The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-07-27

The Complexion OF the Political Press.
The Journal Of Commerce takes exception to our
newspaper statistics and states that it is not fair
to estimate the feelings of the people by the
party color Of newspapers In the first place it
charges that several democratic journals were
classed by us with lower circulation than they
really have; and furnishes three examples of
error. To this we have to say that it is quite
likely that we committed slight errors in esti-
mating The circulation of our contemporaries We
took the census Of 1850 as our basis and it is
quite probable that an increase may have taken
place since then in the circulation of the prosper
Gus journals But we do not see why this argu-
ment should operate exclusively in the case of
the democratic journals: the republican press
must have increased likewise; and if one set of
figures be too low, the other must be equally
aulty. And. at best, the errors that we NAV
have made are slight, as the three cases quoted
by the Journal show; in the main, our calculation
was correct and fair.
The Journal charges further that our list only
comprised 4ls out of the 1000 or 5000 news
papers in the United States. Precisely SO. We
called it division Of our exchange list according
to politics; it purported to be nothing more. 1t
will be quite time, when we undertake to furnish
a classification of "all" the journals Of the
United States for the Journal to charge us with
having performed the work unsatisfactory.
Again, the Journal is of opinion that newspaper
statistics are guide in estimating the results
of Presidential question, as the democrats have
always polled more votes in proportion to their
newspapers than any other party" We beg to
inform the Journal that we are living in the year
of grace 1856, and not 1925; that the President
is Franklin Pierce, not James Monroe or Mr..
Adams. For we perceive that the Journal is not
aware of the progress the world has made during
the last century. 1t imagines, no doubt, that
matters are still on their old footing New
York contains no presses beyond shipping ga
zettes like the Journal Of Commerce, or small pO
ltical party sheets in the pay and the interest of
leading politicians We must notify our cotem-
porary that both the press and the public have
improved since then-that there are at the pre-
sent day more Independent, self-governed jour-
mails in city than there used TO be in whole
State; that everybody reads, and that men, as
general rule, subscribe to the journal which suits
their temper. Indeed, common sense shows
plainly enough that where the press is free and
the people intelligent, the former must necessa-
rily be reliable indication Of popular sentiment,
as the people are at all events, more likely to
take newspaper in whose opinions they concur
than one in which they have no con-
fidence. Nor arc illustrations of the fact want
ing. The press Of Paris both in ls293O
and ls47-4s, clearly indicated the approach
of a revolution; and any one who had judged
Of it as the Journal Of Commerce judges of the
press of America, would have fallen into the most
wretched errors. In England, public opinion is
always held to be prefgured by the press. Here,
where the press is even freer than il is in those
countries the newspapers are the only clues We
have to public sentiment before the election.
That they are good and safe clue, it will need
something more than the assertion of the journal
If Commerce to prevent people from believing.
1t il our intention to publish shortly much
fuller and more comprehensive list Of political
journals, divided into three partes-repubcan,
democratic and Know Nothing. The correctness
of that list will depend somewhat on the courtesy
and the promptitude Of the various newspaper
propretors in sending us the statistics of their
Establishments. Meanwhile the following list may
be considered as rather more favorable to Bucha-
nan and Fremont than the facts Justify
NewPapers Circulation.
FOR Fremont. ..s..s..............sl5 a4,tos
For Buchanan.. ..............'...tlt lutIb3
For FILLMORE ...................'.' % soiSti