The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-22
STRUGGLES WITH ENGLISH.
Editors of Newspapers in India
Make Some Funny Mistakes.

India can jointly claim to have a share-a
very considerable share-in the birth of the
newspaper. Ages before the European con-
quest every court had a weekly sometimes
a daily, news letter, which was sent out to
the principal towns and read with diligent
attention by wealthy people, MOBILES and es-
peclally by all officials. 1t was not how
ever, until after the English conquest that
the newspaper. as the word is now under
stood, was established in India, the first
English journal in that country appearing
ABOUT 1878, and not until the middle of the
century did the Indian natives begin to
publish papers in their own language
Inc Indian press may be roughly divided
into three classes. The first consists of
English newspapers published in the large
cities, such as Calcutta and Bombay gener-
ally very creditable productions, conducted
by scholarly Englishmen or Anglo-Indians.
me second class is composed of papers edited
and published by natives. the matter being
generally half in English and half in
native language, though the proportion
varies. The third class constitutes those
journals which are published entirely in
native language, this class being by far the
most numerous of ALL
The Oriental is fond of parade even in
language, and the longer the words the more
attractive, in his eyes and to his ears is the
style. 1t is not at all remarkable therefore
that. considering his imperfect knowledge of
English, the long words of which the In
dian native editor is fond should some
times be misplaced or incorrectly employed
nor That the metaphors in which he delights
should frequently be grotesquely mixed.
Most OF tie natives who read English are
FAMILIAR with the literature which is Gis-
trlbuted in enormous quantities by the mis-
slonarles, and have adopted from it many
plous expressions that appropriate enough
IN homlly or prayer, are ridiculously out
or place in a leading article.
Between the high-fown expression often
borrowed from Shakespeare or Milton the
mixed metaphors and the expressions of fer
vent piety the editorial page of the Indian
country paper is literary curiosity. For in
stance, when the reader is assured in an
account of the death of a leading member
OF par. lament who had taken IAN active IN
terest In Indian affairs, that the editor hCpes
tins Almighty will pour his mantle On a
worthy successor" or that, IN n political
shaking in their Shoes or that 1.-The editor
expects, with the help of the Everlasting Al
mighty, to have more reading suited - the
intelligence of his subscribers in the next
issue he may well be excused for the sus-
picion that, while the intention is goOd the
execution is somewhat defective.
But it is in the editorial announce ments in
the first numbers of these papers and in the
editorial notices of important events or
changes in the policy of the paper that he
editor is at his best. His whole vocabulary
is brought into play to dazzle the pubic eye.
sometimes the announcement takes the tone
or apology, as in the case of the editor who
innocently declared: This is only the be-
gir?ing of cur paper. We were not sure how
much matter was required to fill it up, and,
thinking we had sufficient, we did not exert
ourself much to get any more. We there
fore, beg that our readers will excuse us
this time for the space left blank and prom
Use to do better and get more in the future
still more curious was the announcement Of
a paper which came out for the first time
with two columns blank, the editor making
the bold announcement that "a large quantity
of exceedingly interesting matter had been
left out for want of space"