Page:Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, Etc., with an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract.djvu/32

 might "be scratched for that day." As will be seen his name was indeed withdrawn to join that "of the great shade" on the very day of the celebration. Mr Harland continued as reporter and contributor to the Hull newspapers for several years after the expiration of his apprenticeship. During this period his reports were so remarkable for their fullness and accuracy, that they attracted the attention of every public speaker who visited the town. On one occasion he presented the Rev. Dr Beard with so accurate a report of his address in Bond Alley Lane Chapel, that "he mentioned the circumstance to the late John Edward Taylor, who was then conducting the Manchester Guardian with that energy and ability which placed it at the head of the provincial press. The consequence was an offer which induced Mr Harland to remove to Manchester in November 1830," in which city and its vicinity he resided till his death. He had here ample opportunities of proving the superiority of his method of writing short-hand; and so verbally accurate were his reports of trials, public meetings, &c., that they were even cited in courts of law as proof that certain expressions had been used. A gentleman connected with the Manchester Guardian, in an obituary notice, gives an interesting anecdote of this extreme accuracy. He says:—"A man was being tried at Lancaster for making a seditious speech, and Mr Harland had to produce and read his notes as evidence against him. These notes were read slowly to allow the Judge to write down the evidence. While this was going on, the counsel for the defence turned to a gentleman who sat near him, and said, "I'll turn this fellow inside out.' The cross-examination for the defence began. 'You profess to give the exact words?' 'Yes.' 'You say the prisoner said so and so; now read what immediately