The Sun.
London, England, 1825-04-02 00:00:00

NEWSPA PERS.

Although the Romans had their Acta Diurna,
yet in modern times we are indebted to the Ita-
lians for the idea of newspapers, the title of their
gazettes being derived from a small coin peculiar
to the city of Venice, called gazetta, which was
the common price of their newspapers. It has
also been said to be derived from the Latin van,
which would colloquially lengthen into gazetta.
and signify a little treasure of news. The first
paper was a Venetian one, and that only monthly;
but it was the newspaper of the government only.
Other governments afterwards allowed the Vc
netian plan of a newspaper, with the Venetian
name to it ; and from one solitary. governinenc
gazette we see what an inundation of newspapers
has burst upon us in this country. " A jealous
'government," says Chalmers, in his Life of Bud-
diman, " did not allow a printed newspaper
and the Venetian Gazetta continued long after
the invention of printing, to the close of the six.'
teenth century, and even to our own days to be
distributed in manuscript." In the Magliabechia"
library, at Florence, are thirty volumes of Vene-
tian Gazettas, all in manuscript. "it r.,7 01.9-
tify national pride,"
0, iiinues the above writer,
cc to be told that mankind are indebted thei
wisdom of Elizabeth, and the prudence of 80.-
leigh, for the first newspaper in England." 10
the British Museum are several newspapers, which
had been printed while the Spanish fleet was in
the English Channel, during the year 1588.
earliest newspaper is entitled The English MCI
curie, which, by authority, was printed at Lon-
don, by her Highness's printer,.lsBB. These/
however, were only extraordinary gazettes, and
.
not regularly published ; and it appears that W"'
in this obscure origin they were skilfully di-
rected by the policy of that great statesman,
Burleigh, who, to inflame the national feeling,
gives an extract of a letter from Madrid, which
speaks of putting Elizabeth to death, and de'
scribes the instruments of torture on board the

Spanish fleet. he first newspaper in the ca•
lection of the British Museum,is marked N0.50'
and is in Roman, not in black letter. It contalw
the usual articles of news, like the London 6a'
Bette of the present day. In that curious paper
there is intelligence, dated from Whitehall, 011
the 23d of July, 1588. Under the date of Jail,
26th, there is the following notice :—" YeFterda
the Scots ambassador being introduced to SiSr
Francis Walsingham, had a private audience °t.
her Majesty, to whom lie delivered a letter WI
the King his master, c,ntaining the most cordP
assurances of his resoidtion to adhere to lief
Majesty's interest, and to those of the Protestaa
Religion." In the reign of Qneen Anne titer'
was but one daily paper; the others were weel:ll°
After which Steele, Addison, and others, at:
tempted to introduce literary subjects, and 0016'
topics of more general speculation, which, more
or less, have been continued to the present Owe'

Mr. MARTIN, of Galway, has given notice °I
the following motion for the 13th of May next :—" To incre3slei
the salaries annexed to the Great Officers of State, and to
e
judicial situations of the country, so as to render them 111,:.,
adequate to the labour and importance of the duties to be
charged, and more worthy of the justice and liberality of
ch
nation."
BI ndlNGHAm.—There is now living is 11ill
town, in the same house, a family, consisting
a grandfather, a grandmother, two fathers; tQ
mothers, two brothers, two sisters, two hustnin'
' two wives, one uncle,and one aunt, and in all t'
more than five persons. We have also been -.l°e:
formed that a christening took place a short titl/r
since, in this town, at which there were presti!
two fathers, two grandfathers, two godfather,
two mothers, two grandmothers, two godmothil,
two brothers-in-law, two sisters-in-law, two I° I
bands, two wives, two uncles, two aunts, and Ye
there were only four people.
tee
Sunday morning last, about half-past
o'clock, a party of men, in a state of into:clef
tion, were observed to take water in a 511.
boat, on the New Cut, near Hillsbridge,
several persons cautioned them of their &o^e'.
which was spurned at with the grossest abuse
they had not proceeded far, before the boat thr„
,
set, and the whole (eight or ten persons) vce)t
thrown into the water ; one man, named Abbi(ty
was drowned,and the rest escaped with diffien`
—O4

COURSE OF EXCHANGE, April 1. ;r,
A mstet dam
Ditto, at Sight • .1.? 19
Rotterdam
Antwerp
Hamburg!) 36 10 ! is
illtona - U,,
Paris, 3 Day's sight
Ditto
Bourdeaux, it'd to
Berlin 7 ‘2 JO'

... 15:k er• r'
R 0
9 57

9 V;

Ott'
3f31 r
36 Fiffiti'
„
_