by " setting" fast. He may be making "impressions " with- 
 out eloquence ; may use the "lye" without offending, and be telling the 
 truth ; while others cannot "stand " while they "set," he can "set standing," 
 and do both at the same time ; has to use "furniture," and yet have no 
 dwelling ; may spread "sheets" without being a housewife ; may lay his 
 " form " on a " bed," and yet be obliged to sleep on the floor. 
 
 He may make and put away " pye," and never see a pie, much less eat it, 
 during his whole life ; be a human being and a "rat" at the same time ; 
 may "press" a good deal, and not ask a favour ; may handle a " shooting- 
 iron," and know nothing about a cannon, gun, or pistol ; may use the 
 "dagger " without shedding blood, and from the earth he may handle "stars." 
 
 He may be of a " rolling " disposition, and yet never desire to travel ; he 
 may have a "sheep's foot," and not be deformed ; never without a "case," 
 and know nothing of law and music. His acquaintance with music may be 
 nil, but his contact with "quires" frequent; he may attend well to his 
 duties, and yet work at "random"; may be always "correcting" his 
 errors, and be growing worse every day ; have his "form locked up," and, 
 at the same time, be free from jail or any other confinement ; may work at 
 a "galley," and be neither slave nor criminal. 
 
 The following, which is attributed to Mr. Alaric A. Watt, of 
 Manchester, takes a higher flight : — 
 Pick and click 
 Goes the type in the stick, 
 As the printer stands at his case ; 
 His eyes glance quick, and his fingers pick 
 The type at a rapid pace ; 
 
122 
 
 Words are piled up steady and slow — 
 
 Steady and slow, 
 
 But still they grow ; 
 And words of fire they soon will glow ; 
 Wonderful words, that without a sound 
 Traverse the earth to its utmost bound ; 
 
 Words that shall make 
 
 The tyrant quake. 
 And the fetters of the oppressed shall break ; 
 Words that can crumble an army's might. 
 Or treble its strength in a righteous fight. 
 Yet the types they look but leaden and dumb : 
 
 But the printer smiles, 
 
 And his work beguiles 
 By chanting a song as the letters he piles. 
 
 With pick and click. 
 Like the world's chronometer, tick ! tick ! tick ! 
 
 O, where is the man with such simple tools 
 
 Can govern the world as I ? 
 With a printing press and an iron stick, 
 
 And a little leaden die ; 
 With paper white, and ink of black, 
 I support the Right and the Wrong attack. 
 Say, where is he, or who may he be. 
 
 That can rival the printer's power ? 
 To no monarchs that live the wall doth he give 
 
 Their sway lasts only an hour ; 
 While the printer still grows, and God only knows 
 When his might shall cease to tower. 
 
 The Future of Typography, whether by the use of ordinary 
 type or machine matrices, may possibly be shorter than we can 
 imagine, for ah'eady this miprecedented century of invention and 
 discovery is forecasting an advance upon all the composing 
 machines now in existence. These very remarkable instruments, 
 with the extensive field for their use, have no doubt stimulated 
 many minds to think out, and, if possible, devise greater things. 
 Some of these later efforts are patented, but are not yet made 
 visible in this country ; one of them, at least, is somewhat on the 
 perforated cardboard principle of the Jacquard loom, which is 
 
123 
 
 also adapted to postal telegraphy, when, by the use of paper slips 
 with perforations corresponding to letters of the alphabet, similar 
 t3rpe-written messages are sent to several newspaper offices in 
 different places. But it remains to be seen whether this intended 
 process can ever become practical, to the extent of producing the 
 message or other matter on line slugs or metal blocks ready for 
 printing. Another projected machine was announced from the 
 Antipodes three years ago, which, by the manipulation of electric 
 currents, is expected to operate composing machines in different 
 parts of the country, and, I suppose, over the world. The object 
 of the invention, as described in the specification, is : — " To use 
 only ordinary telegraph currents capable of being relayed, and 
 subject to all the conditions of ordinary telegraphy ; to operate at 
 a distance any ordinary type- writing machine, or any type-setting 
 or similar machine ; to be able to transmit at least eighty different 
 characters ; to work at the utmost speed permitted by the manual 
 dexterity of the operator working at a transmitting keyboard in 
 all respects like that of an ordinary typewriter keyboard, and to 
 dispense with all clockwork controlling mechanism, synchro- 
 nously moving type-wheels and other slow and cumbersome 
 devices." Other methods are spoken of, such as photo-printing, 
 developed lithographing, &c. ; but for the purposes of newspaper 
 work no one has yet appeared in really practical form, except 
 those previously referred to. 
 
 It has been reported that Mr. Hoe, the inventor of the rapid 
 newspaper printing machines, forecasted the use of photography in 
 superseding both the present system of type-setting and machine 
 printing by some such process as the following : — The one thing 
 now necessary to enable it to do so is the production at a cheap 
 enough price of the very sensitive papers recently introduced into 
 photography. It is quite certain that scientific chemistry will 
 before long bring doAvn the present cost of sensitising paper con- 
 siderably, but it is a question whether it Avill do so enough. 
 Given, however, a cheap enough sensitive paper, all printing 
 
124 
 
 would become a swift and silent and very simple process ; the 
 production of a negative would take the place of the present 
 setting-up of type ; improved type-Avriters would come into 
 vogue, by means of which any one could produce, after a little 
 practice, a printed negative ; the operation of printing off any 
 number of copies would consist in setting a roll of paper to 
 unwind in front of the negative, from behind which a bright 
 light flashing at properly regulated very short intervals of time 
 would produce an impression at each flash. If each flash lasted 
 a second, 3,600 copies could be obtained from one negative in an 
 hour ; but as the production of a dozen or any number of nega- 
 tives from one is a very simple matter, there would be practically 
 no limit to the speed of printing. Portraits, pictures, and dia- 
 grams would print with as great ease as reading matter. 
 
 Before passing on to another department of newspaper work, I 
 may state that in 1886 we started the production of electric light, 
 for the sufiicient reason that the case-room, so largely occupied 
 by men and requiring such an unusual quantity of coal gas, soon 
 had its atmosphere in an unwholesome state. The introduction 
 of the new and pure light from electricity was greatly appreciated 
 by the compositors, all of whom reckoned on the enjoyment of 
 better health, and some of them upon greater longevity. Happy 
 and long may their lives be ! At the same time all the other 
 premises of the company were similarly lighted, and supplies 
 given off to the tenants at a rate much lower than that of the 
 Glasgow Corporation. 
 
 When this portion (regarding the Compositors' Department) 
 was about to be printed, the following article appeared in the 
 Glasgow Herald, and, as it is ajyro'pos to what precedes, I give it 
 here : — 
 
 THE PRINTER'S READER AND AUTHORS. 
 
 One of the most distinguished of modern printers lately observed that 
 literary men in general had never done justice to the labours of " that admir- 
 
125 
 
 able person, the priiitor's reader." It is to be hoped that the annual dinner 
 of Correctors of the Press indicates that the world is beginning to take a 
 more generous view of the subject. For it is not easy to over-estimate the 
 importance of the quiet work done by the printer's reader in the common- 
 wealth of letters. In a gi*eat many instances the task of producing a satisfac- 
 tory book, hard at all times, would be quite impossible if there were no such 
 intermediary between the compositor and the author. Those who have 
 ever come into contact with what is knov/n as "an unread proof" have 
 excellent occasion to know this. The average writer facing such a monster 
 as a portion of his daily toil, might be in a worse plight than even the Authors' 
 Society has yet pictured to itself. And the purchaser of the completed book 
 would share in the sorrow, for amateur proof-readers are not usually a 
 bi'illiant success. That, at least, was the experience of the unfortunate 
 Richard Savage, who was forced to return two of the ten guineas that he had 
 for his poem "The Wanderer," " that the two last sheets of the work might 
 be reprinted, of which he had in his absence entrusted the correction to a 
 friend, who was too indolent to perform it with accuracy." Perhaps it is not 
 every author who, when as poor as Savage, would have I'isen to this sacrifice. 
 Johnson admits that his passion for accuracy was exceptional ; "the intrusion 
 or omission of a comma was sufficient to discompose him, and he would 
 lament an error of a single letter as a heavy calamity." It is impossible 
 to imagine what so susceptible a spirit would have done under the shock of 
 the accident mentioned by Moore, when the printer turned "the freshly 
 blown roses" of his "Ode to Spring" into "noses." Probably he would 
 have met with the fate of the French author chronicled by Grimm, who died in a 
 fit of anger when he found that his book, revised by himself with the greatest 
 care, had actually been printed with three hundred errors, chiefly made by 
 the so-called corrector of the press. Yet Macaulay, who "could not rest 
 until the lines wore level to a hairbreadth, and the punctuation correct to a 
 comma," suffered terribly from an accident for which neither reader nor 
 printer was responsible, when he lightly declared that it would be unfair to 
 judge Scott by the "Life of Napoleon," or Goldsmith by the "Vicar of 
 Wakefield." Did he not want Napier to publish a special edition of the 
 Ediiilmygh Eevieio to put him right with his readers'? Most writers learn to 
 take these unpleasant incidents in a more philosophic spirit, as part of their 
 annual sacrifice to the gods of shipwreck. Few things are more annoying, in 
 a small way, than to find that a comma is misplaced or a word misprinted in 
 the book or the article that one has tried to make as perfect as such sublunary 
 things can be. But one speedily realises that nobody else cares very much 
 about it, and that the peace of the country is not necessarily disturbed by an 
 
126 
 
 incident which may have effectually spoilt one's own night's rest. Yet authors, 
 who are proverbially an irritable race, have never been known to take the 
 misfortune of being misprinted quite so calmly as they can accept death, 
 bad weather, and the other evils that impartially afflict all humankind. 
 
 Sometimes, indeed, not only an author, but the whole world, is indebted 
 to the carelessness or the ingenuity of the corrector of the press and the 
 printer. Where would poor Theobald's reputation be now if the First Folio 
 had not been allowed to go to press with that " table of green fields " which 
 allowed him to extricate himself from the Dunciad by one immortal emen- 
 dation? One of the most beautiful lines in French poetry is commonly 
 attributed to a misprint, but it is at least as fair to give the credit for Malherbe's 
 
 " Et, rose, elle a vecu ce que vivent les roses" 
 
 to an unknown corrector of the press whose suggestion found grace, first in 
 the poet's eyes, and then in the world's. Chance, it is true, as we know it on 
 Plutarch's authority sometimes to turn poet, may also turn corrector of the 
 press. According to Kinglake, it did so for Napoleon III., who got his title 
 from the accident that the signature to his first proclamation had three notes 
 of exclamation following it, which the printer turned into numerals. But 
 ■when one recalls the instance of the compositor who described a late Prime 
 Minister as the "spout" of the Liberal party, although the author had 
 written "spirit," one is inclined to say, after the manner of Izaak Walton, 
 that doubtless chance could have made as good an alteration, but that doubt- 
 less chance never did. A similar theory has been expressed by the judicious 
 Mr. Hales, who thinks that we are disinclined to give the compositor and his 
 corrector credit for all the humour that they really possess. "So many 
 persons," he says, "at present think of it as merely accidental and fortuitous, 
 as if there was no mind in it, as if all the excellent things loosely described 
 as errata, all the curiosae felicitates of the setter-up of texts, were casual 
 blunders. Such a view reminds one of the way in which the last-century critics 
 used to speak of Shakespeare — the critics who gave him no credit for design 
 or selection, but thought that somehow or other he stumbled into greatness." 
 Certainly, this view is applicable to Mr. Hales's own personal instance, in 
 which his simple statement as to that '■'■ limhus patrwm where the fathers of 
 the Church, saints and martyrs, awaited the general resurrection," received 
 quite a new complexion from the printing-house humorist who altered the 
 last word into "insurrection." There was genuine wit, too, in the corrector 
 of the press who improved an article on Dr. Lombroso's "Instinctive 
 Criminal" by calling it "The Instructive Criminal," although one could not 
 allow the jest to appear before the world. Sometimes a writer has the 
 
127 
 
 courage not to spoil the joke. Thus Leigh Hunt told a friend that he had 
 said, in one of his sportive essays, that "he had a liking for coflfee, because 
 it always reminded him of the 'Arabian Nights,'" though not mentioned 
 there, adding, "as smoking does for the same reason." This was converted 
 into the following oracular words, "as sucking does for the snow season !" 
 He could not, he said, find it in his heart to alter this, and thus it stands 
 as a theme for the portentous industry of the commentators. Surely, too, it 
 was the humour of a corrector of the press, and not a mere uninspired acci- 
 dent, which gave currency to the Scottish story of the locomotive which ran 
 into a cow "and literally cut it into calves ;" and it must have been the zeal 
 of a prehistoric Home Ruler which produced the statement that "Sir Robert 
 Peel and a party of fiends were shooting peasants in Ireland." The printer 
 Field, who is also responsible for the Unrighteous Bible, which omits the 
 second "not" in 1. Cor. vi. 9, acted from a much worse motive than mere 
 humour if he really accepted £1500 from the Independents to alter Acts vi. 
 3, in accordance with their doctrine of the validity of lay ordination. But 
 perhaps the amateur correctors of the press who, according to Mr. Silk 
 Buckingham, substituted "like" for "live" in the Marriage Service of an 
 Oxford Prayer-Book, were only acting up to their peculiar notions of fun. 
 Nowadays it is to be feared that the lot of the professional reader is a some- 
 what arid one. Like the professional reviewer, he has to read a great deal 
 of skimble-skamble stuff, and he has not even the melancholy satisfaction of 
 being able to skip. His only joy is that inward contentment which comes 
 from laborious work carefully done, with an occasional compliment from an 
 assisted author. As to this, an eminent authority has stated that only a 
 printer can know "how deeply the author is frequently indebted to the 
 professional reader, and how slow he usually is to acknowledge his 
 indebtedness." The general public, who take their punctuation, spelling, 
 and grammar, along with a little mild sensation, from the circulating library, 
 hardly know how much of the former they owe to the corrector of the 
 press. When they learn this they will take more interest than they do at 
 present in the annual public appearance of these anonymous benefactors 
 who spend the rest of the year in what Ben Jonson aptly called the House 
 of Correction. 
 
128 
 
 COMPOSING MACHINES. 
 
 The Linotype Machine. 
 
 'HE invention and introduction of Composing Machines form 
 a revolution and an epoch in the art of printing, especially 
 meantime, in connection with newspaper work. For nearly four 
 centuries after Gutenberg and Faust began manual type-setting 
 there was practically no change in the system, and it was only in 
 
129 
 
 1822 that William Church attempted anything in the direction 
 of mechanical type-setting, while more recently repeated 
 attempts have been made of a more promising character. During 
 that time people in the printing trade were amused by the coloured 
 picture of a burlesque steam compositor in the figure of a man 
 operating at a case of type. His body was clothed as with a coat 
 of mail, which formed the boiler in which the steam power was 
 supposed to be generated by a blazing fire below it ; the smoke 
 escaped by his head gear and his eyes formed the steam 
 gauges, while his arms and fingers were seen in the act of setting. 
 That was a skit upon the seemingly hopeless efforts then made to 
 bring mechanical type-setting into practical and economical use ; 
 but there is now no doubt whatever that Composing Machines 
 have " come to stay." 
 
 One of the remarkable features of this great change is that some 
 of the machines do not use type, while others do. Among the 
 machines using type are those of Hattersley, Mackie of Warring- 
 ton, Fraser of Edinburgh, The Empire, and others. These are 
 setters of ordinary type, each character being stored in a separate 
 magazine or groove, from which the types are discharged by an 
 operator at a keyboard representing the letters, &c., and are 
 then carried by moving tapes or gravitation to long racks, where 
 the corrections are made and the lines justified (arranged in exact 
 lines). They each require a man to operate the keyboard, while 
 a lad or girl distributes the type after it is used ; in other words, 
 each instrument needs the work of 1| men, as it is called. 
 
 The Thorne machine, which also uses type, is constructed upon 
 quite a different principle, and, like the Typotheter, Rodgers' 
 Typograph, and a few others, requires the types to be nicked like 
 the wards of a key on their sides. The chief features of the 
 Thorne t3^pe-setter are two vertical cylinders, one above the other, 
 having 90 grooves running down their sides, with a keyboard (as 
 in all the other machines except one). The upper cylinder, which 
 is the Distributor, receives the used lines of type so that when 
 
130 
 
 revolving it drops the letters into their respective grooves on the 
 lower cylinder, where they are met by corresponding nicks and 
 stored. The lower cylinder, in which are stored each letter, &c., apart, 
 does not, like the upper one, revolve, but the required letters are 
 released from their magazines by the keyboard operator touching 
 the representative keys, when they fall upon a rapidly-revolving 
 disc or table in the order wanted so as to compose words. These 
 words are laid on a travelling band, which, after receiving them 
 in a horizontal position, gradually raises them to an upright 
 position, and delivers them into the receptacles for the third and 
 last work of reading, correcting, and justifying the lines. That 
 work requires another man besides the operator at the keyboard 
 and the lad who feeds the upper or distributing cylinder with the 
 type. In other words, this type-setting machine requires what is 
 counted as two men and a half. 
 
 The Typotheter has nicked type also, but differs from all 
 other machines by having no keyboard. Instead, the ordinary 
 compositor is free to use both his hands to lift the type, without 
 requiring to see or feel for its head or for its nicked side. When 
 he drops it into a small trumpet-shaped mouth the machine itselt 
 places it erect if upside down, turns it to the right-about if on the 
 wrong side, then promptly delivers type after type in due order 
 of letters and words into a long channel. The work of correcting 
 is done by another man, while the justifying into lines is done by 
 a separate piece of clever mechanism ; but the work of distributing 
 the types back into their several boxes must be done by the 
 ordinary compositor. This little type-setter is so compact that 
 it fits into the sj^ace partly below the type cases and before the 
 compositor ; it requires very little power other than manual. 
 
 Of Type-Casting and Setting Machines there are a few, 
 such as the Kastenbein and Lauston, but they have not come to 
 the front, like those on other methods. The types are cast as 
 each is required for setting, and thereafter they are usually 
 melted down to be ready for recasting into any character. 
 
131 
 
 The Linotype Machine ma}' fairly be considered the best 
 representative of the composing machines which complete the 
 modern revolution in printing, by the hitherto incredible process 
 of dispensing Avith the use of type (ordinary or nicked); and, 
 instead of single type being collected into words, the machine 
 casts in one piece of metal a whole line of type — hence the name 
 Linotype. Of this class the majority are reported from America, 
 including the Linotype, which was invented there in 1886 by 
 a German named Ottmar Mergenthaler, and called in that 
 country by his name. Since that year it has been considerably 
 improved, and altogether forms a marvel of ingenuity in its 
 various parts and exact combinations producing such a remark- 
 able result ; the result follows the simple touch of one man (or it 
 may be one maid), by one or both hands upon a keyboard like that 
 of a typewriter, and at as much speed. The speed claimed for this 
 machine under the hands of an expert is from 10,000 to 12,000 
 ns per hour (an n represents the average breadth of each type) ; 
 but perhaps from 7,000 to 7,500 an hour may be considered a good 
 average output by the machmist,as compared to a similar average ot 
 2,000 7is of piece work by the ordinary compositor, or as against 
 1,200 to 1,300 lis on stab or time work. It must, however, be 
 remembered that one Linotype operator in that time covers the 
 whole process of setting, including distributing, while the hand 
 compositor needs not less than | additional time for the purpose 
 of distributing his proportion of type. The value of the com- 
 positor's piece work rates of 8d. per 1,000 minion ns are — for 
 setting, 4-|d. ; for justifying, l^d. ; for correcting, ^d. ; and 2d. for 
 distribution, — making the 8d. for the whole. These values indicate 
 the proportion of time taken for each part of his work. 
 
 These comparisons of the output of hand work and machine 
 work are very striking, and although they are subject to modifica- 
 tions, or perhaps to the discussion of the economical results, I 
 have good grounds for believing that the figures given are well 
 founded on actual experience. From the production of say 
 
132 
 
 7,000 ns an hour by the Linotype there must be deduction made for 
 greater interest on plant, power, skilled mechanic, and occasional 
 repairs, as against the greater rent and cost of light for composi- 
 tors' case-room, &c. ; but nevertheless the production of 7,000 as 
 against 2,000 (or the work of one operator to that of 3| hand com- 
 positors) affords ample margin in favour of machine composition. 
 In a letter now before me from the General Manager of a leading 
 newspaper in England, he informs me of his experience with 16 
 Linotype machines ; and although that experience is not long, 
 and with operators who are somewhat in their machine-apprentice 
 stage, the result is entirely satisfactory. More practice, however, 
 will bring the output to 7,000 and upwards, as it has done in other 
 cases ; the production, indeed, seems to be limited only by the 
 rapidity with which the operator touches the characters on the 
 keyboard to cause the matrices with the corresponding characters 
 to assemble, and the rest of the work to be automatically done. 
 That rapidity may be fairly estimated by the number of letters an 
 expert lad or girl can show by a typewriting machine. 
 
 The reference to typewriting machines suggests the thought 
 that it may be wise for compositors, in prospect of the adoption of 
 composing machines, to practice on typewriters meantime, or 
 even upon printed copies of the keyboard of the Linotype, or such 
 machine as is most likely to come into use. This may be all the 
 more necessary, seeing that some compositors may have more 
 nimble fingers than others, while the others, or a portion of them, 
 may suit better for the advertisement and other matter which 
 the machine does not so well overtake. This preparation would 
 go far to meet the strong desire of employers to retain their staff 
 of compositors as complete as possible at either machine or hand 
 work. 
 

 MEUTINQ 
 pOT 
 
 Pia. 1. 
 LINOTYPE MACHINE WITHOUT FRAME WOKK. 
 
134 
 
 The above sketch of the leading parts of the Linotype Machine 
 in their relative positions to each other shows the process of the 
 work from stage to stage until the line of type is produced in 
 one piece of metal, with the letters and words clear and cleanly 
 marked. Of all these features the matrix may be considered the 
 part which shows the primary or fundamental principle of the 
 machine. Each letter, figure, space, and point has a corresponding 
 matrix, and they are all stored in separate grooves which form the 
 Matrix Magazine A. The matrix is a small thin flat piece of brass, 
 about l|in. x fin. in size, with sufficient breadth of edge to receive 
 on it the intaglio impression of the character by an indenting 
 punch. The grooves of the Magazine, partly 
 exposed at B, are so formed as to store the 
 various matrices of ruby, minion, brevier, bour- 
 geois, or small pica founts, which can be changed 
 from one fount to another about as speedily as 
 a hand compositor changes his type cases ; this is 
 sometimes important in newspaper work. Each 
 of these magazine grooves contains 22 matrices 
 of a uniform letter, except in the case of the 
 ^'"- 2- letter e, which, because of its much greater use 
 
 A MATRIX. -j^ Q^^j. language, requires two grooves, with 22 
 matrices in each. There are also some special matrices Avhich 
 have not only the ordinary letters, but italics in intaglio on the 
 reverse side for handy use. 
 
 The following borrowed fuller descri]3tion of the machine, its 
 parts, and process, with the illustrations, may be interesting : — 
 
 The machine contains, as its leading members, a large number 
 of small brass matrices, such as shown in Fig. 2, consisting each 
 of a flat plate, having in its vertical edge a female letter or matrix 
 proper, a, and in the upper end a series of teeth, h. There are a 
 number of matrices for each letter or character, represented on 
 the key-board. 
 
 The machine is organised to select matrices bearing the 
 
135 
 
 required characters, and set them up in Hue side by side with 
 intervening spaces, in the order in which they arc to appear in 
 print, as shown in Fig. 3, and thereafter to present the hue to a 
 mould so that the linotypes or slugs may be cast against and into 
 the entire line of matrices at one operation. 
 
 These operations are effected by a mechanism such as shown 
 in Fig. 1, which represents in outline the principal parts of the 
 machine. A is an inclined stationary magazine or holder, con- 
 taining channels in which the assorted matrices are stored. The 
 
 Fig. 3. 
 
 matrices tend to slide downwards out of the magazine by reason 
 of their gravity, but they are held in check by escapements B, 
 one at the mouth of each channel. From these escapements, 
 rods G are extended downwards to a series of finger-keys D. 
 
136 
 
 There is a special key for each character or letter. The keys are 
 depressed by the operator in the order in which the corresponding 
 characters are to appear in print. Each time a key is actuated it 
 permits a single matrix, bearing the corresponding character, to 
 fall out of the mouth of the magazine and downward through the 
 
 MELTING 
 
 COMPOSED 
 MATRICES 
 
 K 
 
 MOULD 
 WHEEL 
 
 channels E, to an inclined travelling belt F, by which the matrices 
 are carried downward one after another and delivered into the 
 slotted assembling block G, in which they are set up or composed 
 side by side in a line or row, as represented in Figs. 1 and 3. A 
 stationary box H contains a series of spaces /, and a delivery de- 
 vice connected with finger bar J, by which the spaces are dis- 
 charged and permitted to fall into the line at their proper places. 
 Thus it is that, by operating the keys, the required matrices and 
 
137 
 
 spaces are delivered one after another and assembled in line in 
 the block G, until it contains all the characters necessary to com- 
 plete one line of print. After the hne of matrices is thus com- 
 posed it is transferred, as shoAvn by the arrows in Fig. 1 and in 
 Fig. 4, to the face of a vertical mould wheel K, through which a 
 slot or mould proper extends from the front to the rear face. 
 (Figs. 4 and 5). The entire row of characters in the matrix line 
 is presented directly opposite the face of the mould or slot, as 
 shown in Fig. 4, so that when the mould is filled with metal to 
 produce a slug or linotype, the metal will flow into the matrices, 
 which produces their respective type characters in relief on the 
 edge of the casting. 
 
 Behind the mould wheel there is arranged a pot M, in which 
 type-metal is maintained in a molten condition by a flame from 
 
 MOULD 
 
 Fig. 5, 
 
 the gas burner N thereunder. The pot has a delivery mouth or 
 channel adapted to fit against and close the rear face of the mould. 
 Within the pot there is mounted a mechanically operated pump 
 
138 
 
 plunger 0. After the line ot matrices is presented and locked 
 against and across the face of the mould, the mouth of the pot is 
 closed against the rear side of the mould, and the plunger then 
 operates to force the molten metal from the mouth of the pot 
 into the mould, in which it solidifies, completing the slug or lino- 
 type. After the linotype is thus produced, the mould wheel 
 makes a partial revolution, turning the mould slot from the hori- 
 zontal position in which it stood during the casting operation to 
 the vertical position shown in Fig. 5. While the mould stands in 
 this position, a horizontal blade P advances from the rear and 
 pushes the linotype forward out of the mould and between 
 trimming knives into the galley Q on the front of the machine. 
 A vibrating arm 7?. advances the linotypes one after another into 
 the galley, in which they are thus assembled side by side in 
 column form, as shown in Fig. 5. 
 
 After the assembled matrices have answered their purpose in 
 front of the mould, it is necessary to distribute and return them 
 to the magazine, from which they are again in due time dis- 
 charged for use in succeeding lines. 
 
 After the casting operation, the line of matrices, having 
 answered its purpose, is lifted vertically, as indicated by dotted 
 lines in Fig. 1, and then shifted laterally until the teeth engage 
 the teeth of the plate R. This plate then rises as indicated by 
 dotted lines, lifting the entire line of matrices to the distributing 
 mechanism at the top of the magazine. The spaces remain be- 
 hind when the matrices are lifted to the distributor, and are trans- 
 ferred laterally to the box or holder H, to be used again. 
 
 The distribution of the matrices to their proper channels is 
 effected by mechanism of extreme simplicity, as follows : — Each 
 matrix (Fig. 2) has the teeth h in its upper end arranged in a 
 peculiar order or number, according to the letter which it bears. 
 In other words, a matrix bearing any given letter differs, as to the 
 number or arrangement of its teeth, from a matrix bearing any 
 other letter, and these teeth are relied upon as the means for 
 
139 
 
 effecting the distribution. As shown in Figs. 1 and 6, a rigid steel 
 bar T is fixed in position above the open upper ends of the maga- 
 zine channels, and is formed at its lower edge with longitudinal 
 ribs t, adapted to engage the teeth of the matrices and hold the 
 latter in suspension. The ribs of the distributor bar vary in 
 
 Fia b 
 
 number and arrangement at different points in its length, there 
 being a special arrangement over the mouth of each channel of 
 the magazine. The matrices to be distributed are simply pushed 
 horizontally upon the bar at one end, so as to hang suspended 
 therefrom, and then moved slowly along it over the mouths of the 
 channels. Each matrix will remain in engagement with and be 
 suspended from the teeth of the bar until it arrives over its 
 proper channel, where the arrangement of teeth permits the 
 
140 
 
 matrix to disengage so that it falls directly into the channel. 
 This falling action of certain matrices into their respective 
 channels, while other matrices are continuing their course along 
 the bar to their projDer points of delivery, is clearly shown in Fig. 
 6. The movement of the matrices is effected by means of longi- 
 tudinal screws U (Fig. 1), which lie below the distributor bar in 
 position to engage the edges of the matrices and slide them along 
 the bar. 
 
 It will be observed that the matrices pursue a circulatory 
 course through the machine, starting from the mouth of the 
 magazine and passing downward to the line in which they are 
 assembled ; thence to the mould, to produce the letters on the 
 linotype, and finally back to the magazine at the top. It is this 
 circulation of the matrices, and the fact that the operations of 
 composing one line, casting from another, and distributing a 
 third, are carried on concurrently, and without mterference, that 
 enables the machine to operate at the amazing speed of from eight 
 thousand to eighteen thousand ens per hour. 
 
 The keyboard D (Fig. 1) has 90 keys altogether, 30 of which 
 on the right hand of the operator represent capital letters, &c., 
 the 30 on the left hand represent the small lower-case letters, &c., 
 while the 30 between are for figures, punctuation and other 
 marks, and including keys for quads, small spaces, and some 
 fractions. The large wedge spaces H I (Fig. 1) for expanding 
 the spaces between words into an exact line, are dropped into 
 their places by a touch of the key on the left side of the board. 
 
141 
 
 THE STEREOTYPING FOUNDRY. 
 
 BTEREOTYPING follows immediately upon the completion 
 of the Compositors' work into pages of type fac-sirailes, of 
 which it produces to any extent required by the printing machines. 
 Without that power of multiplying these plates, the original type 
 pages could only be used by one press ; so that the production of 
 newspapers would be greatly limited, as it really was prior to the 
 developed process of stereotyping. When rapid printing presses 
 were invented, they were for a time worked with type pages; 
 but it was a cumbrous and risky attempt at best to gain speed. 
 At the same time these shortcomings, in view of the possibilities 
 of stereotyping, prompted several minds to work out step-by-step 
 the simple and effective method now in use. It will, therefore, 
 be evident that, although the Stereo Department is comparatively 
 small, and needs only a short description, its work is vital to the 
 great output of the modern newspaper. 
 
 The Old Process of Stereotyping was invented, after 
 several unsuccessful attempts of others, by William Ged, of 
 Edinburgh, in 1711. In his hands the material of the moulds 
 for making counterparts of the type pages was Gypsum flour 
 — Plaster of Paris — from which, when hardened, the metal cast 
 was taken. This method was used for books, &c., so as to avoid 
 keeping up the type when there was a prospect or possibility of 
 an after demand beyond the number at first printed. But as the 
 Plaster of Paris process took some time to dry, so as to stand the 
 hot fluid metal, and was comparatively fragile, it was seen that 
 some speedier plan was necessary, and one that would allow more 
 free handling under the high-pressure emergencies of newspapers. 
 
 The Modern Process of making stereo plates (said to have 
 been invented by another Scot of the name of Wilson), took the 
 form of a sort oi pajpier rtiache for matrices, made up by a base 
 of strong grey paper, upon which is pasted one or more sheets of 
 
142 
 
 blotting paper, all overlaid with a facing of tissue paper. Some- 
 times more sheets are used so as to give greater strength, or to 
 give greater thickness and consequent greater thinness to the cast 
 taken from such a matrix. In either case, these moulding papers 
 after being so easily prepared are ready to be placed face to face 
 over the type pages, as soon as the compositors have completed 
 them. Then both are passed under the roller of a mangle, — the 
 pressure of Avhich causes a matrix counterpart to be clearly left 
 upon the soft paper. In this moist state the matrix sheet is 
 placed in an oven to dry, and, after being hardened and trimmed, 
 it is laid on the curved bed of a strong iron casting-box with a 
 heavy lid. By way of the mouthpiece at the upper ends of the 
 box fluid lead, with a proportion of tin to toughen, and antimony 
 to harden the metal, is poured into the box, and covers the face 
 of the paper matrix. In that position the metal quickly sets, so 
 that when the lid is lifted off the newly-made bright stereo plate 
 is found showing an exact facsimile of the type page, and 
 curved to fit exactly the cylinder of the printing press, to which 
 it is immediately transferred to fulfil its purpose. From each ot 
 these paper matrices it is a common thing for us to take from 16 
 to 20 cast plates; and even after enduring so much extreme heat 
 from the hquid metal, they continue capable of doing more pages. 
 The start of stereotyping, in our case, was on the occasion of 
 launching the Weekly Herald in 1864. At that period a stereo 
 plate took 25 minutes to make, and that was considered then a 
 remarkable feat. Now the first two plates are turned out and 
 trimmed ready for printing in nine minutes after the type pages 
 reach the stereotypers' hands. For some years after starting it 
 was the custom, and is still in many newspaper offices, to dry the 
 moist matrix paper while it and the type pages were under a 
 screw press and upon a hot iron slab, in order, as expected, to get 
 a deep and clear impression from the type. As, however, that 
 method of dryirg the matrix by strong heat through the type 
 resulted in vertical expansion of the latter, and in melting its 
 
143 
 
 feet, we tried to lessen the evil by the moderating use of gas fires, 
 and afterwards by steam heat ; but these were only steps of 
 experience by which we reached the present quicker and safer 
 method. This change from drying the matrix by heat coming 
 through the type pages, to that of drying it by itself in an oven, 
 allowed the type to be kept harmless, and free for immediate 
 redistribution. By this change our last fount of type did duty in 
 producing the Herald for 16 years, while type in other offices 
 which continue the hot process show decay and blurred printing 
 in about as many months. It may be added that the heat used 
 for making and keeping the stereo metal in a fluid state ready for 
 casting is also utilised for keeping the drying oven at a sufficient 
 temperature, instead of, as in the other case, having an additional 
 fire to dry the matrix through the type. 
 
 THE MACHINE PRINTING DEPARTMENT. 
 
 TTTHE next stage in the order of Newspaper Production is 
 '•^ in the Machine Room, or, as it was called 50 years ago, 
 the Press Room, because formerly all printing Avas done by hand- 
 press power. Our press room at that period Avas in a cellar beloAv 
 the counting-house, and measured only 24 feet by 15, or 360 
 square feet. Besides the one platen press of one cylinder, that 
 space accommodated, amongst other things, our stock of paper, 
 and a big trough of water through which the quires of paper Avere 
 passed in order to get damped. The printing press Avas made by 
 CoAvper of Manchester, Avho Avas at that time considered one of 
 the best makers. The driving poAver Avas by four strong men, — 
 three at a time " caaing " the driving Avheel Avith all their might, 
 and the fourth resting by turns, Avhile one apprentice compositor 
 in an elevated position fed the sheets into the machine, and 
 another beloAv took them off after being printed. 
 
144 
 
 So far as 1 remember, or can learn, the maximum number 
 printed was about 750 copies per hour, but on one side only, 
 which meant, inchiding turning and adjusting, about 350 
 
 The Cowpee Hand Printing Press, 1845. 
 
 completed papers each hour. Now our seven printing machines 
 are capable of producing from 192,000 to 200,000 comj^lete copies 
 per hour, of a size larger than the Herald of 1845, all folded, 
 counted singly and in bundles of dozens or scores, ready for 
 immediate despatch. The driving power now, as compared to 
 three men formerly, is equal to that of 2,400 men. 
 
 The Damping of the Paper is a work in this department 
 which was, and continues to be, almost always done as a prelimi- 
 nary to the printing of it ; and to which an allusion here may 
 be allowed. Some few offices try to dispense with this pro- 
 cess, and others in emergencies, print upon dry paper. It is 
 found, however, that in rapid newspaper printing the damp 
 paper takes on the ink better, and prevents its tendency to smear 
 the hands of the reader. This damping, as just stated, was done 
 by laving the quires through water, which, after being heaped 
 together, sufficiently permeated all the sheets. It was a trouble- 
 some, rather uncertain and laborious process ; and yet, some 
 years ago, when visiting one of the offices of a London newspaper 
 (with " the greatest circulation in the world "), I was surprised to 
 
145 
 
 find the old-fashioned water trough process m full use. All that 
 work, especially since webs of paper took the place of sheets for 
 printing, has been done for most of the leading newspapers by 
 machines, which allow the quantity of water to be graduated to 
 the degree preferred. The damping by machinery has also the 
 advantage of throwing off during the process any stray chips of 
 paper, &c., which may have been carried from the paper mill, 
 and which might affect the printing if not removed. 
 
 Steam Power and Cylinder Printing Presses. — Steam 
 Engine poAver for the printing of newspapers was first employed 
 on the 19th November, 1814, in producing the Times, when the 
 proprietors announced in it the accomplishment that day of " the 
 practical result of the greatest improvement connected with 
 printing since the discovery of the art itself" The notice con- 
 cluded by referring also to the equally important fact of the 
 appHcation of that power to a Cylinder Printing Press made by 
 Konig, a German, by which the work " is performed with such 
 velocity that no less than eleven hundred sheets are impressed in 
 an hour." That meant paper printed on one side only, and not 
 complete as newspapers are now turned out. It was, however, a 
 marriage between steam power and cylinder printing which is not 
 likely to be soon dissolved. That machine was so complicated 
 that it was supplanted by one invented by Applegath & Cowper, 
 which was supplied in 1827 to the Times; it printed copies at 
 a speed very much greater than Konig's. Few, if any, newspaper 
 proprietors of that time had either the need, ability, or enterprise 
 of John Walter of the Times, and it was not till 1851 that the 
 Herald was printed by a steam engine and cylinder machines, 
 made by Brown of Kirkcaldy. These — a small steam engine, with 
 a single cylinder, and shortly afterwards a double cylinder press, — 
 gave faithful service by producing jointly about 2,000 copies per 
 hour on one side, in an enlarged press room until 1859. It must 
 be understood that the type pages lay flat in a bed Avhich 
 travelled hither and thither, at one turn to be inked, and at the 
 
146 
 
 other turn to give off the ink impression to the sheets of paper 
 which were carried round by the cylinders, and then delivered 
 into the hands of an attendant. 
 
 Rotary Printing Machines, with their greatly increased 
 productive power, came at the fit time to meet the great demand 
 which we had to face in the year 1859, when the Herald was 
 transformed into a Daily Newspaper. A few years before, Mr. 
 Robert Hoe, an English gentleman who took up business in 
 New York with his son Richard, made the first of their famous 
 Rotary Presses. In the year 1790, William Nicolson, a patent 
 agent, painter, editor of the Philosophical Journal, and general 
 inventor, took out a patent which seems to have been somewhat 
 of a forecast of the leading features of the type and impression 
 cylinder with the inking rollers of the Rotary Press. Nicolson 
 had evidently the faculty to think out, but not to carry out into 
 practice what his genius produced, so that in that and other 
 things he failed to reap the fruit. It was said of him that he was 
 "always inventing, always poor, always borrowing, and at last 
 found himself in prison;" then, it was also said, Konig found him, 
 learned what his patent was, and mastered it so far as to turn out 
 the first cylinder printing machine,as just stated. Sixty-seven years 
 afterwards, however, Messrs. Hoe showed their mechanical genius in 
 practice by building up, after overcoming many difficult details, 
 their first Rotary Press with cylinders carrying the type pages, 
 which held the field against all other attempts. As in the case of 
 the later Hoe Web Machines, Edward Lloyd, proprietor of Lloyd's 
 News and originator of the Daily Chronicle, was the first in Europe 
 to adopt these presses. These machines had 4, 6, 8, or 10 impressing 
 cylinders (covered with blanketing to give a soft impression) which 
 were placed round the sides and almost touching a large central 
 cylinder. It moved at starting in a ponderous style, as if feel- 
 ing the heavy type pages on its back, but soon went on at a 
 speed which earned for the machine in America the name of the 
 " Lightning Press." By every revolution it was brought in actual 
 
147 
 
 touch with each of these impressing cylinders, or rather with the 
 sheets of paper which they carried, so as to put the impression of 
 the type upon them. The pages of type were fixed on convex 
 beds, upon quite an original plan, so as to secure them from 
 falling out while the cylinder was revolving. That was done by 
 the column rules of the pages being made thicker at the top than 
 at the bottom, and by the side-sticks for locking-up the type being 
 so bevelled as to complete the fixing of the whole into a solid 
 page, the page to the bed, and the bed afterwards to the cylinder. 
 These type-beds were with some appropriateness called " Turtles," 
 because, their shape being a segment of the circle of the large 
 cylinder, and of a dumpy figure, with the rule lines on their faces, 
 made them not unlike the back and body of a turtle. Before the 
 printing machine started, a pile of paper in sheets was placed 
 upon a table sloping to each of the small cylinders, and spread 
 towards them. Alongside of these heaps young men stood ready 
 at the start to feed sheet by sheet close to these cylinders, from 
 which projected iron fingers or grippers that seized them at the 
 right moment, and carried them round until they met and received 
 the impression of the type pages on the large cylinder, which made 
 them newspapers on one side. There are, however, few great advan- 
 tages without some disadvantages, and in this case it was found after 
 a time, from the appearance of the printed matter, that the face 
 of the type was being worn round by the almost constant friction 
 with the impressing cylinder. This led to the adoption of stereo- 
 type plates for the Daily Paper as well as for the Weekly Herald, 
 — for which the stereo apparatus was at first intended. 
 
 One of the advantages these machines had over all their pre- 
 decessors was the delivery of the printed sheets by large open 
 fans, to which they were conveyed over or under the feeding tables 
 by moving tapes from the printing parts of the machine. These 
 fans or flyers did their work well, and had the advantage of doing 
 the work of a " hand " to each of the 4, 6, 8, or 10 deliveries. The 
 first Hoe Rotary Printing Press we bought was a " Four Feeder," 
 
148 
 
 so called because the sheets were fed mto it by the h'on fingers of 
 its four impressing cylinders. That size of machine cost £2,500, 
 and produced from 7,000 and 8,000 copies on one side per hour ; 
 but the rate guaranteed was 10,000 per hour. We soon found that 
 it was insufficient for the increased demand made upon us by the 
 public, and, in any case, it became more than ever evident that 
 should the one machine break down we would be helpless. A 
 " Six Feeder," which cost £3,000, was therefore procured and 
 started in 1861. It was set to give 15,000 per hour, but in this 
 case, too, it was not long till it was seen that still greater supply 
 power was required. Our premises, however (then in St. 
 Vincent Place, the position of which is now covered by the 
 Clydesdale Bank), Avere already overcrowded, and more space 
 on either side could not be bought or leased. It was well that 
 we were compelled in this way to look out for ground elsewhere, 
 as even more than double what we had would not have sufficed 
 to meet our wants for a few years. But ample enough space for 
 the most probable expansions was secured in the heart of Buchanan 
 Street, a street that may be considered the heart of Glasgow, 
 combining, as it does, the business qualities of Cornhill with the 
 fashionable attraction of Regent Street, London. There, between 
 Buchanan Street and Mitchell Street, to which the ground 
 extended, we erected a building which contained on the 
 basement an exceptionally spacious machine room, the ceiling 
 of which was supported by massive iron pillars, 22 feet high, and 
 a compositors' room or hall on the upper floor much larger than 
 any of us conceived as likely ever to bo needed, while the 
 remaining floorage was apportioned to the other departments. 
 The area and height of the ncAV machine room were necessary 
 because of the mammoth size of these Rotary Presses, and for 
 the two Eight Feeder Hoe Machines which it was found were 
 required. They reached a height of 18 feet in the greater part of 
 their length, so that there remained just 4 feet as Avorking and 
 air space. Each of these Eight Feeders, Avhich were started in 
 
149 
 
 1868 (7 years after the Six Feeder), cost £4,500, and was rated 
 to print on one side 20,000 Heralds per lioiir. When Ave took 
 possession of our new premises and of these great printing presses, 
 it seemed to most of us that a very long future, perhaps beyond 
 the years of any one then in the Herald, was provided for. And 
 yet 8 years thereafter these fine machines, which were kept 
 in good condition, were superseded by two Web Machines and 
 sold to their makers for £600, little more than the price of old 
 iron. Some months after, when in London, I saw the broken 
 fragments of these Eight Feeders in the yard of Messrs. Hoe & Co. 
 
 Eight-Cylinder Rotary Press. 
 
 ready to be carted off and melted down. Their predecessors had 
 a longer life time and less humiliating history, as the Four Feeder 
 was transferred through its makers to a South of England 
 newspaper office, and the Six Feeder, which cost £3,000, was sold 
 by us for about £1,000 less to a leading Manchester newspaper, 
 for which it gave many years of good service. When we were 
 about to part with the first and second of these Rotary Machines, 
 I had a call from a Belfast newspaper proprietor, who had many 
 years previously bought our old Cowper hand-driven press. He 
 declared that as it had brought him such good luck he was 
 anxious to have another second-hand machine from us ; but the 
 courage to face the working, and perhaps the price, of the Rotary 
 failed him. 
 
150 
 
 The cost of working these presses was very great, for each of 
 the eight cyHnders required 8 men to lead in the sheets, other 8 
 to carry off the sheets after they were printed, and 12 to pass them 
 through twelve folding machines, with two head men, — so that on 
 the regular staff there were not fewer than 46 machine hands. 
 There were two special occasions when the most of that number 
 were kept working or waiting on (eating and sleeping by turns on 
 the premises) for about 36 hours running. These occasions were 
 when the life of the Prince of Wales, under enteric fever, was 
 wavering in extremity for some days, and when the people of the 
 whole Empire were under prolonged anxiety regarding the result. 
 Under the possibility of a fatal result, our Editor had a biographical 
 sketch of the Prince prepared and set up, which was ready for 
 printing at any moment, with the addition of probably two or 
 three lines only, if the moment had come which comes to all. 
 The other cause for such a lengthened waiting time by our men 
 was during the trial of Dr. Pritchard, the poisoner, when the 
 Glasgow public especially were greatly interested in all the 
 details of the evidence and in the verdict. 
 
 The cost of working the Eotaries, however, gave us less concern 
 than the handling of the men who fed in the sheets. They knew 
 that they had command of the position gained by their experience, 
 and that new men could not at first do their work. This was 
 shown two or three different times when some of them were 
 " under drink," — by their refusal to work almost preventing the 
 issue of the Herald on these days. As it was necessary for these 
 feeders to place each sheet at an exact point to secure correct 
 printing, a little divergence or turned corner spoiled the sheet, 
 and this waste was all the greater when the men's heads or hands 
 were unsteady. By the Web Printing Machines, which succeeded 
 the Rotary Feeders, these and other troubles ceased, and various 
 considerable advantages were secured. 
 
 A Night Scene, when such machines were in use, is described 
 as follows by the New York Tribune, slightly altered, and gives 
 
151 
 
 a picture of our experience at that period :—" The press-rooms of 
 a great journal now begin to present one of the most picturesque 
 and bustling scenes imaginable. From the basement floor two 
 eight-cylinder machines towered aloft like houses. Eighteen feet 
 in height, thirty-one feet in length, and nine feet in width, they 
 required the space of two entire floors ; they were approached by 
 staircases and galleries ; and platforms were built around them 
 for the workmen. During the early part of the night the press- 
 men prepared the apparatus with the greatest care. The bearings 
 were oiled ; the tapes and blankets were examined and, if 
 necessary, renewed ; the proper consistency of the ink was tested ; 
 the ink-reservoir was filled ; the inking-rollers were removed, 
 cleaned and replaced ; every one of the compHcated parts was 
 looked over and put in perfect order. Meanwhile huge stacks of 
 paper had been moistened and placed on the feeding shelves. 
 About midnight the type-beds or, as it was afterwards, stereo- 
 plates of the " first side "—that is, the four pages which appear on 
 the inside of the sheet when the paper is folded— were dropped 
 one by one into the machine-room. Instantly the press-room 
 started into activity. The sixteen hand feeders thrcAV off coats, 
 rolled up sleeves, ran and clambered to their places beside the 
 tiers of shelves. Scores of gas jets began to blaze. The metal 
 plates— four for each of the presses— were quickly lifted into 
 place and secured by clamps screwed to their bevelled edges. 
 The pressman stood with his hand on the starting rope. The 
 distant engine, which had been breathing impatiently for the past 
 half hour, got in motion. The shafting under the vaulted ceiling 
 began to turn. There was a cry, ' All ready ! ' and then, as the 
 rope was pulled, the two great machines, slowly at first, but with 
 accelerating speed, set off on their tremendous revolutions. It 
 was a smooth and sure and comfortable sort of movement, and 
 starting the big four-story press was as easy as starting a clock ; 
 but the whir and clank of myriad wheels, the rattle of the wooden 
 fliers, the regular pulsation of metallic strokes, made, nevertheless, 
 
152 
 
 a deafening noise. Now tlie boys seized tlie fast accumulating 
 piles of printed sheets, and ran with them from the receiving 
 tables to a platform, where they were piled up to await the next 
 process. Others hurried from the stacked piles of paper with 
 fresh supplies for the feeders. So for three hours, without pause, 
 the work went on. A moment's rest ; and the plates were taken 
 from the press ; the " last side " forms, hot from the stereotypers, 
 and containing most of the telegraphic and late city news, and 
 the editorial comments on the intelligence of the night, were put 
 in their place ; and the hurry and whirl and rattle began again. 
 The sheets, printed on one side, were turned over and fed once 
 more into the machines, coming out completed papers. A second 
 set of hands now appeared on the scene. At the end of the press- 
 room stood a row of twelve folding machines, each with a single 
 shelf, like the feeding-board of the press, and on these shelves 
 were deposited the printed papers as fast as the boys could bring 
 them from the receiving tables. A bewildering apparatus of 
 wheels, and tapes, and brass fingers, began to spin around, and 
 through the thicket of machinery one saw certain long steel 
 folding-knives rise and fall rapidly as the sheets, fed m by hand, 
 were drawn under them, and carried along to a wooden box at 
 the bottom. Messengers snatched them by the armful and ran 
 to the despatch-room. Heavy drays were waiting at the door. 
 In a few minutes after the arrival of the ' last side ' plates in the 
 press-room, cart-loads were on the way to the early newspaper 
 trains ; and long before the presses had finished their task, 
 papers for places out of the reach of railways were in the Post 
 Office. Carriers, newsboys, and the agents of the city and 
 suburbs crowded the despatch-room as daylight approached ; 
 and during the last hour especially, when every part of the 
 machinery was revolving at its greatest speed, and men were 
 running hither and thither under the gaslight with immense 
 piles of the printed sheets, and customers were clamouring to be 
 served, the spectacle of a newspaper press-room was one that 
 
153 
 
 never fails to iinprcss tlio imagination and fix itself upon the 
 memory." 
 
 Web Printing Machines. — Many and varied were the 
 attempts to overcome the difficulties of inventing a machine 
 to print on both sides at one movement of the type pages, &c,, 
 so as to produce what printers call a perfecting press. Amongst 
 those who had made such efforts were Sir Rowland Hill, the 
 Post Office reformer, Jeptha Wilkinson of New York, — and about 
 the same period, — Richard Hoe, John Walter of the Times, Wm. 
 A. Bullock, and Marinoni of Paris. The four latter invented and 
 made such perfecting machines which printed upon webs of paper 
 3 to 5 miles long, from which the individual newspaper sheets 
 were separated and delivered. But before these Web Presses 
 appeared, and shortly before our Eight Feeder Rotaries were 
 ordered, I had heard that some such remarkable machine was 
 being constructed by Mr. Smith, Engineer, at Well Street, London. 
 Upon my first visit thereafter to London I called upon him, and 
 found him studying the model of his intended web perfecting 
 machine. He readily showed me all, but frankly confessed that 
 he had met a difficulty which seemed insurmountable. The 
 difficulty he imagined was that the attempt to print both sides 
 at the same time would cause the ink to blur and make the paper 
 unreadable ; but it was an imaginary difficulty, and yet so real to 
 him, as to block his way when he was on the very verge of a 
 great success. My impression is that his failure was in attempt- 
 ing to get both sides printed at the same actual moment, while 
 the solution was not long afterwards found to be in taking the 
 impress of the first side immediately before the web passed on to 
 be printed on the other side by an adjoining cylinder. Machines 
 upon that principle, but with variations in applying it, were 
 almost simultaneously placed at the service of the public, and 
 produced complete newspapers at one operation without the 
 blurring or smudging with ink which had been feared. They 
 were called after their makers — Hoe, Walter, Bullock, and 
 
154 
 
 Marinoni. It was only in 1855 that the greatest block to the 
 inventive faculty in devising web printing machines was taken 
 away by the abolition of the compulsory penny stamp on each 
 sheet. As these sheets required to be stamped one by one in the 
 Government offices, such a process was impossible in the case of 
 webs of paper miles long. To Mr. Gladstone, then for the first 
 time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the greatest Financier of 
 the century, belongs the credit of that transaction. 
 
 After that difficulty had been overcome another had to be 
 dealt with, in the shape of the delivery of the newspapers apart 
 from the webs when each copy was printed. The continuous 
 rush of the printed web gave no interval for delivery, and even 
 after a method of separating each paper was found they followed 
 one another in an equally continuous and rapid stream. This 
 also was at length solved and the speed increased by Mr. Hoe 
 and his partner, Mr. Tucker, who invented a plan by which a 
 cylinder collected and delivered several papers at a time, and 
 afterwards a still simpler method of passing the sheets between two 
 small rollers, which by quicker motion than the printing cylinders 
 got ahead of their speed and thereby secured intervals of time in 
 the delivery. At first the papers were delivered flat on tables, 
 but by-and-bye folding mechanism was attached to the printers, 
 and the result was not only the printing of both sides of the webs 
 quicker, but the folding and delivery of perfected newspapers. 
 These and other features of the Web Perfecting Machines seem 
 simple now, but nevertheless the inventive faculties which step 
 by step evolved them are in a high degree characteristic of this 
 century of invention. The simplifying of the stereotyping pro- 
 cess, and the making of curved plates to fit printing cylinders, as 
 latterly used for the Kotary Feeders, may have prompted the 
 thought of using them in connection with the web printing 
 principle, — that principle having been many years before applied 
 to calico web printing. 
 
 Two Web Perfecting Machines were made for printing 
 
155 
 
 the Herald by Messrs. R. Hoe & Co., who also have supplied all 
 the presses — seven in number — which are now in use. These 
 repeated investments sufficiently testify to our appreciation of 
 the excellence ot their workmanship. The first two placed in 
 1875 cost £3,300 each, and were guaranteed to produce at the 
 rate of 12,000 copies an hour printed on both sides, besides being 
 folded quarter page, delivered, and counted. They were worked 
 by two men, — a brakesman to control the speed, and a minder to 
 watch the machinery and product. In contrast to that, their 
 Eight Feeder predecessors cost £4,500 each, were expected to 
 print on one side 20,000 copies an hour ; but the printing of the 
 other side with the delays in changing, &c., caused the total ot 
 completed copies to be about 8,000 per hour, while each of them 
 required 23 men to feed, carry, and fold the sheets, instead of 2 
 or 3 to each web machine. The differences, however, did not end 
 with the prices of each, the production, or the number of work- 
 men ; for the latter have great advantages not only in economy, 
 but in the way of efficiency, such as enabling the Literary Depart- 
 ment to give later news, &c., avoiding spoiled sheets, and in 
 printing only the number of papers actually needed from hour to 
 hour without guessing ahead of the demand, besides deliver- 
 ing us from the jeopardy we were sometimes in by our indis- 
 pensable workmen refusing to do their part. At the same time, 
 while these Web Perfecting Machines were 22 feet long by 5^ 
 broad, and only one step above the floor to enable the plates to be 
 fixed, their mammoth Eight Feeder predecessors were about two 
 stories high, 31 feet in length, and 9 feet broad. 
 
 The Mechanism of the Web Presses differs almost entirely 
 from that of the Rotaries, although the latter had much to do in 
 prompting the invention of the other. The web machine had 
 what might be called (although it seems like a " bull ") a reversed 
 resemblance to its predecessor, — because while the rotating 
 principle of cylinders continued, the large central cylinder no 
 longer carried the type or stereo pages, but became an impressing 
 
156 
 
 or blanket covered cylinder, and the stereo pages are now carried 
 by the lesser cylinders of which there are only two, instead of 4, 
 6, 8, or 10 impression cylinders in the case of the so-called 
 Rotaries. Each of these two cylinders carries four stereo plates, 
 one of them nearly touching one side of the impression cylinder, 
 and the second on the other side in similar position. The four 
 plates print on one side only, while those on the other print the 
 completing side, and thus produce an eight-page paper, or that 
 extent of a larger paper, or, what is now becoming rare, two four- 
 page papers. The inking ajDparatus, which consists of a trough 
 to contain the ink, and a series of rollers covered by a soft but 
 tough composition, or india-rubber, is placed at each side of the 
 printing mechanism so as to take up the ink and spread it in the 
 most equal and slightest manner over the type. The inking 
 rollers were formerly all made of a composition of fine glue and 
 treacle. While they lasted they did their work well, but they 
 caused awkward stoppages in order to be washed clear of the fluff 
 from the paper, &c., which they attracted and retained ; they had 
 an attraction to rats also because of the sweet element in them, 
 and that sometimes was awkward. For many years we have got 
 rid of the stoppages and the rats by the almost entire use of 
 india rubber rollers, which have no such attractive nature, and 
 run for several days without washing, while they have given 
 excellent service for ten years and upwards. The reel or web 
 of paper in the case of our machines was at first placed above the 
 cylinders, and when the printing was about to begin the paper 
 was led down between one of the type cylinders and the small 
 blanket cylinder, and there, after the start, the paper received its 
 impression of the type on one side, while immediately after the 
 other side of the web got perfected by the second type cylinder 
 and large impression one. The separation of that piece from the 
 web was begun by passing it between two cylinders (called by 
 engineers male and female cylinders), one of which carried a saw- 
 toothed knife parallel with its length, which serrated the paper at 
 
157 
 
 a point where, after it reached " leading strings " in the form of 
 rapidly moving tapes, the separation of the newspaper from the 
 web was completed, and thereafter it went on to the folding 
 cyhnders, &c., which now formed part of the web machine. This 
 description of the mechanism may appear tedious; but, as it 
 apphes to all, or almost all, the rapid newspaper machines still in 
 use, and which seem likely to retain their hold in the case of the 
 printing, but not the folding parts, I have ventured to give these 
 details, along with the accompanying Outline Plan, of the process 
 by which complete newspapers are printed. 
 
 Outline Sketch of First Web Machines. 
 No. 1 shows the web of paper. 2— The printing cylinders. 3 — Impression 
 cylinders ; the driving-wheel is on the large one, 4 — Inking rollers, &c. 
 5 — The two serrating cylinders. 6 — The two folding cylinders. 7 — The 
 knives or "choppers" which push the papers between two rollers to 
 give the last two folds. 
 
 Improvements on, and Improved Web Machines. — The 
 princi2')le on which complete newspapers were printed from 
 Avebs of paper, by means of type-carrying cylinders and impress- 
 ing blanket cjdinders remains, as I have said ; but several 
 extensions and improvements in lesser features have been made 
 since they were first brought into general use. The lesser im- 
 provements have been chiefly in connection with the folding 
 mechanism. At first the quarter page fold was by two cylinders 
 Avith grippers to seize the edges and carry the sheets half round, 
 when projecting blunt knives pushed them between two rollers 
 
158 
 
 and made the first two -fold, — one across the top and the other 
 across the page, — and the remaining two-folds by means of blunt 
 " choppers " (as they were nicknamed), each of them attached to 
 long iron handles that moved alternately so as to push the sheets 
 between other two rollers which gave them the finishing folds. 
 This elaborate mode of folding, including numerous tapes to carry 
 or keep the sheets in their order, did much to hinder the printing, 
 so that the promised speed of 12,000 eight-page papers per hour 
 could not be long persisted in with safety. After our first web 
 machines were ordered and at work, the partners decided to start 
 the Evening Times ; but as it was then a four-page sheet, while 
 they could only print an eight-page Herald, we were obliged to 
 continue the use of the old Rotaries. For many reasons this was 
 objectionable ; so that, when Mr. R. Hoe, Jr., visited this country 
 about that time, I told him we wished the web machines improved, 
 so as to print a four-page besides an eight-page paper. He said 
 it was impossible ; but, as I was not satisfied with that, I said we 
 would get it done ourselves. The result was that we arranged to 
 cut the eight-page sheet in two by the serrating cylinder, and as the 
 folders could not deal with a four-page paper, I also planned a 
 method by which the Evening Times was collected and delivered 
 in parcels of half-dozens ready for immediate despatch or sale. 
 
 A third web press, however, was found necessary, not only 
 because of having the power to print both sizes, but to meet the 
 still growing demand for them. It was erected in 1877, and 
 about to be started, when it happened that General Grant of the 
 United States was in Glasgow and received the honour of the 
 freedom of the city. It occurred to me that it would be an ap- 
 propriate compliment to Messrs. Hoe, the American makers of it, 
 if their ex-President inaugurated its use by being the first to bring 
 it into action. He readily came to the office with Mrs. Grant 
 and the Lord Provost, after the city ceremony, and on the 13th 
 September of that year applied the lever by which the machine 
 was put in full motion. " I guess that I have seen some such 
 
159 
 
 printing press in New York," were almost the only words the 
 naturally reticent General uttered. Our men thereafter called 
 the machine "the General;" it is now doing good work in a leading 
 daily paper in Wales. Part of its folding gear was an improve- 
 ment upon that of its predecessor, but the chopper fold continued. 
 Since that time, however, it has disappeared ; and even its two 
 predecessors have now their entire folders taken away, and 
 triangle guiding plates, with small cylinders, &c., have taken 
 their place, and in a very efficient way pour out mechani- 
 cally counted papers in quantities of dozens, scores, or quires. 
 These two first web presses started 20 years ago, and still " a'maist 
 as guid as new," are converted to produce, and, of course, fold six- 
 page papers as well as four and eight-page sizes. 
 
 The triangular plate with rounded edges, which took the place 
 of the chopper folders and many of the troublesome tapes, was 
 fixed (although it may seem awkward to say so) Avith its base at 
 the top, to which the sheet in its full breadth is carried after 
 leaving the printer, and assumes its first fold as in its progress 
 it tapers down to the pointed apex; thereafter it gets the re- 
 maining folds by other mechanism of a simpler nature than the old. 
 This method was applied on two presses designed for us by Colonel 
 Richard Hoe, the senior partner of the firm, and formed the last 
 contract he made before he died. He was an able engineer, and 
 very much of a gentleman in all his dealings. That reversed 
 triangular plate of the folding process, which is now in general 
 use, was repeated in two later presses, along with the important 
 advantage of cutting off the printed papers from the web during 
 the folding, and thereby dispensing with leading tapes. These, 
 and other improvements on the printing, as well as the folding me- 
 chanism, enable these presses to turn out four or six-page papers 
 at the rate of 25,000 an hour, while they can give 27,000 copies 
 when emergencies require ; the eight-page portion of the Herald 
 is turned out at half these numbers, and in each case the sheets 
 are gummed together and delivered in portions of dozens or scores. 
 
160 
 
 The speciality of these machines, by which the six pages are 
 produced for the Evening Times size, or to make part of a larger 
 size for the Herald, is by working webs of three pages in breadth 
 (instead of by the ordinary two-page wide webs). After being 
 printed together the web is divided into sheets of 4 pages, and 
 another half that size; but immediately after the latter is diverted 
 to two sloping bars, around which it gets a twisted movement, 
 and from which it is placed and gummed inside the full sheet in 
 page order. These excellent presses were made by Messrs. Hoe's 
 London firm, of which Mr, George R. Willis is the managing 
 partner, and successor to his old friend, Mr. William Conquest, 
 who conducted the business in this country since the first Rotary 
 machine was introduced and erected for Mr. Lloyd's newspapers 
 in 1847. 
 
 Web Presses of great sizes and immense productive power 
 have also been made, but chiefly to print American Sunday papers 
 and other weekly papers which have long-continued runs without 
 the interruption of repeated editions for later news, with their 
 altered stereo plates. The stoppages of such machines to change 
 several plates of one edition to those of a later edition, which can 
 only be made and placed one by one as they reach the machine- 
 room, mean much loss of time in providing newspapers when 
 parcels of them require to be made up and despatched for different 
 railway trains, &c. ; while during that time lesser sized presses, 
 which require, it may be, only one or two late-edition plates, have 
 been rapidly supplying what the greater machines cannot make 
 up in number what they have lost in time, — just as in other cases 
 delayed papers, however important the contents may be, become 
 equal to waste paper if the trains to carry them are missed. For 
 these reasons we have not placed more than one of such machines, 
 called the Three-Web Press. The accompanying Sketch, and the 
 Outline of the course of the web through the printer and the folder, 
 may perhaps suffice to give an idea of its working, after the 
 references already made to the chief mechanical Avorkings of the 
 
The Thkee-Web PitixTi; 
 
 The Sketch above shows such a Press as that recently ma 
 In the Sketch, however, there is only one folder and one delivery i 
 there are two folders and double delivery, at hand height, as 
 bar to give the first fold will be seen on the right, near two ii 
 at the left side of that shown in the Sketch. The double fc! 
 stooping, are both important where a great output of papers re 
 
 It may be here stated that the small perforations seen at 
 the triangle, which project at the right moment, catch the sheet, 
 iblds. Such cylinder pin-catchers have been in use on previous n 
 
ND Folding Machine. 
 
 i Messrs. Hoe & Co., London, and erected in our Machine Room. 
 i papers, and that on the floor level ; in the case of our machine, 
 m in the foUowino- Outline Key. The side of one triangular 
 steps. The second folding apparatus on our Press is placed 
 , and the delivery at a height to suit the handling and save 
 38 the utmost facility in carrying them off. 
 
 foot of the printed pages are made by pins in a cylinder below 
 1 hold them on till they are passed to receive the remaining 
 nes. 
 
161 
 
 Web-printing processes. This Three-Web press has an advantage 
 over the smaller presses by producing their united output, and 
 yielding a greater variety of" sizes, such as complete papers 
 of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, or 24 pages, and these papers have the 
 sheets (inset when needed) gummed, folded, counted, and delivered 
 
 Outline Kf.y of Thkee-Web Machine. 
 Showing the three webs of paper and their courses between the three 
 sets of type and impression cylinders, so as to get printed first on one 
 side and immediately after on the other. The webs then travel to the 
 triangular part of the folders, where the papers get their first fold. The 
 dotted lines show where portions of the webs combine when necessary. 
 
 in bundles of certain numbers. The guaranteed rate of produc- 
 tion of these extra large sized papers is 12,000 copies an hour, and 
 in the cases of the 4 or 6 page papers the promised output is 48,000 
 copies per hour. 
 
 The Giant Printing Press of the world is now being completed 
 by Messrs. K. Hoe & Co. for the New York World, for which (with 
 its Sunday paper) three are ordered. It is called the Octuple Press, 
 because at each revolution of its great cylinders it will print, cut 
 paste, fold, count, and deliver eight copies of eight-page papers. 
 It is rated to give per hour 96,000 four-page papers, — the pro- 
 duct of the others varying by stages according to the various 
 larger sizes. 
 
162 
 
 It is cuiious to find, upon looking backward, the great changes 
 from the small hand-presses to those driven by men, to cylinder 
 machines worked b}^ steam power, on to the huge two-storey Eight 
 and Ten Rotary Feeders ; and then, on the other hand, to find 
 the size almost suddenly diminished to the Web Printing and 
 Folding Machines, across which men may shake hands, and the 
 growth again to gigantic machines, such as the Three-Web Presses 
 and the Octuple, with their marvellous output of perfected papers. 
 With newspaper proprietors the question seems to be constant, 
 What next ? Like the public appetite for news, it may be said 
 that newspaper printing presses grow in output by what they feed 
 on. Fifty years ago we printed not more than 4,000 copies twice a 
 week ; now we turn webs of paper into newspapers which, if put 
 end to end, would in less than a year encircle the globe, from 
 slow stage-coach conveyance of news advanced to railway speed 
 of 60 miles an hour, and to its momentary transmission by electric 
 telegraph from every part of the world ; from gas lighting, to the 
 bright and wholesome electric light ; from speaking to and hearing 
 each other face to face, to speaking and hearing at distances of 
 hundreds of miles ; from hand-press and cylinder printing, at the 
 rate of about 400 complete copies an hour, to a speed of near 1,000 
 per minute, perfected, folded, counted, and delivered ; and from 
 the old system of type setting by hand to setting by machines, 
 and even dispensing with type almost altogether for solid lines, — 
 the first portion of the installation of these Linotype Machines 
 being now in operation. 
 
 We may well wonder if there is room left for as great an ad- 
 vance during the next half century. But that will not be our 
 business. 
 
163 
 
 UPS AND DOWNS OF NEWSPAPER LIFE. 
 
 /^UT of about 72 daily and Aveekly journals published 
 ^^^ in Glasgow in and since the year 1845 only some 7 
 i^eto^-papers remain, while a large number of class papers have 
 also disappeared, and of all kinds there are always some appearing 
 and disappearing. It may fairly be said that on every one of these 
 latter monoy has been lost, while in the attempt to establish some 
 of them the losses have been considerable. Shortly after that year 
 a wealthy ironmaster, not content with his wealth, tried to 
 make more by establishing a paper, but after absorbing a large 
 sum it collapsed, and a few years thereafter his own proper busi- 
 ness also went down. In the case of one of the early daily papers 
 one of the proprietors told me that £32,000 had been lost upon it, 
 but added he would not say how much he and his partner had 
 spent after they acquired it. The Daily News is said to have cost 
 its early proprietors £200,000 before it began to pay anything. 
 These losses, however, were moderate compared with those ot 
 our own day, so far as expenditure went, when so many are 
 itching to have a hand in a " guid gangin' " newspaper, or 
 failing that to start a new one, at a risk considerably greater 
 than formerly. Not a few of them believe that their greater 
 literary or managing gifts will produce better results than 
 years of experience, so that the vicissitudes of newspaper 
 history have repeatedly shown literary and social dons spend- 
 ing their brains and money, or the money of other people, 
 fruitlessly. One gentleman in starting a journal did not hesitate 
 in his opening announcement to go very near to calling himself a 
 heaven-born journalist, so that his future readers might expect 
 great things. For a time he managed to serve out occasional 
 sensations, but the public became tired of them, and his paper 
 went down, while he went up to London — that happy hunting- 
 
164 
 
 ground whore the bad and indifferent as well as good and able 
 men do congregate. 
 
 Political interest has also been a motive in the launching and 
 maintenance of newspapers. And here the curious fact may be 
 pointed out that previous to about ten years ago it was diffi- 
 cult to start, or to keep in life Conservative newspapers, although 
 great sums and expensive nursing were spent upon them in 
 different parts of the country. But during the last ten years that 
 experience has been reversed, so that in several cases Liberal 
 newspapers have gone down and others have been unsuccessfully 
 started. Some years ago (in the seventies) one such daily news- 
 paper was started from political motives by a large number, chiefly 
 of county gentlemen and " merchant princes," who were dissatis- 
 fied that no organ within their sphere sufficiently represented 
 their views. A Limited Company to exploit these views and over- 
 whelm their opponents was therefore formed, composed of about 
 200 shareholders, by whom a capital of £30,000 was paid. That 
 sum was soon exhausted, when, it was said, they and other 
 political friends were appealed to to double their contributions ; 
 but while some such amount was again contributed from amongst 
 the party it was reported that one gentleman, a local political 
 magnate, declined to invest more money in shares, but instead 
 offered rather to the Company those he had at first as a free 
 gift 1 These two sums, amounting, it was stated, to about £60,000, 
 seem also to have been used up, when another gentleman, who 
 had become very wealthy and who afterwards successfully aspired 
 to political honours, was induced to come to the rescue. When all 
 was over it came out in evidence given on the occasion of a Court 
 of Session case that he had paid £100,000 to carry the venture 
 on, but got none of it back, and yet that the paper never reached 
 the paying point, although the £100,000 friend had a succession 
 of guardian angels watching the cash box. It died, and it seemed 
 that not even fragments of the £100,000, or of the £60,000 which 
 went before, remained to be gathered up. 
 
165 
 
 Edinburgli has had repeated experiences of newspaper losses. 
 One authority refers to five different cases there by which upwards 
 of £500,000 were lost, and conckides as follows : — " To start a 
 daily paper in these days is a costly experiment. It oug'ht never 
 to be attempted without a determination to spend the entire 
 capital of the company in the first twelve months. That is, if 
 money will buy the best talent and the latest news, let the public 
 see it is so from the very start. The chance is lost if the paper 
 fails to make a hit the first few weeks of its career. Success can 
 only be assured by an immediate expenditure from which pro- 
 prietors and shareholders — with no newspaper experience — shrink, 
 and the loss of which millionaires alone can face with indifference." 
 
 In a London evening paper it was recently stated that, irrespec- 
 tive of what a previous owner had spent, £170,000 was lost upon 
 it. I cannot say whether it is going on spending or is making 
 anything for the new proprietor ; a newspaper with a bad 
 name has not usually a hopeful look ahead, but in this case 
 although it was stated that it had the greatest circulation " its 
 circulation went up as the price of its shares went down," and 
 so on. 
 
 More of such cases as I have mentioned might easily be given ; 
 it is a pitiable portion of newspaper history, but nevertheless new 
 crops of a similar kind will probably rise in the future as in 
 the past. 
 
166 
 
 OUR PREMISES, FIRES, &c. 
 
 [HE premises of the Company from 1841 to 1859 were in the 
 Court at 182 Trongate, then at St. Vincent Place till 1868, 
 and thereafter in those between Buchanan Street and Mitchell 
 Street — where Ave now are. Before these and previous removals 
 the partners of these days repeatedly got such extended accom- 
 modation as was possible at each place ; but the ever-increasing 
 necessities of the business compelled them to secure new quarters. 
 When, however, we took possession of the block extending from 
 Buchanan Street to Mitchell Street there was at our disposal 
 space to spare for tenants, which served also as a reserve for 
 extensions for our own use from time to time. Within the last 
 few years we have acquired in addition two adjoining blocks 
 which had been burned down, one of them twice, and which had 
 been on both occasions very near bringing a similar fate on the 
 premises we then occupied. The total area of the ground now 
 owned by our firm extends to 7,676 square feet — which, besides 
 the original purchase between Buchanan Street and Mitchell 
 Street, includes the most of the south side of Mitchell Lane. The 
 latter acquisitions were added not only to give more accommo- 
 dation now and perhaps for coming generations, but also to deliver 
 us from the danger of combustible neighbours. 
 
 The Danger from Fire is a specially serious one to a daily 
 newspaper, because if it overtakes the compositors' or the printing 
 department it means such a suspension of the business as may 
 do it fatal injury. Other businesses can generally manage to live 
 after a fire by getting temporary premises and laying in stock 
 from other quarters, or by getting their customers to be patient 
 for a time; but an interval in the issue of a daily newspaper 
 allows others to take its place, and may lead to a permanent loss 
 of custom. We have had four fires in Buchanan Street, — nnich 
 
"GLASGOW HERALD" MITCHELL STREET BUILDINGS, 
 With Water Tower for " Internal Sprinklers" and " External Drenchers." 
 
167 
 
 more than an average experience, — all of them from neighbours, 
 and three of them extremely dangerous, touching our premises 
 and destroying the buildings in which they originated. 
 
 From an outbreak in the Mitchell Lane block — the first of the 
 three — in 1876 the roof of our Case-room was set on fire, and as 
 it seemed that the whole block was going, all our men in the 
 different departments were warned out. At the time I happened 
 to be in London on business, and was startled from sleep during 
 the night by Mr. Walker, our London sub-editor, calling out at 
 the hotel bedroom door that " the Glasgow offices were on fire, 
 the compositors had left, and the Special Wire clerks were going 
 off with their instruments." I went back with him at once to 
 our London offices, but there we could only wait on in silent and 
 anxious suspense, as we could not learn a word more either by 
 our own wires or by those of the General Post Office. At length, 
 about 4 A.M., a short but glad message came from Glasgow that 
 the compositors had returned, and in half an hour after another 
 message that the printing machines were about to start. It turned 
 out, however, that, while the fire brigade saved the roof, the 
 danger reappeared by the fire bursting a window and seizing 
 upon an inner room. As an illustration of how a newspaper might 
 in such a case lose its connection, I found upon getting home that 
 a contemporary had sent out enormous extra supplies of papers 
 under the impression that it was impossible for the Herald to 
 appear ; their extras were happily not required. 
 
 The Wylie & Lochhead Fire (as it was called) on Saturday 
 the 3rd November, 1883, was a formidable matter for us, because 
 although at first it was not actually in touch with our buildings 
 the burning flakes were carried to several properties to windward, 
 including ours ; so that while three of our roofs were set on fire 
 but extinguished by our employees who were there as a water 
 fence, some flakes overleaped them and settled on the adjoining 
 property, which was burned to the ground. This placed our 
 premises in such extreme danger that the police ordered every 
 
168 
 
 one out of them, but at what seemed the last moment I got a 
 fireman with his water hose to play upon the crucial part of our 
 editorial floor, which the great tongues of flame were attacking, 
 and we were saved again. 
 
 FiKE-ExTiNGUiSHiNG APPLIANCES were already placed through- 
 out all our buildings; but we felt the need of all additional 
 available protection. That we considered we had gained by a 
 complete installation of Automatic Water-Sprinklers in March, 
 1888, which in the event of internal fire were planned to act almost 
 instantaneously. When thereafter I bantered with some of our 
 fire insurance friends, and the City Firemaster, that we were 
 now practically independent of them, they quite fairly reminded 
 me of the origin of our serious experiences by saying : "Yes, the 
 internal sprinklers are good as far as they cast water, but as your 
 troubles have all been from your neighbours, what about your 
 dangers from the outside ? " This answer was so true that it set 
 me to think out a plan which by perforated pipes on the ridges 
 of all our roofs, at every exposed window, &c., should enable us 
 promptly to turn on a flowing shield of water if at any time a fire 
 threatened. These, which were completed early in 1891, 1 called 
 External Drenchers (to distinguish them from the internal 
 sprinklers). Some time after they were fixed it was found 
 preferable to plug the perforations, which were apt to get 
 choked by dust, and instead to attach to the pipes what 
 are called open sprinklers with their mouths downwards so 
 as to keep them free of dust. When the big Mitchell 
 Street block — the south gable and part of the east side 
 which touched ours — was burned down to its basement on 
 the 7th August, 1892, it so happened that the drencher pipe 
 next that block was in our machine shop getting the alteration 
 made. But this led to a remarkable demonstration of the value 
 of both the internal and external water protection : while other 
 exposed parts of the roof and windows were covered by a gentle 
 flow of water, and absolutely resisted the great volumes of flame, 
 
169 
 
 these seized upon the unprotected part and were travelling along 
 the roof and through it when the internal sprinklers opened and 
 instantly poured out such a " thick rain " above and about them 
 that the fire there was speedily quenched, and the building saved 
 from destruction. While the internal sprinklers were thus 
 proving their value the external drenchers gave similar proof of 
 their efficiency below the same north-west corner, where the win- 
 dows of a well of light were very much exposed to the fire : there 
 we found a gentle flow of Loch Katrine water covering the glass 
 and frames of the windows, and in the end there was no damage 
 more serious than three cracks of the glass, and not even a blister 
 on the paint of the frames. The cost of the installation of the 
 sprinklers, and the very small cost of the drenchers, are soon 
 returned through the reduced fire insurance rates, which no doubt 
 pay the Insurance Companies better than higher rates would for 
 greater risks. It has long seemed to me a strange thing that so 
 few property owners, warehousemen, and others use such effective 
 protection against fire. In America and England they do so 
 more than in Scotland, while I learned that in one of the largest 
 retail warehouses in London my unpatented plan of external 
 drenchers was adopted (without acknowledgment) about two 
 years ago. 
 
 Repeated Extension of Premises affords one of the best 
 proofs of newspaper progress. At the beginning of the half- 
 century just past, and for some years after, the Public office was 
 an apartment measuring 280 square feet, which lay to the right 
 hand of the entrance shown in the Sketch at page 86 ; on the 
 left was the one equally small apartment for the Editor ; while 
 above the office was another for the Reporter, — both rooms 
 together giving 480 square feet for the Literary Department, 
 which was manned by the Editor and one Reporter only. The 
 Case-room — the largest apartment of all — extended over the 
 Editor's room, and the Machine-room was partly under the office. 
 The entire area occupied then was about 2,412 square feet, while 
 
170 
 
 we have in use and now completing floor space to the extent of 
 34,852 square feet. The following table gives the figures in 
 detail for those who may be interested : — 
 
 Public Office, &c., - - - 
 Editorial and Reporting, 
 Compositors' Case-Room, 
 Printing Machines, &c., 
 Despatch Apartment, - 
 Stereotyping „ 
 Special Wire Clerks, 
 Mechanics' Shop, - 
 Steam Engines, Boilers, &c., - 
 Pneumatic Tube Plant, 
 Electric Dynamos, &c., - 
 Editorial Tea Room, 
 Stores for Paper, &c., - 
 Hydro-Pneumatic Engines, &c., 
 for Hoists, - - - 
 
 2412 34,852 
 
 Besides the accommodation stated, the Herald forces at night 
 have, in addition to the above, the use of the Evening Times 
 Composing, Stereo, Editorial, and other apartments, extending to 
 4,240 square feet, while the Evening Times has the use of the 
 former during its day work. The measurement of the Public 
 office includes now the General Manager's room, and other 
 apartments necessary to the Publishing work of the papers. 
 
 After these figures as to the sources of newspaper production, 
 it may not be inept to give the folloAving as to results. The sub- 
 ject was started (but was not continued) by a Yorkshire paper : — 
 
 THE GREATEST ADVERTISING NEWSPAPERS IN THE 
 UNITED KINGDOM. 
 
 (From the Glasgoxo Herald, May 23, 1896.) 
 There have recently been published on the subject of "record" advertismg 
 days in British newspapers a number of statements which are misleading, 
 inasmuch as what is a favourite day for advertising in one district is not so 
 
 In 1845. 
 
 In 1897. 
 
 280 sq. ft. 
 
 5024 sq. ft. 
 
 430 „ 
 
 2855 „ 
 
 1192 „ 
 
 3588 „ 
 
 360 „ 
 
 5208 „ 
 
 150 „ 
 
 4034 „ 
 
 None in 1845. - 
 
 490 „ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 192 „ 
 
 s> 
 
 2008 „ 
 
 )! 
 
 1576 „ 
 
 )) 
 
 246 „ 
 
 ') 
 
 546 „ 
 
 !) 
 
 240 „ 
 
 » 
 
 8685 „ 
 
 )) 
 
 215 „ 
 
171 
 
 in another. Obviously the only fair course in a matter of this kind is to make 
 a comparison of the totals of advertisements which have appeared in different 
 newspapers during a considerable period of time. As a result of such a com- 
 parison, beginning with January of last year, extending over the 16 months 
 ending with last month, we find that the first advertising medium among 
 British daily newspapers is the London Daily Telegraph, that the second is 
 the Glai^gotv Herald, and that the third is the London Times. It is unneces- 
 sary in this connection to mention the names of other journals, as the highest 
 of them is considerably below the three mentioned. The following are the 
 exact figures for the period mentioned : — 
 
 NEWSPAPERS. Columns of Advts. 
 
 The London Daily Telegkaph, - - - 18,118 
 
 The Glasgow Herald, ----- 15,102 
 The London Times, . - - - - 14,868 
 
 The Liverpool Mercury, it has since appeared, is also one of the most 
 extensively advertised papers. 
 
 In confirmation of the above correction it may be added that on the day 
 after the misleading statement referred to was made, the Leeds Ereidny 
 Express published the following results of what appeared that morning : — 
 Glasgow Herald, - - - - 64 Columns. 
 
 London Telegraph, - - - - 55 ,, 
 
 Liverpool Mercury, - - - - 55 ,, 
 
 London Standard, - - - - 54 ,, 
 
 London Daily Wews, - - - 39| ,, 
 
 Yorkshire Post, - - - - 29 ,, 
 
 To which should be added — 
 
 The Times, - - - - - 55 ,, 
 
 Scotsman, ----- 44^ ,, 
 
 CONTENTS OF THE HERALD IN 1846 AND OF ITS 
 
 PREDECESSOR OF 1796. 
 The following two articles (extracted from the Evening Times) 
 give a racy and fair idea of the contents of the Herald 50 years 
 ago, and of its predecessor 100 years ago : — 
 
 A HERALD OF 'FORTY-SIX. 
 "Fifty years," as a gentleman writing on Her Majesty's 
 Jubilee luminously remarked, "is a considerable period of 
 
172 
 
 time." It was his seventeenth article on the subject, and he 
 was naturally hard put to it in tinding a new and appropriate 
 opening sentence. To realise how long a period is fifty years, there 
 is no better way than a glance over an old newspaper, which is 
 always of intrinsic interest, apart from its value as a chronometer. 
 In fact, on almost any day of the year the corresponding issue of 
 fifty or a hundred years back will be found more entertaining 
 than the current number. A stray copy of the Glasgow Herald 
 for May 4th, 1846, leads one to that conclusion. It is a most 
 imposing sheet of large pages, with its advertisements amply 
 spaced. There are four pages of eight columns each, and of these 
 32 columns only 14 are devoted to reading matter. In 1846 the 
 paper was issued only twice a week, and the price, delivered in 
 town, was £2 2s. per annum. From these considerations 50 years 
 is " a considerable period of time." But the first announcement 
 that catches the eye on the front page tends to a contrary view. 
 Is it really only 50 years since A. K. H. B. began the gentle art of 
 essay writing ? One cannot conceive a time when he was not 
 writing, yet here is the beginning of things. The University 
 Prize Distribution is recorded, " attended by many Reverend and 
 respectable gentlemen of the city and neighbourhood," and 
 Andrew K. H. Boyd bore off the University Medal for the Best 
 Essay on the Nature and Influence of Motives in Moral Action. 
 Andrew being a lad of pairts also obtained the first prize in the 
 Ethic Class, and further down the list we learn that he found out 
 " How pleasant the tap 
 
 Of the velvet cap 
 
 Which, as old tradition teaches, 
 
 Was made with fond care 
 
 From the Sunday-best pair 
 
 Of Chancellor Cunningham's breeches." 
 And the love of church millinery was inspired in the heart of the 
 Essayist when Lauchie's immediate forerunner smoothed the B. A. 
 hood upon his shoulders. Another well-known name figures in 
 the medical class list, where Ebenezer Watson, A.M., lifts the 
 
178 
 
 Cleland Gold Medal and three other prizes. Only 27 degrees in 
 arts were granted in sessions 1845-6. In the same page the 
 Spring Circuit deals out transportation in liberal quantities. The 
 House of Commons is busy with the case of Mr. Smith O'Brien, 
 who has shown his patriotic contempt for the House by refusing 
 to serve on one of its committees. Sir Robert Peel moves that 
 Mr. O'Brien be not heard, as he refused to explain last night, and 
 thereafter carries the Protection of Life (Ireland) Bill by a 
 thumping majority of 149. The leader-writer of '46 had an ideal 
 position. He wrote half a column twice a week, and we suppose 
 meditated between times on the increasing pressure of the age. 
 The leader column ends with the naive announcement — " The 
 foreign news is wholly unimportant." But the weather depart- 
 ment was carefully attended to by a poetical contributor : — 
 
 The Weather. — After some days of bleak and wintry weather, the season 
 has taken up beautifully since May-day. The young oat brairds are coming 
 up healthily, the wheats are bushy and vigorous, and altogether the aspect of 
 the country is full of freshness and luxuriance. We can now, in the spirit of 
 gladness and gratitude, say with the inspired singer — " Lo, the winter is 
 past ; the rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; the time 
 of the singing of birds is come ; and the voice of the turtle is heard in our 
 land." 
 
 Consols " have been done as high as 96|," and Pig Iron 63s. to 
 64s. for No. 3. Lord Lincoln is returned by eleven votes for 
 Falkirk Burghs, " a free and independent representative of a free 
 and independent constituency (Hisses)." His opponent's name 
 Avas Wilson. Amongst the wonders of the time are the electric 
 pendulum, by which Edinburgh, Falkirk, and Glasgow could be 
 synchronised, and a new gun-lock from Paris, practically our 
 present mechanism for keeping the hammers at half-cock. The 
 Iron Duke is congratulated upon his 77th birthda}', and the next 
 column chronicles an " unheard-of undertaking," namely, a wager 
 to walk 1500 miles in 1000 successive hours. Foulards and 
 bareges, with open fancy straws, were the only wear in Sauchiehall 
 Street anno 1846. Literature is represented by a twenty -line 
 
174 
 
 review of the Rev. Dr. Croly's " Marston," taken from a London 
 paper. There is no contributed matter, but the sub-editor had a 
 cosmopolitan pair of scissors, for besides the London papers, and 
 such provincial journals as the Carlisle Patriot, the Carnarvon 
 Herald, the Elgin Courier, and the Hull Packet, selections are 
 made, and duly acknowledged, from the Geelong Advertiser, 
 Western Clearings, and the Albany Citizen. But perhaps the 
 advertisement columns otq furthest in justification of the Jubilee 
 Journalists' contention. Space is no object, for every notice — 
 even a " Wanted " — has its own heading, occupying a quarter of 
 an inch. The following is a sample of the prominent setting 
 given in those years to advertisements. Such a length would 
 cost about 6s. 6d : — boy WANTED. 
 
 WANTED 
 FOR AN OFFICE IN TOWN 
 ^ SMART, ACTIVE BOY, who writes a neat, expeditious 
 hand. Salary for the first year, £15. 
 Letters in the applicant's handwriting, stating age, to be 
 addressed H. B. W. and left at the Herald (jffice. 
 Glasgow, 22nd August. 
 
 In our days such a " Want " would be stated somewhat as follows, 
 
 and costs only 6d. : — 
 
 T>OY WANTED, expeditious writer. Salary £15 first year. 
 Address H. B. W., Herald oflice. 
 
 Lastly, in 1846 not a single steam vessel was advertised as 
 sailing foreign from the Clyde. Steamers ventured to Gareloch- 
 head, some even to Belfast and Liverpool. For New York and 
 Australia the Al British-built barque and the first-class ship 
 Corsair of 350 tons sufficed. Not in those day could the poet 
 make complaint that 
 
 " Vainly did Heaven, to save mankind from worry, 
 Dissever land from land by perilous ways, 
 When the unconscionable Donald Currie 
 Will take you to the Cape in fifteen days." 
 
175 
 
 For in 1846 the then " Castle Company's " steamers ran between 
 Glasgow and Rothesay, while Sir Donald Carrie's company was 
 not in existence. 
 
 A HERALD OF 1796. 
 
 The title of this article is slightly inaccurate in two respects. 
 First, there was no such name as the Glasgow Herald at that 
 period, but its ancestor in the direct lino was the Glasgow Adver- 
 tiser, started in 1782, in an office whose yearly rent was £5. At 
 the age of twenty the Advertiser became the Herald and 
 Advertiser, and shortly after the latter word was dropped. From 
 the origin in 1782 the numbers of the papers were continued in 
 consecutive order, and showed the unity of the whole. Secondly, 
 the Advertiser of 1796 is not in existence. But, for the purpose 
 of contrast with the Herald to-day and " A Herald of 'Forty- 
 six," referred to in this column last Wednesday, the paper as it 
 was issued in 1794 serves equally well. In its general appearance 
 the Advertiser differs greatly from the unwieldy sheet of fifty 
 years ago. The issues of nine months make up a volume resem- 
 bling externally a Family Bible. The page is nearly square, and 
 taking the number pubhshed this day one hundred and two years 
 ago, it is found to consist of eight pages of three columns each. 
 The paper was published on Monday and Friday, by J. Mennons, 
 Tontine Close, Trongate, who added to his duties as publisher and 
 editor the sale of such articles advertised in his paper as the 
 Parisian Vegetable Syrup, which, " with the Divine Blessing on 
 five bottles," Avas a certain remover of " fever and colliquative 
 sweat." The price of the paper was 4d., or 37s. per annum, de- 
 livered in town. Perhaps the most striking contrast between 
 1846 and 1794 is in respect of the foreign news supplied. In the 
 issue of the Herald referred to last week, that department of the 
 paper consisted of one line — " The foreign news is wholly unim- 
 portant." The issue of September 22nd, 1794, is more than half 
 made up of intelligence from abroad. The reason is obvious when 
 
176 
 
 one recollects that in that year our army was swearing terribly in 
 Flanders, Robespierre was mouthing at large in the National 
 Convention, with guillotine accompaniment, and Howe ceaselessly 
 patrolling the Channel ; while at home the war fever was at its 
 height. The first item in the paper is an advertisement by Mr. 
 Hall, of the Ingram's Street Academy, for "A Man of good 
 natural temper and great application, erninently qualified to 
 teach Writing." Then follow an account of the State of France, 
 including a harrowing description of La Vendee, and an " Interest- 
 ing Story from Florence," of a doctor who was obliged, on pain of 
 death, to open the veins of a young lady whose brothers desired 
 to be rid of her. " Saturday's Post " opens with a report of the 
 French National Convention for 9 Fructidor, or 26 August — only 
 about a month old. This report was a regular feature of the 
 Advertiser. The Netherlands, Holland, Poland, and Turke}'^ 
 occupy two columns. The Porte, at the request of the British 
 Ambassador, sends troops to Smyrna to protect our traders from 
 the attentions of three French frigates. The London column is 
 also entirely foreign news, except for the statement that " Carleton 
 House is about to be completed for the residence of the Prince of 
 Wales and his Royal Consort." Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and 
 Whitby share half a column. " Sunday's Post " and " Monday's 
 Post " are made up of similar material and in the same fashion. 
 The London correspondent wants to know why, if our fleet is so 
 overwhelmingly strong, the French ports were not all blockaded 
 many months ago, and the Star critic suggests that our ships 
 would be better employed in protecting commerce than in 
 " battering barren Corsican rocks." The London correspondent 
 makes merry over an Irish Paper's biography of Robespierre, who 
 " left no children behind him except his brother, who was killed 
 at the same time." The Stock List, with Lloyd's Shipping List, 
 makes up the whole of the commercial news. The former is 
 worth giving in its entirety : — 
 
177 
 
 Stocks. 
 Biiik Stuck. Shut. 
 3 per ct. rd. Shut. 
 
 3 per ct. con. 65j. 
 
 4 per ct. an. Shut. 
 3 per ct. an. lOOJ. 
 
 The Glasgow news of three days gets three-quarters of a cohimn. 
 It includes the arrival of Lords Dunfinnan and Swinton for to- 
 morrow's Circuit, Fire in the Gorbals, and the discovery of Per- 
 petual Motion by a mason in Arbroath. " There is little doubt," 
 says the Editor, after describing the machine, which " moves 
 merely by its own powers ot pressure, that it will go for ages." 
 Leaders there are none. That is the most notable omission, and 
 next to it is the absence of Births, Marriages, and Deaths. But 
 now and then the Editor feels his responsibility as a custodian of 
 morals, and this is how he sets about the business of writing : — 
 
 " Of late, we have heard mucli of French atheism and infideliiy, and which 
 our Senators and all good men have recently most piously deprecated ; we 
 are extremely sorry that a like sense of the heinousness of such principles 
 will necessarily oblige them, if not blinded by prejudice and partiality, to 
 direct their attention to the conduct of persons nearer home, and with whom 
 they are most intimately connected. We have only to refer our readers to 
 the Journal of the Operations of the Duke of York's army in page 389 of this 
 paper, where they will observe that on Sunday evening, the 15th curt., 
 ' three or four hundred officers, mounted and betting in high style, attended 
 a horseracinq, and that even the private soldiers had their pints of gin depend- 
 ing on the different heats ! ! ! ' Comment is almost unnecessary ; we shall 
 only say, that if those that behave in such a manner on a Sunday be not 
 professed Atheists, they are undeniably practical Deists, which is but one 
 remove from the other description, and they are certainly not less culpable 
 in the eye of God. 
 
 Wednesday, a dog apparently mad, bit several dogs in the streets of the 
 city. — See advertisement." 
 
 Advertisements average one-sixth of the whole paper, instead ot 
 in 1846 nearly one-half. The largest one in this particular issue 
 is a list of the Noblemen, Gentlemen, and Heritors of Lanarkshire, 
 convened by the Duke of Hamilton to take measures for the in- 
 ternal defence of the county. From another we learn that Black 
 
178 
 
 Tea fetches from 3s. 8d. to 6s. per pound, and the Best Green 
 Gunpowder Tea, lis. State Lotteries are in full swing, and the 
 Glasgow Surgeons request that, owing to the great increase in the 
 size of the city, people who wish them to call in the evening will 
 inform them not later than three o'clock. We find Mr. Houston- 
 Kae requesting as a commentary on the " increasing size of the 
 city," that none will shoot or course on the estate of Govan with- 
 out his permission and Mrs. Durie, of the Black Bull Inn, 
 referring to her husband's decease, intimates in effect the epitaph 
 that 
 
 " His wife keeps on the business still, 
 Resigned unto the Heavenly Will." 
 
 The Advertiser of 1794 was very strong in poetry, often of the 
 elegiac sort, as in " Monimia, a True Story, and wrote at the desire 
 of a Lady," by a poet whose combined modesty and pride con- 
 strain him to sign " W M'D — w — 11 y — g — t." One verse will 
 
 be quite enough : — 
 
 " Peace to the spot where rests Monimia's head, 
 Here let a stranger sympathetic mourn ! 
 Sigh in condolence with her injured shade, 
 And bathe with Pity's tear the silent urn ! " 
 
 These verses can stand comparison with Pye's laureate ode on 
 His Majesty's 57th birthday, as it appears in the issue of June 
 9th. But it is in its foreign budget that the Advertiser shines. 
 Nothing could bring home to one the details and significance of 
 such an event as the " Glorious First of June " half so well as the 
 perusal of its columns upon the subject, including Howe's modest 
 and matter-of-fact report of that magnificent seafight in which he 
 swept the Channel clean. Other accounts describe how one of 
 his ships grappled a French frigate so tightly that the lower deck 
 gun ports could not be opened, so that the British pigtails 
 fired through their closed ports. Sir Roger Curtis made such 
 haste to town with the news, that he was twice upset, and arrived 
 in London with both his arms in slings. For such picturesque 
 
179 
 
 and eloquent details we may search history books in vam. It is 
 pleasing to notice that Glasgow never let slip any occasion of 
 avowing its sturdy Sabbatarianism, for at the rejoicings in'the 
 Town's Hall, a prominent toast was " May the lesson given to the 
 French on the memorable 1st June, teach them a proper respect 
 for Sunday in all time coming." 
 
 In bringing these Herald reminiscences to a close, it is right to 
 add that reference to two modern features of newspaper work is 
 made a few pages farther on in connection with the Evening Times. 
 These features belong more to evening than to morning papers, — I 
 mean Out-of-door Sports and Newspaper Illustrations. 
 
180 
 
 WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 [HE Glasgow WeeJdy Herald was started on the 12th 
 November, 1864, being, like most of the Weeklies out of 
 London, fathered by a Daily newspaper, which itself had sprung 
 from a journal published twice or thrice a week. The reason 
 for this was that weekly papers continued to be in demand with 
 those who had not time to read or money to buy a daily paper, 
 and with others who wanted the news of the week in condensed 
 form to send to their friends in the country, the colonies, &c. On 
 the other hand, it naturally fell to the conductors of daily papers 
 to transfer a selection of the news which they already had in type 
 to the pages of their Weeklies, rather than that they should leave 
 such matter to be used by other publishers who had been at no 
 expense in collecting it. These Weeklies serve important public 
 interests, especially such as are still issued in county towns, &c., 
 and help their local readers to realise that they are parts of 
 communities which have concerns and responsibilities in common. 
 Last Century Weeklies, according to the following extract 
 from the first number of the Glasgow Mercury (begun in January, 
 1778, and ended on September 4, 1796), were of a much higher 
 type than most in the present day. It is difficult to learn of the 
 existence in Scotland then of one of the many Dailies referred to, 
 or, from our modern experience, to believe in the comparison 
 drawn : — " The curiosity of mankind has produced a number of 
 periodical papers, many of them published daily, conveying 
 accounts of the transactions of the times. Of these, the weekly 
 paper appears to be the most useful and satisfactory. In the 
 daily paper you have the tale of the day, without any certainty 
 of its truth ; but in the weekly paper you have articles mostly of 
 authentic intelligence. The Editor, having leisure to distinguish 
 truth from falsehood, imparts that information that seems to 
 merit attention." After that. Editors of present-day Dailies must 
 reconsider their position ! 
 
181 
 
 The Serial Story became at an early stage a leading feature 
 of the modern Weekly, and evidently met the craving of the 
 imagination in the rank and file of readers. The character and 
 quality of weekly fiction have often been poor enough, and in 
 many cases of very dubious and objectionable nature, with sensa- 
 tional matter gathered by the muck-rake from all quarters, — but 
 it is only fair to remember that some of the very best work of 
 recent novelists has been first issued m this way. 
 
 When the Weekly Herald was started, the Editor aimed at 
 suiting the class of readers most likely to appreciate well-selected 
 news and general literature, but it contained no fiction. Although 
 it at once commended itself to the intelligence and taste of the 
 public, it scarcely did so to the extent which was expected ; and 
 in looking seriously into the question, various suggestions were 
 considered as to how the paper might be made more attrac- 
 tive. After a few years' experience, it became evident that one 
 of the best means of attracting readers was the publication ot 
 serial tales. The idea was comparatively new, and for a time the 
 best papers hesitated to entertain it. But its success elsewhere 
 dissipated the doubt, and it was at length resolved to make an 
 experiment with a serial story in the Weekly Herald. This was 
 in 1869, when the sole responsible Editor (Mr. Pagan), at the sug- 
 gestion of his Assistant-Editor (Mr. James H. Stoddart), consulted 
 Mr. William Freeland,one of the staff, with the result that the latter 
 consented to write the first novel for the Weekly. The work was 
 called " Love and Treason," and was based on what was known as 
 " The Glasgow Radical Risings," a theme which commended itself 
 to a great number of readers in and beyond Glasgow. The forth- 
 coming story was duly announced, and caused some little stir, 
 not only amongst those whose fathers were concerned in the events, 
 but especially amongst city ancients who remembered the hapless 
 " Battle of Bonnymuir," in 1820. One of the most singular things 
 arising out of the announcement was a letter from the late Peter 
 Mackenzie, editor of the Reformers' Gazette, a paper long defunct. 
 
182 
 
 This gentleman, in his " Reminiscences," a rough but interesting 
 book, had written an account of the Radicals, and he then wrote 
 me expressing the hope that his sketches were not to be repro- 
 duced or plagiarised in any way. In the reply, after consulting 
 the Editor, I of course assured him that, as the work about to 
 appear was a romance, there was no intention of interfering with 
 his literary rights, hinting,however,at the same time, that historical 
 facts were not the property of any particular person, but of all who 
 might choose to make use of them. Mr. Mackenzie lived long 
 enough to perceive from Mr. Freeland's story that his appre- 
 hensions were baseless. At length the work began to appear, 
 and as it ran its course from week to week it gave much satisfac- 
 tion, by its mingled wit and humour. The fact is that it forestalled 
 the " Kailyaird " school in many of its merits by about a score of 
 years. After its completion in the Weekly Herald, " Love and 
 Treason " was published in three volumes, in 1872, by a London 
 firm, and met with a very friendly reception from the critics, — 
 the AthencBum going so far as to say that it contained the best 
 illustrations of Scottish humour which had appeared since the 
 days of Gait. The first and only edition of the book was soon 
 exhausted, and, though often asked for, it has never been re- 
 printed. As a local work, an edition in one volume, with some 
 abridgment, might be easily absorbed by Glasgow alone. The 
 next notable story published in the WeeJdy Herald was " A 
 Daughter of Heth," by Mr. William Black.* Many shrewd 
 readers still regard this novel as Mr. Black's most original and 
 admirable work. Up to this time his productions had received 
 but scant justice at the hands of certain reviewers, though 
 the Spectator was too keen not to recognise in the writings of 
 Mr. Black signs of a new literary star. But many critics still 
 doubted, and some sneered. It was then that Mr. Black contrived 
 
 * Mr. Black and Mr. Freeland were members of a coterie of young men 
 in Glasgow who loved and cultivated literature ; it included the late Mr. John 
 G. Whyte, Mr. Robert Giffen (now Sir Robert Giffen, the eminent statistician 
 at the Board of Trade), and others. 
 
183 
 
 a little plot by which he hoped to test the sagacity and" honesty 
 of the critics. He pubUshed the first edition of " A Daughter of 
 Heth," in volume form, anonymously. The result was decisive. 
 The novel was universally hailed as a work of genius, apparently 
 by a new writer. When the second edition appeared with Mr. 
 Black's name to it, the critics who had hitherto been most 
 sceptical as to the author's literary ability had little difficulty in 
 ao-reeing with their own latest judgment, and thenceforth Mr. 
 Black took his proper place among the leading novelists of his 
 time. Mr. Henry Johnston, whose later works have brought him 
 considerable repute, also contributed a couple of stories; and 
 later on came Dr. George Macdonald, with " Malcolm," and Mr. 
 George Meredith, with " The Egoist," both splendid stories, though 
 the latter was hardly suitable for the columns of a weekly news- 
 paper. Among the early contributors of serial stories was Mr. 
 David Wingate, who reached early fame as " the collier poet," 
 having been at one time a coal-miner. Mr. T. G. Smith, of the 
 WeeJdy Herald staff, contributed three serials; and his first 
 short stories appeared afterwards in book form, under the title, 
 " Unravelled Skeins." Mr. Wilham Canton (now in charge of 
 Good Words, &c.), contributed at least two serials while he was a 
 member of the Herald editorial staff, as well as many poems in 
 the fine vein that distinguishes much of his work. 
 
 As it was found that many readers objected to the exclusive 
 use of long continued stories, an announcement was made asking 
 for contributions of short stories of about a column's length, as 
 well as for stories of medium length, to run for four or five weeks. 
 These, along with a tale of the usual length continuing during 
 several months, seem to meet the varying taste and time of our 
 readers. Miss Braddon, Sir Walter Besant, James Payne, Clarke 
 Russell, Baring Gould, Rider Haggard, Bret Harte, " Ouida," Capt. 
 Mayne Reid, and others of the leading novelists of the day have 
 written novels which have appeared in the Weekly Herald before 
 their publication in book form. 
 
184 
 
 Prize Stories. — In 1880 the proprietors advertised a com- 
 petition for three serial stories for insertion in our Weekly, and 
 offered prizes for them of £150, £100, and £75. We received 
 about a hundred MSS., of which the successful three proved 
 excellent stories, being evidently much appreciated by readers, 
 this all the more doubtless because we had stated that tales 
 on Scotch lines would be preferred if not less acceptable other- 
 wise. Twelve years later we repeated the plan with fully as great 
 success, the prizes this time being £200, £150, and £100. In 
 both these cases the stories selected were for serial publication in 
 the Weekly Herald only. One reason for this restriction was that 
 a " syndicate " system had some years before come into vogue, by 
 which one serial should be run simultaneously in several papers 
 in different parts of the United Kingdom. Of course it was 
 possible for us to arrange, as we always did, that we should com- 
 bine only with papers outside of Scotland. But despite the 
 advantages of this plan, by which several high- class novels have 
 been brought out, it had sometimes the serious disadvantage of 
 overlapping, when stories appeared in papers across the border 
 where our paper also circulates, and were at the same time pub- 
 lished in the Illustrated London News or in the Gra^jhic, which 
 circulate far and wide. This " syndicate " system, moreover, is 
 apt to give readers the impression that they are being asked 
 to pay for matter which is cheap common property. 
 
 Amongst other features added from time to time are : a Young 
 Folks' column, a column of Science Notes, and a Missing Friends' 
 column, which last has been the means in hundreds of cases of 
 bringing together, from aU parts of the world, relatives and friends 
 who had lost trace of one another's existence or whereabouts. 
 Chess and Draughts problems and news were given from an early 
 year in the Weekly Herald, and have been followed with interest 
 by players at home and abroad : the games are dealt with by a 
 leading authority on each respectively. 
 
185 
 
 THE EVENING TIMES. 
 
 "^HE Evening Times, which was started on 5th June, 1876, 
 by the Herald proprietors, was one of many evening 
 
 papers i3egun in connection with morning papers before and 
 after that year. It has been talvcn for granted that such papers 
 pubUshed at a halfpenny are a characteristic of this generation 
 only ; but as a matter of fact when newspapers began to make 
 their appearance about two centuries ago the most of them were 
 afternoon or evening papers, pubHshed once or twice a week, and 
 sold at a halfpenny. 
 
 Old Halfpenny Papers. — In 1701 a Bill was introduced in 
 Parliament to impose a stamp tax of a penny on every newspaper 
 of a whole sheet issued periodically, and a stamp of a halfpenny 
 on every half-sheet. This attempt not merely to oppress but to 
 suppress newspapers was met by some proprietors in a petition, 
 in which it was stated that "the said newspapers have been 
 always sold to the poorer sort of people who are purchasers of 
 them by reason of their cheapness, to divert themselves, and also 
 to allure their young children, and to entice them to reading ; 
 and should a duty of three halfpence be laid upon these papers — 
 which, hj reason of the coarseness of the paper, the generality of 
 the gentlemen are above conversing with — it would utterly extin- 
 guish and suppress the same." The reference to l^d. means that 
 the papers consisted of a whole sheet and a half-sheet supplement, 
 A respite was granted ; but the blight came in 1712, when an Act 
 was passed upon the lines proposed eleven years before, and as 
 the Union of the two Kjngdoms took place in 1711, Scotland as 
 well as England was brought under the tax. The effect of the 
 Act was the gradual extinction of halfpenny papers. 
 
 This Stamp Duty on every newspaper rose to be as high as 
 fourpence per copy, but was reduced again to a penny in 1836, 
 and finally vanished in 1 855, after which halfpenny papers began 
 slowly to re-appear. (See page 15, on the Stamp Duty.) It is 
 
186 
 
 curious to find that when the original of the Herald began in 
 1782 its sub-title was The Evening Intelligencer, an accidental 
 forecast of the Evening Times which sprang from the same 
 source. 
 
 Enterprise amongst evening newspapers up to about 20 years 
 ago was practically unknown, as compared with the enterprise of 
 the present time ; most of them, indeed, lived upon clippings from 
 the morning papers, with short statements of the local Share 
 markets of the day, and a sprinkling of short paragraphs recording 
 local events of the forenoon. No attempt was made to give full 
 statements of events, and the expenditure in procuring news by 
 telegraph or otherwise was very limited. The conductors of 
 morning newspapers were naturally aggrieved to find their best 
 and most costly matter transferred in the afternoon to another 
 paper which also undersold them. This was the cause in many 
 cases of the proprietors of morning papers starting evening papers, 
 as in our own case. 
 
 Parasites. — Strangely enough, however, our Evening Times 
 was met by statements from other evening papers that it was a 
 parasite of the Herald; and at length such an attack provoked the 
 following retort. It gives a fair illustration of similar petty 
 conflicts in other places, in which, however, British newspapers 
 rarely indulge : — 
 
 " Newspaper Competition. — When the Evening Times made 
 its appearance, and sought support from the public on the 
 grounds of its merits as a cheap evening newspaper, we expected 
 that there would be some little flutter of excitement among our 
 contemporaries, but were hardly prepared for the outburst of envy 
 with which it has been assailed. Its success has been very much 
 greater than we expected — thanks to the public for its appre- 
 ciation of our efforts ; and probably in consequence of that success 
 — because our evening rivals feel themselves sorely hurt — we are 
 indebted for the excitement which finds vent in hard words and 
 evil prophesymgs. Our contemporar}", the , mentions 
 
187 
 
 the ominous word ' parasite.' The proprietors of morning papers 
 who establish evening papers as well (and some of the best morn- 
 ing and evening papers in the country are owned by the same 
 firms), must necessarily, Ave are told, make the one a parasite — 
 living upon, competing with, and enfeebling the other. Now, we 
 think we can enlighten our contemporary a little upon this point. 
 Did it ever occur to our friend that he was a parasite sucking the 
 blood of his neighbours and growing fat thereby ? There is no 
 parasite in the Republic of Letters that has had a finer time of it 
 than he has had during the last twelve years. News and literary 
 matter, that cost morning newspapers thousands of pounds per 
 annum, he made captive by his scissors and his paste brush, day 
 by day, and by selling what cost him nothing, has turned his 
 halfpenny to good profit. Having had no competition and no 
 spur either to work or to expend on work, the life was an easy 
 and pleasant one. Little wonder he is dreadfully disturbed when 
 one of the papers uj)on which he fed determines — if he will use 
 the word parasite — to keep a ' parasite ' of its own. That parasite 
 has certainly a better right to exist than he has, for through its 
 proprietors it pays it full share in collecting the news of the 
 world, while he pays almost nothing, or at least has done so 
 hitherto, though possibly the competition of which he complains 
 may stimulate him to something approaching enterprise. We 
 shall be glad to see it, for we do intend to make our own venture 
 acceptable to the public. If it hurts him we cannot help it. We 
 shall not move out of our way to satisfy his conditions of 
 competition. 
 
 " We are sorry that we have been compelled in self-defence to 
 bring a matter of this sort before our readers, who cannot possibly 
 have any reasonable interest in the quarrel fixed upon us. We 
 did not seek it, would gladl}^ have avoided it, and trust that it is 
 now ended. We leave another contemporary whose excitement 
 has grown into — let us hope only temporary — raving in the hands 
 of our little friend." 
 
188 
 
 The Development and Progress ot evening newspapers 
 were miicli more rapid than the morning papers experienced for 
 years after they started, but the flowing tide of demand for 
 newspapers helped the former, so that while the Evening Times 
 started with two editions at 3 and 4 p.m., there are now five 
 regular editions at 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 p.m., and seven on Saturdays. 
 Its size was at first four pages, containing 28 columns, but it 
 rapidly expanded to 36 columns, and now it is an eight-page paper 
 of 56 long columns, and is probably the largest halfpenny paper 
 in existence. 
 
 From the first the Evening Times gave a fresh resume of 
 the day's news up to the hour of publication, and all Town Coun- 
 cil and other meetings of importance were reported with unusual 
 fulness. As indicative of the small importance attached to 
 sporting news at that time, I recollect that about a year after it 
 was established a deputation of sporting people — recognising the 
 energy that was put into the paper — called to ask that an edition 
 should be published as late as five o'clock, to give the results of 
 the later races. This was considered an absurd request, and the 
 hour far too late for any likelihood of a sale. After careful con- 
 sideration it was decided not to entertain the proposal. The idea 
 was not, however, lost sight of with regard to news of importance, 
 and one of the startling advances made by the Evening Times 
 was the publication of late editions. 
 
 Feats in Telegraphing, Publishing, &c. — One of the first 
 instances of this was the announcement of an edition giving the 
 result of an Argyllshire election immediately after the declaration of 
 the poll at Inveraray. An immense crowd assembled in Buchanan 
 Street long before the hour when the result was expected, and 
 when the paper was issued some 20 or 30 minutes after the declar- 
 ation, our oflice there was besieged, and a large sale was effected. 
 This feat in journalism was much talked of at the time, but with 
 improved methods now in use such results are published in about 
 twice that number of seconds. In the case of the yacht contests 
 
189 
 
 in American Avators for the America Cup (resuscitated by Sir 
 James Bell, Bart., Lord Provost of Glasgow) good descriptions of 
 the progress of the races have been sent across the bed of the 
 Atlantic, enabling us to issue editions as the yachts reached 
 critical points, and in something under two minutes after the 
 official gun report the results have been published and sold on 
 the streets of Glasgow, and immediately thereafter the newspaper 
 parcels despatched to all towns, &c., by rail. 
 
 The trial of the City Bank Directors in Edinburgh in 1879 was 
 an occasion on which the Evening Times estabhshed a record for 
 the fulness of its reports, and for the speed with which papers 
 were issued containing the trial, and especially the verdict and 
 sentence. At that time the paper was produced by two Eight- 
 Feeder Hoe Machines, printing one side only at a time. Pro- 
 vision was made early in the day by printing a large supply of 
 one side in advance, and when the result was received the full 
 strength of the machinery was turned on to the other side, and as 
 our machine power was fully double that of any other evening 
 newspaper, it was issued with what was then considered marve£ 
 lous rapidity. 
 
 Verbatim Keporting.— During times of political excitement, 
 when some great speakers addressed meetings in the City Hall or 
 St. Andrew's Halls, our evening paper has repeatedly published a 
 verbatim report, extending over several columns, so expeditiously 
 that copies have been presented to the leading speakers before they 
 left the building, and suppHes offered for sale to the retiring 
 audience. 
 
190 
 
 ATHLETIC RESULTS : THEIR TRANSMISSION, &c. 
 
 mHE growth of interest in Football and other athletics has 
 shown extraordinary advances within the past few years. 
 In the earlier days one of the greatest difficulties in the way of 
 obtaining news of results with sufficient speed was the distance 
 of telegraph offices from the fields, and we set about training a 
 service of carrier pigeons, which served its day with the most 
 satisfactory results. Some amusing incidents occurred at first 
 with our winged messengers, which were exasperating enough at 
 the time. Waiting anxiously for the moment of arrival, say of 
 the result of a great match between the Queen's Park and the 
 Renton in their palmy days, — which we could count upon to come 
 in from 60 to 90 seconds after whistle call, — it was a severe trial 
 to our people to see the bird land upon the roof and begin to pick 
 off the message, or to preen its feathers ! " Language " was of 
 no avail, and any movement only scared the messenger. One can 
 also imagine the chagrin of the reporter who on one occasion, — 
 prepared to do a clever thing, — had the message attached near 
 the close of a game, ready to go at time. Within the last 
 minute another goal was taken, and in the excitement the pigeon 
 got off with the wrong result ! A call from an onlooker : " Hey, 
 man ! Whustle on yer doo," received with shouts of laughter, did 
 not serve to soothe the unfortunate man. Those are things, how- 
 ever, which do not happen twice ; and the " doos " did splendid 
 work from football fields, and from the shooting ranges at 
 Kennishead. The advent of the telephone was the doom of the 
 pigeon service, and now the principal clubs have telephone 
 stations within their own grounds immediately adjoining the 
 press boxes. 
 
 Descriptions. — While every effort was put forth to obtain 
 early results, the desire for lengthened descriptions increased, 
 and it became evident that not only must big events be described 
 with the utmost fulness of detail but that others must be 
 
191 
 
 included. This lias now been so developed that no match of an)^ 
 consequence is allowed to pass without at least a short description. 
 This requires a very large extra staff, who must be quick to note 
 the rapid changes of an exciting game, grasp the salient points, 
 and put descriptions into shape for the printers as the game pro- 
 ceeds, so that they may keep pace with the players. This is 
 accomplished by relays of messengers, so that when the last 
 messenger leaves the field a large portion of the description is 
 already in type. 
 
 Reporters from our Special Staff, when occasion calls, 
 are sent to all parts of Scotland, to London and the various 
 English centres, and to Ireland. By thus selecting men who 
 know the individual players and their tactics from long 
 association, the Evening Times is not uncommonly able to give 
 the report of a big match in England or Ireland, with gossipy 
 notes on the game, interviews with officials and players, and a 
 consecutive description, all more complete and accurate than 
 those of the papers of the district w^here the match has been 
 played. 
 
 Junior Clubs have a large share of attention, and the fulness 
 with which news and descriptions are given in this department 
 has proved to be one of the most popular features of the paper, 
 including, as it does, notes and gossip from all parts of the 
 country. There are some 14 or 1 5 columns of entirely fresh athletic 
 matter set up in type on a Saturday evening ; so that, including 
 the matter prepared earlier in the day, from 20 to 22 columns ot 
 athletic news are published in the late editions on that evening. 
 The average number of results is about 400, of regularly con- 
 stituted clubs. 
 
 The Number of Clubs in the Scottish Association is 138 ; 
 but the senior clubs in Scotland number nearly 200, exclusive of 
 Rugby clubs. Even this, however, represents only a small 
 proportion of the players, as almost every available bit of 
 ground near towns and villages is occupied by them. As to 
 
192 
 
 Juniors, there is a list compiled showing 912 regularly formed 
 clubs ; but the probability is that there are not fewer than 1,200 
 altogether. 
 
 The Distribution of the Evening Times to all parts of 
 Scotland, and to the North of England and Ireland, at the later 
 hours of publication, is a very arduous undertaking, which has 
 been admirably managed by Mr. Geo. Sutherland of the Publishing 
 Department since the Evening Times started. This is accom- 
 plished with the aid of the most powerful and rapid machinery 
 for production out of London. In the more remote towns 
 thousands eagerly await the arrival of the Athletic Edition by 
 the last trains until almost midnight ; and so great has been the 
 demand in the city and neighbourhood that, notwithstanding our 
 previous rapid production by six Web presses, it has recently 
 been found necessary to augment it with a Three-Web Machine, 
 capable of printing at the rate of 48,000 per hour. 
 
 The Athletic Edition consists of four large 9 column pages in 
 order to facilitate its " make-up," and its more rapid and large 
 output of frequently 150,000 copies. Even that circulation would 
 be thousands greater if the yield of our great printing power did 
 not require to be stopped by the time limits of trains to reach 
 buyers before midnight. And yet such large numbers, in the 
 case of the Evening Tim.es alone, form a striking and almost in- 
 credible comparison with the 15,000 or 20,000 which it has been 
 stated Mr. Frederick Greenwood estimated to be the whole issue 
 of the London evening press in 1886. 
 
 The Game of Golf. — Ten years ago golf competitions were 
 reported in the Glasgow papers in the briefest manner, while 50 
 years agone any such references were almost unknown ; now 
 every important competition gets trom a column to two columns. 
 Important golf competitions are held throughout Scotland every 
 year. Some are played in singles, and others in foursomes (two 
 competing couples). One of the most popular in Scotland is the 
 Evening Times Trophy Tournament, which has done much to 
 
193 
 
 foster the game and to promote a healthy rivalry between the 
 leading Scottish clubs. The Trophy is of silver, with enamelled 
 sketches of significant scenes. Six years ago the tourney 
 was instituted at Prestwick, and since then it has steadily 
 increased in public favour. At each ot the last three tourna- 
 ments, the number ot entries was over 30, each club sending 
 two players. So far the Western clubs have not been able to 
 defeat the Eastern combinations in foursome play. Since 1891 
 the Evening Times Shield has been won three times by a St. 
 Andrews club, twice by an Edinburgh club, and once (this year) 
 by a Leven team. It is now high time the West was asserting 
 itself and adjusting matters. We have a number ot very 
 promising young golfers, who are fast overtaking the longer 
 experience of the Eastern players and threatening their laurels. 
 
 NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 *T^ICTURES in Newspapers of persons, places, and things, — 
 *'^~ which are now so marked a feature in many evening papers 
 and in some weeklies, may be said to have originated in this 
 country, or at least to have got their first decisive impulse, about 
 1870, on the occasion of the Franco-German War. If anything of 
 the kind appeared previous to that year in the newspaper press, 
 the instances were very rare. But the desire was so strong on the 
 occasion of that great war to get every crumb of information as 
 to the movements of the different armies, that maps of the coun- 
 tries threatened or occupied were in considerable demand. At an 
 early stage of the contest the Daily News had a page occupied 
 with the map of France and the Rhine upon seeing which I 
 arranged with the proprietors of that journal to give it in the 
 Herald, where it also appeared. The vivid descriptions by war 
 correspondents of battles which had just been fought and the 
 
194 
 
 reports as to where new conflicts were looked for excited the 
 desire to trace the positions and the routes of the marching forces, 
 so that more minute maps and plans were sought for; but only a 
 few newspapers, under difficulties and delay, were able to supply 
 them by woodcuts. Such woodcuts meant slow and costly 
 
 <: 
 
 -y \ ^ 
 
 ^%K' ^'* 
 
 
 J n Hk-iiu^o 
 
 This sketch of the street of the village of old Langside (near and within 
 the boundary of modern Glasgow) gives an idea of what can be done for 
 newspaper work by the " Zinco " process. Within a few feet of where these 
 vanishing scenes have been, the crisis of the Battle of Langside took place, on 
 the 13th May, 1568,— now commemorated by a handsome Memorial Pillar. 
 
 Avork compared to what is done now; for there was first the hasty 
 work of the artist on the ground, and then that of the finishing- 
 artist at home, before the wood-engraver could have his block 
 completed for the stereotyper. 
 
 Methods of Producing Illustrations after 1870 have been 
 numerous and varied, too much so to be mentioned here in detail. 
 In our case a step in advance was made six years later (1876) by 
 
195 
 
 getting a machine on tlie principle of a Pentagraph, a machine by 
 which the designs for caHco printing are produced on copper 
 rollers in an enlarged or reduced size. In order, however, to get 
 the result with the rapidity which newspapers need, the repro- 
 duction desired was engraved upon chalk or plaster-of-paris in a 
 frame, and then transferred into a page of type, from which again 
 stereo plates were taken for the printing machines. Our chief 
 object at first was to make a duplicate in Glasgow the same night 
 on which each of the Weather Charts of the Meteorological 
 Department was supplied to our office in London. The initial 
 difficulty, therefore, was how to transmit by telegraph not the 
 unalterable features of a map of the coast lines of Western Europe 
 but the varying meteorological conditions over the land and 
 seas of that skeleton map of about 2| x 3| inches, including 
 storms and calms, cyclones and anti-cyclones. These conditions 
 were expressed in the original by curved dotted lines (isobars) to 
 show the courses and the values in figures of barometrical pres- 
 sure ; the state of the weather at about thirty different places by 
 words ; the wind on its courses by arrows, and these less or more 
 feathered to indicate its force at various points, and the state of 
 the sea itself by words here and there. The difficulty of tele- 
 graphing such intricate matter was got over by the device of a 
 code of squares upon the skeleton maps, each square being named 
 by special letters and figures on the margins of the sheets. In 
 due time, as the interpretation of the telegraphed code went on, 
 the artist in the Glasgow Office transferred bit by bit to the square 
 named the contents of each as sent over our Special Wires from 
 London. It was remarkable to find afterwards how well this 
 telegraphed Weather Chart corresponded with the original. The 
 whole work before reaching the public involved the different 
 stages of codifying the matter in London, telegraphing, inter- 
 preting the code in Glasgow, transferring the matter to the 
 skeleton map, pentagraphing it in chalk, and stereotyping it for 
 the printing machines, — six different steps to complete what may 
 
196 
 
 be called this process. These Weather Charts (which still appear 
 in the Times) were, hoAvever, continued by us for about three years 
 only, as it became evident that they were not much appreciated 
 by the general pubUc and not even by shipowners and other com- 
 mercial readers interested in shipping, &c. By a similar method 
 of transmission, the result of the Kifle Matches at Wimbledon, 
 and now at Bisley, &c., have appeared, so that readers might see 
 the exact positions made by the competitors on their respective 
 targets. By a somewhat similar plan such target results of a 
 match in Dublin between Irish and American riflemen was cabled 
 to the New Yurk Tribune: and promptly appeared all right in 
 that paper. The methods of reproducing newspaper illustrations 
 of a general nature now in common use are by the zincograph 
 and the chalk processes. The zinc plate takes on a subject from 
 transfer paper, or when covered with a sensitised substance takes 
 on a photograph, and after being under the action of nitric acid, 
 alum, and water, allows the subject to come out exact and clear. 
 That by engraving on chalk is the speediest of all, and would have 
 greatly helped in showing the rapidly changing positions, and 
 other features, of, say, the Franco-German War referred to, and 
 other subjects requiring haste. The pictures made by either of 
 these processes which now appear in the evening papers often 
 come short of the effect of a woodcut ; but it must be remem- 
 bered that they are produced under the pressure of not only very 
 limited time, but upon very unsuitable paper, and by extremely 
 rapid printing. 
 
 On the occasion of the trial in Edinburgh of Monson for the 
 Ardlamont murder, in December, 1893, the full reports by our 
 reporters were illustrated by one of our artists, who took sketches 
 of scenes in the High Court during the proceedings ; these were 
 promptly sent by train from Edinburgh to Glasgow, where they 
 were immediately dealt with and appeared in the Evening 
 Times the same afternoon and evening. This was the first 
 attempt of that character in such circumstances. Besides comic 
 
197 
 
 cartoons of football club competitions, there are given in the 
 Athletic Edition of that paper during the season rapid sketches 
 of actual incidents and postures of players on the field at matches 
 withm an hour's journey, which are embodied in the descriptive 
 report and published the same evening. These are feats which 
 have surprised experts, as well as the great body of general readers. 
 
 An Old Suggestion for Motor Cars. 
 
 From "Aiken's Illustrations of Modern Prophecy, 1829," to show the 
 "Chalk" process for newspaper sketches. 
 
 Lady : — " Faugh, the filthy fellow ! My dear, the wretch feeds his horse 
 with common coal." 
 
198 
 
 A GLASGOW NEWSPAPER CONSPIRACY. 
 
 (From the Glasgoiu Herald of 29th October, 1878). 
 
 'T~\0 any of our readers Imow where the Schipka Pass is ? We 
 «"*^ do not, of course, refer to that celebrated passage through 
 the Balkans, which was immortalised by the struggles of Turks 
 and Russians during last winter, but to a locality in Glasgow. 
 The City Improvement Trustees have made so many and so 
 great changes that it is possible only a very few people are 
 aware that there is such a place as that named in the cit}^. But 
 thousands who never heard of the "Schipka Pass" except in 
 connection with the Russo - Turkish War, will remember St. 
 Andrew's Lane and the Poet's Box. The Glasgow Schipka Pass 
 is a narrow, sloping arcade on the east side of St. Andrew's Lane, 
 leading from the Gallowgate to London Street, and No. 7 cf the 
 
 Pass is a little shop, occupied by Mr. D B , a newsagent, 
 
 the shop being now a representative of the famous establishment 
 where the newest and the oldest songs could be obtained at the 
 
 smallest cost. In Mr. B 's window may still be seen, though 
 
 in far scantier numbers, the scrofulous ballads that long ago were 
 hung up in profusion over the shop front of the Poet's Box. 
 No. 7 is not of large dimensions ; " box " is the only appropriate 
 name for it. The counter, though piled up to the ceiling, would 
 scarcely accommodate a thousand halfpenny newspapers, and 
 between the counter and the end wall there is barely room for a 
 man to pass. Such being the Schipka Pass, and such being No. 7, 
 our readers may imagine that it was witli no little surprise that 
 we read the following advertisement, Avhich occupied for four 
 days a specially prominent place in the columns of the Evening 
 Citizen, the Glasgoiu News, and the Glasgow Evening News and 
 Star. The advertisement first appeared in the Evening Citizen, 
 on the 10th October, and was in these terms : — 
 
 " Nine tons of Glasgoiu Evening Times newspapers (about 
 
199 
 
 396,000 copies) for sale cas waste, in lots to suit purchasers.— 
 Apply 7 Schipka Pass, opposite Gallowgate Station." 
 
 There could be no doubt as to the meaning of the advertise- 
 ment. The Evening Times, though estabHshed little more than 
 two years ago, has attained, through favour of the public, an 
 extraordinary success. Its circulation has gone up by leaps and 
 bounds, and it now occupies a place in the very first rank of 
 evening newspapers. Those whose halfpenny it supplanted and 
 those whose " halfpenny" it curtailed, have not always been able 
 to conceal theh jealousy, and it was perfectly clear that this ad- 
 vertisement was a new attempt to damage a too successful rival. 
 It was meant to show that the circulation of the Evening Times 
 was a bogus one. If such a miserable little newsagency as this 
 of the Schipka Pass had collected in the course of business nine 
 tons of unsaleable Evening Times, what huge quantities might 
 not other and larger agencies have lying on their hands ? What 
 would advertisers say when they learned through this prominent 
 notice in the rivals of the Evening Times that the circulation 
 was piled up in tons upon tons in the newsagents' cellars ? Im- 
 mediately on the advertisement appearing, a communication was 
 sent to the proprietors of the Evening Citizen and the Glasgow 
 News, asking that it should be stopped, as it was manifestly a 
 falsehood, but the request was promptly refused ; and on a further 
 letter being sent to the Citizen, demanding the MS. of the adver- 
 tisement, we were told that the proprietor declined to give it up. 
 ^ For some time we were disposed to treat the matter as a mei^ 
 bit of petty spite, that would be forgotten in. a day or two. The 
 position of the Evening Times was assured, and no anonymous 
 squib of this sort could possibly do it any damage. It had sur- 
 vived and thriven, notwithstanding attacks of a different character, 
 by pursuing its own course m meeting the wants of the public. We 
 should certainly have preferred not to have made a Star Chamber 
 matter of it, but some circumstances came to light which showed 
 that this advertisement was not a squib, but the climax of a 
 
200 
 
 curious and stupid conspirac}^ Mr. Alexander Morton, 43 Renfield 
 Street, was set to work, and he conducted his investigations with 
 consummate skill and secrecy till the whole plot lay unravelled. 
 This we now proceed to put before our readers — in order, first of 
 all, to expose the lie in the advertisement; second, to prick the 
 windbag ; and third, to tell them a story which they will probably 
 find amusing. 
 
 Mr. Morton's first step was to explore No. 7 Schipka Pass, and 
 become acquainted with its occupant ; and his second, if possible, 
 to get possession of the " nine tons of Evening Times newspapers." 
 We have already described the transmogrified Poet's Box. Of its 
 occupant it may be enough to say that he was sorely tempted, 
 and that he yielded. He had a grudge against the Herald of 
 old standing, because he was refused the position and commission 
 of a wholesale newsagent ; he was poor, and his poverty and not 
 his will consenting, he became a tool in the hands of others. It 
 may be mentioned here that the first hint Mr. Morton received of 
 
 the conspiracy was from a friend of B 's. While waiting to see 
 
 B , Mr. Morton got into conversation with this man, who, in a 
 
 confidential moment, said : — " B will close with you for cash ; 
 
 (in a whisper) it is a pure piece of devilment and spite carried 
 out by the Evening News folks, to torment the proprietors and 
 damage the sale of the Evening Times — sure as death." 
 
 Mr. Morton ultimately got possession of a large quantity of 
 newspapers m 45 bags, which he transferred to Messrs. Hutchison 
 & Dixon's stores, where they were examined before witnesses- 
 The weight of the bags containing this waste, as found from the 
 police weighing machines, was not 9 tons, but 6 tons 2f cwt. It 
 happens that the date of such copies of the Evening Times as 
 were found in the bags ran over 16 months, or say 396 days ; and 
 it will be at once seen that this reduces the heavy weight of 9 
 tons, and the big-looking figures of 396,000 copies, to only 1,000 
 copies a day — a trifle, even if the advertisement had stated the 
 facts, on such a circulation as that of the Evening Times. But 
 
m 
 
 the reduction does not stop at this point. The examination of the 
 bag-s revealed the singular nature of the collection. A more 
 heterogeneous lot of literature was never, perhaps, before collected. 
 There were copies of papers dead and forgotten years ago, papers 
 from all the principal towns of the United States and Canada, 
 from Victoria, New South Wales, Noav Zealand, from France, 
 Germany, Switzerland, and from English towns, and from every 
 spot in Scotland that boasts or once boasted of a weekly sheet. Tem- 
 perance tracts. Missionary Records, Choral Union programmes, 
 paper table napkins marked " Lord of the Isles," law papers, bills 
 of Parliament, blue books, City of Glasgow accounts, pamphlets 
 published by Messrs. Collins, and copy books, were all turned out 
 from among this collection of sweepings, and quantities of the 
 Edinburgh and Glasgow newspapers, including such rubbish as 
 unused copies of the Glasgow Nexus, Evening News, and Evening 
 Citizen, helped to make up the miscellaneous heap. The 6 tons 
 had been first of all collected by a general dealer in waste paper, 
 named Mr. John Henderson, whose stores are at No. 1 Fox Street 
 and 98 Maxwell Street. Mr. Henderson is a respectable tradesman, 
 who finds it to be for his profit to buy old and unsold newspapers 
 and resell them to the paper-makers, or whoever will purchase in 
 quantities from him. He sold the contents of the 45 bags, as the 
 reader will learn from the following deposition : — 
 
 Mr. John Henderson says : — " On 24th September last a gentle- 
 man called here, saying he wanted a lot of newspapers, and that 
 they must be copies of the Evening Times. He was a stout man, 
 rather under the average size, and spoke with a distinct English 
 accent. My sister told him we could not give him Evening 
 Times copies alone, and when he said he would take as many as 
 10 tons, I said we could not give him any such quantity. All we 
 had to give was about 6 tons of mixed newspapers. He got one 
 copy of the Herald and one of the Times, and going to the door, 
 he said the one was of good pulp, and the other, namely the Times, 
 of straw. As he wished the paper for the purpose of making a 
 
202 
 
 manufacturing experiment, lie said he preferred tlie straw and 
 would like it alone. I again told him we could only give him 
 mixed papers, and he agreed to take all we had. The quantity was 
 afterwards ascertained to weigh 6 tons 2f cwt. I asked £10 10s. 
 per ton, and he agreed to give £10 per ton — in all, £61 7s. 6d. 
 He went away for about half-an-hour, and, on coming back, he 
 laid down £5, and said that would serve as a guarantee that he 
 would take the Avhole quantity, and that I would give it. He 
 again said he wanted them for a manufacturing experiment, and 
 that he would require to get them stored for a day or two. He 
 wanted the receipt made out as for Evening Times papers alone. 
 I felt nettled at this, and said I could not do it — that the receipt 
 must be made out for newspapers, and it was made out accordingly. 
 He then went away. I thought there was ' something under ' the 
 transaction, and I followed the gentleman, who went up Buchanan 
 Street and into Duncan's Restaurant. He stayed there half-an- 
 hour, and then came out along with another gentleman. They 
 both went along to Macrae's Hotel in Bath Street, and having 
 seen them go inside the hotel, I returned to the store. That was 
 on Tuesday, 24th September, as the entry in my sale-book shows. 
 
 On the Friday following, a Mr. B came and asked when he 
 
 could get delivery of the paper ; we put him off till Monday 
 following, 80th September. On that day he called, and went 
 away for lorries ; but he came back, saying that he could not get 
 cartage for the quantity. He was told there was a contractor in 
 Howard Street by the name of Porter, and he went there and got 
 one lorry, with which he took away one-third of the whole 
 quantity. He paid £15, which, being added to the £5 previously 
 received, cleared the first instalment. I omitted to say that the 
 
 receipt for the £5 was made out in name of T , that being the 
 
 name the gentleman gave. Then B came back on the 2nd 
 
 October and got a second instalment, for which he paid £20 ; and 
 on 8th October he got the remainder, for which he paid £21. I 
 should explain, with reference to the last payment, that he first 
 
203 
 
 brought £20, and wished to be let off for the rest ; but we said the 
 whole sum must be paid, and he went away and brought the 
 remainder. There were a few shillings over the £21, which he 
 was allowed to keep, the receipt being made out for £21 7s. 6d. 
 The first time the paper was taken away, our carter (David Bissett) 
 went after the lorryman, and found that he delivered it in an 
 empty shop in Schipka Pass. That made the affair all the more 
 mysterious. If the paper had been taken to a railway station or 
 
 a steamboat, we would have thought nothing about it. B was 
 
 also followed, but he was always lost sight of in St. Enoch Square. 
 The notes with which the paper was paid were almost wholly 
 those of the Bank of Scotland. I further explain that we had not 
 sold any papers for months before these purchases were made. 
 The lots so disposed of were not all Evening Times copies, 
 but were mixed lots, including English, Irish, and Scotch, 
 American and Australian papers. Added to these were stray 
 miscellaneous lots bought from other stores and chance-sellers. 
 We mixed the clean with the read and soiled newspapers in this 
 way to bring up the general average. I do not know what the 
 proportion of Evening Times copies in the whole lot would be, 
 but I know that the newspapers were well mixed. 
 
 (Signed) " John Henderson. 
 
 " John Donelly, Law Apprentice, Glasgow, witness. 
 
 " John Russell, Law Clerk, Glasgow, witness." 
 
 Miss Henderson says : — " I was in the store at the time the sale 
 
 of paper was made to Mr. T , and heard all that passed. 
 
 My brother's statement having been read over to me, I concur in 
 it in every particular." 
 
 Why this interesting gentleman, Mr. T , wanted the paper 
 
 containing straw we shall learn from the statement made by 
 Daniel B , 7 Schipka Pass : — 
 
 " I called on Mr. M at the Glasgow News Office, 67 Hope 
 
 Street, immediately after receiving a note, dated some time after 
 the middle of September, 1878, and written on a memorandum 
 
204 
 
 addressed to me as from tlie Glasgow News. Mr. M 
 
 took me into a private room, and asked if I would have no 
 objection to go into a lark about some paper connected with the 
 Herald. I replied ' No.' He seemed to be aware that I was not 
 on good terms with the Herald, and he said something about 
 there being a lot of tons of Timies and Herald newspapers to be 
 had. He did not go into particulars, but said that I should hear 
 from him. I got another note from the Glasgow News a day or 
 
 two afterwards, requesting me again to call on Mr. M . I 
 
 called immediately, and Mr. M showed me a receipt for £5, 
 
 which had been paid as a deposit on about six tons of waste paper, 
 which had been bought from Mr. John Henderson of Fox Street. 
 
 The receipt was in the name of Mr. T , but I knew nothing 
 
 of any man of that name. When speaking of the purchasers, 
 Mr. M used the expression 'us' and 'we/ which I under- 
 stood to mean the News proprietors. I, of course, understood 
 
 that the name ' T ' had been used as a blind to prevent 
 
 the transaction being traced to the Glasgow News. Mr. M 
 
 gave me from time to time the necessary money to enable 
 me to take delivery of the paper purchased from Mr. Henderson. 
 
 I took delivery according to Mr. M 's directions, but I 
 
 did not expose the paper so prominently as he wished me to 
 do. I found the whole paper to be put up in bales, and I did not 
 open more than two or three of these. It was intended that I should 
 have taken delivery of the whole paper on the 30th September, 
 but some little delay took place in getting the keys and finding a 
 carter. The delay seemed to cause annoyance at the News 
 Office, because a messenger came along two or three times in my 
 absence, and expressed himself as disappointed at not finding 
 me. The exact quantity of paper taken delivery of by me was 
 6 tons 2f cwt., and the price paid was £61 7s. 6d. — 7s. 6d. being 
 allowed off. In speaking about where the paper was to be exposed 
 
 to view, Mr. M said that he knew fine there were plenty 
 
 of shops to let about where I was, and that I was to make the 
 
205 
 
 exposure of the name of the paper as pubHc as possible. At 
 
 one of our early meetings Mr. M told me that I was to get 
 
 the paper advertised, and I soon after took along to him an 
 advertisement which I had written out in something like the 
 following terms : — ' Tons of clean unsold copies of the Evening 
 'Times, in quantities to suit purchasers. Apply 7 Schipka Pass.' 
 Mr M said that was too mild, and he toek out an ad- 
 vertisement which he had written. I do not remember the 
 exact terms of it, but it was pretty much in the same terms as 
 that which has appeared m the newspapers, with the exception 
 that the quantity was stated at 11 tons, with a corresponding 
 
 increase in the number of copies. At this time Mr. M 
 
 had in his hands the weight bills shoAving the exact quantity of 
 paper which 1 had for sale, and he knew the exact quantity to be 
 what I have already stated. I asked him if 11 tons would not bo 
 too heavy, and he replied ' No ; ' that it was quite a common thing 
 in advertising to exaggerate the figure. He reduced the quantity, 
 however, to 9 tons, and threw the advertisement into this form or 
 shape : — ' Nine tons of Glasgow Evening Times newspapers (about 
 896,000 copies) for sale as waste, in lots to suit purchasers. Apply 
 No. 7 Schipka Pass, opposite Gallowgate Station.' Even after he 
 had reduced the figure I asked him how I could hold up my face 
 to 9 tons, and he said it was not to be known that the whole 
 quantity had come from one place, and if a person wanted 9 
 
 tons I was to say that a lot had been disposed of. Mr. M 
 
 told me to be perfectly secret, and I understood that the News 
 was to stand at my back all through the affair. I ordered four 
 insertions of the advertisement in the Evening Citizen, four in 
 the Evening News, and four in the Glasgow News, which in- 
 sertions have been duly made. I gave no direction that the 
 advertisements should be specially conspicuous in the Citizen, 
 and when I saw it I remarked that I would have preferred if they 
 had given that prominence to my other advertisements. When 
 Mr. M paid me money he took it out of what seemed to 
 
206 
 
 bo his ordinary office casli-box, and he made me sign jottings 
 which he made of the dates and amounts paid, which I sup- 
 posed were taken for the satisfaction of his superiors or others, 
 to whom he might have to account. I ordered the advertisement 
 
 in the Citizen, and Mr. M took the advertisement for the 
 
 morning and evening News to the counter clerk, whose signature 
 
 is appended to the receipt produced by me as 'pro F 
 
 W , R. R .' I paid the price of the whole advertise- 
 ments out of money which had been given to me by Mr. . 
 
 He asked me on several occasions to take small sums of a 
 sovereign or so. The most of the paper was sold by me to 
 Mr. Morton in one lot. I had previously sold two or three small 
 quantities, the largest of which was ^ cwt. I cannot yet say 
 
 what the contents of the bales consist of, but Mr. M told me 
 
 that they had bargained for the class of paper of the Evening 
 Tiroes. At the same time, he said it was very likely there would 
 
 be Heralds along with them. When I saw Mr. M on 
 
 Saturday the 2nd October, he told me the end had been accom- 
 phshed, and that I might sell off the papers. He had previously 
 told me that it was very likely the Herald might themselves wish 
 to buy them, and that I might get a big price. 
 
 (Signed) "D B . 
 
 " John D , witness. 
 
 " John C , witness." 
 
 The reader has now the whole conspiracy laid bare. Perhaps 
 
 he is curious to learn who the Mr. T is who was so anxious 
 
 to make a manufacturing experiment with old newspapers. We 
 
 are able to gratify him. Mr. T is the chief reporter, and 
 
 ]\Xr. M is cashier to Mr. F W , proprietor, manager, 
 
 and editor of the Glasgow News and the Glasgow Evenirig 
 News and Star. 
 
 I should add to this narration of facts (in fairness to the present 
 proprietors of the paper last named) that the three gentlemen 
 
207 
 
 just mentioned left Glasgow some years ago ; but at no time did 
 they show that they had anything to say for themselves in answer 
 to what is quoted above, nor did a contradiction appear from any 
 other quarter. 
 
 Anyone who reads the statement may naturally think that 
 
 there is an explanation awanting as to why D B " let the 
 
 cat out of the bag." When the detective, our law-agent, and I 
 met him in the store to which the waste paper had been 
 transferred, it seemed for some time as if we would be baffled in 
 getting him to admit who his employer was. This we knew, but 
 we wanted to complete the conviction. At length it happened 
 that my eyes fell upon a coil of rope near us on the floor, and I 
 
 said : " Mr. B , look at that coiled rope. You are as certainly 
 
 making a noose for yourself, as a man would do in hanging 
 himself by that rope, if you take the responsibility of this foul 
 work, instead of telling now who employed you. We know, but 
 we don't want you to be the victim." After a vain attempt to 
 make terms, puss jumped out, and he confessed all; after- 
 wards making the deposition given above. Several matters of 
 greater importance were also withheld as reserve evidence to meet 
 any question or contradiction. 
 
 In the above copy of the original statement, I have given only 
 the initials of the names of the actors in the conspiracy. 
 
 A Paisley contemporary, in referring to this unprecedented 
 episode in Newspaper Life, quoted the following apt verse 
 from the Scottish Psalms : — 
 
 " He made a pit, and digg'd it deep, 
 Another there to take ; 
 But he has fallen into the ditch 
 Which he himself did make." 
 
 Others punned on the name of one who could do such a thing, 
 and meet such a fate, as a " Wick-ed " man. 
 
-— ^s^r ^ ^"''^"' 
 
 20i»-ll.'20 
 
YD 26552 
 
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 ONIVERSiry OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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