The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-11-06
OLD NEWSPAPERS.

newspapers Tar more than books serve to rep
resent the times in which they were produced
but unfortunately the former are only of compar
atively modern origin. What a revelation of tn,
LIE OF the ancients We might have if the Greeks
and Romans had bat published newspapers!
multiplicity of incidents in the private and pahlA
life OF those times, illustrating the manners ana
customs of sOciety-such as would be afforded in
the columns Of a newspaper-woald be intensely
interesting. And the newspaper Of even fifty O,
SeVenty-hVe years old, is to-day priced as a valu.
able relic and ~jealously guarded as a family heir
loom.
+ We have before us two old American nevsua-
pers, which have been loaned as by their owners
as cariosities, and which we propose to review.
one IL the " Ulster County Gazette Estate of
Ne" York; OF January 4th, lS0O-nearly rs
years old and the other the I" New York Daily
Advertiser |" Of December Both, 1923. The first
named is by far the most interesting, not only
from its age, dating back to the beginning of the
present century, but from the fact that it ehron-
icies the death of Washington, it's columns being
dressed in mourning for that event, which took
place at Mount Vernon on the l4th of the preyi-
Gus month"; The Gazette - is a auarto, with
four columns to the page. printed very fairly On
strong but dingy looking paper, and its mechan-
ical execution-no doubt considered extremely
good in those times-esntrasts strongly with the
perfection to which the art of printing has arrived
In our days. One popularity of the journalism
of the times which we remark is that there is not
a word OF editorial or a paragraph of comment in
the whole ~paper-only the bare news is given.
A column and o half on the first page is devoted
to the opening of Congress on the 10th of De-
cember, and the replies of the President (Johm
Adams) to the addresses of the House of Repre-
sentatiVes and Senate. In the composition of
these we recognize the old-time courtly and
polished style, refreshing to read in these utilita-
rian days. The following is the opening para
graph of the Senate address
"Aecept, Sir, the respectful acknowledgements
of the Senate of the United States, for your
speech delivered to both Houses of Congress at
the opening of the present session."
The first few lines of the Presidents reply. are
equally courteous and polite:
Gentlemen of the Senate: L thank you for
this address. wish you all possible success and
satisfaction in your deliberations on the means
winch have a tendency to promote and extend
our national interest and happiness and l assure
you that in all measures directed to those great
objects you may at all times rely with the highest |
on my cordial co-operation.'
The remainder of the first page and two
columns of the next, are taken up with European
news from London, the latest dates from
which were seventy-three days old Think of
that in comparison with the daily teleerams of
the present. The war then in progress was that
known in history as the war of the French Reyo-
luton, from February LIST, 1898, to the peace of
.miens. March 9th, 1902, in which England
alone spent four hundred and sixty -four millions
Next we come to the proceedings in Congress,
December 29th, on the announcement of the
ieath OF Washington, when John Marshall,
afterwards Chief Justice) with deep sorrow on
lis countenance and in a low, pathetic tone of
addressed the House on the occasion.
quote the opening paragraph:
1.-The melancholy event which was Yesterday
.nnounced, without doubt has been rendered but
90 certain. Our Washington is no more The
zero, the sage, and the patriot of America-the
nan on whom in times of danger, every eye was
urned and all hopes were placed-Iives now only
his own great actions, and in the hearts of an
people,
In the Journal of Congress we read that a Joint
ommittee of both Houses was appointed, {. to /,
onsider a suitable manner of paying honor to the
of the man first IN ,Var, first IN peace, /
nd first an The hearts Of his country; - and this :
the first appearance of these now often quoted t
ords, which we have italicised. =
The whole OF the fourth page of the g Gazette" o
nd a portion OF the third is occupied with $
tVertisements, among which figure sherifs' sales
real estate, foreclosures of mortgages, a list of 4
tiers in the Post Office, dry goods and groceries
or sale for cash or produce only, and notably, :.
For sale, one half of a saw mill and also q
out, healthy, active, negro toench. Any person 3
clined to purchase may know the particulars "
applying to John Shoemaker. jun, at Ro- 10
ester" (Slaves were still held in New York
1907 The frequent recurrence of German or a.
utch names shows the nationality Of the first J.
ttlers of Ulster County, for we have Ten
-oeck, Van Voorhis, Van Keuren, De Witt, y.
mendorf, Haskbrouck, &c. -
The style of the New York ss Daily Advertiser s, Il
1898, is a vast Improvement on the " Ulster
unity Gazette" of 1900. In size it is little U m
IRE than half the bigness of the Pacific Con- co
RcIAL ADVERTISER, printed in BREWER types and tn
a very common article of paper. The COM ne
'rcial Importance of New York had then begun
be Acknowledgements count no less than 80 td
Vertisements of vessels up for foreign and do :
ports. Of the four pages of this daily, sh,
zee are filled with advertisements. The Greek Nj
T of Independence was then in progress, and =
notice public meetings, balls and subscrip-
rs in aid of the Greeks in their struggle for
The Columbian Forum which ap-
RS to have been a debating society, was granted
mission by " the Hon. the Common Council" Jl
hold a discussion in the City Hall on the ques-
Was the American Revolution more CAL
ated to awaken the admiration Of the world.