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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1970-11-19, Page 13ri ti ry 23rd,. YEAR .» 47 Fronit page of the first issue of the first newspaper published in the Huron District of Upper Canada ---The Huron Signal of Goderich,which made its debut on ,February 4, 1848. a [i w'4i .A Y 17.1 Two weeks after The Huron Signal made its debut, a second newspaper, The Huron Gazette and Goderich, Stratford, St. Mary; Mitchell and Bayfield .Advertiser was published. Above is shown a front page of one of its early issues. • . 1 uron It was a remarkably unusual winter for Upper !Canada's vast Huron Tract! Until at least the , middle of February in 1843 there was no snow to be seen on the ground. An observer of that time said it was as if the . weather l}dd advanced right on into April.. True, there , had been, some weeks .previously, a bit of snow to provide a few days of indifferent sleighing. But this had now disappeared _and the winter had become a snowless one. Roads were hard and dry. There was no ice fishing because ice on Lake Huron was• dangerously thin. Young ladies in Goderich had become impatient! They had been promised' sleigh rides by young men. These promises were still unfulfilled' because — there was no snow. Many odd situations were created due to the unseasonable lack of snow This very lack of snow contributed to a delay of several weeks in the debut of the first newspaper to be published at Goderich. .: But The Huron ' Signal did appear on• Friday, February 4, 1848 to become the first issue of the first newspaper to be printed in the District of Huron. Hon. M. Cameron, Liberal M.P. for Kent. County who was eventually transferred to Huron in 1851, had been for some time hoping, to establish a Liberal newspaper at Goderich. He finally influenced Charles Dolsen of Chatham, Ontario, to do just this. Dolsen had already established The Journal at Chatham in 1841 and was interested in having another newspaper also. Some years previously, Hon. Mr. Cameron had established The. Bathurst Courier at Perth, Ontario, and his interest in journalism continuedeven^after he became an M.P. It was Cameron who . persuaded Thomas MacQueen to become the first editor df The Huron Signal. MacQueen had•emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1842 and settled in Renfrew County as astone mason. But Responsible .Government and The Press took part of his interest so he wrote articles for The Bathurst Courier: - Recognizing MacQueen's talents as a journalist, Cameron persuaded MacQueen to become a full time journalist. MacQueen lost no time in proving that he was a brilliant one. Such was MacQueen's progress that a notice appeared in The Huron • Signal dated August 8, 184 8. riot news PURCHASES SIGNAL This notice, signed by Charles Ledbury, England, before. coming to Canada at the age of 45. The Gazette was first published every Friday at its office on West Street, opposite the Canada Company office, Intense political dislike of one another existed between the Conservative Huron Gazette and the Liberal Huron Signal. The Signal made no mention in its news columns when The Gazette was first published. The Signal did not even mention it when The Gazette ceased publication during the latter part of 1849. The opposition newspaper was ignored. , Only indication of the death of The Gazette to 'be found in The iipal was not until' January, 1850. At this time, The Signal referred to the appearance of a new newspaper at St. " Catharines, called The Constitutional "published by the• editor of the LATE Huron Gazette." Although The Gazette first appeared on February .18, 1848, it was not until April 21st of that year that ° the • Signal mentioned the Gazette in its editorial columns and the reason for this was to take a blast at the, Gazette. A well known cartoon in The Goderich Signal of former days was the crowing Signal rooster with the Scotch• plaid trousers. It was always published in the Liberal Signal following each Grit victory. ' Dofsen, the publisher and owner, announced that Thomas MacQueen, The Signal Editor, had purchased The Signal as of the aforementioned date. Although • Goderich' population was less than 1,000 in 1848 (Toronto's was 25,500 at that time) the year saw the birth of two newspapers at Goderich. The second, an opposing Conservative journal, made its first appearance on February 18, 1848. It had the lengthy title of "The Huron Gazette and Goderich, Stratford, St. Mary, Mitchell and Bayfield Advertiser." First, it ran as a weekly but after the issue of May 26, 1848, it became a semi-weekly. Its publisher was John Bevan Giles, said to be a keeper of hounds at O l sti,„111 \ /Ay', i. ijt,,,. la�" 91111 �i,,Mill(ilWll 1M1llt ■ „ Ail-TICE OF THE G()11EIHCFI STAB, WEST STREET, ,1 . dim► .�`i :..,,{was w. _ii..•.•.•.... .W""M^� �M "TIE IitiRoN SI(IYAI,�" 81'1:;1M I'lttN'I'IN(' 11(►t'ME, Noii'I'H sI'I1EE'I'• NON RECOGNITION In the editorial, The Signal said with disdain that the Huron G,azet4e "had not nor ever will be r( agnized as a portion of the public press of Canada. Had we considered it destined for such distinction, we would have thrown aside . our political peculiarities for a moment and announced its debut upon the stage with common courtesy; but we were prevented from doing so' by the conviction that the inherent feebleness visible in its first issue was an infallik, e symptom of its approaching dissolution," n berating Mr: Giles, The Gazette editor, The Huron Signal editor said Giles "had a Targe share .of what an old Scottish woman would call a,glib tongue • and wheedlin gaet (manner) which could make him a good livelihood as a peddler." On May 12, 1848, a I,uron Signal editorial said Giles should give up trying to publish a newspaper or at least cease to be guided or counselled • by "reckless, inexperienced 'characters who are driving him to misery and disgrace for their own vain and selfish purposes and who lately forced him to insult the respectable community of Goderich under gl 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 BY P. GEORGE L. • ELLIS 1.4 F. former Publisher of The Goderich Signal -Star who has completed the writing' of the history of every• newspaper P. ever published in Huron County, the first of which was The • Huron Signal, .;IuuuuniuuulmMIIIIM IMMUMMIMIIIIMMIMuuuuuIIIIMMuamuulrnunllluawmnlull e. A stone mason born at Kilbernie,Scotland, Thomas MacQueen- was acQueenwas the gifted first editor of the Hurorl.Signal. Seen herd with.. his wife, Mr. MacQueen died in 1.861 and is buried in Maitland Cemetery. He is the. great, great grandfathbr of Mrs. John Cory, Huron Road; Goderich. 7 Noticed by few visitors to , Maitland Carktetery., this small plaque in the ground marks the plot of Thomas MacQueen, first Editor of The Huron Signal. He was referred to as a writer and a poet. the designation `barefooted boys and slip -shod girls.' " The attacks of Mr. Giles on the personal• character of the editor of The Huron Signal were branded by the latter as "silly". The Huron Signal editor said the Gazette editor's views about the religious opinion of. The Signal editor were "malignant and dastardly insinuations." EDITORIAL BLAST • In its last editorial blast at The Gazette before the latter paper eventually folded up, ,the Huron Signal editor referred to • The Gazette only A as "The Thing." The Signal said The Gazette "is not recognized, nor in fact does not pretend to- be a newspaper, but is just published occasionally as ad of ruse of' bravado to show ho positively proud, some men are of asserting flagrant falsehood in order to. Make people laugh at them! .. The majority of Tories would cheerfully assist in throwing The Gazette and its press into the lake in order to rid the town of a very filthy nuisance!" • When The Huron Signal had completed its first year of publishing, it • stated in an editorial on February 2, 1849; "We have had a hard up -hill battle of it". " When the first issue of The Huron Signal appeared on February 4, 1848, the editorial of its editor, Thomas MacQueen ,said, in part: "It is necessary that - a newspaper should in some degree be a medium of political intelligence. There are in every „ country, at least two political parties, hence, it is again necessary that every newspaper must be the organ or advocate of a party, and it maybe -presumed that , •our motto is a sufficient intimation that the HURON SIGNAL will endeavour .to advance the views of - the LIBERAL party. 'The greatest possible good to the greatest possible number', is a sentiment which must certainly meet the approbation • 9f every honest upright man. ' "But while we are disposed to maintain the principle embodied in our motto with zeal and earnestness, we will carefully avoid all uncharitable feelings to . our opponents. We will not indulge in vituperation or scurrility. We will have no fellowship with anonymous. communications containing _,personal slander or anything calculated to injure personal character — in short we will endeavour to live at peace with all 'men, so far as that is attainable upon the great principles of truth and justice. "The , principle political questions. which we intend to advocate are . . . Still there are other subjects, in which' much of the`1 appiness of a country is involved, and hence,, we shall study to make The Huron Signal the vehicle of as many essays and as much knowledge on all subjects of practical importance, as our space and time wi11 reasonably allow." DISTINGUISHED EDITOR A distinguished and gifted editor, MacQueen was born of humble parentage in Ayrshire, Scotland where he attended Parish School only for a few months. He was obliged to go to work at the age of ten when an accident left him lame for life. This turned him to self education and philosophic thoughts. At 15 he became a stone mason but did some writing on the side, always championing the working man's rights. It was in 1842 that he emigrated to Renfrew County in Ontario as.>,a stone mason. - As editor of The Huron Signal he 'became known as "The Old Man Eloquent." He toured Huron and became intimately acquainted with its people and their problems. His masterly discussions in The Signal attracted Province -wide attention. He was even quoted in Great Britain and beyond. The clear earnestness of • his style, the originality of his. intellect and his soundness of judgment.... made him an outstanding editor. In 1852, MacQueen was induced • to assist in the establishment of a newspaper at Hamilton but ' he continued to contribute articles to The Signal. The biting humor of MacQueen was reflected in an advertisement he placed in The _Huron Signal on April 18, 1850. In it, MacQueen offered. 200 pounds of hay to any man who could_ provide information as to who stole sheafed straw,' from MacQueen's barn at Signalfield. MacQueen stated he "did not feel so much hurt about the -loss' of the straw as he did on account of the fact that straw stealing does not exactly agree with the character which the locality has acquired' for `revivals' and `conversions', and, therefore", MacQueen "cheerfully" offered the hay "to the pious, man who will' have" moral honest enough 'to come forward and acknowledge that he stole the straw" "as the advertiser is anxious to ascertain the true- character of his neighbors." In April, 1854 he returned to Goderich and in July of that year was unsuccessful in contesting a seat as M.P. for Huron. - He died at the :age of 57 at his • farm called "Signalfield," located a few miles south of Goderich on Highway '21. When • MacQueen retired from The Signal in° 1852 he was Succeeded by George and John Cox, then followed Nicholls and Cox and next was J. W. Keyes. Changes in ownership of The Signal continued apace with -the next proprietors listed as W. T. and 'G. Cox. Next were Cox and Smith and they, in turn, by J. J. Bell. The latter later became editor and proprietor of The Brockville Recorder. Allan- and Dickson took over from J. J. $ell. After Mr Dickson met death by drowning, Mr. Allan secured as his partner Mr. Gissing, formerly of The Woodstock Review. CHANGES MAD E On September 1, 1880,- the colorful McGillicuddy brothers of The Brussels Post, took over The Signal. They made radical changes in the paper. The old "blanket sheet" was abandoned,. a modern 8 page form adopted and new • type and presses installed. Many correspondents throughout the CountYl were secured. In 1886 Thomas McGillicuddy retired in favor of a position at Toronto. His brother, Dan, then_became sole proprietor and edit' r..JIt was at this time the name of the paper was changed from the Huron Signal to that of The Goderich Signal. The new equipment installed some years -later printed an attractive publication known as The Illustrated Signal. Dan McGillicuddy was noted as the wielder of a "vitriolic pen". He later went to Calgary where, backed by Sir Clifford Sifton he founded the Calgary Daily News in opposition to the Eye Opener, edited by the notorious Bob' Edwards. • After The Huron Gazette, Goderich's Conservative newspaper, folded in 1849, it was followed by The Times published by E. Woodcock and then The United Empire by Alex McClenaghan. The Hinton Signal reported the launching of a "High Tory paper" in Goderich during June, 1850 which was known as '['he Huron Loyalist. It was referred to as an ephemeral "squib sheet" started by^ a "Colonel" A. F. Morgan who was labelled as - Please bum to page 8A