The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-05-02

After seventy-four years of varied for
tunes, the Morning Herald, once one Of the
most popular of the daily papers of London,
has all but fallen. 1t continues to be pub
lished. But Mr. E. Baldwin, its proprietor,
is, in the London Gazette. officially pub
lished to the world as a bankrupt. Of
course, the paper will be sold to the best
purchaser; but the question whether it is
worth publishing, is for the grave conside-
ration Of capitalists and politicians. For the
Morning Herald, albeit its circulation was
small, has enjoyed a comparative influence
since lS45, as sort of semi-official organ of
the Ultra Tory party. If not the declared
organ, it has been the thlck-and- thin cham
pion of the Derby-Disrael clique. In 1874,
when Mr.. Baldwin bought it, the Morning
Herald had circulation, with good adver-
tising connection, Of some 5000 day. Ten
years later, according to the undeniable au-
thority of Stamp-office returns, the circula-
tion was only 1859. At present it can
scarcely be 200, while the expenses-all
but the paper and presswork- as high as
if the journal had large sale. Against the
times, with close on 10000 day, the Morn
ing Herald had no chance of late. The
proximate cause of its proprietor's insol
vency, no doubt was the keeping up high
price, after the newspapers came in, on the
abolition of the newspaper stamp duty
The Times, a sort of necessity in London
we might say all over the British dominiOns
ON account of its money article, its lead
ers, its correspondence, and its advertise
ments, simply struck of the extra two cents
for the abolished stamp, and sells at &c. a
copy. Its rivals only chance was to have
come down to at least -half-the new
journals are much lower. The Morning
Herald adhered to the high rate, and the end
was ruin. In 1874, when Mr.. Baldwin was
flush of cash realized by The Standard and
The st. James Chronicle, he purchased The
Morning Herald (type, presses and good
wilD for 10000 pounds The railway mania
of 1915 created so many advertisements, for
which the bubble companies were made to
pay very high prices, that the purchase
money and much more, was cleared in that
one year. But Mr.. Baldwin, who had we'll
conducted an evening paper, the Tory
Standard: seemed all at sea on the Morning
Herald. He entrusted its political and lite
rary management almost wholly to Irish
men, most of whom held liberal opinions in
their hearts strongly, even outrageously
wrote, as fierce partisans, on the side of ul-
ira Toryism. They overdid the work, and
injured the cause they were hired to sustain.
Another defect was the notorious deficiency
of the paper in the news department. 1t
was generally behind its competitors in in
telgence, and did not mend the matter by
ostentatiously issuing extra editions, with
great flourish of trumpets, which extras
contained no more than had already appear
ed in the ordinary morning issue OF the
Times. This gave rise to one of the most
humorous of John Leech's many lively pic
lures in Punch, where a gentleman asks
waiter in coffee-house for "The Times of
yesterday" and is answered with "Yczzur
Times of yesterday is engaged, but here's
to-days 'Erald, which is all the same" In
deed, it may be affirmed that Punch did
great deal to ruin the Morning Herald AS |
that paper and the Standard owned by one
and the same proprietor, alike advocated the
exploded absolete doctrines of "Church and |
State" toryism and conservatism. Punch |
represented them, for a number of years, as
the embOdiments of Mrs. Camp and Mrs. |
Harris (ride "Martn Chuzzlewit'') and there |
was truth as we'll as humor in the wit.