I JAMES PERRY AND THE MORNING CHRONICLE- 179O—I821 By l yon Asquith Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London 1973 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 3 Preface 5 1. 1790-1794 6 2. 1795-1 805 75 3. 1806-1812 (i) ThB Ministry of the Talents 184 (ii) Reform, Radicalism and the War 1808-12 210 (iii) The Whigs arid the Morning Chronicle 269 4. Perry's Advertising Policy 314 Appendix A: Costs of Production 363 Appendix B: Advertising Profits 365 Appendix C: Government Advertisements 367 5. 1813-1821 368 Conclusion 459 Bibliography 467 3 A BSTRACT This thesis is a study of the career of James Perry, editor and proprietor of the Morning Chronicle, from 1790-1821. Based on an examination of the correspondence of whig and radical polit- icians, and of the files of the morning Chronicle, it illustrates the impact which Perry made on the world of politics and journalism. The main questions discussed are how Perry responded, as a Foxite journalist, to the chief political issues of the day; the extent to which the whigs attempted to influence his editorial policy and the degree to which he reconciled his independence with obedience to their wishes4 the difficulties he encountered as the spokesman of an often divided party; his considerable involvement, which was remarkable for a journalist, in party activity and in the social life of whig politicians; and his success as a newspaper proprietor concerned not only with political propaganda, but with conducting a paper which was distinguished for the quality of its miscellaneous features and for its profitability as a business enterprise. There is also some account of the whigs' attempts to gain the support of other newspapers, but they had little success in this field. The structure of the thesis is chronological, witi the exception of chapter four which contains an account of Perry's advertising policy, and illustrates for the first time the amount and importance of a 4 newspaper proprietor's income fran advertisements. The absence of any collection of Perry papers has precluded a study of the internal management of the Chronicle, but it is shown that from a political point of view Perry enjoyed, despite increasing criticism of him after about 1807, a position as the whigs' leading journalist for over thirty years, and that he exercised great moral influence in raising the character of the press. 5 Preface Attention has recently been drawn to the importance of Perry's career by Professor Ian R. Christie in his essay "James Perry of the Morning Chronicle, 1756-1821" in Myth and Reality in Late- Eighteenth—Century British Politics and Other Papers (1970) Pp. 334-58. No important material has come to light to supplement Professor Christie's account of the activities of Perry, and his co—proprietor James Gray, up to their acquisition of the Morning Chronicle in l7go (Ibid. pp.334-44), and this thesis therefore begins at the outset of Perry's career as chief conductor of the new whig newspaper. 6 CHAPTER ONE 1790-1 794 When Perry and Gray took control of the Morning Chronicle in December 1790 the prospects for the whig party in terms of its parliamentary strength and the number of loyal newspapers were bleak. The whigs had not recovered from the disappointment and unpopularity of the Regency crisis; although there hi been some revival of parliamentary activity in the spring of 1790, and the growth in the party's organisational activity had continued, the whigs had failed to make any gains in the general election of that year, and the incipient differences within the party on the French Revolution threatened to become more explicit with the publication of Burke's Reflections in November. Even on the question of the impeachment of Hastings, a far less potentially divisive issue for the party than the Revolution, parliamentary reform, religious toleration or the slave trade, Fox's indifference was encouraging Burke to seek ministerial co—operation. The prospects for the whigs out—of—doors were equally inauspicious. Whereas in the summer of 1789 they had enjoyed the support of seven daily morning news- papers, by the autumn of 1790 the government had reduced this number 1.) F.O'Gorman, The Whig Party and the French Revolution(1967) pp.50-7 7 to four, and all of these were ailing. The Chronicle was only just paying its way; the Morning Post's circulation was less than 500; the Gazetteer had just lost the services of Perry; and the editor of the Argus had just been the subject of an ex-officio information 2 for libel. In addition to the problem of the government's superior financial and legal resources for controlling the press, the virtual saturation ol' the newspaper market did not augur well for an attempt to revive the struggling Chronicle. To a certain extent, however, the situation had the qualities of its defects. If the state of the party was bad, it had some scope for improvement, as the Ochakov crisis showed, and if competition among newspapers was fierce there 1.) The Spurious Star had ceased in June 1789 for fear of prosecution; the Morning Herald, under threat of prosecution, had fallen under govern- ment control in June 1790; and the General Advertiser had disappeared under government pressure in October 1790. (Lucyle T. Werkmeister, The London Daily Press 1772-92 (Lincoln, Nebraska. 1963) pp. 325, 330, 335) 2.)f• MorisonJ History of The Times (1935) 1.33; Werkmeister op.cit. p.336. Although Dr. John Trusler thought the Post and Gazetteer were among the six papers with the highest sale (London Adviser and Guide (1790) p. 136) and the Gazetteer was still selling well over 1,000 copies (R.L. Haig, The Gazetteer 1735-97 (Carbondale, Illinois 1960) pp. 211, 230), both papers were in the process of decline. 8 were rich rewards for editors who could provide an early and comprehen- sive coverage of political news. The new conductors of the Chronicle took the initiative in two main ways: they established the Chronicle's reputation as the most serious political newspaper, offering the most comprehensive coverage of parliamentary, foreign arid miscellaneous news, reported with accuracy and integrity; and they developed the paper as a Foxite organ by consulting with the whigs on editorial matters and accepting financial assistance which enabled a link to be formed with the evening Star. The two main ingredients of a newspaper were the parliamentary debates and foreign news. Although Perry is known to have regretted the expense which debates entailed through the employment of several reporters and the sacrifice of advertisements, it is clear from the frequent announcements in the Chronicle, apologising to advertisers and other readers for the sacrifice of other matter to debates, that their importance was fully realised. As was explained in 1792: "That we may preserve to the readers of the F'lORNING CHRONICLE, the space necessary for an ample and regular Report of the Proceedings in Parliament, we intreat our Correspondents on miscellaneous subjects, 9 1 to be as brief as possible in their Communication." The public demand for debates is shown by the occasional publication of a second edition of the Chronicle, as after the split between Fox and Burke, and by the fact that even when all sixteen columns of the paper had been devoted to a debate the report might be resumed at a later date 2 to cover the last speeches. However, the risk of this comprehensive coverage was that the paper would lose its less politically minded readers. Thus it was announced on 27 February 1792, before a debate on the Russian armament, that arrangements had been made "to give to—morrow morning a full account of the proceedings, and at the same 1. FIC 30 Jan. 1792; also 17 Dec. 1790; 29 Jan., 15, 23 Feb., 14 April, 1791; 15 Dec. 1792; 20 Jan., 31 Play 1794; 11 Feb. 1795. The rare occasions that debates were subordinated to advertisements were because on the previous day all advertisements had been sacrificed to debates. e.g. PlC 21 Mar. 1799. 2.) "In compliance with the very general demand for our Paper of Saturday... we have taken advantage of the intervening day, and have printed A SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED." (mc 9 May 1791; also 22 Feb. 1792 during debates on the aftermath of the Ochakov crisis). PlC 18 Feb. 1793 contained a further 6 columns of a debate on the French war which had filled the paper on 13 Feb. 1793. 10 time to preserve the desirable miscellany of the regular publication. —Complaints are made by many of our readers when the whole Paper is devoted to Parliamentary Report...To accommodate our readers generally, we have determined...to publish A SUPPLEMENTAL SHEET." This supplement would be filled with the debate, while the usual paper would contain the regular news and only a summary of the debate for readers who did not want to purchase both sheets. Unfortunately the debate did not take place, and although it appears that the public approved the idea, the possibility of a supplement was not raised again, doubtless because of the additional labour and expense entailed. A more successful method of reconciling parliamentary with other intelligence was the widening of each column by one—fifth of an inch during the parliamentary session. Announcing the impending resumption of debates in 1794 1. MC 28 Feb. 1792. The Oracle, owned by the enterprising John Bell, had an extra two pages of debates on 17 Dec. 1792, but this was exceptional (L.T.