The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-09-24
The Earliest Modern Newspapers.

1t seems that to Italy the world is
indebted for the origin of the newspaper.
Centuries before the Christian era, or, to
give the precise date according to the
best authorities, 691 B. c., daily jour
nal called the Acta Diurna was published
at Rome. 1t was not in the form of the
printed paper sheet that is nowadays
left at every intelligent mans door in
the early morning; nor was it issued in
cOpious editions and circulated among
the subscribers for stipulated consider
alton The Acta Diurna was a public
enterprise, supported by government,
and the few copies struck off in Latin
script upon white wooden tablets were
hung at conspicuous points in the streets
and the frequented places of the city, and
gave to the curious passer-by the latest
intelligence of current events. With the
downfall of the western empire journal
ism perished, and for upward of a thou
sand dreary years was one of the lost and
forgotten arts.
BY Italian genius it was finally revived
again, and Venice was the scene of its
second birth. There are now in the
Magliabechia library of Florence thirty
volumes of the oldest modern newspaper
of which we have any knowledge. 1t
was entitled Gazetta as some say, from
the word Gazzera, signifying magpie or
chatterer, and according to Others, from
the name of the small coin for which the
paper was sold. 1t was published at
Venice once a month by order of the
government, and continued to be written
in script, even after printing had been
invented. The last number is dated in
the sixteenth century. The earliest
French journal, the Gazette de France,
a newspaper still in existence, we believe,
was edited by Renaudot, physician in
Paris. 1t appeared as a weekly, the in
itial number being issued in April 1851.
1t was patrOnized by the king, Louis
MIL, and contained at least one article
penned by the royal hand. 1t also en-
joyed the support of Cardinal Richelieu.
The British museum preserves some
copies of newspaper called the English
Mercurie, and protesting to have been
printed under the authority of Queen
Elizabeth i'll 1888. The title of one of
the numbers reads thus: "The English
Mercurie, published by authOritie, for
the prevention of false reports, imprinted
by Christopher Barlur, her highness's
printer, NO. ~. III II Is all dCCOuII Oh
the Spanish Armada, under this heading:
" A Journal of what passed since the
21st of this month, between her majes-
ties fleet and that of Spayne, transmit
ted by the Lord Highe Admiral to the
Lordes of Council" But the papers
were not published at the date and in
the circumstances pretended. They have
been proved to be clever forgeries execu-
ted about 1866. In 1922, during the
reign of James l., paper appeared un-
der the title of the London Weekly Cour-
ami. In 1643, in the time ofethc civil
war, a variety Of publications claiming
unwOrthily the Office and the name of
newspaper were produced, but, in fact,
the first genuine news journal published
in England was established by Sir Roger
L'Estrange, in 1865. 1t bore the name
of the Public Inteligencer, and survived
until the London Gazette was trans
ferred from Oxford to London, in Feb
ruary, 1866.
The first regular newspaper produced
in the United States was the Boston
Newsletter, which appeared April a,
1904. In September, 1898, an enter
prising printer in Boston had undertaken
to start newspaper, but the first edition
was suppressed by the authorities, and
only one cODy is now known to exist