The ''Cambridge Intelligencer'' was an English weekly newspaper, appearing from 1793 to 1803, and edited by

Benjamin Flower Benjamin Flower (1755 – 17 February 1829) was an English radical journalist and political writer, and a vocal opponent of his country's involvement in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars. Early life He was born in London, the son of a pro ...

. The historian J. E. Cookson called it "the most vigorous and outspoken liberal periodical of its day". Flower suffered imprisonment for contempt of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, for remarks made in the ''Intelligencer'' against Richard Watson,

bishop of Llandaff The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. Area of authority The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's cathedra, seat is in the Llandaff Cathedral, Cathedral Chu ...

. His case followed that of

Gilbert Wakefield Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was an English scholar and controversialist. He moved from being a cleric and academic, into tutoring at dissenting academies, and finally became a professional writer and publicist. In a celebrated state trial ...

, followed a different procedure, and had a temporary chilling effect on radical publishing at the end of the 18th century.

Editorial policy

The ''Intelligencer'' first appeared on 20 July 1793, and from the start opposed the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. It was one of a number of provincial journals opposed to the administration of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

; and managed to sustain its editorial independence. It opposed the Anglo-Irish Union. The ''Intelligencer'' was considered to represent the standpoint of rational dissent, and was called "the most infamous paper that ever disgraced the press", by the ''

Anti-Jacobin The ''Anti-Jacobin, or, Weekly Examiner'' was an English newspaper founded by George Canning in 1797 and devoted to opposing the radicalism of the French Revolution. It lasted only a year, but was considered highly influential, and is not to be ...

''. By 1796 James Montgomery was asking the editor acting for him not to reprint material from the ''Intelligencer''. Flower was able to continue editorial work while confined to

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

in 1799, lodging with the gaol keeper John Kirby. The paper ran

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

s, an innovation associated with the radical press of this period. Flower was anticipated in this development, which had been in use for a few years in the '' Sheffield Register'' of

Joseph Gales Joseph Gales Jr. (June 15, 1786 – July 21, 1860) was an American journalist and the ninth mayor of Washington, D.C. The city's only mayor born outside of North America, Gales served from 1827 to 1830. Early life Joseph Gales Jr. was born in ...

, the ''Derby Mercury'' of William Ward, and Montgomery's ''Sheffield Iris''.

The advertising content of the ''Intelligencer'' was light,Whelan, p. xxxiii. but included promotions related to Stourbridge Fair. The publisher Martha Gurney advertised the trial transcripts of her brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. A work of Thomas Oldfield on electoral boroughs was given space by Flower. James Lackington advertised his second-hand book emporium.

Circulation

The ''Intelligencer'' functioned for a time more like a national newspaper, with circulation handled by representatives in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

, Dartmouth,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. The copies sold rose at times to more than 2000, when a typical provincial newspaper would expect several hundreds. There was distribution during 1795–7 in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, for example, by Thomas Langdon. Initially the paper cost 3''d'', but a change in the newspaper tax in 1797 brought the price up to 6''d''.; and the circulation dropped, on the paper's own figures, from about 2,700 to the region of 1,800. In 1798 the paper still claimed it could be bought in 45 market towns. There was a significant market in Scotland.

Contributors

* Anna Letitia Barbauld: The first issue started publishing her ''Sins of Government''. *

William Burdon William Burdon (1764–1818) was an English academic, mineowner and writer. Life Burdon was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the son of George Burdon, was educated at Newcastle grammar school, and went to Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1782. He grad ...

, pro-Napoleon letters, leading to ''Various Thoughts on Politics, Morality and Literature'' (1800) *

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...

, who wrote his 1796 political poem ''

Ode on the Departing Year ''Ode on the Departing Year'' was composed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1796. The poem describes Coleridge's feelings on politics and religion, and it emphasises an idyllic lifestyle as an optimal way of living. Background While Coleridge live ...

'' for the ''Intelligencer''; also ''Parliamentary Oscillators'' of 1798, as "Laberius" *

Ebenezer Elliott Ebenezer Elliott (17 March 1781 – 1 December 1849) was an English poet, known as the ''Corn Law rhymer'' for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor. Though a factory owner himse ...

, ''The Vernal Walk'' (1798) * Eliza Gould, letters in 1795; she suffered for her distribution of the ''Intelligencer'' in Devon *

Jeremiah Joyce Jeremiah Joyce (1763–1816) was an English Unitarian minister and writer. He achieved notoriety as one of the group of political activists arrested in May 1794. Early life He was born 24 February 1763, the son of Jeremiah Joyce (1718–1788), ...

, ''Account'', in 1795 *

Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, as the third and youngest son of Henry Robin ...

, in 1795, defending

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

's '' Political Justice'' as "Philo Godwin" *

John Towill Rutt John Towill Rutt (4 April 1760 – 3 March 1841) was an English political activist, social reformer and nonconformist man of letters. Life Born in London on 4 April 1760, he was only son of George Rutt, at first a druggist in Friday Street, Chea ...

, who contributed for example a poem against the press gang, and referencing the radical Thomas Cooper * William Taylor Others who contributed or who were quoted in the ''Intelligencer'' included: George Dyer,

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

, and

Christopher Wyvill Christopher Wyvill may refer to: * Christopher Wyvill (reformer) (1740–1822), English cleric, landowner and political reformer * Christopher Wyvill (Royal Navy officer) (1792–1863), Royal Navy admiral * Christopher Wyvill (priest) (dies 1710), A ...

. Parliamentary reports were typically based on the ''

Morning Herald The ''Morning Herald'' was an early daily newspaper in the United Kingdom. History The newspaper was founded in 1780 by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, former editor of ''The Morning Post''. It was initially a liberal paper aligned with ...

''. There was much verse, and the publication has been seen as a place where "few poets can refuse themselves the luxury of extended moral comment or political instruction".

Influence

The ''

Leeds Mercury The ''Leeds Mercury'' was a newspaper published in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was published from 1718 to 1755 and again from 1767. Initially it consisted of 12 pages and cost three halfpennies. In 1794 it had a circulation of about 3,00 ...

'' of Edward Baines, and then the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' founded by

John Edward Taylor John Edward Taylor (11 September 1791 – 6 January 1844) was an English business tycoon, editor, publisher and member of The Portico Library, who was the founder of the ''Manchester Guardian'' newspaper in 1821. It was renamed in 1959 '' ...

, carried on the reformist line of the ''Intelligencer''. Flower's model for a radical paper was tried again in Cambridge for a few years around 1820, by Weston Hatfield in his ''Cambridge and Hertford Independent Press''. He had support from, among others, George Pryme.historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Cambridge, 1820–1832''.
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References

Notes