The New York Herald Newspaper, June 10, 1872, Page 3

JAMES GORDON BENNETT. ‘Tho Results and tho Lessons of Mr, Bennett's , Gareer.as a Journalist, ‘Pha lines of public men aro, the property of the world, and it is just and desirable that the Jeatoms they contain should be studied and ex- plained forthe information and guidance of that, nature the few who make “the pages of history; the that have enabled them to distin- eboye. their fellows; the enthusiasm or constancy eas; the errors or de- mett6f note after they have filled their allotted timber“ earth, ‘and points thémi out to the liy ld a examples for imitation of pa a STADE [ ‘The death of James Gorddd-Bennett, the founder of the Hunap,:could: mot fail«to call fortli csiténistivé and varied comntenits “from 'the AndBtichiti présd as well''a from! the pens ‘of forgign, writers. ‘The deceased has been 80 universally recognized as. the originator of the into-w giant power, that in his life-he seemed to stand .aa it were in blood relationship to all the'jourhals of the United States, and his death britgs) home to cach of'them the sense of a pergonal, Ides. We have transferred, to. tho Pages ofthe Hunaxp many of the articles that have..appeared in the columns of our contem- porarfés, and it has been gratifying to observe how entirely, with o e1 ceptions; professional has been ignored in oug desire to do justice to the writtey about ‘Mr. Bennett during, his lifetime. 08 wellbas ciziog his death; and errors of fact.as wel? did erfots of judgment almost unavoidably nto biographical “aketches drawn from jc sources and into estimates of char- acter based thereon, .One..of the. penalties of celebrity is'thé risk of being painted in un- faithful colors through carelessness or misin- formation, and of thus being imperfectly un- derstood by the world Mr. Bennett was exceptionally ;indifferent to criticism. He lived much within himself, and was so con- scidus of his‘own motives and his own strength aa ito be, perhaps, too carcless of the Thus, when sensational writers or those who, possessing. knowledge of the marked outlines of his career thought proper to draw upon their imaginations for the rest, published what purported to be histories of his life and analy- ees of his character, he only smiled at their inaccuracies and misconceptions and suffered them to pass without correction. Many of the biographies that appeared during his lifetime bore the impress of the prejudices incident to professional rivalry and of the jealousy too often. excited by extraordinary success, while not one was entirely correct in its statements or its inferences. It is natural, therofore, that in the notices prepared since his death there should be more or less inacuracies, especially as, to many of the writers, Mr. Bennett was only known by reputation, and for the main incidents of his life they depended upon the accounts already before the world. Neverthe- less, the comments of all our contemporaries fre marked by a spirit of broad liberality, of generous appreciation and of warm sympathy, pleasing to those to whom the memory of the deceased is precious and honorable to the profession of which he was o member. ‘We say all; for the very meagreness of the exceptions conveys a rebuke more severe than words could administer. The record we are thus enabled to lay up will prove the proudest page in the Hxnatp’s history should the journal survive ite founder a hundred years. The story of Mr. Bennett's life is one more than ordinarily calculated to impress upon the world of those well-defined principles without which no pursuit can, as a rule, be wuccessfully carried out. It is a history full of interest and instruction from its opening to ita close; but it is our present purpose to touch only upon such of its leading incidents as connect themselves with the progress of journalism in the United States, suffering them to illustrate, as far as they go, the mind and character of the deceased. To properly under- stand Mr. Bennett's genius and services it is necessary to carry the memory back to the days when he first launched out upon his eventful career as an independent journalist. If the republic was not still an experiment it was at least struggling with difficulties of no eommon magnitude. The fires of faction burned with dangerons fierceness and were fanned by o press wholly under partisan control. The rising storm of nullification had been allayed only by compromise, and its distant mutterings were still audible in the air. Indian hostilities in the Southern States swelled to the dimensions of « cruel and san- guinary war. The pecuniary affairs of the country were seriously deranged. As we have said, the few newspapers of any standing were in the hands of the politicians and the finan- ciers, who used them for their own purposes, and hence the nation was without the valuable aid of an intelligent ond untrammelled press in ite hour of political and financial peril, Busi- ness @ntetprise was under a dispiriting cloud, and in journalism the prospect was exception- ally gloomy fora new beginner. Less capital was then required than is needed in these days to establish a daily journal, it is true; but money was of greater value and harder to obtein. It seems singular to the present generation to find Mr. Bennett at that time asking the loan of twenty-five hundred dollars for the purpose of founding a metro- politan daily newspaper, which could not now be established under 9 capital of half a million ; || It was essential. that a. man ee. | liable iitelligence of ‘the few unenviable, ex-, NEW YORK; HERALD; MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1872—TRIPLE SHEET. Dut itwas all that he needed then, end, guided | some quarters that he cgntemplated the pur- | articles, with » correctness that now appears the ght of ane can doubt that’ rm ou tae veotere if Bis that pervaded his nature might have temporarily || | cramped and hampered his the pioneer in independent journalism in the New World should lean upon hinifelf alone; that he should be free front’ all'ties ‘and alli- ances, with nothing but ‘his Own genius'to asf ogee him. These in the end would ve obligation to o politician’. might. for @ time have held him back in the Trace he was destined to run. Aside from the pecuniary embaérrassments at the commencement of Mr. Bemmett’s enterprise there were then no facili- ties, ag there now.are, for obtaining news even if the means necessary for their use had been at hig command... The journs of forty years ago troubled themselves but little about such 6 trifle as “the collection of'early and re- abilities; political intrigues claimed ‘all’ their energies, and they were satisfied to. p news ag it came tardily along in die! contue of time, There were no railroads rushing across the Continent ; no stesmshipe ploughing, the séa8; no lines of : wire ranning like Hrd ak} tates, anit "yhirying’ the ‘every portion of the Union ;; no.cahle stzeteh- three'thousaud’ miles of space? ‘The difficul- ties to bé ehoountered in the establishment of | alive, fadopendent newspaper ti Whose days were a,bundrodfold greater, than, now; for, while capital is now the main requirement to secure the earliest and best? intelligence,» it was then necessary to bring genius and akill into serfice to devise those’ methods of obtain- ing:news which energy, perseverance, courage end money wore afterwards neoded to, carry to success. — Nor was the want of facilities’ the only obstacle to be overcome, The whole in- fluence of the existing . papers was ,opposed to what was: then an encroachment upon recog- nized journalism. The politicians, who wielded ‘a power “now undreamed © of, stood...in orms., against a press, that would beyond their control. The idea. was. novel to the people; the result wae at least problematical. Such were the diffienlties that beset the path upon which the founder of the Henaxp was prepared to enter; & country disturbed politically and financiallybusiness enterprise. dead—the weight of journalists, politicians and financiers thrown into the scale against him—a pathless wilderness before him without a single beaten track to guide him through ite mazes—an untried constituency at his back, and only sufficient means at his command to call into existence the barest skeleton of his great idea. Bearing these facts in mind we shall more clearly understand the strong will and fixed purpose which remained undaunted and con- stant in the midst of such heavy discourage- ments, Mr, Boljott’s actual connection with Ameri- can journalism dates back to 1821-22, when he became connected with the Charleston Courier. He had then been three years in the United States, and was in the twenty-seventh year of his age. His special duty in that establish- ment consisted of translating the Spanish news received through the Cuban journals; but he made himself useful in other ways, and thus accomplished the double purpose of satis- fying his employer and obtaining a wider knowledge of the profession it had long been his ambition to adopt. This was the begin- ning of his journalistic career—the first step in the path he was destined to follow to so suc- cessful an end. His education and tastes had led him to desire a literary life, and his prac- tical sense pointed out the daily newspaper as the most promising medium for the fulfilment of his wishes. Nature had supplied him with energy, self-reliance and strength of will in no ordinary degree, and, foreseeing that in the young republic of the New World he should find a wider field for his genius than he could hope to meet with at home, he crossed the Atlantic in search of a fature without hesitation or fear of the re- sult. He had studied the European journals, and had found even the London Times below the standard of his idea of what a daily news- paper ought to be. On arriving in the United Statea he plodded carefully on, gathering in- formation of the country and the people, and studying republican institutions with that steady application for which he was dis- tinguished throughout life. Nebvessity drove him to temporary pursuits, but he never fora moment abandoned his original design, and only waited for that experience in the new land needful to enable him to carry it out. There are few who read correctly this introductory chapter of Mr. Bennett's life, His profession is generally regarded as having been selected by accident or thrust upon him by the force of circumstances, while in fact it was chosen with deliberation and sought after with unflagging perseverance. He became a politician, but this also was as a means to the end he had in view. His quick perception taught him that a thorough knowledge of poli- tics and political leaders was the first essential of successful American journalism. In a country of universal suffrage, free speech and constantly recurring elections politics must always be an important feature of the news of the day, and Mr. Bennett's ideal of a newspaper was to lay before the world in its columns fully and intelligently every item of news in which the people could take interest. He saw that the press of America was far behind the Euro- pean press in character and enterprise; that it was held in the grasp of~politicians and of political factions, and he shrewdly judged that the speediest and surest way to reach the pres was through the influence of the politicians, Hence he joined the party ranks, and his keenness and adaptability soon won him recognition by the leaders. His convictions and inclinations alike led him to the support of Jackson, He regarded pure democratic principles as sound and truly American, while the iron will of the great leader touched a responsive chord in his own breast. We allude to Mr. Bennett's association with politics only for the purpose of correct ing the erroncoug impression prevailing in carried him suctessfully through) under any circumstindes';"" bat’ ‘a money'|" suit of » polities) career, and that disappoint- ment ‘in thesdieestion turned him into the same principle - read: old papers, ‘pamphlets and books,and_ studied the ‘fe- “ on a A NE, AR eso Tm conseqnense of some ch that took Place, in. the. policy. or of almost like the gift of prophecy, foreshadowed its own fature and the future of the nation and of the metropolis. The entire independ- ence of the new paper was emphatically an- nounced, and we cannot better describe the principles it lid down than by quoting the words of its founder: — In debates of this kind many talk of principle—po- litical principle, Pesky principle-—as. @ sort of steel trap to catch the public. We mean to be perfectly understood on this point, and therefore openly disclaim all steel Frepe—oll principle, as it is called, all party, all politics, Our only guide shall be sound, practical common sense, applicable to the business and bosoms of men engaged in every day life. We shall support no party, the organ of no faction or coterie, and care nothing for any election or any candidate, from President down to constable. We shall en- deavor to record facts, on every public and | Spee subject, stripped of ver and color- ne, with comments, when suitable, ki] independent, fearless and good-tempered. If the HERALD wants the mere expansion which many journals possess, we shall try to make it up in in- dustry, good taste, brevity, variety, point, piquancy and cheapness, It is equally intended for the great masses of the communi! working nee the pri public hotel, the journeyman and his ployer, the clerk and his principal. are in this city at least 160,000 persons who ee over one or more newspapers evel Ye Sis 42,000 daily Aheets are issued to su) them. ‘e have plenty of room, therefore, without joutting neighbors, rivals or friends, to pick up at least twenty or thirty thousand for the KRALD, and leave something for others who come after us. Shortly afterwards the Hurarp thus com- at e merchant, mechanic, vate family, as wellas the em- There Advocate, Mx. Bennett; leth the establishment | mented on the prospects of the city of New and: becgme: cannected with: the \New York | York—then containing about two hundred and Nosh. . During the poriad.of his service in. thia latter journal the Morning Crier hpi takon’'s under the . editorahip of Jame... Wataon Webb. The Courter, like’ the © Hagutrer, was a democtatio, Orgen, and ..ag the managers of: both papers had. considerable im, fluence with the party in power, a severe straggie took place between ‘them for the lion’s share of the'public printing at, the State capital. Ma idea that a union of the two establishments | and a cessation of the destructive rivalry would 3 | other canals and railroads, opening to us the ‘tid’ as once conceived the || $f 8s, opening fifty or three hundred thousand inhabitants— when the vacant lots above Twenty-first street should be covered with buildings :— These lots, allowing them to b2 occupied at an average of nine persons to the lot, will require a population of 720, ersons, ‘nat number added to arm ahr. population— 350,090 nek nearly 1 jon of souls for the whole city as it tl en may 1. Now @ question 1s, shall we have that ulation fifty years hence? Let us see, e natural advan' which this city possesses in being bounded by two areas water courses; its accessibility to the ocean at all seasons; the great extent of fertile lands within the State, which are now brought to our doors by canals and railroads, ‘and connected as the State is hourly Lately by whole estern country, will, in half a century from the resent time, should no great national calamity be- | us, require all that active population, even if the whole island should be peopled, to transact the be beneficial to bpthcand would prove the | business of this great commercial emporium. foundation of ‘a "etrong Dnsiniess!! “His duggss"| Less than forty years havo passed sinco ing Courier and. New, Fork. ‘papers wer’ these words flowed from Mr. Bennett’s pen, of the Morn- | and New York has already reached the pre- rer, with Major | dicted million of inhabitants, while the Hzn- Noah, General Webband ‘Mz. Bennett asedi- | ALD's daily circulation has risen from tho tord, Not. long’ after thie! obfisolidation’ the great contest over the United States Bank was coveted thirty thousand to over one hundred thousand. Calculating five readers for each precipitated "on ‘thé country and occasioned: | copy, its proprictor then looked for the time touch exci mt and feeling among the polis | when the paper should address one hundred ticians and financiers. , General Webb changed) | ond fifty thousand persons at each issue; in front on this question’ and feft the demooratig|'the same ratio it now speaks daily to nearly party, ‘opposing and denouncing President |, three-quarters of a million of people. Jackson's movement agaitist the bank ; whore-'|’ Thus the Hxnarp entered on the ficld of upon Mr. Bennett, ‘whose ‘éonvictions were in| journalism. Its mission was to revolutionize conflict ‘with thé cotirae purstiéd by'his senior,, | the existing management of newspapers; to sold out his interest if the establishment and | release the country from political thraldom; to retired, He then determined. without further,| break up the close corporation of financial delay to make the Jong,comtemplated venture: | Power; to correct tho glaring vices of society; on hia own responisibility,‘and he issued a paper’| to raise labor to its proper equality called the New York @lobé' As the atten-/| with capital; to protect conscience against tion and interest of the people ‘were at that:| fanaticism; to spread intelligence among journalistic management, and which was after-? wards more fully developed. A larger field soon opened before him; the Globe was dis- continued and Mr. Bennett took charge of the Pennsylvanian, in Philadelphia, a leading and influential democratic organ. _In this position his power and genius found freer scope and soon made themselves felt. His politics were the politics of the people and not of @ mere party machine, and while willing to support broad principles he resisted the tyranny of faction. He followed Jackson in his patriotic fight against the United States Bank; he refused to join self- constituted leaders in a crusade of demo- goguismand injustice. The independent po- sition he assumed on this question, as well as in regard to the general policy of the govern- ment, drew upon him the angry displeasure of the politicians of the national capital. The men who hung upon the administration at Washington and sought to make themselves the dictators of the party all over the Union were outraged at the idea of the editor of a democratic organ setting up his own views of policy in opposition to their behests. Blair opened his batteries upon the recusant journal- ist, and his example was followed by the machine papers all over the country. Many years afterwards, when the Hxnatp had be- come a great power in the land, Blair pleasantly remarked to Mr. Bennett, ‘You owe the ex- istence of the Hzratp to Jackson and myself. If we had not made such a desperate fight against you when you were in the Pennsylvanian you might never have started this journal."’ Mr. Bennett had stud- ied the United States Bank question, as he studied all other questions, until he had made himself thoroughly familiar with its details, and he thus possessed an advantage over those who contented themselves with a superficial knowledge of its main features. He felt that Biddle had been unjustly abused, and he was ready to defend him from the persecutions of the politicians. Owing to this insubordina- tion, and the dissensions it occasioned, Mr. Bennett left the Pennsylvanian and party poli- tics at the same time, having become convinced by his close intercourse with the leaders and his practical knowledge of the way things were managed inside the organization, that the great necessity of the country was not merely an upright political organ, free from the control of cliques, factions or individuals, but a journal wholly independent of party ties and associations and prepared to advocate any principles and to support any men whose ad- vancement promised the greatest good to the greatest number. When Mr, Bennett returned to New York he had enjoyed from twelve to fifteen years’ of journalism and of public men; and with his peculiar habits of close investigation and deep thought, this period was sufficient to afford him all the knowledge he required. With this valuable fund of in- formation in store, he began to mould into shape the great enterprise that had so long occupied his mind. For a year or two he amused himself and kept his pen in practice by writing for different papers, while all the time making preparations to establish the Heratp. In May, 1836, his arrangements being complete, the sheet destined to take so prominent @ position in journalism made its appearance, and its prospectus and early time concentrated on the prevailing political the people; to develop the resources and aid agitation, Mr. Bennett considered it pradont’| the progress of the young and vigorous repub- in his new journal to take position on the | lic. We may turn aside here to notice some of issue before the country, and he.amnounced the | the most prominent errors into which many of intention of the Globe to support democratio,| the commentators on the early career of the principles; nevertheless, while® in ‘existence, | Hznaup have, sometimes unwittingly, fallen. tho paper showed indications of that fndepend- | It has been said, and is probably generally ence of party inseparable from its proprictor’s | believed, that tho Hznaxp owed its establish- Ment as an independent journal to some offence given to its founder by the politicians. Nothing can be further from the truth. Inde- pendence was the principle underlying Mr. Bennett's earliest idea of a newspaper. It was on this very account that he offended the poli- ticians when he managed the Pennsylvanian in accordance with his own views, and alarmed them when ho started the Heraup. They found themselves confronted, for the first time in the history of the country, by a power they could not control. Party journals are excellent in their sphere, es- pecially as now conducted. They are neces- sary in a country where every man is a voter and more or less a politician. But for many reasons they do not fill all the requirements of a daily newspaper for the people. They are, probably unintentionally, one-sided, their views being binssed by the insidious in- fluence of party. They are apt to cover up the faults of their friends and to exaggerate the failings and misrepresent the action of their opponents. As a general rulo they find their way only into the hands of people who think as they think, and who thus, without the intervention of the independent press, would accept prejudice as truth. This was especially the case forty yearsago, when there wasno such thing as independence in jour- nalism, and Mr. Bennett saw that the situation afforded an opening such as he had long been secking. He started the Heratp upon this judgment; not from revenge against the politicians, but in his own interest and in the interest of the people to whom he looked for support. His steady perseverance in his original resolve has made the paper what it now is; but its business success is of slight importance as compared with the benefit the country has derived from its services. From the time of its establishment dates not alone a revolution in journalism, but a new era in the progress and welfare of the nation; a better understand- ing of political questions by the people; a greater sense of responsibility on the part of public officers; a more exalted patriotism ; a broader liberality; » higher standard of moral- ity. In the natural progress and education of the country an independent press would, undoubtedly, have come at last ; but who shall say how many years the nation would have been set back in its career of advancement and prosperity but for the energy and enterprise of of Mr. Bennett? The style of the Heratp in its early days has been the subject of much criticism. Its articles were written in o light, sparkling, half serious and half jesting vein, the intent of which is imperfectly understood. Mr. Ben- nett was a philosopher and an eminently practi- cal man. What those who failed to compre- hend him imagined to be the joke or the sarcasm of a moment's birth was probably the well-ripened fruit of reflection and design. He found the public morals at a low ebb; the country full of serious conflict and trouble, ruled by politicians and financial speculators; the people impatient under rebuke and diffi- cult to be reached. To work a change and to reform abuses it was necessary, first, that he should be heard, and he shrewdly adopted the style by means of which he could force attention to what he had to say. He was a deep and original thinker, a profound and ingenious reasoner, and he was making a paper for @ people who were curious, busy, gay, excitable, prejudiced and impulsive, but who had at the bottom a solid foundation of good sense and correct principle. It was easier to reach the foundation by entering through the open doors and windows than by using pickaxes to tear up the ground and rams to batter down the walls, and this plan he followed. His policy was the policy of the skilful surgeon, who diverts his patient with playful raillery at the very moment he is preparing to perform a delicate and painful operation. While the sparkling humor or good-natured sarcasm of the Hrgaup was amusing the reader, the knife went in and a dangerous disease was checked or eradicated. Yet there are many who, failing to look below the surface, can discover in Mr. Bennett's writings in those days only scep- ticism, scoffing and mockery. One writer of more than ordinary ability, accepting this erro- neous view, likens Mr. Bennett to Horace Wal- pole. “He was a man," he says, ‘who greatly resembled Walpole both in manner and in character.” The gossip-monger of Kensing- ton Palace and Carlton House is thus des- cribed by the truthful pen of Macaulay: — He was the most eccentric, the most artificial, the most fastidious, the most capricious of men. His mind was a bundle of inconsistent whims and alfectations, His features were covered by mask within mask. When the outer disguise of obvious affectation was removed you were still as far as ever from seeing the real man. He played innume- rable parts and overacted them all. When he talked enisandhnons. he out-Timoned Timon. When he talked philanthropy he Jeft Howard at an im- Measurable distan He scoffed at courts, and kept a chronicle of their most trifling scandal; at society, and was blown about by its Iightest veer- ings of opinion, That James Gordon Bennett should be likened to such a man by any intelligent writer appears singular indeed to those who were fortunate enough to enjoy a personal acquaintance with the thoughtful, earnest, energetic, brilliant journalist; but it serves to illustrate how completely even men of sense and culture have been misled in their estimate of Mr. Bennett's character by the errors of careless or disqualified critics. There.was, indeed, no point of similarity be- tween the two men. Walpole, we are told, in everything in which he busied himself—in the fine arts, in literature, in public affairs—was drawn by some strange attraction from the great to the little and from the useful to the odd. Mr. Bennett used the little only as the means of reaching the great, and resorted to the odd as a philosophical method of promoting the useful. He fought his battles with the weapons most likely to insure victory, and if the light foil was most frequently in his hands he carried the heavy broadsword at his side, ever ready to be used effectively when a sweeping blow was needed to strike down error or lay bare imposture, Walpole loved fashions and scandals by nature; Mr. Bennett used them as he used police reports, as a means of compassing his great end—the circulation of his paper among all classes of the people of all tastes and of all conditions in life. The one gloated over such food; the other administered it as a whole- some corrective. Walpole had a passion for mischief; he loved to disturb the course of ministerial negotiations or to spread confusion through the political cir- cles. ‘But,’ says Macaulay, “he did not himself pretend that on theso occasions he was actuated by public spirit. He thought it @ good practical joke to set public men to- gether by the ears, and he enjoyed their per- plexities, their accusations and.theix recrimi- nations as a malicious boy enjoys the embar- ce. after allowing for his own moderate personaff requirements. The policy on which he had based the Humaup—for he had a dis< tinct and well defined policy although independent of political parties—wag the support of the constitution under whatever government; the advocacy of all wise and lib’ eral measures by whoever originated; the judgment of an administration by its acts, and not by the standard of party; the encourage: ment of all projects calculated to stimulate thé growth and prosperity of the United States! and of the city of New York as the coi metropolis of the Union. Mr. Bennett persist- ently adhered to this platform of principled laid down by himself; he bent all his great energies and the influence of his paper to tha task of carrying out his policy, andthe Hznanp has consequently grown with the growth, strengthened with the strength and prospered! with the prosperity of the country and the. metropolis. | The first prominent innovation madq by the new journal upon the old man- agement of the press had been itd open declaration of political independ ence. The next was the origination of the money article, entirely independent of the operators and based on sound principles of political economy, to the study of which Mr, Bennett had devoted much time, and om which, during his leisure hours, he had pre« pared a series of lecturcs. The appearance of these articles shook ‘Change like an earth- quake and caused a panic among the specula-, tive financiers. But their value was soom made apparent by the influence they exercised) upon the development of the resources of thd nation and of the city, and by the support they brought to every new enterprise in steam~ boat navigation and railroads that came before: the country. In 1837 Mr. Bonnett commenced! the now famous Heraup sip news estabhsh~ ment, by purchasing a rowboat, manning if with a crew of # captain and two men, and! sending it out to intercept vessels, obtain their, news and gather lists of arrivals. This put; the Hgratp at once on a par with the largd papers of the day, and soon enabled it to sur-! pass them in its marine intelligence, now sucht a valuable feature of the paper. Mr, Bennett, found good friends in the pilots, shipmasters! and packet ship captains, who, themselves a bold, energetic set of men, appreciated the wonderful enterprise of the new journalist, and! always had files of papers and their ship re- ports ready for the Huranp boat, It is a signi- ficant and gratifying fact that the Huraxp has‘ continued to this day to enjoy the valuable! friendship of these true-hearted men. So, pre-” vious to the establishment of mail steamers. across the Atlantic, Mr. Bennett, through hid tact and energy, constantly secured foreign ad< vices in advance of his contemporaries, and by this means obtained a great advantage’over the’ other city papers. But his genius and enterprise, crowned as they were by, @ success 80 rapid as to be almost beyond credence, soon drew upon him a storm of opposition. His independent: political course and his exposures of the tricks of the Wall street rings of those days arrayed against him an army of party leaders and financial operators. His outlays for news, in- creasing year after year—nay, month after. month—as his receipts became larger, dealt: such staggering blows at the slower and statelier journals that their senses became be~ wildered, and they looked in blank dismay af rassment of a misdirected traveller.’’ Mr. Ben- nett frequently carried confusion into the ranks of the politicians, and he has often been in- strumental in defeating political intrigues by exciting dissension among their promoters. One of his constant directions :to his em- ployés was to hear the stories of both sides of a political plot or controversy and then to “knock their heads together.’’ But this was done in the | public interest, to promote the general good. Malice was not an ingredient of Mr. Bennett's nature. He was severe on those who, jealous of the increasing influence and power of the Heratp, misrepresented and abused him, but he usually contented himself with a crushing | reply, and seldom followed up an assailant who was wise enough to accept the first rebuke. | He used sarcasm to correct, and not to sting. He preferred peace to war in his journal. One of our contemporaries writes :—‘‘It is due to Mr. Bennett to say that prosperity made him more lenient to his enemies, more disposed to do them full justice, and less inclined to carry on a personal warfare.'’’ It is due to him also to say that from the | first hour of the establishment of the Hzraup to the moment of his retirement from its ac- | tive management ho never failed to commend a | good act, although done by his most unyield- ing enemy, or to condemn ao bad act, although committed by his warmest friend. In this policy he only carried out faithfully his deter- mination to make the Hzratp the honest and consistent champion of the interests and the rights of the people, at the sacrifice, if need be, of every personal feeling and. con- sideration. When the Hznaxp was first issued—in May, 1835—one or two partners were associated with Mr. Bennett in its printing department only, and not in its editorial management. In August of tho same year the office was destroyed by fire. After this calamity Mr. Bennett restored the paper without any partners in the venture, being satisfied that the only way to properly conduct great jour- nal was by the one-man power. Then com- menced in earnest the development of his great ideal of a metropolitan daily newspaper, inde- pendent in politics ; uncontrolled in its finan- cial article by the operators on 'Change ; cheap in price; compact in size; with new elements of popularity and a competition for news such as had never before been contemplated. It did not, however, spring into being at once complete in all its parts, for Mr. Bennett’s de- termination to make the enterprise a success induced him to guard carefally its early steps. He felt the ground solidly beneath him before attempting an advance, but he passed from one improvement to another as rapidly as as- sured stability and increased means would warrant. It was a distinguishing peculiarity of his journalistic career that he desired pros- perity not for his own comfort and enjoyment, but for the good of his paper, which was his idol. If he coveted money, it was only that by its power he might render the Hera as per- fect as his advanced ideas desired, and as he had long loved to paint it on the canvas of his mind as a picture of the future. So he kept the little sheet that was leaving them so’ far behind, The Herat. was declared responsi- ble for the revulsion of 1837, but it only in creased the fame of the much-discussed money article. In 1838 an event happened that gave anew impetus to Mr. Bennett's journalistic zeal, Ocean steam navigation became an ess tablished fact by the crossing of the Atlantia by the Sirius and Great Western, which arrived in New York in the spring of that year. While others wete speculating on the event or ex- pending their time in admiration Mr. Benneté characteristically seized upon it for the benefit’ of his paper, Up to that time there had been! only occasional letters from Europe published in the American press. These were picked up as opportunity offered, and no journal had any organized system of foreign correspondence. With the future in view Mr. Bennett quietly went to Europe on the return trip of the Sirius, bent upon establishing foreign agencies and making arrangements for the transmission of intelligence and correspondence from all parts of the Old World. He was thus early the pioneer in what is now one of the most im posing features of American journalism. j On Mr. Bennett's return the opposition gathered new force, and the result was @ pows erful and organized effort in 1840 to crush the Heraxp. It was the most wonderful crusada against individual enterprise ever rocorded in’ history. It not only failed in its object, but i¢ had an effect exactly contrary to the intentions of its originators. It brought Mr. Bennettand his paper more prominently before the world. It caused thinking men, who had not pre- viously met with it, to read it, and they at once discovered that it was an interesting and important journal.’ The curious weré induced to look into it, and found it unexpectedly bril- liant, fresh and sparkling; for the old metros politan dailies had sought rather to drag the Heratp down than to keep pace with its pro- gress, and as the effect of a magic lantern is seen best in o darkened room, so .the sprightly Hzranp shon the brighter in the gloom that <and the ponderous journals of the day. The cir~ culation increased—the advertising increased; the treasury of the paper gave substantial: proof that the Hxratp was to continue to live! and prosper. Singularly enough, all the poli~ ticians and editors who were engaged in thie remarkable war, without an exception, acknow- ledged afterwards that they were wrong andj Mr. Bennett right, and that his steady adherence to the principles he had first laid down had built up great paper. In the midst their regular line of monthly trips, running ta Boston, and Mr. Bennett, only spurred to new efforts by the assaults of his opponents, imme- diately established a system of express co: munication between Boston and New York,’ with relays of horses on the broken parte of the route not covered by railroads, for swift transportation of his foreign news spatches. Such enterprise and liberality, might be emulated but could not be destroyed.’ These expansions continued as the financea of the establishment increased, and tha steadily on, securing all behind him and devel- oping future enterprises by the investment of all ite surplus earnings upon the paper itself O00 Henaty grew wonderfully in cireulation,, value and power until the breaking out of the; Mexican wor in 1846, In the meantime