Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/278

274 political course. Their Committee's report they desired published in the Pennsylvania Gazette, which offered a wider publicity than that afforded by the Journal, though as it was known as Franklin's paper, its columns were rather on that account sought for personal reasons. Franklin was absent from the the city, but David Hall the publisher returned a reply declining an insertion, and this was a further cause of offence against the proprietor of the Gazette. This suspicion was not warranted, however, and importance only is attached to Hall's letter from the fact that the Trustees at their meeting of IO August thought it merited a full insertion in their minutes. Mr. Hall said in his letter of 15 July: but as these insinuations were not published in our paper, and as it has some relation to the party disputes that have for some time subsisted, which we have carefully avoided having any concern with, I cannot but think it more proper to publish this by the same channel, through which the Disputes have hitherto been carried on, on both sides; especially as in all probability there will be some answer or remarks offered upon it which we should be under a necessity of publishing, if we printed this, and be thereby engaged in an affair, which we have all along been endeavoring to avoid. I therefore return it to you in time, that it maybe published in the other paper, if thought proper. This referred to Bradford's Journal, in which, however, it did not make an appearance. If the report made to the Trustees was offered to Bradford for publication after this refusal by the Gazette, and declined by him also, the reason must have been from a like desire to avoid further controversy on the subject. This declination was in consonance with the general course of Franklin's Gazette, and to have printed the Trustees' finding would have been a departure from it. The principles of the paper in this regard were enumerated in the issue of 8 January preceding in Franklin's words, which form a sound example for the guidance of the partisan press of to-day: Whereas the Publick has been lately informed, that -various seditious and inflaming Papers have been published in this Province containing abusive Reflections, manifestly tending to propagate Dissension, &>c., which seems (tho 1 perhaps undesignedly) to throw a general Reflection on all the Printers in the Province; and as the Publishers of this Gazette think they