The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1914-11-14
Fl 81 JOURNAL
|..,rr1E IS MOST VENERABLE
BRITISH NEWSPAPER.
.n..+ion Has for Two Hundred and
erftv Years Officially chronicled
the History of the Island
Empire.


Empire.
|uodern newspaper enterprise has
mewhat dwarfed the importance Of
London Gazette, Britain's oldest
I.vsnaper, which for $50 years has
hcially chronicled the history Of the
|untry. Today it is practically only
led for such announcements as the
ne's birthday honors list and legal
Fsnces. Time was, however, when the
sette was the only medium through
1icb the public could learn any for
~ news or any public announcement
siach royalty and statesmen had to
IKE.
Nowadays such announcements.
|vAi]e being sent to the London Ca
- are simultaneously communi.
|,atad to the more important newspa'
|mx But even today the London Ga
|stts Is controlled by the government.
Ia particularly watchful eye is kept
= the advertisements in its pages.
vhjch are regulated by law. These
yertisements are mostly of an official
LEGAL character, of which it is nec'
10y to keep a record, and earn for
r. sation about $4,000 year. No
- manufacturer could obtain a puff
III Eyes, even though he were will
"a y $4,000 a line for it. Alto.
- Clae Gazette yields the country
4 roA.r II about 100000 year, al
nash practically the only people
3 buy 1t are government officials
= hxyers.
o. q the most curious facts regard
3 The London Gazette is that while 1t
nitain.s oldest newspaper, 1t is also
y u the youngest, in the sense that
Twas not until 1908 that It was regis,
red 1t the general post office for
hasmission by inland post as a
~Spsper. Previously it had been re-
prded as a government publication
~, and was dispatched 20. H. M.
IN this way escaping postal
asyss altogether. But apparently the
Fsnment saw way to reap few
lfn halfpence by having 1t regis
lied
The Gazette varies in size very con,
bnbly. Sometimes it consists mere
[ q one page, and sometimes Of be-
zen four and five hundred, but the
|lss always remains the same, viz,
r. shilling. There was one memor-
- week in 1847, which was known
Il he Railway Year." when SO many
l.1lamentary notices had to be pub
lid that the Gazette for the week
1naed about three thousand pages.
Eons Of the most interesting numbers
kthe Gazette ever published was the
hnond Jubilee number, the whole
psr being devoted to an official rec
lot that historic celebration.
n an illustration Of the Importance
] the Gazette in the old days, 1t
night be mentioned that as recently
gthe Crimean war the Gazette was
y FIRST to publish that important item
! news, the victory Of Alma. At one
- the London newspapers had to
ut for the publication of the Gazette
Aorder to secure such news Of public
eportance as the list Of casualties,
lAich the war office in those days sent
rect to Fleet street.
Il 10 the proud boast of Messrs.
lanison, who for more than one hun.
~ and thirty years published the
|ondco Gazette, that although kings
y cxY.net ministers contributed to
: pages during the time they pub
he'd the paper, and although thou
lnds Of employees were engaged on
> work OF producing the Gazette, no
1cia secrets sent to them for publ
ion have ever leaked out.
The Gazette is probably the only pa
Il which returns the original copy to
J authors along with the proof. This
done in the case Of communications
IN aovereigns and cabinet ministers.