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Michigan Newspapers

Michigan Newspapers image
Parent Issue
Day
7
Month
August
Year
1843
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The Watertown Journal, as quoted by the y State Journal, says tlmt there are in Miclijgnn hirty-five or more weckly newspapers, of ( ,vhich only fiue are Whig. We cannot , nver for the correctness of this statement, but we presume t is near the truth. This account ninkes the whole number of papers rreater, and the number of Whig papers less than we had Eupposed - the Whig papers being but one sevcnth part of the whole. - Two reasons rnay be assigued for this. 1. Ia many of the new counties, papers have been established for the exprese purpose of securing the profits of advertís ing the tax sales for only the present year. Tliey have no legitímate basis, nor are they designed to be permanent. These ephemera are of but little value to the community. Their editorial and reading matter are usually diminutive in j amount, and not above mediocrity in quality, while their tax lists, with which they are principally filled, would be quite as useful if published in permanent papers. Perhaps we may not say that they are worse than no newspapers: bul in many cases they nbridge the support of better ones, while their subscription priceis usunlly high. The tax lists, to a considerable extent, are under the control of the Auditor General, and henee the papers containing them, or striving for them, will be professedly of the sarce politics with the party in power. 2. The greater portion of the usual legal advertising is dependent on thetown, county and State offices who are now mostly Democratie; and it wi'.l be bestowed, of course, on Democratie papers in preference to the others. Henee there are six Democratie papers to one Whig. This tend? greatly to strenghten the party in power, while in the sanie proportion il woakens the minority. The Democratie papers are usually silent respect ing the Liberty principies, save when the Negro hatred of some shamelesa edicor occasionally peers forth in some brief article from behind his viel of policy, and reveáis Ihe true nature of h is eham democracy. We do not know of a single Democratie paper out of thirty in the State that has ever been suspected of tho least ympathy towards Liberty principies. The five Whig papers are all devoted to the interests of Mr. Cloy, and are bitter against Tyler. The Detroit Advcrliser in particular, seldora Jets a day pase without eeveral articles in his dieparngement. This paper, under the lmanagement of Mr. Harding last year, ve :onsidered th3 ablest in the State; but sinco then it haa greatly diminished m interest. The State lournal. at Ann Arbor, has no i ostensible editor, but scveral gentlemen are understood to weite for it, whose eftusions are genêraliy devoid of enlarged and liberal view?, and are charactemed by exclusive party feeling. The Journal has ever been strenuosly opposed to the Liberly party. The State Gazette, at Jackson, isa Clay paper, of n less contracted character, and appears disposed to promote the cause of good moráis in the commnnity. The Editor feels the inflnence of right principies and Liberty voies in his vicinity, and makes no hesitation ofavowing his position to slavery morally, while he treats Liberty men wUh decent respect, but these Liberty nominations he regards as very injudicious! The Marshall Statesman goes farther. It obhors'slavery as much as any body morally, end eoes to the death against it as a great social, mort', and political curse, ond il has recommended to abolitionists some indefinito political scatteration action against it, the precise nature of which we could never ascertain. But it is a strenuous advocate of the great Harry, the Duelisf.and Slaveholder, and sometimes seems to be almost or quite irritated with u?, because we will peisist in telling the moral and Christian voters of Michigan, that, in our opinión, a man of his character ia unwortliy of their suffrages. We regret tlns pro slavery course of the Statesman the more, because, apart from politics,lhe general course of the paper evinces in many respects, a sincere regard for ihe best interests of eociety, and its moral tone i.s in advance of ils Whig coridjutors.Wilh Ihc JonesviHe Expositor our ocquointonce ia of recent origin, bnt its literary talent under its new ediïor ia nbove the average of our nevvppnpers. We feo r, liowevor, that its editor vvill prcfer to acquire a rcputation in the narrow channel of partizan vvarfare, rather than by the enlarged and statesmanlike view of public men and measures which lays the foundation for the general respect and confidence of all whose regard is worthy of being sought. Ifthe Press, as is generally ndmitted, .be the great engine by which the political course of the mass of men is mouldcd and directed, it is obvions Ihat, in this repect, the Wbigs of Michigan are laboring under great disadvantages. If they have but five weekly pnpers. as statcd by the Watertown Journal, their nggregate number ofsubscribers vvill not probnbly much exceed 3,000, whilc ot the same late, the weekly issues of Democratie papers would amount to 13,000. But the circulation of some of the tax list papers, we euspect, is but merely nominal. The number of voters in the State is prrhaps 50,000, while the number of Whig vo'.ers who take a weekly paper cannot exceod one f.fteenth purt of' the whole number, t!ius brinqing the direct influonce of their papers within veiy narrow botmris. This dcficiency of tho Whig press will appear still more striking, if we regerd the locnlity of the pnpers. The First Congressional District has three: the Second has two, and we are not a ware that the third has any paper to advocate the ctaims of its candidato, though there may be one or more of whose exislenee we are ignorant. We have thrown these facts (ogether as an evidence of the present relat ve standing of the Whig and Democratie parties, nnd usjnn inducement to the Liberty friends to exert themselves for augmeiuing the circulation of Ihe SignaL In a few weeks more we hope lo distribute eack week, one half as many copies as thcentire weekly Whig press of the Sta;e, and we are well satisfied that they are not only taken but rcad with interest, and produce their effect. Let any intelligent man read a good Liberty paper for a year, and his views respecting slavery will widely different from whatthey were before he comaienced. - lie may be a strong Whig, or a strennous Democrat, and he may still adhere to his old party; but he will acquire mpressions of elavery as a social and polilical curse which will never depart from him, bul to a greater or less extent, they will modify his feelings and actions through üfe, because they are derived from indubitable facte, which appeal to the conscience and the reason. We know of no rea=on for eupposing that the influence of the Whig press in this State will ever be nugmented, while by proper exertion, in two years the Liberty press can be made to equal,if not surpasp, in the amount of its iösues, the entiro Whig presa of the State. Qr Our Quarterly list is increasing. We received the names of abont 60 subscribers lust week, of which 36 were from Marshall with the pay. Another friend has forwardedj 16 names from a post office where we sent only two copies of the Signal. This shows what a little exertion vvill do. The result vvill bc seen in the increasod number of votes.- We have the means of knowing ihat at the election two yeare since, many were converced, and becamc votin? Liberty men, in consequence of subscribing for our quarterly papers, and reading only a few numbere. A postmaster in the South has received from a friend the Free Labor Advocate, an Tndiana An.i-slavery paper. Judge Lynch's inquisitore examined nto the case, nd the post moster was obliged to send to the publishers for evidence that he had never subsenbed for it, or be expelled from his office. From bucIï instances, we can seo how free the white citi zer.a of the Souh are. 05 Dccipiec nof Bmall bcginninga. s

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News