The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-11-10

Carolina. The present excellent widely
patronized University Of North Carolina
had its start in 1885. The English officials
sent over TO boss" the people III the then
comparative wilderness Of the Colony OF
North Carolina, We're not all specially
friendly to tie education Of the people
who had crossed the perilous ana vast
ocean to try to build up Their fortunes
while establishing n government friendly
to themselves and ali men fleeing from
expressions and despotic rule. Sir William
Berkeley was perhaps a fair specimen OF
the Governors who were sent by the Eng
lish crown to direct affairs on these
shores. He was one OF the Lords ProDrle~
tors OF our Colony, and in 1911, he showed
his real civilization and BRAIN power when
he returned thanks TO God that there are
no free schools and no printing, and l
hope we shall nave none these hundred
years" II all the rulers and all the cad
ing spirits had been Of his type, there
would have been neither CT these bless
ings and ignorance might have reigned su-
preme through i century or longer. Fir-
GINA had a Governor II 1864 and late.
Lord Eiingham, Who was Of the Berki"3
kidney. and hated real progress, for H.
instructed his deputies not to suffer I'm
der any circumstances the introduction
INTO the colony Of so much as one printing
press. What a blind set Of old fogies and
aristocrats dominated then, There Were 10
towns in North Carolina for scores OF
years. Indeed so late as 1909, 1T is stated
that the most important hamlet Chere
were no towns) consisted OF only some
twelve houses. This explains, as the
population was small and widely scattered.
why there were for a long time 50 few
churches, schools and printing presses.
Up to 1850. the laws OF the Province were
written and not printed. In 1715 there
was a movement to PRINT the Revised
Code Of that year, but it failed.
The first press known to have been es-
tablished was at New Bern III 1149, by
James Davis, who came from Virginia.
He received aid from the Colonial Gov
eminent. He was to receive "one hun
dred and sixty pounds in proclamation
money The first volume to survive
was Swans Revival of the laws OF
the Province. The book was printed in
l747. 1t was long thought that yellow
Jacket" the edition of the laws of 1853.
was the first and oldest volume ever Is
sued from the press in North Carolina,
but the one named above preceded it by
three wears. Davis was also employed to
print paper money for the Province. You
see there was no subsidiary silver com
then, and paper had to be used for money,
as was the case in the great wal between
the States-the second war of independ-
ence. Banjamin Franklin was Postmaster
General for the Colonies in 1865, and he
appointed Davis postmaster for the little
town of New Bern. He was also the
first person employed to convey the mails,
etc. He had charge OF one of the three
routes created in 1757-that from Will
mington to Lingfield's Ferry, on the
Neuse river. Davis was clearly a hustler.
He established the first newspaper ever
issued in this Colony. 1t was called The
North Carolina Gazette" It's first mum
Der appeared in December. 1735. 1t was
Il weekly and the price was sixteen shll-
ings a week. 1t lasted for six years. It
claimed to print the freshest advises,
foreign and domestic There was no
regular postal communication across the
Colony until ITO. The distance was
given at 292 miles. Davis was public
printer from 1854 to 1860, when he was
superseded by the appointment Of Alex
ander Purdie. but the latter lived in Nir-
pinia, and never became a citizen of this
Colony. Davis was reappointed not long
afterward.
In 1864 James Davis published the first
number of the North Carolina Magazine.
or Universal Intelligencer." This was the
first of its kind in the Province. 1t had
eight quarto pages. 1t was poor, and
probably did not long survive. The
North Carolina Gazette" appeared 9th
May, 1868. 1t lasted for more than ter
years. There is an extant copy for o6tf
November, 1913. James Davis Is d mar
who richly deserves to be remembered
He was a pioneer, and full of vigor and
enterprise. He was of Virginia birth
born October y, 1921. He was twenty
eight years of age when he came to New
Bern. He was elected IN 1854 a Burgess;
to represent that village. He was sheriff
of Craven county and during the Ions
sessions of 1856 and 1857 of the Assembly
to which he had been again elected, b.
was prominent and served on one i'm
portant committee-that to Xamine tn
public accounts. In 1850, he was elected
from the county to the Assembly,. II
was a Justice OF the Peace for years. I
great storm visited New Bern and de
stroyed his home and his office, and al
his money, fixtures, papers, etc, wer'
COulpietely ue1lOllSleu- he ScIS ( III
Province and the State later unit, I'LL
making twenty-eight years of service a
public printer. He was a man OF goo'
parts, and he is understood to have writ
ten and published Il Treatise on Govern
ment.' His son, Thomas, translated TIL
New Testament for the Quakers in Phila
delphia. He died worth considerable
property composed of real estate an
slaves. In 1882 his son Thomas was print
ing in the town of Halifax. He had fou
daughters and three sons.
Andrew Steuartt, an Irishman, set up
press in Wilmington. He first printed |
Philadelphia, where he printed books. O,
June 24th, 1854, he came to Wilmington
His business was continued IN Philade
phia. In September, 1854, he issued i
this town THE North Carolina GaZett
and Weekly Post Boy printed in ION
primer, and of small size. 1t lasted unit
1869, when it expired for want of support
He was drowned two years later Will
bathing in the fateful Cape Fear rive
near his own home in this town. 1t seem
that Andrew Steuartt had fallen int
liSo1oca - Tho navt n amor tn no pt1nta