Public Men and Public Life in Canada Author:James Young Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V GEORGE BROWN IN AN OLD-TIME ELECTION The press of Canada was conspicuous at an early date for ability and independence. Even fifty years ago ther... more »e were many well-conducted newspapers. They were, of course, far behind those of to-day as regards size, appearance and news—especially foreign events—having neither railroads, telegraphs, telephones, linotypes nor eight-cylinder presses to aid them. But editorials and local news were generally well and correctly written, and quite equalled if they did not surpass, these departments in our modern broad sheets, some of which are so " yellow" in colour, that it is difficult to tell what is fact and what is fiction. Conspicuous among the newspapers of that period were the old Quebec Gazette and the Montreal Herald, the latter long and ably edited by Mr. Edward Goff Penny. In Toronto the chief Conservative paper was the British Colonist, published by Mr. Hugh Scobie. It was a vigorously conducted and excellent journal. The Examiner was owned by Mr. James Lesslie, was written for by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Francis Hincks, and also by Mr. Charles Lindsey, who became editor of the Leader when it was started in 1850, and who still enjoys a green old age as one of the registrars of Toronto. The British Whig of Kingston and the Journal and Express of Hamilton, the latter conducted by Mr. Solomon Brega, were then prominent journals. The Whig is still to the front, and is, in fact, more vigorous now in its old age than it was in its youth. The Hamilton Spectator, which was a model typographically, was started by Mr. R. R. Smiley in 1846, and the North American, which was edited by the Hon. William McDougall, appeared in Toronto four years later and aroused considerable interest by its semi-Republican platform. Mr. George Brown and ...« less