found itself compelled to fawn and flatter and sue for its protection
and support. Newspapers, both native and imported from Holland in large
numbers, played an important part in the Revolution, and paved the way
for the downfall of the Stuarts and the advent of William and the
Protestant Succession.

It must not be supposed that the capital had possessed a monopoly of
newspapers during all this period. Scotland appeared in the field with a
_Mercurius Politicus_, published at Leith in 1653. This, however, was
nothing but a reprint of a London news sheet, and probably owed its
existence to the presence of Cromwell's soldiers. In 1654 it removed to
Edinburgh, and in 1660 changed its denomination to _Mercurius Publicus_.
On the last day of this year, too, a journal of native growth budded
forth, with the title of _Mercurius Caledonius_. But the canny Scots
either could not or would not spare their bawbees for the encouragement
of such ephemeral literature, for Chalmers tells us that only ten
numbers of this publication appeared, and they were 'very loyal, very
illiterate, and very affected.' Dublin appears to have produced a
_Dublin News Letter_ in 1685, but little is known about it, and its very
existence has been disputed. There were other sheets with Scotch and
Irish titles, but they were all printed in London. With 1688 a new era
dawned upon the press--the most promising it had yet seen--and
newspapers gradually sprang up all over the kingdom.

The first that came out in the interests of the new Government were the
_Orange Intelligencer_ and the _Orange Gazette_. The opponents of the
ministry also started organs of their own, and the paper warfare went
gayly on, but with more decency and courtesy than heretofore. William
did not show himself disposed to hamper the press in any way, but
Parliament, in 1694, proved its hostility by an ordinance 'that no