Jan. 3. was today, seventy years ago, that the editor of the "North-China Daily News" penned an announcement which was of lasting importance in the history of this journal. Negotiations, which had been proceeding for some time before, concerning the purchase by the "North-China Daily News" of the "Supreme Court and Consular Gazette," which was to be amalgamated %4 with the ""North-China_ Herald" as the "North-China Herald & Supreme Court and Consular Gazette," by which name the weekly edition of the daily newspaper has been known ever since, had been concluded. And so on January 3, 1870, the editor of the Journal wrote the following:—
'We must say a f2w words today regarding ourselves. As' we have already" announced by advertisement, we have acquired the copyright and good-will of our weekly con= temporary the "Supreme Court and Consular Gazette." which we purpose to incorporate with the "North-China Herald"; publishing, this. afternoon, the first_of the' new scries, under the title Howri-Cuima Honan & Sureste Cour axe Consutan Gazerre. Subscrlbers to the "North-China Herald" have generally expressed, 10 us, satisfaction with {is compilation; and, have admitted its value, both for purposes of record and as a Home Newspaper. ts summary of news was fairly comprehensive: it" contained the most permanent of the leading articles that had appeared during the week in the Daily Ne reports of public meetings, which we imagine ust be tolerably accurate, as we find they generally adopted as official; papers and correspondence on various subjects of Chi nese interest; reports of the more important Taw eases; and a carefully written comment and 'a list of prices current The Cazetfe, though containing much tess matter, had. several advantages, over the Herald. Being compiled more with reference {o circulation in Ching, than the Herald. was, devoted more space to original. comment political "and. current events: its law Ports, were afloatly revised, and it was' uni-YVersaly "voted. a more convenient. ize, for Handling ud for record. The frst of these merits we hope to adopt Into the amalgamated Paper; the second will be maintained and the third we shall emulate az closely tean."'We cannot reduce the size of our sheet tulle "to that of our contemporary! asthe ule would, in that ease, Involve. such multiplicity' of "pages that "the mechanical fomplition, on all day, woud "be amos the sheet to the size of the Economia which hopeless ask, But we do pur A
will, it is believed, be found a Coe 4 Handy" form for fling and reference. advertisements and "other, mater will, tse peso arranged that they' can be led or dis-Densed withy at the will of the subscriber.
itis hopid thus lo. offer" to. subscribers, wrother Im Sangha, atthe Oulperts, or over fever old? merits the Herald Worthy. their' attention will be. carefully kept up. Whatever distinct Ment "the. Supreme Court and. Consular Gazette: possessed, will peso, maintained.
'We must add that we are not able to reach the standard. weal at, in. the present humber; the recent, holidays and. the. short time. we have ad to make the change', prevent our doing s0: but we hope to do Better in our next issue.
Tt is interesting to recall the circumstances which a daily newspaper was printed in those days. There were no telegrams arriving, and ultimately, when they" did, they consisted of a few words, bald statcments of fact, and generally occupying but aline or two in the columns next to the leading article. The tael was in the neigh= bourhood of 6/-, with a dollar consequently 4/2. Trinity Church had been opened on August 1 of the previous year. It was encumbered with plenty of debt, and the Architect. Mr. Gilbert Scott, away back in England, had not yet received his fees which represented a then undetermined amount. Just before the old year died it was announced that the "Shanghai Recorder" had ceased to exist and in recording its passing editorial. predecessor wrote: "We have always found our contemporary a frank and courteous rival and. regret his disappearance from the field." In those days, when editors in Shanghai, and indeed all long the coast, took the' greatest pleasure in flaying the hide oft each other, this brief valedictory probably recalled many a stern wordy battle, for in those days if there were ho news, and very often there was none, ews had to be made somehow. "The editorial staff of "the "North-China Daily News" had not had its New Year holiday. The General Chamber of Commerce had decided for some reason to hold its annual general meeting on New Year's day—a practice Which has sines, fortunately been Giscontinued,—the arnee had Kept open to deal with It and the holiday was observed on January 2. That was not the hardship it might be nowadays, for It is on record that, even ata much later date, if it were decided that up-country shooting was more attractive than recording the parish pump polities of small but thriving port, publication of the Daper was suspended, a gentle habit which eventually brought " about mild protest in the publication by some wags years after wards of the "Daily Snooze". which seems to have brought about a change of heart. Talking of shooting there was a Gun Club in 1810, and in the issue which announced the important amalgamation there is a report of one of its meetings. There were no clay pigeons, and the moving targets of the marksmen were quails, of whom it is reported on this occasion that they were the milliary caste would rather "strong and willing—and made good sport." elimination of Herr Like the fox who is alleged to enjoy being hunted, the quails apparently liked being shot at.
Cases in the Supreme Court, if sufficiently Important, were reported at very cor able length. Full shorthand notes were {taken and for days, long after the hearing itself had concluded, the account of the proceedings was published serially, to such fan extent that on occasion Shanghai knew the result of the case long before the full account of the trial had been concluded.
Apropos of this, the acquisition of its new dignity by the '"North-China Herald," by reason of the incorporation of the "Supreme Court and Consular Gazette," did not daunt the editor, for a few days after the announcement' the daily paper went on record concerning the temperature prevailing in Court. It was very cold, notwithstanding three grates and one stove. "These," the editor concluded, "'seem to be ornamental and not for use."" The fact is that a verbatim shorthand writer cannot fake an accurate note unless he is warm, and, if three grates and a stove could not make him 30, there was obviously something radically wrong, deserving of the sly editorial dig. But things have changed with the passing years. Where but a few words reached Shanghai by cable, and the daily puzzle of the editor was how to fil the paper, thousands now arrive every twenty-four hours presenting the much more difficult problem of how to get it all into the columns of which there are many times more now than then. Local events were few and far between, and where in those days column after column of very turgid debate at meetings was the rule, today the task is to present as complete an account in the shortest length possible. Then the editorial department was like a pump, now it functions more like a shoe-horn: these were spacious days when an hour either way made difference: now the anxious eye ultimately has to watch the fleeting minutes. There Ihave been other changes during the threescore years and ten since the above extract was written, but in the pages of the "North-'China Herald & Supreme Court and Consular Gazette" has been recorded the very f minating history of a very remarkable city.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.