Page:EB1911 - Volume 19.djvu/604

 separation of the Deutschfortschrittliche and Deutschvolkliche parties, while the Radical party, which greatly increased in Bohemia, was first represented by the weekly Deutscher Volksbote at Prague, and also in 1897 by the Unverfälschte deutsche Worte, edited by Iro at Eger. A peculiar feature in Austrian journalism is the existence of German organs of the Czech national movement, of which the representative is the Prague daily Politik, founded in 1862. In Silesia the anti-Semitic Freie Schlesische Presse was founded in 1881 at Troppau, and when it changed sides in 1889 it was speedily replaced, 1891, by the Deutsche Wehr. In Moravia the representative papers of the Czech Conservatives and Radicals were the Mir and the Pozar respectively. The newspapers in Galicia, which increased steadily after 1870, are both numerous and important. The leading ones are the Slovo Polskie in Lemberg and the Glos Naroda in Cracow. In 1900 there were 161 newspapers in Polish, as against 10 in 1848 and 50 in 1873. Of the lesser Slavic nations, the Slovenians advanced the most, the Slovenski List having started at the end of 1896. In Illyrian journalism the chief newspapers founded after 1880 were the Crvena Hrvatska (1891), and the Hrvatska Kruna (1893). An attempt at unity amongst the Ruthenian factions in 1885 to 1887 produced the Mir, while the Ruslan, a daily founded at Lemberg in 1896, advocated joint action by Poles and Ruthenians. The Bukowyna, established in 1885, developed into the organ of “Young Ruthenia,” and the Bukowinska Widomosty, established in 1895, represented the Old Ruthenians.

The Italian press in Austria was represented in 1900 chiefly by the very popular daily Piccolo, published at Trieste; it had a formidable rival in the Mattino, from 1885 to 1898. The Fede e Lavoro, published at Roveredo, was the organ of the Catholic Labour party, and L’Avvenire del Lavoro, at Bozen, that of the Socialists. In Dalmatia the Corriere Nazionale, founded in 1896 at Zara and afterwards published at Trieste, was the organ of the autonomist Italians, while Il Dalmata continued to represent the National Liberals.

Belgium.—The Nieuwe Tijdinghen of Antwerp, published by Abraham Verhoeven, has been said to date virtually from 1605, in which year a “licence for the exclusive retailing of news” was accorded to him by the archduke Albert and the archduchess Isabella. But the claim is conjectural. No copy of any number anterior to 1616 is now known to exist. It seems probable that the Gazette Extraordinaris Posttijdinghen, published by Wilhelm Verdussen between 1637 and 1644, is a continuation of Verhoeven’s paper. But, be this as it may, that of Verdussen was certainly the foundation of the well-known Gazette van Antwerpen, which continued to appear until 1827.

Bruges had its Nieuwe Tijdinghen uyt verscheyden Quartieren, published (in black letter) by Nicholaes Breyghel. When this paper was commenced is uncertain, but various numbers of it exist with dates between 1637 and 1645. In one of these (26th July 1644) a Brusselsche Gazette of the 24th of that month is quoted, apart from which citation no Brussels paper is known of earlier date than 1649. When the first number of Le Courier véritable des Pays-Bas made its appearance, the publisher (Jean Mommaert) prefaced the first number by an address to the reader, in which he says: “I have long endeavoured to meet with somebody who would give employment to my presses in defending truth against the falsehoods which malignity and ignorance send daily abroad. I have at length found what I sought, and shall now be able to tell you, weekly, the most important things that are going on in the world.” This paper became afterwards the Gazette de Bruxelles, then Gazette des Pays-Bas; and, under the last-named title, it continued to appear until 1791. The Annales Politiques of Linguet was one of the most remarkable of the political journals of Brussels in the 18th century. For a time the editor won the favour of the emperor Joseph II. by praising his reforms, and the Government subscribed for 1200 copies of his paper at two louis d’ors each a year; but here, as in almost every other place of residence during his chequered career, Linguet at length incurred fine and imprisonment. His journal was repeatedly suppressed, and as often resumed under many modifications of title. It was continued in France, in Switzerland (at Lausanne), and in England. At one time it was so popular that a printer in Brussels regularly and rapidly published a pirated edition of it. For a brief period the publication was resumed at Brussels. Mallet Du Pan was, for a time, a collaborator in the editorship. Linguet died by the guillotine in 1794. Le National was a famous paper for a short period prior to the revolution of 1830. Soon after its cessation—its presses were destroyed by the populace on the 26th August—the official journal, Le Moniteur Belge, was established,—“the ministry deeming it indispensable to the success of its great political enterprise that a journal should be created which might expound its views, and act daily upon public opinion”; and, on decree of the regency, it was published accordingly.

The first newspaper published at Ghent, Gazette van Gent, appeared in 1667. Den Vaderlander, begun in October 1829, was, for a long period, one of the most widely circulated of the Flemish journals.

In 1890 Brussels published 34 papers of various periodicity, among which the Moniteur Belge held the lead with circulation of 90,000, while Le National (revived in 1885) and L’Étoile (1869) circulated 21,000 and 5000 respectively. In 1900 there were 18 dailies and 14 weeklies, &c. Antwerp had 7 dailies in 1890 and 1900; Ghent 7 dailies in 1890 and 6 in 1900; Liége 6 in 1890 and 5 in 1900. The halfpenny paper is well established.

Holland.—The kingdom of the Netherlands has always been rich in newspapers, but they have usually had more weight commercially than politically. Amsterdam in 1890 had 10 dailies, and in 1900 had 12 dailies (Algemeen Handelsblad, Nieuws van den Dag, &c.). In 1900 the Hague had 6 dailies (Dagblad, Vaderland, &c.); and Rotterdam had 5 dailies (Nieuwe Rotterdammer Courant, &c.). The oldest Dutch paper, the Haarlemsche Courant, founded in 1656, is still one of the leading journals.

Italy.—The Diario di Roma, although dating only from 1716, may claim to have been the patriarch of the Italian press. It lasted for nearly a century and a half. During its later years it was a daily paper, with a weekly supplement having the somewhat whimsical title Notizie del Giorno. Next to this came the Gazzetta Uffiziale di Napoli. These and their congeners were published under a rigid censorship until far into the 19th century, and exercised little influence of any kind. The first tentative movement towards a free press may, perhaps, be dated from the effort to establish at Milan, in 1818, under the editorship of Silvio Pellico, the Conciliatore, in which Simonde de Sismondi, Gonfalonieri and Romagnosi were fellow-writers. But the new journal was suppressed in 1820. The first really effectual effort had to wait for the lapse of nearly thirty years. L’Opinione was first published in Turin (26th December 1847) afterwards in Rome. It had, amongst its many editors, Giacomo Durando (a soldier of mark, and twice minister of foreign affairs), Montezenolo, Giovini Bianchi and Giacomo Dina. The Florence Diritto, originally founded at Turin, in 1851, by Lorenzo Valerio, was edited successively by Macchi, Bargini and Civinini, and as a radical organ attained great influence. Counting journals of all kinds, there were published in Italy in 1836 185 newspapers; in 1845, 200; in 1856, 311; in 1864, 450; in 1875, 479. In 1882 the “periodicals” of all kinds numbered 1454, and total number of political dailies was 149. In 1890 Rome published 13 dailies, and in 1900, 10 dailies. The leading Roman papers were the Fanfulla, representing the court and government; the Tribuna (5 centimes), a Liberal paper founded in 1883; the organ of the Vatican, L’Osservatore Romano; and the popular Messaggiero. Il Secolo (1866) and the Corriere della Sera (1876) are issued from Milan.

Russia, Poland and Finland.—The earliest gazette of Moscow (Moskovskya Viedomosti) was issued by order of Peter the Great on the 16th December 1702, but no copy is known now to exist of earlier date than the 2nd January following. The whole gazette of the year 1703 was reproduced in facsimile by order of Baron de Korff (the imperial librarian at St Petersburg) in 1855, on occasion of the festival for the 3rd century of Moscow university. The existing Viedomosti dates only from 1766. That of St Petersburg dates from 1718. The historian Karamzin established a short-lived Moscow journal (Moskovski Listok), and afterwards at St Petersburg the once widely-known Russian Courrier de l’Europe (1802). The profits of the successful Invalide Russe (Russki Invalid), established in 1815 by Persorovius, were devoted to the sufferers by the war with France. Adding to the distinctively political journals those of miscellaneous character, the whole number of newspapers published within the Russian states—Poland and Finland excepted—in the year 1835 was 136; in 1858 that number had grown to 179, of which 82 were published in St Petersburg and 15 in Moscow; 132 were printed in Russian, 3 in Russian and in German, 1 in Russian and in Polish, 28 in German, 8 in French, 3 in English, 1 in Polish, 1 in Lithuanian, 1 in Italian. In 1879, under the more liberal rule of Alexander II., the number of political and miscellaneous journals had grown to 293, and of these 105 were under the direct influence of the Government. But, in truth, the period of relaxation of censorship, if strictly examined, will be found to have lasted only from 1855 to 1864, when repressive measures were again and frequently resorted to. Poland in 1830 had 49 newspapers. Fifty years later the number was still less than 70, of which 54 were in Polish, these numbers including journals of all kinds. Finland in 1860 had 24 newspapers, half in Swedish, half in Finnish. In 1863 the number had increased to 32, in spite of the zealous opposition of Count de Berg, the governor-general, to all discussion of political events and “subjects which do not concern the people.” He was very friendly to journals of gardening and cottage economy, and to magazines of light literature, and did not regard comic papers with anger provided they kept quite clear of politics. The paper which was long the chief Finnish organ, Suometar (founded at Helsingfors in 1847), owed much of its popularity to the pains its editors took with their correspondence. The Oulun Wukko-Samomat (“Uleaborg Daily News”) was for a considerable period the most northerly newspaper of the world, with the one exception of the little journal published at Tromsö, in Norway.

In 1880 the whole number of newspapers printed within the government of Finland was 46, while the total number of newspapers and journals of all kinds published within the whole Russian empire during the same year was 608. Of these, 417 were printed in the Russian language, 155 of them being official or administrative organs; 54 were printed in Polish, 40 in German, 11 in Lettish, 10 in French, 7 in Esthonian, 3 in Lithuanian.

In 1890 St Petersburg had 6 dailies; and in 1900 there were 16 dailies (the St Petersburgskya Viedomosti, the Novoya Vremja, the Journal de St Pétersbourg, &c.). Moscow increased from 5 to 8 dailies (the Moskovskya Viedomosti, &c.). The rest of Russia proper produced about 100 newspapers, of which one-third were dailies.