The Intellectual Development of the Canadian People by Sir John George Bourinot (bookstand for reading .txt) 📕

Hogan, McGee, Whelan, P. S. Hamilton, T. White, Derome, Cauchon, Jos. Doutre, were the most distinguished writers of an epoch which was famous for its political and industrial progress. But of all that brilliant phalanx, Mr. White alone contributes, with more or less regularity, to the press, whilst all the others are either dead or engaged in other occupations. [Footnote: Mr. McGee was assassinated in 1868. The circumstances of the death of John Sheridan Hogan, in 1859, were not known till years afterwards, when one of the infamous Don Gang revealed the story of his wretched end. Then we have the great journalist and leader of the Liberal party in Upper Canada also dying from the effects of a pistol-wound at the hands of a drunken reprobate. Hon. Edward Whelan, of Charlottetown, died years ago. Mr. Morrison died whilst editor of the Toronto _Daily Telegraph_. Mr. Sheppard was, when last heard of, in New York, in connection with the press. Mr. Lindsey is Registrar of Toronto. Hon. Joseph Cauchon is Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. Mr. Chamberlin is Queen's Printer at Ottawa, and his partner on the _Gazette_, Mr. Lowe, is also in the Civil service. Mr. Derome died only a few weeks ago. Mr. Penny is a Senator. Mr. McDongall is a member of the Commons, and lives in Ottawa. Mr. Doutre is at the head of his profession in Quebec. Mr. Belford, of the _Mail_, died a few weeks ago at Ottawa. Besides those older journalists mentioned in the text, younger men, like Mr. Descelles and Mr. Dansereau, of the _Minerve_, and Mr. Patteson, of the _Mail_, have also received positions recently in the public service. Mr. Edward McDonald, who founded, with Mr. Garvie, the Halifax _Citizen_, in opposition to the _Reporter_, of which the present writer was editor, died Collector of the Port. Mr. Bowell, of the Belleville _Intelligencer_, is now Minister of Customs. The list might be extended indefinitely.]

Since 1867, the _Mail_, established in 1873 as the chief organ of the Liberal Conservatives, has come to the front rank in journalism, and is a powerful rival of the _Globe_, while the _Colonist_, _Leader_, and other papers which once played an important part in the political drama, are forgotten, like most political instruments that have done their service and are no longer available. Several of the old journals so long associated with the history of political and intellectual activity in this country, however, still exist as influential organs. The Quebec _Gazette_ was, some years ago, merged into another Quebec paper--having become long before a memorial of the past in its appearance and dullness, a sort of Rip Van Winkle in the newspaper world. The _Canadien_ has always had its troubles; but, nevertheless, it continues to have influence in the Quebec district, and the same may be said of the _Journal de Quebec_, though the writer who first gave it power in politics is now keeping petty state in the infant Province of the West. The Quebec _Mercury_ still exists, though on a very small scale of late. The Montreal _Gazette_ (now the oldest paper in Canada), the Montreal _Herald_, the _Minerve_, the Hamilton _Spectator_, and the Brockville _Recorder_ (established in 1820), are still exercising political influence as of old. The St. John _News_ and the Halifax _Acadian Recorder_ are still vigorously carried on. The Halifax _Chronicle_ remains the leading Liberal organ in Nova Scotia, though the journalist whose name was so long associated with it in the early days of its influence died a few years ago in the old Government House, within whose sacred walls he was not permitted to enter in the days of his fierce controversy with Lord Falkland. In its later days, the Hon. William Annand, lately in the employment of the Dominion Government in London, was nominally the Editor-in-Chief, but the Hon. Jonathan McCully, Hiram Blanchard, and William Garvie were among those who contributed largely to its editorial columns--able political writers not long since dead. The public journals of this country are now so numerous that it would take several pages to enumerate them; hardly a village of importance throughout Canada but has one or more weeklies. In 1840 there were, as accurately as I have been able to ascertain, only 65 papers in all Canada, including the Maritime Provinces. In 1857, there were 243 in all; in 1862 some 320, and in 1870 the number had increased to 432, of which Ontario alone owned 255. The number has not much increased since then--the probable number being now 465, of which 56, at least, appear daily. [Footnote: The data for 1840 are taken from Martin's 'Colonial Empire,' and Mrs. Jameson's account. The figures for 1857 are taken from Lovell's 'Canada Directory;' the figures for 1880 from the lists in Commons and Senate Reading Rooms. The last census returns for the four old Provinces give only 308 printing establishments, employing 3,400 hands, paying $1,200,000 in wages, and producing articles to the worth of $3,420,202. Although not so stated, these figures probably include job as well as newspaper offices--both being generally combined--and newspapers where no job work is done are obviously left out.] The Post Office statistics show in 1879, that 4,085,454 lbs. of newspapers, at one cent per lb. passed through the post offices of the Dominion, and 5,610,000 copies were posted otherwise. Nearly three millions and a half of papers were delivered under the free delivery system in the cities of Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, St. John, and Toronto. Another estimate gives some 30,000,000 of papers passing through the Post Office in the course of a year, of which probably two thirds, or 20,000,000, are Canadian. These figures do not, however, represent any thing like the actual circulation of the Canadian papers, as the larger proportion are immediately delivered to subscribers by carriers in the cities and towns. The census of 1870 in the United States showed the total annual circulation of the 5,871 newspapers in that country to be, 1,508,548,250, or an average of forty for each person in the Republic, or one for every inhabitant in the world. Taking the same basis for our calculation, we may estimate there are upwards of 160,000,000 copies of newspapers annually distributed to our probable population of four millions of people. The influence which the newspaper press must exercise upon the intelligence of the masses is consequently obvious.

The names of the journals that take the front rank, from the enterprise and ability with which they are conducted, will occur to every one _au courant_ with public affairs: the _Globe_ and _Mail_, in Toronto; the _Gazette_ and _Herald_, in Montreal; the _Chronicle_ (in its 34th year) and _Mercury_, in Quebec; the _Spectator_ and _Times_, in Hamilton; the _Free Press_ and _Advertiser_, in London; the _British Whig_ (in its 46th year) and _Daily News_, in Kingston; _Citizen_ and _Free Press_, in Ottawa; _News_, _Globe_, _Telegraph_, and _Sun_, in St. John, N. B.; _Herald_ and _Chronicle_, in Halifax; the _Examiner_ and _Patriot_, in Prince Edward Island, are the chief exponents of the principles of the Conservative and Liberal party. Besides these political organs the Montreal _Star_ and _Witness_, and the Toronto _Telegram_ have a large circulation, and are more or less independent in their opinions. Among the French papers, besides those referred to above, we have the _Courrier de Montreal_ (1877), _Nouveau Monde_ (1867), _L'Evenement_ (1867), _Courrier d'Ottawa_, now _le Canada_ (1879), _Franco Canadien_ (1857), which enjoy more or less influence in the Province of Quebec. Perhaps no fact illustrates more strikingly the material and mental activity of the Dominion than the number of newspapers now published in the new Province of the North-West. The first paper in that region appeared in 1859, when Messrs. Buckingham & Coldwell conveyed to Fort Garry their press and materials in an ox cart, and established the little _Nor' Wester_ immediately under the walls of the fort. Now there are three dailies published in the City of Winnipeg alone--all of them well printed and fairly edited--and at least sixteen papers in all appear periodically through the North-West. The country press--that is to say, the press published outside the great centres of industrial and political activity--has remarkably improved in vigour within a few years; and the metropolitan papers are constantly receiving from its ranks new and valuable accessions, whilst there remain connected with it, steadily labouring with enthusiasm in many cases, though the pecuniary rewards are small, an indefatigable band of terse, well-informed writers, who exercise no mean influence within the respective spheres of their operations. The Sarnia _Observer_, Sherbrooke _Gazette_, Stratford _Beacon_, Perth _Courier_ (1834), Lindsay _Post_, Guelph _Mercury_ (1845), Yarmouth _Herald_, Peterboro _Review_, St. Thomas _Journal_, _News of St. Johns_ (Q), _Courrier de St. Hyacinthe_, Carleton _Sentinel_, Maritime _Farmer_, are among the many journals which display no little vigour in their editorials and skill in the selection of news and literary matter. During the thirteen years that have elapsed since Confederation new names have been inscribed on the long roll of Canadian journalists. Mr. Gordon Brown still remains in the editorial chair of the _Globe_, one of the few examples we find in the history of Canadian journalism of men who have not been carried away by the excitement of politics or the attraction of a soft place in the public service. The names of White, McCulloch, Farrar, Rattray, G. Stewart, jr., M. J. Griffin, Carroll Ryan, Stewart (Montreal _Herald_), Stewart (Halifax _Herald_), Sumichrast, Fielding, Elder, Geo. Johnson, Blackburn (London _Free Press_), Cameron (London _Advertiser_), Davin, Dymond, Pirie, D. K. Brown, Mackintosh, Macready, Livingstone, Ellis, Houde, Vallee, Desjardins, Tarte, Faucher de St. Maurice, Fabre, Tasse, L'O. David, are among the prominent writers on the most widely circulated English and French Canadian papers.

In the necessarily limited review I have been forced to give of the progress of journalism in Canada, I have made no mention of the religious press which has been established, in the large cities principally, as the exponent of the views of particular sects. The Methodist body has been particularly successful in this line of business, in comparison with other denominations. The _Christian Guardian_, established at Toronto in 1829, under the editorial supervision of Rev. Egerton Ryerson, continues to exhibit its pristine vigour under the editorship of the Rev. Mr. Dewart. The organ of the same body in the Maritime Provinces is the _Wesleyan_, edited by Rev. T. Watson Smith, and is fully equal in appearance and ability to its Western contemporary. The Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopal Methodists and Congregationalists, have also exponents of their particular views. The Church of England has made many attempts to establish denominational organs on a successful basis, but very few of them have ever come up to the expectations of their promoters in point of circulation--the old _Church_ having been, on the whole, the most ably conducted. At present there are three papers in the west, representing different sections of the Church. The Roman Catholics have also their organs, not so much religious as political--the St. John _Freeman_, edited by the Hon. Mr. Anglin, is the most remarkable for the ability and vigour with which it has been conducted as a supporter of the views of the Liberal party in the Dominion, as well as of the interests of the Roman Catholic body. In all there are some thirty papers published in the Dominion, professing to have the interests of certain sects particularly at heart. [Footnote: It is noteworthy that the Canadian religions press has never attained the popularity of the American Denominational Journals, which are said to have an aggregate circulation of nearly half of the secular press.]

The _Canadian Illustrated News_ and _L'Opinion Publique_, which owe their establishment to the enterprise of Mr. Desbarats, a gentleman of culture, formerly at the head of the old Government Printing Office, are among the examples of the new vigour and ability that have characterized Canadian journalistic enterprise of recent years. The illustrations in the _News_ are, on