Year: 1859

1t is emincntly desirable that so great a
power as that of journalism should be wiel-
dcd IN the interest of Christian morals, and
under constant sense Of the responsible
ty which religious obligation Involves
That the daily journals of this city have i'm
proved immensely in this respect within
the last ten years, as we'll as III enterprise
ability and general courtesy, no one who
has given the subject any attention can
doubt; and it is equally certain that, with
the improved taste and increased culture of
the mass of the people, this Improvement
will continue. The daily press may not be
all 1T should bc-but the same defect char
acterizes every other profession and. every
other human institution. All VIC can rca-
sonably expect to ask is that its tendencies
should be in the right direction-that it
should be growing better, instead of worse;
and we think this may be very safely and
very confidently asserted of the daily press
of this city, taken as a whole in all the re-
spectacle journals due regard is uniformly
paid to the religious obsewanccs and feel
ings of all denominations fair proper
ton oispacc is given to religious intelli..
gcnce--the obligations of Christian duty
arc fully recognized even ifnot ALWAYS full
ly met and in their discussions of public
affairs Christian morality is almost uniform
ly accepted as the basis of their judgments
and opinions. We believe this to be true
ota large portion OF the daily newspapers
of this city-and it is becoming more and
more true of them all.


Exception is taken, we arc aware, to the
ph n onfn pf 6 ~
is pubiishc6-to the details given of muir
dcrs, police cases, divorce trials, &c. In
part this complaint is doubtless just-and
there is room and need for improvement in
nearly all our newspapers in this respect
But it is not fair to overlook the reason of
this fault, nor to place the responsibility of
it too exclusively upon the press A news
paper must be published upon business
principles; it can only exist rs it is sns-
tanned by the communitv 1t is very easy
to sneer at publisher for seeking primari-
lly to increase his circulation but it would
be Just as sensible to snccr ut merchant
for endeavoringto extend his. trade, or at a
physictanfor seeking to enlarge his practice.
The roblic support is absolutely essential
TO newspaper, unless for party or other.
purposes of their own, individuals arc will
ling to contribute the money which it re-
qnires; and in that case it becomes mis-
sionary work instead Of a business opera
ton.


Now, it is n clear and undcniable fact
that the great body of the people want a
newspaper for the news. They want to-
know what is going on in the world and
it is the business of their newspaper to
sell them. If il does they will take it; If
not, they will stop itand take another
And lalnentablc as the fact, is, it neverthe-
less is fact, that crime, in its various
forms and successive stages, fills very
large pagein the daily history of the world
and cannot be Ignored without ignoring a
very large and Il very important part of
the current intelligence. Equally true is
1T that nine persons out of every ten in
every community read the narratives of
great crimes with mach more axidity than
they read accounts of benevolent and rcli-
glous movements or any Of the more ordin.