Times And General Commercial Gazette
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The Times and General Commercial Gazette printed foreign and
domestic news, shipping news, public notices, legislative proceedings,
the "meteorological register", correspondence, poetry, Newfoundland
history and advertisements. In its early years, the Times, though
in Protestant hands, was not highly sectarian. Basically Conservative
and a supporter of the merchant classes, it remained comparatively
neutral politically. In the 1830's, much editorial space was devoted
to disagreement with the Patriot, often on trivial matters. James
Seaton, formerly of the Morning Courier, was editor for a short time
in 1849, but was let go because "sincere though he doubtless be in
opinions to which he has given utterances ... they are not precisely
our own" (July 4, 1849). The Times often expressed its opposition to
poor relief and took a neutral stand on Confederation in 1869.
In 1885, the Times became very outspoken on political matters,
wholeheartedly supporting Whiteway and attacking the Reform Party
and the Thorburn administration. It also became more sectarian and
claimed to be "the only recognized organ of the Church of England
people" (Nov. 6, 1888). After 1890, the Times again took a less
political stance and apparently ceased publication in March 1895.
This newspaper's description was sourced from Suzanne Ellison's Historical Directory of Newfoundland and Labrador Newspapers.
Information:
Place of publication: St. John's.
Earliest issue located: Aug. 29, 1832 (v. 1, no. 3).
Last issue located: Mar. 23, 1895.
Suspended publication: June 9-16, 1846; July 9-Aug. 31, 1892.
Frequency:
Weekly, Aug. 29, 1832-Dec. 25, 1844.
Semiweekly, Jan. 1, 1845-June 6?, 1846.
Weekly, Aug. 19-Oct. 17, 1846.
Semiweekly, Oct. 24?, 1846-Mar. 23, 1895.
Proprietor, publisher and editor:
John Williams M'Coubrey, Aug. 29, 1832-Oct. 13?, 1879.
John Williams M'Coubrey (Jr.), Oct. 15?, 1879-Mar. 23, 1895.
Editor:
John Williams M'Coubrey, Aug. 29, 1832-Dec. 30, 1848; July 9, 1849-Oct. 11, 1879.
James Seaton, Jan. 3-June 30, 1849.
Errata
Not Published:1835 Feb 4, Aug 19, Oct 21,
1836 Jan 27
1837 May 17, Sep 20
1840 Jul 29, Dec 30
1842 Dec 14
1864 May 28
1868 July 1
1876 Jan 1
1877 Apr 11 , 14
1878 Oct 19, Nov 20, Dec 28
1879 Oct 15
1880 Aug 7
1881 Oct 26
1882 Apr 8, Jul 22
1883 Jan 3, Feb 14, Mar 17
1884 Apr 12, Apr 16, May 7, Aug 9
1884 Jan 8, Apr 16, Jul 23, Oct 8, 29, Nov 5, 12
1885 Apr 14, Aug 8, 15, 26
1886 Mar 17, Apr 24, Oct 16
1887 Apr 9, May 25, Aug 13
1891 Jun 13, Aug 15, Dec 26
1892 Jan 2, Feb 20, 24, 27, Mar 19, Apr 16, May 14, Jul 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, Aug 3, 6, 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 31, Oct 29
1893 Aug 12
1894 Dec 26
1895 Jan 2, Mar 20
Notes:
1839 Jul 24 only two pages
1843 Jun 12 page 1 missing
1846 Jun 10, 13, 20 - Jul 4, 8 missing
1846 Jun 27, July 11, 18, 25 only two pages
1846-1847 changes between weekly to bi-weekly all through these dates
1847 Jan 23, May 1 only two pages
1849 Jan 24 missing
1862 Aug 9 only 2 pages
1870 Feb 26 only 1 page
1880 Oct 9, only 3 pages
1881 Apr 2, missing
1882 Mar 25, missing
1883 Jan 6, 14, Mar 17, Apr 4, 7, Aug 1, 18, Oct 17, missing
1884 Feb 4, Jul 15, 18, 25, Sep 9, 19, Nov 14, Dec9, 16, 26 missing
1895 Feb 20, missing
Issues by Month
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