Toiling Upward.

JAMES PERRY, JOURNALIST.

THE story which I now aim to tell is exceedingly simple, yet I cannot think it will fail to be interesting, inasmuch as it will be an epitomized memoir of James Perry, "one of the first to raise the social status of the London newspaper editor," and so to exercise a beneficial influence on all human life; for the newspaper is, in our day, one of the necessities of the most commonplace life. He was a silent, unostentatious worker; one of those who are as well as exercise an influence, and who, as the originators of new adaptations for the conveniences of life, bestow continual benefits upon many who know not to whom they owe these common comforts.

The power of the press is so great, and its influence is in the main so wholesome, that any one of those who have aided in making it efficient for the working out of its high ends merits the interest of the enjoyers of the immense social benefits derivable from the possession of a free, independent, and trustworthy newspaper press. Napoleon I., on his return to France from the island of Elba, said to Benjamin Constant, "Public discussions, free elections, responsible ministers, liberty of the press especially, I desire all these, particularly liberty of the press. To stifle it is absurd." James Perry was one of those who helped to make the press the giant power which protects cabinets, awes potentates, restrains tyranny, exposes villanies, and is engaged in guiding the destinies of the world to peace, prosperity, freedom, and happiness-the censor of events, the champion of progress, the forethoughtful critic of the future, the careful adviser of the present, and the skilful recorder of the past "the palladium," as Junius called it, "of all the civil, political, and religious rights of an Englishman.'

Few histories are so filled with the materials for romance and sensationalism as that of journalism; but we have no hankering after the artificial excitement of fiction, or even after the intensely moving power of that "truth which is stranger than fiction." The best lessons of life are learned, not from those biographies which are filled with strange incidents and uncommon events, but from those which are begun in the ordinary levels, and which show the upward achievements of thought, care, and industry, such as may be used and exhibited by all; and such is the life of the hero of my paper.

James Perry (as he afterwards called himself) was the son of a

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house carpenter in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen, whose name was William Pirie. James received his early education at the parish school of Chapel Garioch, then under the dominieship of à Mr. Farquhar, with whom he was boarded. Beside the Maiden Stone, near the parish church, by the old castle of Balquhain, among the ruins of a Druidical temple that was near it, with its fine yet strange and weird echo, as well as along the banks of the Don and the Urie, and even out to the scene of the battle of Harlow, celebrated in Scottish story,-James Perry's holiday strolls and week-day sports led him; and here he learned the art of making himself master of whatever he took in hand. When Mr. Farquhar had laid the groundwork of a good education in his mind, the lad was transferred to the grammar school of Aberdeen, a famous old institution, which acts as a gymnasium, and prepares for the university, whither in due time James Perry was sent as a student in 1771, when he was just upon the eve of closing his fifteenth year-for we should have said before that he was born 30th October, 1756. Here he studied Latin, Greek, and logic, and after going through three years of the curriculum he was articled to an Aberdeen advocate, named Arthur Dingwall Fordyce.

Before he had served the period specified in his indenture, his father, who had been somewhat prosperous in business, and had become rather reckless in his building speculations, having fallen into difficulties, was unable to help him in getting on in the profession for which he had been trained. The only opening which presented itself to him in the hour of his need was a connection with a company of actors, then going the circuit at Aberdeen. Being handsome, lively, and a good dancer, he got on the rôle for secondrate characters, rising at one time to that of Sempronius, in Addison's "Cato," and sometimes giving a hornpipe or other example of the poetry of motion between the pieces. In this way he visited Montrose, Arbroath, Dundee, Perth, and-Holcroft, who had performed with him, says-Newcastle-on-Tyne. But on Digges, the manager, becoming lessee of the Edinburgh Theatre, he was constrained to tell Perry that his strong provincial accent unfitted him for the metropolitan stage, and that he could scarcely achieve success on the boards. In Edinburgh he attempted to get into the courses of the law again, and hung about awhile in the hope of obtaining employment; but his efforts were vain, and he passed on to Manchester with a few letters of introduction. In Manchester a manufacturer named Mr. Dinwiddie employed him as clerk, and for two years he devoted himself to the work in hand, while he made great efforts to improve himself during his leisure hours. During his residence in Manchester he joined a literary institution and debating society. The essays, papers, speeches, &c., prepared for and delivered at this association attracted the notice and won the regard of many of the frequenters. Feeling within himself capacities for thinking and writing, he gave heed to reading and attention to composition, seeking fulness of mind and readiness of

utterance. The approval of his compeers justified his own opinion, and he at last determined to proceed to London in search of a higher position and a more extensive sphere of usefulness. His friends supplied him with testimonials, and in 1777, when the agitation about the American war was exciting men-when Horne Tooke was the hero of the time on account of his seditious declaration, when the recent death of Dr. Dodd for forgery was still a topic of talk, when Dr. Johnson was dictator of literature, "Junius" was the mystery of the age, and Woodfall was the sovereign of the newspaper press,-James Perry entered the great city, an almost penniless adventurer.

Having taken lodgings in Shire Lane, London, with a fellow-countryman named Lunan, a shoemaker, James Ferry began his search for employment. He delivered his letters of introduction, and got from a few a sort of half-hearted invitation to call again. Not wishing to be idle, he used a portion of the time then too plenteously on his hands in composing a few letters and articles. Some of these he dropped into the box of the General Advertiser, a newspaper which had been started about ten years before, and which was then edited by William Cooke, biographer of Foote and Macklin, author of some minor poems, the "Elements of Dramatic Criticism," &c., under the proprietorship of Messrs. Richardson and Urquhart, a firm to whom Perry had had a recommendation. Calling on one of his rounds on the firm, Mr. Urquhart, who was busily engaged in the perusal of the General Advertiser, looked up on Perry's entrance, and, anticipating his address, said, "No, young man, I have heard of nothing suitable for you yet; but," smiling blandly, "if, now, you could write some such article as this I have just been reading, I could give you immediate employment." The paper spoken of was one of Perry's box contributions, and this he proved by pulling from his pocket another of the same sort in the same handwriting, which he was just about to drop into the editorial receptacle. Mr. Urquhart secured his services at once at a guinea per week, with an additional half-guinea to be earned by acting as sub-editor of the London Evening Post, a paper to which Edmund, William, and Richard Burke contributed, and which Horne Tooke patronized and aided. Thus he became a literary man. In those days editorial work was not at high pressure as it is now, and Perry passed a considerable portion of his leisure in the debating assemblies which were frequent in those times, and formed one of the favourite public recreations. Perry's intelligence, readiness, and gentlemanly manners attracted admiration, and he was a most popular and accomplished controversialist. He had scarcely yet achieved his true vocation. His organizing faculty had as yet no field for its activity. His opportunity came with the trial of Admiral Augustus Keppel, who was tried by court-martial at Portsmouth, at the instance of the Admiralty, on charges of misconduct and neglect of duty, resulting in the escape of the French fleet from him during the night of 27th July, 1778, brought against him

by Sir Hugh Palliser. The trial lasted for six weeks, and during that time Perry, who had been commissioned to report the proceedings for the London Evening Post, sent up daily eight columns of an account of the trial, and so increased the circulation by several thousands. The attention of the newspaper world was strongly excited by this extraordinary single-handed achievement, and these reports had no small influence in stirring up the strong passion of the people against Sir H. Palliser, resulting in the smashing of his windows and other riotous demonstrations, and leading to the illumination of the houses of Westminster and London for two successive nights.

At this time seventeen newspapers were published-seven daily, eight thrice, and two twice a week, and only one weekly-engaged in gratifying" the universal passion for politics;" and the keenness of this competition made a good man an acquisition. Hence on the demise of Wall, editor of the Gazetteer, the editorship of that paper was offered to Perry, with a salary of four guineas a week, a post, however, which he refused to accept until he had secured a provision that he should be left entirely free as an editor in the expression of his political opinions, in which he followed Charles James Fox.

In 1782 Perry projected the European Magazine, a monthly journal intended to combine a miscellany of general literature with a review of new books. The ability with which this serial was conducted added greatly to the popularity of the author, and the proprietor was able to dispose of his new venture to considerable advantage. Perry also acted as editor of John Debrett's "Parliamentary Debates" and State papers; and "The Peerage," which has now given a European celebrity to the name of the projector. It was, however, as editor of the Gazetteer that James Perry made that revolution in parliamentary reporting which entitles him to the admiration and gratitude of mankind. It would be difficult to overrate the importance which ought to be attached to the introduction of a means by which the entire people of the nation are virtually made auditors of the eloquence of Parliament, and representatively spectators of its proceedings. It has been said that "no circumstance in the history of our country, not even parliamentary reform, has done more for freedom and good government than the unfettered liberty of reporting; and of all the services which the press has rendered to free institutions, none has been greater than its bold defiance of parliamentary privileges while labouring for the interests of the people;" but the beneficiality of such an exercise of the talents of the members of the Fourth Estate depended on the possibility of giving full, early, and accurate accounts of the proceedings of the consultative legislature. When Perry became connected with the press there was only one reporter attached to each of the morning papers. These servants of the public had no status or place in the Houses of Parliament, and required to take their positions in the strangers' gallery, to remain

in the House during the whole of the proceedings, to attend to all that went on, and to remember it all without being allowed to take any note whatever. Of course it was only a mere outline that could in general thus be given, when after so much fatigue of attention the reporter proceeded from his memory to recall and reproduce the occurrences and the speeches of the sitting. William "Memory" Woodfall, brother of H. S. ("Junius") Woodfall, was at this time bringing out his reports single-handed by about twenty-four or thirty hours after the sittings of the House; and Wall, Perry's predecessor on the Gazetteer, had been sometimes weeks in arrears. The new editor changed all this. He was himself an excellent reporter from memory, his ability and practice as a speaker in debating societies giving him a keen interest in oratorical turns and forms of expression; but by introducing the system of relays and short service at once, with the writing out of the portion of copy immediately on the termination of the reporter's turn, and placing these in the hands of the compositors at once, he was able to provide pretty fair reports of the proceedings of Parliament in the next morning's issue of the paper, thus anticipating, and by a superior article, Wm. Woodfall's self-executed reports by nearly a day.

Woodfall saw this was a losing gome, and he proposed parting with his property in the Morning Chronicle. This reached the ears of James Perry, who had made some friends, and he negotiated a purchase of the property. Mr. Bellamy, wine merchant in Chandos Street, one of the doorkeepers of the House of Commons, lent Perry a sum of money, as did also Ransom and Co., the bankers, and with this, joined to £500 contributed by a Scottish ally-a Mr. Gray, who had been Greek and Latin tutor at the Charterhouse,-Perry managed to buy the copyright and proprietorship of the Morning Chronicle. Gray soon afterwards died, and his capital was transmuted into an annuity payable to Gray's sister. In the hands of Perry the paper became a mine of wealth, and its proprietor and editor drew from it a very large income-varying from £600 to £1,000 per annum. Indeed, when the copyright of the Morning Chronicle was sold shortly after Perry's death, Mr. Clement is stated to have paid for it £42,000.

Perry in 1790, at the age of thirty-four, and after thirteen years' arduous literary labour-for he was the author of poems, pamphlets, and magazine articles, as well as newspaper work-was at the head of the journalism of his time. For a long period the Times, started in 1788, was inferior to the Morning Chronicle in circulation and influence, and it was not till after 1815 that Perry, having held office as its editor for more than a quarter of a century, began to succumb to the influences of age and the energy of Mr. Walter, proprietor of the Times. Up till that year the average circulation of Perry's paper was the largest then known-though it would be thought but a small one in our days,-4,500 per diem.

Perry determined not to pursue the usual course of newspaper editors in those days, to hire a few dull hacks, and work them to