The New York Herald Newspaper, June 4, 1872, Page 4

4 JAMES CORDON BENNETT, The American Press on the Founder of the New York Herald. {From the New York Sun, June 3.) The founder of the New YorK HERatp died a little after five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, in | the seventy-seventh year of his age. He was born in 1795, and came to the United States in 1819, and | to New York in 1822. He was employed in subordi nate posts in the press here, in Charleston, in | Washington and in Philadelphia, and he undertook a commercial school in Ann street in this city, but it was not successful, He commenced the HERALD on May 6, 1835. From that time forward his career has been one of unqualified professional success. Under his control the Heratp has attained an enormous circulation and an adv ng business | almost without precedent, it al profits | ranging, as we suppose, between half a amine and three-quarters ef a million of dollars. | No man has ever been more stcadily and earnestly | devoted to any object than Mi tt to the HERALD, No other interest, no other passion, has ed its place in his attention or his labors. | these thirty-seven years his mind has been con- | ntly engaged in this ove absorbing pursuit. His | » his reh, his frien: his life, he has | nd his one constant | 8 prestige and extend its | fly due to the enterprise and ayed in the collection of news. 2 h; but it is not the | means. The chief ele- given to the HrRaLp such tellectual and a more ments are N y said that the great success of the | traih which ty are o ave a mo T An inv Gered to the the dor What is him a really inde- | pendent 1 per was unknown, and now there is a num them, and they are increas- Ing. = Mr. mental independence | and moral were alike absolute | e was nothing which and uncompromisin, he so much hated as the id: |, or dictated to by anybody, Before every 8 Tule, his policy, his religion to follow | a promptings of his own mind; what he himself thought proper. volted at every scheme to shape and inilu hisaction. Flattery, however cunningly adminis- tered, he despised; aud those who imagined they could use him for their own purposes Were sure to be convinced of their mistake in a way as sur- rising 1o them as it was diverting to the public. Phis fidelity to his own ideas and his own ends was not quulitled by any necessity for much social in- tercourse, or for co-operation with other men, or by any regard for conventional assumptions. The greatest magnate was no more to him than any common man, and he castigated the one just as readily as the other. Avcordingly he had few friends, and of those still fewer were intellectually his equals. Bven in his ‘ly life, before he had be- gun the HERALD, he does not appear to have cared much for companionship, and yet he was never misanthropic. His manners were courtly and ele- gaunt, without pretension and without affectation, and no ian could be more charming to those ad- mitted to his society. He was always liked by his employés and assistants, but he never sought for advice, and those who pressed their counsels upon him never gained much from their efforts. Of all Mr. Bennett's qualities that which was most universally appreciated was his wit. This was pe- culiar and incessant. Though unlike the wit other man, everybody understood it. r labored or far-fetched, and its jollity and apparent hen employ a sary, made it delightful. J this wit constituted one of the principal attractions of the HERaLp, and when everything else failed it | could always be relled upon. ir, Bennett's moral courage was also equal to every test. The HERALD | Was never afraid and never cowed before the most formidable adversary. One of the most striking instances of this ‘was its adherence to #re- mont and the republican party in 1856, Up to that time Mr. Bennett ‘had rather y, and had advocated the compromise of 1850, including the Fugitive Slave law; but when the republican party entered upon that surprising canvass they found to their aston- ishment that the great power of the HERALD was enlisted on their side, Everybody supposed that the prosperity of the paper would be impaired by this new departure, but it was not so. Its right to liberty and to its own course of action had been maintained in too many deadly fights to be disputed now. The democrats continued to read it as much as ever, and doubtiess many of them were induced by its fresh, brilliant and often noble articies against the extension of slavery, to give their suf- frages to the candidate of the new party. Mr. Bennett’s mind was intuitive rather than logical; but it was so shrewd, so suggestive and so fruitful of ideas that it is not too much to say that he was a mau of genius. His culture was tiat of experience, observation and reflection rather than of much study or reading. He was not learned, in the usual sense of that word, but he possessed an extraordinary stock of general and ojten of recon- dite information. He had a strong tendency to paradox, and his delight in whimsical views of men aud things made lis conversation as entertaining as his writings. He was essentially skeptical. He Knew men by instinct, and saw through their motives at @ lance, especially the bad ones; and he was rarely taken in b; impostor. Credulity he despised; the merely commonplace was nauseous to him; a sham excited his scorn; fools were his playthings; and solemn, respectable humbugs he loved to pounce upon and téar to pieces, And so he Ilved his life and fought his battle, misunderstood, feared, as- sailed, hated and courted a8 few men have r | been; and yet through the whole of it walking » in his own path and acting according to his own uninfuenced will and opinions as few have ever Deen apie to do. It is easy now to say that Mr. Bennett would have boeu a greater or a better man if he had possessed | ding heart and more delicate y 3 if his mind had been believing rather ptical; and if he had been the follower of a party oracreed rather than their gay and laughing crite, using parties and creeds for ih own pleaxuse, even when he seemed to favor or to serve them. But those who dwell upon these defects remember that in his domestic relations he was most afectionate and generous, aud that in his relations to others he was always honest aud truth- ful, never defrauding or deceiving any one. And who can afiirm that if he had been constituted oth- erwise than he was Le would have suited his day and generation so well as he has done, or that be could have played so large or so useiul a part upon the stage of the world? The pecullar instruments of Providence are not always selected or fashioned to meet with our conventional approbation; and so let us leave the last Judgment upon this man who has now gone to iis account with that dread triba- nal whose jove and wisdom are alike miinite, and whose sentence is beyond the possibility of error, {From the New York Tribune, June 3.] Toward sundown of Saturday niglt, when mil- lions of laborers were closing the work of the week, one of the most untiring workingmen of the age ‘Anished his life and his labor together, ‘The great machine he bullt tirough so many toilsome years works on without changing a pulsation at his de- parture. At the head ofits columns still stands the familiar announcement, “James Gordon Bennett, Proprietor,” though the first of the name is in’ his coffin and the second is at not aware of the altered meaning in the standing types. His heirs will give to his grave all the dignity ena respect which may lie in massive and costly marble; but lis journal is his true monument. It is easy to build a sepulchre of any form, with any meaning you please. Even the epitaph is a matter depending on your own taste or fancy or | that of a clever friend. But nothing can change or falsify the record of a public Ife, nor make tue | monument reared by @ man’s life-long labor any- thing but a true criterion of his character and t of his value, Mr. Bennett will not be judged in future by what he ~~ plished. The passions, sies of the past will all fade away from memory in another generation; but the HgRaLD will remain tie permanent and visible proof of what there was in th ‘art and the intellect of its founder. Vie is life from this point of view it was comple successful. He had no other aim than | American journal to tuake @ great and lucrative newspaper. In his a of poverty and privation he boasted with gay deflance that, in spite of all of luis enemies, he would one day make the HeRALD produce $0,000 annually. He probably thought this prophecy exaggerated, but he lived to see t dwindied into absurdity by its tenfold accomplishment. He at- tained this great result by no trick, no luck, no ac cident, there was never seen a 1 necessary issue of a given course of action. He was 4 man of extraordinary capacity. He lis written £0 little of late years that elderly people have for- gotten and young peopie never have known that no | journalist in the country excelled hin in the power | ofcommenting upon current events in the way Most acceptable to a large majority of readers, He had o good temper and a geniality which were urely professional, having no relation whatever to 18 some and sombre life. At a time when drunkenness was the rule among people of his craft he was as frugal and abstemtous as an Arab, An irom coustituuion enavie* him to do the work | receives bres i corr | labor which had beec but by what he accom- | certain, he drif ; hi he hates, the controver- | the hands of anscrupulc the malice {| Naw York ore logical and | mestic NEW YORK HERALD, TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1872—TRIPLE SHEET, of three ordinary fatigue, To these qualifications was added a {t which is common enough now, but which at the ‘ime when he began his career was 80 rare that it partook of the exceptional quality of genius. He understood the value of news. He may almost be said to be the inventor of journalism in its latest and highest development as a means of disseminat- ing all accessible contemporaneous intelligence, He was the first journalist who went to mect the news half way. This was the sole secret of his suc- cess. All the sensations, scandais and flerce wranglings of his earlier Cig did very little to ad- vance or retard the march of his great newspaper. When he began that long and desperate battle with a hostile fate in the dark Wallstreet cellar the victory was assured to him beforehand by his inex- haustible energy and his infallible journalist in- stinct. By adhering to certain true principles of journal- ism he made the greatest material—that is to say, pecuniary success—in that profession which the world has yet seen, This eye as much in the way of eXample as the world has any right to ex- pect from any one man, Beyond this it certainly more than warning from the founder of the HeraLp, He attempted no more than the establishment of a nereneeee have followed him tn the same path with equai suc- and now the only journalism which looks to future for a constantly widening sphere of power and influence is that which alins, not only to rather and edit each day the whole world’s history forthe preceding day, but, so far as possible, in addition, to lead and train the honest thought of the world. This is an immense plan, impossible to be a maplished perfectly by the present re- sources of any journal. men, without either fever or (From the Courrier des Etats-Unis, June 3.) The career of James Gordon Bennett has beenone of the most remarkable yet ever witnessed in this country, where 80 many remarkable careers are developed. In order to appreciate his character Wwe must look at it from a double standpoint. We must consider, on one hand, the prodigious impulse which he has given to the American press as re- gards enterprise and publicity, and the position which he has made for himseif in this movement. On the other hand, we have to regard the influence | of his formidable activity on the public and private morals of the country and the measure of praise which is due to him for the course followed by the Journal of which he has been the inspiring spirit. Mr, Bennett has more than any other man in the United States contributed to spread among the masses the habit of knowing and examining for themselves the events of the which contain for those who unde®tand them the best information of practical life. In the rapid times we are living every man should follow the current of history from day to day, for the facts ne- cessarily accumulated are worth more than mere reasoning, more than the essays of dectrinaires and | propagators of opinions. From this point of view the system of drawing news from all sources and blishing it with the greate: pidity—a tem of which Mr, Bi ti the most in- ‘igable agent—is certainly the ideal of modern journalism. from this standpoint Mr. Bennett has been an originator. He was the first to perceive the vein, aud he has used it with supreme intelli- gence. He was on the right road, and he succeeded, A journal of news in this country Js the first need of the people, and in this respect Mr. Bennett has merited the success which has answered his efforts, He has deserved the place journal has taken in the American press—the first among them all—and the fortune he has gained, which is said to be con- siderable, From a moral standpoint his character has given rise to much controversy. He had many iciends and many enemies. This must necessarily be the case with @ man who for forty years has made it his calling to serve the one and oppose the other, and whose character has been judged from different aspects, according to the interests which he sustained and attacked. This is the most thorny part of journalism, There remains, how- ever, a general impression, which we believe will find little gainsay, and that is that Mr. Bennett, in the course of his long career, has raised the standard of the journalistic protession, in which he has given liberal employment and scope for the ex- ercise of their faculties to a number of distin- guished men who have spread through bis powerful avast amount of useful information, just and clevated sentiments, Journalism thus understood merits the place it oc- cupies among modern powers, and it owes that ce to a great extent to Mr. Bennett, whose teach- ings and experience have become a sure guide for the oe of this country—a press which, to do it justice, is daily gaining in HoT seb and dignity, Jn appreciating the influence of the HERALD from this point of view, itis necessary to leave out of account the question of principles and political conviction, for with Mr. Bennett mobility of opinion has almost been systematic. He has rather been a tuirror than a guide, reflecting all the impressions and giving them to the world with all the incon- ray of events and interests, for he cared more to furnish material to public opinion than to direct it. The judgment which contemporaries and posterity will pronounce upon him will be varied and in some respects pethaps justly severe. In short, the name of James Gordon Bennett is one of those which will remain most profoundly engraved on the memory of tle intelligent portion of the American people. It is the name of a man who has exercised the largestinfluence on the moral and material advancement of his country—a name which opens to him who inherits it au eas; path throngh the resources which it has bestowed, but a dimcult one through the duties which it im- poses On him. Voblesse oblige. ad [From the New York Register, June 3.] “The King is dead! Long live the King!” James Gordon Bennett, the leader of American journal- istic enterprise, has departed this life; but the grand tnstitution which he created and established will continue for centuries to come to carry his name and fame to all the people throughout the world, There are few enterprising newspapers in the United States which have not among their corps a | representative who has been at some time con- nected in some way with the HERALD. Certainly there ts not a journal among them which is not in- debted ina great measure for public appreciation to the pioneer enterprise of James Gordon Bennett. ‘The feature of enterprise which at this time char- terizes and distinguishes the press of America and placed it so fur in advance of that of any of the {ons of the Old Word may be said to have ori- | ginated in the establishment of the telegraph in this country, and Mr. Bennett fortunately was ready to appreciate its advantages and had a paper | of his own which he determined should be a news R per in every sense of the word; and the HERALD hes ever continued to encourage the great enter- pr p 8 which, Within the last thirty years, have laced America in the foremost rank of the nations of the earth, It may be said of Mr. Bennett that he lived double the number of his year: While in active life he was ustomed to perform the work of two or- dinary men. He died at a good old age, witha mind as vigorous as in his youth. He had the satis- | faction of knowing that the people at last began to understand him better and appreciated his enter- | prise and his patriotism, Nothing consoled him more for his arduous labors of the past t! cordial recognition not only by his couutrym the people throughout the world, of the 38 Of his last enterprise—the discovery of Liviugstoue in the wilds of Africa. As be expressed it fo his most intimate friends, this generous recognition of his services to man- kind prepared him to throw off his harness, and, in the words of his favorite Scotch bard, Lay me doun and dee. (From the New York Commercial Advertiser, June 3.) A remarkable chapter in the history of American journalism closes with the death of James Gordon Bennett. The Scottish lad who landed at Halifax fifty-three years ago, poor in purse, but rich in the qualities requisite for success in a new, rough country, drifted naturally toward New York, and fonnd here an ample field for the exercise of his energics. Born not to serve, but to rule, and restive under conditions which gave small scope to his enterprising spirit, he steadily advanced, step by step, through experiment after experiment, to the place which nature had fitted him to fill. Boston gave him employment as salesman inashop and as proof reader in a printing house. Charleston gave him work as trans- lator and general assistant in a newspaper ottice. New York offered him unprofitable chances as school teachor, lecturer, newspaper reporter, ontributor and pondent—and then, tiring of distasteful as well as un- delphia, Where fell into us politicians, who fleeced him, He had run the gauntlet, pelted by the way, had been bruloed but not disabled, smitten but not daunted, and the stormy experiences of sixteen yeurs of wanderings and ‘buffets in America had | prepared him for tue work of revolutionizing Sm. In May, 1835, he began his | er, humbly enough, in the ov- il-street cellar—the birthplace of the RAL The time and the man had come. There was no “live” morning newspaper in the city at that ¢ News was a commod- ity to which very little attention was paid, even by the most experienced journalists; pon: derous disguisitions in the editorial columns of the Le Sele and a few scraps of foreign and do- intelligence were all that the citizens of New York received in return for their subscription money; “paragraphing” was unknown, and re- porters were ata discount. Mr. Bennett changed ail this in the twinkling of an eye. The tirst num- ber of the HrraLp dropped into the strects of the city like a bombshell, sending out a loud report, scattering flrebrands in all directions, and startling alike the sleepy editors and the astounded public. Bennett believed that the active town needed an active mouthpiece, and he was shrewd in seizing the tempting opportunity. He filled the HERALD day after day with pithy, crackling paragraphs, chicOy upou local topics; he peppered every- i to independent security of a W boar and everything with his i shot; he had nothing to lose and everytning to gain, and he paid no respect whatever to old traditions or old cus- toms, The town started, wondered, laughed— bought the paper—read his paper—advertised in his not the man to stopin the first flush of victory. Like Mirabeau, his motto was audacity, audacity, always audacity; and audacity won the fight, A new life was infused into the journalism of the country by the little dingy penny sheets, and the success of the first real newspaper of New York naturally stimulated the rivalry which has produced in these later years so many great and profitable journals, each of which fills its own place, and none of which dare to be as absolute}: Peavy and stapid as all our papers were when the Tunas first made its bow. The essential element of its frst success was the element of novelty, and extravagance was the in- evitable consequence, For the past twenty years it has been celebrated as a diligent collector of the news of the world and as the greatest of our me- diums for public advertising. Its management has been liberal, its reputation established and its proiits enormous. Mr. Bennett mare to it his undivided at- tention until the infirmities of advancing age com- pelled him to retire from active life. He cared for nothing but the HERALD, and the HERALD more than repaid his care. Now that he has passed away from the scene of his long strife and his diligent labor men will give him the credit of having done more for the development of journalism in the United States than any one who preceeded him. {From the New York Evening Express, June 3.) The event anticipated all last week took place at five P. M. on Saturday, For just fllty years Mr: Bennett resided in the United States, and an account of his early struggles and later success are set forth | ina notice elsewhere. The Heratp was started in | 1835, and up to the period of his death he gave to it the impress of his genius and great talent as a caterer of news, In this department of journalism Mr, Bennett was, we think, withouta rival, He spared neither labor, expense nor effort of any kind toeclipse all others in gathering up intelligence from all parts of the country, and, as he became able to do so, from all parts of the world. When there was no quick communication by mail he ran his horse expresses and sent out his carrier pigeons, and when there was no telegraph he estab- lished relays and almost post routes to get the earliest news. The word n-e-w-s well illustrated his eagerness » to secure it from North, South, East and We! When his rivals would not co-operate with him h worked by himself, and with a will that never tired and an energy that never flagged, His labors, when he first rted tl HERALD in 1835 and issued it from a dingy cellar in Wall street, were her- culean, He was owner, editor, money and news reporter, dramatic writer, the distributor of his | paper with his own hands, and worked at least six- teen hours a day, month in and month out, and in- deed until his success was assured. His carly life was impressed with the career of two very opposite men—the great Napoleon, whose power was so marked upon Europe up to the battle of Waterloo, and in a quiet, but far more effective way by the autoblography of Benjamin Frankli came to the United States with $25 in his pock: a good fit-out of clothing and a determination succeed, He wasa capable teacher of good 1 lish and of French, which he always spoke we He tried bookkeeping, but did not succeed; lectur- ing, and failed ; translations of Spanish and French, but there was thon (1824) no demand for his ser- vices, and so he led @ most varied life. He at- tached himself early to the democratic party, and to the fortunes of Andrew Jackson, and where others were faithless to the ola hero he was tru and at much personal sacrifice. His early career the United States was alternately in Halifax, Bos- ton and Charleston; but nearly forty het of it were passed in this city, where in time he made his mark as the most daring, reckless and successful journalist of the country. The first. pect, he started, the Globe, died; the second, which was’ the Pennsylvanian, followed in its footsteps, and the third, the present HeRap, lived after being raked from the ashes of the first HERALD, which was burned out four months after the paper was started, and not long before the great fire of De- cember, 1835, The incidents of the great fire, in- deed, were recorded with so much quickness and accuracy as to astonish the people. And so Mr. Bennett went on, with rising prosperity, to the day of his death, The opinions of the living avail nothing for the dead, and Mr. Bennett was only too willing to leave all earthly things behind him, and to take his de- parture For that undiscovered country. Re From whose bourn no traveller returns, No man of his time was more intensely parsonal, and at times hateful, than Mr, Bennett. His will was law, his purpose uncompromising, his impres- sions often unjust, and his journal at times ex- tremely sensational, personal and vindictive; but in his later career there seemed to be a softening of old asperities, a just esteem for others, and a de- sire to deal fairly with men and public questions, To have conducted a leading and successful journal in this city for nearly forty years, one must | of course have made enemies; butif this be true, paper—and his paper was a success, Benuett was | | formatory movements. HERALD, which was sure to detect any incon- sistencies, Weaknesses or errors? Seeking, first, to make the HERALD lively and readable, he ac- complished that purpose and matnfained {ts inde- pendence by refusing to allow its opinions to be in- fluenced or anticipated. No one could foretell what the HekaLp would say, but every one knew that it would say something in its own style and in pursuance of its own often mysterious policy. ders were puzzed, but they kept on trying to solve ever fresh problems. They were irritated, but they continued to expect some- thing more satisfactory. Occasionally the victims of a long series of attacks would be gratified with a most unexpected blow in behalf of their cause. But underneath all its masks and through all its tor- tuous windings there was a calm, coo! and stead. purpole that never wavered. The apparent buf- foonery of months would turn out to have covered a most serious design. A long series of inexplicable vacillations would lead the readers of the HERALD tou point where its clear expression of definite opinion would strike their minds as the unanswer- on summing up of the whole case. n ti e long record of such a paper as the HERALD there can be found much to condemn that we need not now rake up out of the dead past. Let us rather now think of the good features that have survived while s0 much of what was evil has lon; since ceased, It was a great and infinitely useful achievement that Mr, Bennett accomplished in the mere building up of a newspaper like the HERALD, To his daring enterprise, liberality, indefatigable zeal, Wwondorfl judgment and tact are due the ex- emplification of what daily journals should be as tellers of the world’s news more than to the labors of any half-dozen other men. In this prime func- tion of the journalist Mr. Bennett far excelled any of his contemporaries. As a leader of opsnien Mr. Bennett cannot occupy a high place in history, He doubted, ridiculed and opposed nearly all reforms until they had fought their way tosuccess, He was too sceptical of men aud their imotives to become the advocate of re- He was too independent of aity tes to lead the opinions of men on either side. An unsparing critic of parties and politi- cians, he had no constituency of followers. Still, on questions that appealed to patriotic instincts, the HekaLp often spoke with emphasis and power. It favored ali measures for the development of our national resources, It stood up for the national honor and credit, and olten was excessive in its pugnacious patriotism, 4 [From the Philadelphia Age, June 3.7 ‘The death of this distinguished journalist occurred on Saturday, in New York. He hads reached the ripe age of seventy-two years, and after a career checkered with many vicissitudes had attained the highest success in the pursuit to which his life was devoted, We do not know that he ever turned from it; and at an age when rest with political honors would have been acceptable to most men he declined the mission to France which Mr. Lin- coln offered to him, That, too, might have been peculiarly acceptable to him, for, though born in Scotland he was of French parentage, and had more of the French than the Scotch or the American He was familiar, too, with European nguages, and though enjoying few advantages in youth, he had found opportunity to make and extend an acquaintance with modern literature, Hle came to this ceuntry a penniless lad, in 1819, and found his first “employment in ‘a book store. ‘Then he made several unsuccessful Ventures in journalism. In 1833 he came to Philadelphia, and associated himself with the pro- prietors of the Pennsylvanian in publishing that paper, In it, on the 24th of May, 1833, a patrnership js announced between Benjamin Mifiin, Rowland Parry, James Gordon Bennett, who, it is sald, “has been connected with the editorial department since January last” aud who assumes the functions of “the acting editor.” We have on our shelves a complete tile of our democratic predecessor. We take from it the above particulars, and we have glanced over its daily issues, in which some of the characteristics of Mr. Bennett's later style may be traced, We find him assuming the functions of re- porter on the occasion of General Jatkson’s visit to this city, in May, 1883, and going on a committee to meet him as far as Baltimore. The journey is re- lated with many of the minute and graphic touches that have since been a feature in the re- porting of the Heracp, no doubt under the instruc- tion of the head of the journal, Vituperation or personality, instead of forming a feature of the paper, was not only avoided, but we it positively reprobated and never resorted to. Certainly, it is a remarkable fact, that Mr. Bennett, then on the eve of a great success in New York, made no mark at all in this city. We are confirmed in this impression by the contemporary recollection of those who Knew him here, and on the 80th of November, 1833, an ordinary notice of a dissolution of partnership announces the withdrawal of Mr. Bennett, and a paragraph in the same paper names Mr. Joseph C. Neal as the new editor. Whether hampered by circumstances, or the control of others, or the tone of this city, there is nothing in the columns of the Pennsylvanian of that day that atfords any presage of the success of the HERALD. Before the telegraph to every _ portion of the world, with the excellent arrange- ments of the Associated Press bringing all facts of any importance in an unceasing daily and nightly stream to the principal journals, there was a wide and legitimate sphere for a pertinacity that now runs chiefly after sensational scandal. Then extra- Mr. Benn also had his many friends and ad- mirers. He gave blows and received them back again, and if he was merciless upon others, others Were equally merciless upon him; and go on earth all these accounts are settled, and the worst enemy he has will pray that the good he has done, whether in the creation or difusion of knowledge, the creation and distribution of wealth, may live after him. Newspapers certainly owe to him a revolution in the early dissemination of intelligence, and in providing cheap newspapers for the million. {From the New York Evening Mail, June 3.) James Gordon Bennett, the founder, editor and proprietor of the New York HERALD, died a little after five o'clock on Saturday afternoon, in the seventy-seventh year of his age. The morning pa- pors of yesterday and to-day have given full and almost exhaustive records of the ca- reer of the veteran journalist, and have left little to be said in the way of nar- rative or of comment. Stiil, every newspaper in the land will have its own criticism to make upon the remarkable struggles through which Mr. Ben- nett fought his way up from poverty and obscurity to power and wealth. No such fight was ever be- fore made, and it is not likely to be imitated. There is no doubt that the hero of it would have been glad to blot out some part of its records, but as much can be said of many of his opponents, who carried on political and journalistic contests with a venom and unscrupulousness that would not be tolerated | now. It is due to Mr. Bennett to say, however, that prosperity made him more lenient to his ene- mies, more disposed to do, them full justice and less inclined to carry on a violent personal warfare. | ‘The death of so abie and successful a journalist, { and of one who has so long been prominent as a leader in journalism, will be everywhere regarded as an exceodingly important event. The energy, perseverance, creative genius and indomitable will | whieh have been sign: iin Mr. Bennett's career, annot go out of the world without leaving a va- | cancy that wil! be widely felt. The records of | journalism show no paraliel to the progress made by Mr. Bennett from the time wh he began publishing his littie, one-cent New York HERALD, | In a Wall street cellar, to the time when he created for the use of the same paper the stately marbie structure from which the HexaLn is now issued. | ‘The building up of sach a power as the HERALD | has been a great work. No paper has ever been more thoroughly and constantly moulded by the wili and purposes of its found t it has for many years been an impersonal organ of independent opinion, he position it gained by its earlier bids for notoriety Was heid by genuine newspaper en- terprise and by improvement in the quality of its contents. It is greatly to Mr. Bennett always been so warmly esteemed by those who have | been in his serv From the highest to the lowest of those who have helped to make the HeraLp, we | believe there is but one testimony as to his quick and snre recognition and reward of ability, fidelity , and industry. We have known of many instances | of Mr. Bennett's liberality to faithful employés | that have never been made public, In_ all cases wo have heard him spoken of with gratitude and atfection by those who have come into closest re- Jations with him. There is much to be learned from the halfcentury of journalistic experience which Mr. Bennett passed through. We trust that some competent biographer Will tell the story without fear or favor or supprea- sion. Let the world know the whole man, just as he was and with ali his salient traits fully brought tolight. The biographer shouid remember that some Of those who have formed and expressed the harshest judgments of Mr. Bennett's earlier career have become warm personal friends, and have learned to admire the strong and good elements that entered into the composition of the most successtul of journalists. The man himself was little understood by the millions who felt his power as a journalist. To some he appeared to be a sort of Mephistopheles, to whom nothing was sacred, an! who served no cause in earnest. In the earlier days of the HERALD | he was regarded as the founder of what was called | “The Satanic School of Journalism.” Politicians dreaded, while they courted, the editor whom they | could neither buy nor cajole nor intimidate; but they could not understand the far-reaching saga- city of the independent poiiey adopted by Bennett when he established the HERALD. | I 2 that he had sought aemall loan from politicians whose fortunes he had helped to make. The*re- pulse he met with in that early period of his career Was his greatest, good fortune, It taught him that editors must not depend on politicians for essential aid. From that time to the day of his death he — asked favors; he either granted or refused m. A natural hater of all shams, and with a gift for ine eredit that he has > iM | of dome ordinary activity was often needed to obtain and transmit important public intelligence. In this Mr, Bennett was pre-eminent. He added, too, the graces of a light, gay, we may call it French’ style. Of the personal character of Mr. Bennett we are not particularly informed, We believe him to have been amiable and liberal, and exemplary in all his private relations. He was in faith, we believe, a Roman Catholic, but neither intolerant nor indif- ferent in matters of religion, We may illustrate this by a document which he took pains to obtain and publish in the Pennsylvanian of August 10, 1833, with the highest encomium on its merit. It was a letter from Thomas Jeiferson addressed to his godson, Thomas Jefferson Grotjan, and is as follows :— Your affectionate mother requests that I would address to you. as a namesake, something which might have a Javorable influence on the course of life you have to run. Few words are necessary, with good dispositions on your Adore God, reverence and cherish your parents, ir neighbor as yourself, and lov our country more than lite. Be just, be true; murmur not at the Ways of Providence, and the life into which you have entered will he passage to one of eternal and ineftable bi bidead itis pertnitted to care tor the things 0 every action of your 1 ibe under my regard, Farewell! Monriceto, Jan, 10, 1824, Of this Mr. Bennett says, ina letter asking for it for publicati the sacred volumes of Christiamty Ldo not believe there exists a produc- tion equal to it in the world.” {From the Philadelphia Post, June 3.) The founder of the NEw York HERALD is dead, The mind that conceived it, the hand that labored for it and the will that conquered every obstacle in the path of success are silent in death, but the great journal of the world wiil be a monument to | his memory generations after those that mourn him to-day have been forgotten. Asa newspaper the Hrraxp is the first in the | world. The great London Times, with its immense income, the result of years of accumulation, cannot rival the energy of the fHmRaLp, It literally car- ried the war into Alrica, and brought the first information of the triumph of Mag- dala to the Engligh government, It found Living- stone, and told the nation to which he belonged that he was safe. Whenever anything is going on in the world that is worth knowing the HrRaup | will find it out and tell the world about it first. To | the genius of Bennett is this magnificent spirit of the HERALD due, and we can write no higher praise to his name than to point to bis paper and say James Gordon Bennett created it. Mr. Greeley, in his autobiography, says that the only epitaph he asks is “Founder of the New York Tribune,” and Bennett might well have cherished a similar | pride, though for very different reasons. He wa not, as Mr, Greeley was, a champion of right again any odds, but he effected a revolution in journalism. {From the Philadelphia Record, June 3.) Tn tie death of James Gordon Bennett, at the ripe fig of seventy-six years, American jourtalism has lost one of its most famous representatives. It may be said with trath that no one of his compeers was Ver so widely known, his name haviny spread all over the globe, and being @ synonym of press ente prise and audacity. During his long sad eventful career, American journalism has grown to be a far more able and powerful institution than in the carly days of the famous paper which he founded, The history of his carcer is in some respects a history of the American press; and hence, though his death occurs at a moment crowded with exciting events lic and foreign politics, it canaot fail to prodace a projound impression in every part of the country. {From the Philadelphia Ledger.] The New York HERALD, although starting as a smail sheet, in consequence of the energy, ability and perseverance displayed by Mr. Bennett, became a newspaper of wide circulation and extended in- Muence throughout this country and Europe, In his Uvity lu obtaining the freshest ana most impor- | tant news from all quarters, and in the liberal com- pensation patd for seeking out the latest intelli- gence Mr. Bennett was unrivalled, and the HeraLp for thirty-seven years has bee der his intelligent | and unremitting supervision, and has been emi- | neatly successful. (From the New Haven Palladium, June 3.) On Saturday the most successful of American journalists died, James Gordon Bennett finished his long and peculiar career. Few men have been more maligned than he. Fow have fought harder for their position, and few have shown more ability and energy in their work, In judging of Mr. Ben- nett as a journalist, it must be acknowledged that he is the father of the American newspaper as such. He it was who first gave news and fresh informa- tion of all kinds that prominent place it now holds in the journalist’s mind, And this was his great work, He created, the news depart- Sarcastic humor seldom possessed, it is not strange that in his hard fought battles for power he often outraged the sensibilities of good men, Yet who ‘cau teil how much the moral and religious and re- formatory movements of our time were indebted wo the n and remorseless criticisms of the ment. Politically his paper has been of peculiar influence, affecting all and every side at different times. As @ man he was generous and kind to a | its veins, and it at once became a n¢ remarkable degree. often accused of the contrary he was uniformly iiked by the men under l contempt, as a bu his employ. To po ong man Gal 80 MARY REWa Paper men look back to with feelings of regard His family ties were ver} lon. For no For ‘y strong, | however pure, noble and truly fé and it 1s a saddening thovght that le dled when the | Church, has a¢ all times crea ain tt ‘siete on onl &e whom he tenderly loved—his only son | call upon all and true Christians to offer up a ap AT D Burg 6. Wii) ihe peeves ae Se, of Grace that his release lent a a fected, an eas lived to see his work completed and to leave | realms o hanno ee itin the hands of re successors, It isa great and useful wor! ave coset” k, if not the highest that he might (From the New Haven Courier, June 3.) That he was @manof marked ability, both as a writer and business manager, the creation of the HERALD is indisputable proof. Whether his in‘lu- ence has been, on the whole, good or evil, men will long dispute. He certainly did much our newspapers from mere party ory ue fo impar tial chroniclers of the news, an is influence in that direction has been for the benefiting of the whole country, As a verenener. simply the HERALD is unsurpassed in the world, and men of all shades of opinion look to its columns for full detatis of every notable event, whatever may be the opinion of its editors of the participants therein. As a barometer of public opinion the HERALD has its office, and is useful even to those who regard strict aaberanse to one’s own opinions as the test of virtue. {From the Albany Argus (old “Albany Regency” under Van Buren), June 3.) The death of James Gordon Bennett terminates the career of an extraordinary man—of one whose genius and resources have left an impression upon his times, which will not be easily effaced. * * * When he sought to enter the editorial profession here he endeavored to connect himself with some of the political leaders; for the newspapers were then all through partisan. Mr. Van Buren, to whom *he made the overture, did not respond to it warmly ; and young Pennett, isolated in his position,and little inclined at any time to play the subordinate, was driven to a new venture. He established the HERALD in New York—an independent paper. It reflected his own views, his resontments and pre- judices, but it was filled with the eviden of his energy and courage. The established papers, backed by political parties and cliques, attempted to frown him down, to pooh-pooh him, to denounce him, to how! him down, He deserved e of this wrath; but as we look back at the contest our sym- pathies are all with the isolated young Scotchman as against the generals and colonels, professors and politicians who assumed to enunciate public opinion from their editorial tripods, * * * He held that political organizations, conventions, caucuses, Tammany Halls, regular nominations, | &c., W parts of & machinery which the press Was to Supe! sede, The journals were to control political opinion and editors name candidates. 8 vision has been realized—not only he! the Presidency with Gene- editor Thiers sits on the vacant tnrone of the Bourbons and Nap Jeons; andin England, where Gladstone and Dis- raell fight behind the masked battery of the p His paper grew in value and in character with time. But he never ceased to display — his venturous energy. His correspondence from the Abyssinian expedition, from the Ger- man and French headquarters, and his pur- suit of Ujiji Livingstone, indicated how vital he was to the last. Nor did he rest for repu- tation on these occasional episodes. He was eager for information from all quarters, and, seeking, found it. A gentleman engaged in writing a his- tory of our civil war for a London publisher told us that he had to rely upon the HERALD for infor- mation, to be found nowhere else. The warfare of his early life passed, he lived in serene tranquillity. The younger members of the profession looked up to him with admiration. Poti- ticlans feared and courted him. He in return ex- hibited traits of generosity and magnanimity. Some one sent him papers which would have compro- mused the character of a rival. He paid for them only to suppress them. His tribute to Greeley, on his recent nomination, was gene- rous and eloquent. He nimself had no taste for politics, and he rejected the only otfer ever ten- dered him—that of Minister to France under Lin- coln, As a writer he was terse and vigorous, a master of idiomatic English and sometimes as epi- grammatic as Voltaire. But it was as the adminis- trator ofa great journal that he showed himself the master. He had but a delicate physical consti- tution, but he lived beyond the allotted years. He was exceedingly prosperous, but this did not alter his life or character. He was free from personal vices, wronged nobody, did kindly offices to men of Scottish blood, and doubtless to many others, and lived to admire, love and serve the country to which he had joined his fortunes. We have spoken of him, it will be seen, not as the subject of obituary eulogy, but as a historical character, for as such he de- serves to rank. [From the Albany Press, June 2. Advertising, as It always does and always should, since that the Henan had the circulation, ran ina steady, swelling stream into its columns, till its in- come doubled and quadrupled that of any other other journal in the city. Nor was the large in- come hoarded, but it was spent as freely as it was received in procuring news from all parts of the world, as well as from our own country. , Carrier pigeons, yachts, steamboats, pony expresses, in short, every possible mode of conveyance and com- munication was brought into requisition. Verbatim reports of public meetings 1n session beyond mid- night were laid, like a photographic view, before the hundreds of thousands of readers of the HERALD in the dim, gray light of the morning. Correspond- ence detailing at length great events occurring far distant from the city was hastened forward by the most speedy conveyances by special reporters sent thither from the office for the purpose. But when the telegraph was invented and brought into use, then it was that Mr, Bennett began to feel that his great ambition was to be satiated. This instrument he hugged to his bosom as God's greate: blessing on earth to man, and to himself especially. He made a household pet of it. Nothing deligited him more than to be able to converse, as he con- sidered it, with one of his correspondents in Wa: ington. This was the realization of one of his ear- liest dreams, Nor did he wish to have exclusive use of it. A fair field was all he aske id how well he made use of this fleld the columns of the HERALD have fully shown. and, indeed, sometimes outstripping him, his con? temporaries learned the lesson he tanght them. They were, in fact, kept wide awake to their duties by the steady, continuous systematic and effectual assiduity of the great Napoleon of the press. When the Atlantic cable was stretched no man, unless it was Cyrus W. Field, took a deeper or more earnest interest in that great event, and when it was accomplished he astonished the whole worid the great use he made of it. The cost of a piece of news was of no consequence to him. Its value was priceless. He was as ready to pay five thousand dollars for a despatch as he was one thousand. And if he paid five thousand to-day for a despatch he was ready to pay ten thousand to-morrow for another equally as good. And thus the man does not live, aad never lived, who purchased a NEw YORK HERALD and did not get his money’s worth, America has lost her greatest journalist; but he gave such striking and impressive lessons, there is uo fear of any degeneracy to the spirit prevalent Sans: When he caine upon the stage of action. Heh rivals, and apt ones they were. They will readily fall into the well-beaten track le left behind him, and will maintain the prestige dames Gordon Ben: nett wou for the American newspaper press. {From the Boston Times, June 2.) 7 The death of so prominent a journalist as James Gordon Bennett will excite the reflections on his remarkable career which belong to the case. He is Following as closely as possible, | | i 1] y | D, Morza the acknowledged founder of the modern style of | newspaper. Before his ume it was a plodding, dui), sleepy, slow-coach affair, almost indifferent. to pub- lishing the news even when it tellinto its lap. He took itand infused new life into it, made a new | agent of it, sent the blood coursing freely through saaity to civilization, AS a man Mr, Bennett challenged hosts of enmities, all of which he has long outlived, ‘There was no end to his enterprise. Money towed like water when news was to be bought for the ublic, The founder of the New York HEKaLy has arned a name that will last a long while. (From the Lynchburg (Va.) Republican, June ‘The telegraph brings us the sad intelligence of the death of James Gordon Bennett, founder and pro, prietor of the New York HERALD, Thus has passed Away the greatest journalist of the age—a man without a rival in all the elements constituting a great newspaper manager. "TN MEMORIAM. A Clerical Eulogy on a Deceased Jour- nalist. ‘The new Catholic church on St. Nicholas avenne, Washington Heights, was, as usuai, filled bya crowd of devotees on Sunday last. Dr. Brann took the op- portunity to pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of the late James Gordon Bennett. Just prior to reading the scriptural lesson Dr. Brann addressed to the congregation the following words :— Last evening, at about five o'clock, James Gordon Bennett calmly passed away from this earth. Our Church is particularly indebted to his benevolence for contributing 35,000 toward erecting this beautt- ful structure. [am personally under great obliga- tion to him and his an” who are now sullering 80 severe a bereavement. It isa great consolation to us all to know that Mr. Bennett was a true and zealous believer in the Holy Charch—an earnest Christian. While bis mind was perfectly clear and unciouded he of his own necord sent Tor Archbishop McCloskey, who at Mr. Bennett's express desire and wish adininistered the sacrament with extreme unction. Up to the | ae ment of his death he appeared resigned to God's Wr Wenner ‘had long worn the “‘scapulary,” but since he was stricken with paralysis, Six montis ago, desired to possess the “sacred heart) also. The “sacred heart,” like the {scapula,”” whicl is 80 commonly worn by the disciples of our Church, is symbolical. To the true believer its significance is great, but by the unbeliever it is regarded with P indie of rags having no meaning. OL .everrone, must Mg. Begnett’a soul, Uke | perfect repose an Corded to the just made pertectaP?2e84 Only ae- seevemmmpieanene ACTION OF THE OOMMON COUNCIL. The Board of Assistant Aldermen met at two o'vlock yesterday, the President of the Board in the chair, The reading of the minutes having been confirmed, Assistant Alderman Hgaty pre- sented a resolution of condolence on the death of JAMES GORDO. BENNETT, which was read by Mr, Michael J. Kelly, Deputy Clerk, as follows:— Whereas this Common Council has learned with pro- found regret of Ue demise of James Gordon Bennett: founder of the New You Herap, and who, by virtue thereot and the proud and iutiuential position which the kRaup, under his untiring zeal, bis able direction aud indomitable enterprise, has attained, Ls justly entitled to be regarded as the Nestor of the American Press, and therefore a real leader and teacher of the public, the maker and director of public sentiment of national, State 4 local polity and of civilization at hinge ; therefore solved, ‘That this Common Council, in common with all who honor industry, intellizenc mourn the loss to the city and natiou done soinuch for his time and race Bennett; that we do heartily sympathive wit! Of deceased in thelr sad bereavement; and that, as a mir! of reapect to the memory of deceased, as the head pur ex- fig ee,of the public press of the nation, the members of ib sommes Counc end the funeral in a body, all the public buildings be displayed at haifmast 3) Oo Assistant Alderman PINCKNEY seconded the reso- lution, and said that notwithstanding the fact that he had differed in some respects from the opinions of the founder of the H&KaLD he always believed that the sentiments entertained and expressed by Mr, Bennett were always sincere, and advocated im the belief that they were true. He thought it waa @ great bereavement to the city of New York that a man occupying such a distingufshed position as the leader of such a great pi had left the world. He (Mr. Pinckney) had lived long enough to know that the leading newspapers of New York controlled the politics ot this nation, They controlled in a measure its financial affairs, and in a great meas- ure its political affairs. When an editor of a paper had commenced in early life, before the news- papers had that great idea of in had the courage to declare his vi people took his paper or not, he must be regarded as one of the great leaders of the newspaper press. In the editing of the newspapers of New York James Gordon Bennett was among the lers, it not the leader, in independence of thought, with- out any regard for polltical cliques or parties. He remembered when Mr. Benbett started out and he said “My plansand views are thus an 80; you can ‘take the pauper or not, ag ase.” He started out with a feeling of tnde- and succeeded. He showed a commenda- erence to all cliques, and, looking at hig wonderful car: he must generally be regarded as one of the great leaders of the Awerican press. As such a man he deser this trinute; for he was the leader of the independent yr aside from the trammels of party and the shackles of local sectarian or commercial ideas, Assistant Alderman O’CoNNoR also eulogized the memory of the deceased. It might strike the mem- bers of the Board as being singular that within this decadeghree or four of our celebrated citizens had aenere this life who had independently, and yet collectively, united in doing so much to promete the intelligence of the community. Morse put in prac- tice the Nuids which Franklin had utilized for tele- graphic purpose, and they had an exemplificationot the fact in the death of Mr. Bennett that had it not. been for their discoveries probably the intelligence which the deceased always faithfully iaid before the readers of the HERALD, would never have been pre- sented, The HERALD had revolutionized the style and manner of editing papers throughout the country. the journalistic wonders which the HuRALD had ac- complished, and concluded by saying that it was the duty of the Common Council to mourn the loss of aman who had done so much to establish that which all Americans felt proud of—the newspaper press of their country. The resolution was then put and passed unant- mously. Assistant Aldermen Conner, Geis and O’Brien were appointed as a deputation, with the resolu- tions, to wait upon the Board of Aldermen, and after their fatroduction by Sergeant-at-Arms Jacoba tee latter Board unanimously concurred in the reso- lutions. THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE JA- PANESE EMBASSY. The following correspondence explains itself:— Cuamnrn oF Commence, New York, May 2, 1872 To THem EXxceLveNcies THe’ Ampassavors ExTraorpt- NARY ROM THE Exvine ov Japan To que Ustrem Starrs GxxtLEMeN—The undersigned, officers and members of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, have been charged by that body wiih the agreeable duty of tendering, in its name, to Your Excellencies and all other members of your Embassy a public banquet, to be givem in this city at such’ time as may be agreeable to you. The merchants of New York, of whom the Chamber of c is the representative body, have noticed with: istaction the spirit of progress so strongly mani- fested in the polley of your enlightened Emperor, espe- cially in his desire to extend the commercial intercourse. of is empire with other nations, This desire is ft shared by the New York Chamber of Commerce, as it by all enlightened merchants, for they feel that interna- tional commerce is, above all other’ instrumentalitica, conducive to progress in knowledge, civilization and ma= terial prosperity. For thes reasons the Chamber of Commerce fully recognizes the importance of your mission and desires the opportunity of paying its respects to the members of Your Embasey, ‘Trusling you will afford It this opportunity by accepting {ts proposeil hospitality, the undersigned remain, wi high respect,your obedient servants, DODGE, GEORGE OPDYKE, A. A. LOW, E; D, MORGAN, JONATHAN STURGES, REPLY OF TIE EMUASSY. Secretary's Orrick oF Tax JAraxrse Ema Wasmincron, Ma |, 187% ve have the honor fo acknowledge receipe Vitation extended to members of this Em- toattend a public banquet, to be givem y members of the Chamber of Commerce ‘in your city, oi a day to be hereafter appointed. It isa marked expression of friendly feeling, conveying an international compliment, 1 faction and especia! pleasure to accept this distinguished honor, which we fully appreciate as coming from the merclants of New York, the great commercial metropolis of America, We most heartily reciprocate the feclings so kindly and generously expressed. und accept with pleasure your pox lite invitation and shall avail of an carly opportunity to conier with you regarding a time mutunliy agreeable wiienever matters of a diplomatic nature, now under dis~ cussion, will permit us to make definite plans for the futare. With renewed thanks and assurances of distinguished consideration, we have the honor to remain, very respect- fully, is SIONTT TONIOMT IWAKURA, Ambassador Extraordinary of Japan, JUSSAMMTE TAKAYOSSE KIDO, ie Ambassador Extraordinary. ITH MASSOUKA YAMAGUTSI, ate Ambassador Extraordinary. Dodge, George Opdyke, A. A. Low, BE. ures, committee of the Chamber New York. you pi pende Committee NTLEMEN ur kind y and sni Tt affords us eminent satis- of Comm COLLEGE OF THE OITY OF NEW YORK. Examination of Students for Admission. The examination of students for admission into the introductory department of the College of the City of New York commence’ yesterday, and will be continued throughout to-day, There are about six hundred and fifty applicants, all from our put lic schools, it being a rule of the institution to ad- mit no one unless he has previously attended one of them for at least a year. The subjects of yester- day wi spelling, arithmetic, grammar and read- ing. A letter, in Which some Very good test words were adroitly introduced, was dictated to the students and constituted their e: spelling. The questions in arithr wereon printed slips, The prob were ailsuch as are occurring in every-day life. The questions in grammar were of puzzling nature to young students, co lly of corrections in false syntax, p the grammatical arrangement of tra Two of their questions in falss syniax were:— “During the procession a child waa run over, wearing a short red dress, which never spoke afterwards ;’ “The figs were in small wooden boxes, which we ate.” They were also required to write a complete sentence, containing at least fifty words, The subjects which will occupy the attention of the students to-mor- row are history, writing, algebra and geography. On the 10th instant, the candidates wili assembic in the College chapel to hear the result of the ex- amination, to hear whether they are mombers of the College or doomed to another year of schooling, or to commence business with their present attain- ments. For them theso two days are big with fate. ‘COLUMBIA COLLEGE, | The Examination of the Senior Classese The concinding examination of the senior classes of Columbia College Was continued yesterday, be- tween the hours of ten and two, One of the latest features in the educational department of Columbia, College is the introduction of ciective studies in the senior clas: giving the student the option of selecting lis line of studies instead of forcing him to cram an unlimited amount of Latin and Greek, In the senior cla inelective between physics and Latin, b eek and differential calculus aad between chemistry and intellectual philosophy. ‘The examinations yesterfay were upon the elec- tive physics and the elective Latin. ‘The examina- on ia physics was condu 1 by Professor O. Ne Rood, and embraced plane polarization of life, cir- cular polarization of life, elliptical polarization of life, double refraction of life and conical refraction ofivfe, The examination in Latin was conducted by Professor Short. There were really two exam- inations in each class—one to pass and one for hon- ors, the latter being by far the most dificult. There is considerable competition for the two fel- lowships, each worth $600—one in science and the other in classics, The examination to-day will com- prise Greek and differential calculus, and will be conducted py Professors Drlalor aud Pecks * ‘The speaker then procecded to allude to”