We have commented several times recently on everyday life in the early Royal City, focusing particularly on communication, what early citizens knew and could find out. The local press was a reliable source for them as it gathered material from a variety of places. But what other news sources did the early community have that could provide interesting and valuable information?
Reports of the comings and goings of deep sea ships included all sorts of news. Frequently we read of such vessels dropping off newspapers or periodicals from far around the world. A short list from an early paper shows just how far and how new the stories might have been.
We note the British barque Padaga, being 77 days out of Manila and 45 from Yokohama; the barque Legal Tender, 10 days from Port Madison, was in Puget Sound. Other shipping had connections with Sydney, Australia, Honolulu and Hong Kong. Of course there were always vessels from down the Pacific Coast and farther afield in Britain, Europe, Africa, South America and so on. A diverse selection indeed was available.
World news delivered through the telegraphic system was a regular newspaper feature, and it truly was from around the world. Again from the late 1860s, and under the boldly ornate heading “Telegraphic: Special dispatch to the British Columbian,” were connections to European news from Paris La Presse, La France and Le Moniteur as well as from the London Times. There were Mexican connections with references to Sonora, Mazatlan, and Mexico City, and the United States from New York and San Francisco. They could also place subscription orders for some prominent periodicals. One large advertisement featured the publications The London Quarterly Review, The Edinburgh Review, The Westminster Review, The North British Review, and Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. In promoting these issues the distributor pointed out that an American audience seeking information about the recent U.S. Civil War might find the British viewpoint of interest, “considering the great ability and different standpoints from which they are written.”
Many different newspapers seemed to find their way to our community in its early years. Sometimes the local paper would quote from the other publications or we might read that they were available in the city’s library reading room. Just as many do today, people went to the library to catch up on both national and world affairs.
Another avenue to take to keep up with news, local or otherwise, was through attendance at the various groups that met regularly in town. Meetings of the Masons, Oddfellows, Sons of England or Scotland, St. Andrew’s Society and so on were places where you know that information was shared.
Early citizens of New Westminster had many sources of reliable information and a variety of choices and opportunities if they wanted to find something out – not nearly what we take for granted today, but for the time, a very respectable supply.
