In Ireland, a news-sheet, called Warranted Tidings from. Ireland, was printed during the rebellion of 1641; but the first Irish newspaper, properiy so called, was the Dublin Newsletter, commenced in 1685. Plle'S Occurrences, a Dublin daily paper, originated in 1700, was continued for half a century. It was followed, in 1728, by another daily paper, Faulkner's Journal, established by George Faulkner, " a man celebrated for the goodness of his heart, and the weakness of his head." The oldest existing Dublin newspapers are Saunders' (originally Esdaile's) Newsletter, begun in 1746, and the Ere fling Post, instituted in 1725. The limerick Chronicle, the oldest Irish provincial paper, dates from 1766. Ireland possessed 79 newspapers in 1843, and had in 1877 about 150. Most of them are characterized by an energy of language, and a strength of political bias, unknown in the other parts of the United Kingdom. The Irish Times and the Evening Mail, published in Dublin, and the Belfast News Letter, are influential daily papers.
The Isle of Man supports 1 conservative, 2 liberal, and 1 neutral journal. Jersey has 9 journals, 4 printed in French and 5 in English; 4 arc liberal, 1 conservative, 2 liberal conservative. 1 independent, and 1 neutral. Guernsey has an official gazette printed in French, which is Protestant and neutral, besides 2 liberal, 1 liberal-conservative, and 2 neutral papers. These local papers are conducted with a great amount of spirit and success.
In the British colonies, newapapers.are numerous, including those in India, printed in the and other rative languages. Hieki»g's Gazette, the first Anglo-Indian newspaper, appeared in Calcutta in 1781 ; it was followed, iu 1784, by a small official sheet, the Calcutta Gazette or Oriental Adeerte:ser. The still surviving Bengal Harkuru was established in 1795. In the earlier times of Indian newspapers, though there was no direct censorship, exemplary punishment was often inflicted on the authors of offen sive paragraphs. In 1794 Mr. Ducane, editor of the World, was transported to Europe for an inflammatory address to the army which appeared in his paper; and a similar result followed, in 1798, to ;mother editor, who made some severe observations on the official conduct of a local magistrate. A censorship, established by lord Wellesley, in 1799, was abolished by the marquis of Hastings in 1818; but a license, revocable at pleasure, was required to he taken out by every printer of a newspaper. In 1832 the Indian press consisted of 6 European and 5 native journals. The licensing system was done. away with by lord Metcalfe's law of 1835, a step disapproved of by the East India directors, but was again reverted to on the occurrence of the mutiny in 1857. lu 1878 an Indian press law tantamount to a censorship was enacted, applicable to the vernacular press only. In 1875 there were in India 135 Eng., 270 vernacular, and 55 mixed news- papers.—The first Australian paper was the Sydney Gazette, founded in 1803. unhurt Town had its journal in 1804, and in 1824 newspapers began to multiply in the Austra• liar colonies. The principal are now the Sydney Herald, the Sydney Mad, the Argus of Melbourne, and the South Australian Register. The materials for printing this last named paper were carried out by the original South Australian colonists, the first num ber having been previously printed in England. A similar was adopted by the
first New Zealand colony m 1839 in founding their New Zealand Gazette and New Zeula nd Advertiser. Tahiti has, since 1844, had its E0eganie Fransaise. There is also the Fiji Times, the Fiji Gazette, and the Central Polynoian.
France.—The earliest French newspaper is said to have been established by Thee phraste Renaudot, a physician, in the beginning of the 17th century. The first number of his Gazette appeared in 1631. In the following year, through interest of cardinal Richelieu, he obtained a royal privilege for his Gazette; it was continued weekly up to 1762, and then began to appear twice in the' week, and to combine advertisements with imblie news. Commercial intelligence was added in 1705, and in 1792, theatrical announcements. In 1650 was started the Gazette Burlesque, a journal in verse, edited by the poet Jean Loret, devoted in a great measure to the chronique scandakuse of Paris; and in 1672, the Mereure Galcent, a political and literary journal, which afterwards became the Mereure de France, and was continued during the revolution, and down to 1815. The first French daily newspaper was the Journal de Paris, which begun in 1777, and was discontinued in 1819. A large ca•op of journals sprang into being with the revolution, organs respectively of republicans, Jacobins, and royalists, but most of them had a very brief existence. 'Under the first Napoleon the freedom of the press was much restricted. By one of his earliest ordinances as first consul, all the newspapers were suppressed except 13, and under the empire the tolerated journals were allowed to lie little more than echoes of the official Moniteur. From the danger which attended the handling of political questions, arose the practice of filling a large portion of the sheet with the Feuilleto• consisting of a sketch or tale by a popular writer, which has ever since been a characteristic of French journalism. During the restoration period, the press being again less fettered, there was a large increase in the number of news papers. In 1826 there were 127. and in 1829, 307 newspapers published in Paris. The July revolution at first added still further to their number; but the restrictive measures of 1834, consisting in the imposition of a stamp duty, and of an obligation to find security to the amount of 24,000 francs, led to the collapse of a large proportion of the then existing journals. The Moniteur, Debats, and Presse were in possession of the government, and for a time also the Co nstittt tionnel, and every shade of political opinion, had its recognized organ. Emile de Girardin's scheme of widening the circulation of the government organ, the Presse, by bringing down the subscription price from 80 to 40 francs, had the result of reducing the price of the opposition journals also. Cheap newspapers being thus established, it soon appeared that with the class among whom. they circulated most widely the feuilleton was regarded of more importance than the political article, and it thus became the policy of the journalists to pay enormous sums to the cleverest novelists of the day, in order to retain them iii their service; 100.000 francs paid by Dr. Veron of the Constautionnel to Eugene Sue for his Julf Let-ant, turned out as profitable a speculation for the journalist as for the novelist.