Story of Madras Courier, the Pioneer Newspaper of Madras
The origins of Anglo-Indian journalism date back to 1780, when James Augustus Hicky founded the Bengal Gazette in Calcutta, Bengal.
During the British colonial rule in India, there were three major presidencies - Bombay, Madras (now known as Chennai), and Bengal. The Madras Presidency covered a vast area including present-day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Odisha.
In September 1783, Richard Johnston, a British Army captain, came to India to join his brother-in-law, Sir John Burgoyne, a commander in the Madras army, with hopes of advancing his military career. However, his plans did not materialize as expected. Consequently, Johnston resigned from the army and chose to set up a printing office at Fort St George to publish a newspaper. Thus was born the Madras Courier, the first newspaper in the Madras Presidency.
The first edition of the Madras Courier came out on October 12, 1785, five years after the Bengal Gazette. Priced at one rupee per copy, the Madras Courier quickly became the leading English newspaper of its time. It was also officially recognised as the medium for Government notifications, which previously posted at the Sea gate of Fort St. George.
In March 1786, Johnston secured the import of presses, types, and materials on East India Company ships, exempted from freight charges. At the same time, the Madras Post Office was founded, enabling the newspaper to be distributed without postal fees within the Presidency and as far as Bengal.
This weekly publication consisted of four pages of 20 by 12 inches, which occasionally increased to six pages. Its motto, "Quicquid Agunt Homines," translates to "Whatever men do." A special edition of the newspaper was titled the Madras Courier Extraordinary.
The first two pages typically featured excerpts from British newspapers, especially reports of parliamentary proceedings, while the third page contained Letters to the Editor and Indian news. The fourth was reserved for poetry and advertisements.
Due to the lengthy voyage required for ships to transport news from Britain to India, the latest English news was often four to five months old. As the the Madras Courier was in English, the readership of the paper was primarily limited to the English-speaking community in Madras.
In 1788, three men sought to establish a new printing office capable of printing characters in Persian and Indian languages along with English. Johnston requested the company not to grant permission as it would affect the huge investments his company had made with minimal returns.
The following year, Paul Jodrell, physician to Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah of Arcot, filed a complaint with the Madras government regarding alleged libelous statements published in the Courier about him and his family and asked that the editor's "base career" be checked. Hugh Boyd, the editor at the time, defended the publication, stating that no specific instance of libel was cited and hence there was no argument in support of it.
Boyd resigned the editorship of the Courier in July 1791, "finding the weekly return of attention which it requires extremely inconvenient and hardly compatible with other employments which claim his first care." Two years later, Boyd launched his own newspaper, the Hircarrah, on September 9, 1793. The Hircarrah ceased publication when Boyd died in October 1794.
Unlike the Bengal Gazette, the Madras Courier took great care not to offend the East India Company. However, the newspaper had to apologise on multiple occasions for its contents.
One such incident occurred when Mr. Landon, a civil servant of the Company at Madras, complained to the Government of a libel on him, which had appeared in the Courier on September 15, 1791, under the title "A Chinese Anecdote." The editor, James Stuart Hall, denied any intention of casting any aspersions on Landon and consequently inserted an apology in the next edition. However, when pressed to reveal the author of the article, Hall claimed ignorance.
On October 12, 1791, the directors of the Danish East India Company at Tranquebar expressed concerns to the Madras Government about an article that appeared in the Madras Courier on September 29, which portrayed their Company "in a very prejudicial light to the public." They requested the removal of the offensive paragraph. However, the offensive paragraph had been inserted among other extracts from British newspapers, and was not authored by Hall. The Governor in Council of Madras ordered the Courier to publish a counter statement prepared by the Danish officials, which it did.
In January 1795, a new competitor to the Madras Courier emerged with the founding of the Madras Gazette, a weekly newspaper managed by Robert Williams. In due course, the printing duties of the Government were split between the two presses.
In April of the same year, Humphreys started an unauthorised newspaper called the India Herald. The Government soon found "several gross libels on the Government and the Prince of Wales" and arrested Humphreys but he managed to escape from the ship on which he was to be deported to England.
On June 29, 1799 an order was issued requiring all newspapers to be submitted to the government for inspection before publication. That same year, free postage facilities were discontinued, leading to protests from both the Madras Courier and Madras Gazette. As a result, a levy was imposed at the time of delivery.
Initially, the Madras Courier was published every Wednesday, but there are records of issues being released on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday as well. The newspaper ran for 36 years until 1821.
The first newspaper of Madras Presidency had a 36-year run, The Hindu
Print, Folklore, and Nationalism in Colonial South India By Stuart H. Blackburn
Peeps at the Press in South India: A Short Survey of the Achievements of Editors and Publishers By A. A. Nair
The Nabobs of Madras By Henry Dodwell
Social Transformation and Nationalist Consciousness in Colonial Tamil Nadu, 1858-1918 By S. Ganeshram
Vestiges of Old Madras, 1640-1800 Volume 3 By Henry Davison Love
During the British colonial rule in India, there were three major presidencies - Bombay, Madras (now known as Chennai), and Bengal. The Madras Presidency covered a vast area including present-day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Odisha.
In September 1783, Richard Johnston, a British Army captain, came to India to join his brother-in-law, Sir John Burgoyne, a commander in the Madras army, with hopes of advancing his military career. However, his plans did not materialize as expected. Consequently, Johnston resigned from the army and chose to set up a printing office at Fort St George to publish a newspaper. Thus was born the Madras Courier, the first newspaper in the Madras Presidency.
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| Madras Courier, Wednesday, February 11, 1789 - Irish Newspaper Archives |
The first edition of the Madras Courier came out on October 12, 1785, five years after the Bengal Gazette. Priced at one rupee per copy, the Madras Courier quickly became the leading English newspaper of its time. It was also officially recognised as the medium for Government notifications, which previously posted at the Sea gate of Fort St. George.
In March 1786, Johnston secured the import of presses, types, and materials on East India Company ships, exempted from freight charges. At the same time, the Madras Post Office was founded, enabling the newspaper to be distributed without postal fees within the Presidency and as far as Bengal.
This weekly publication consisted of four pages of 20 by 12 inches, which occasionally increased to six pages. Its motto, "Quicquid Agunt Homines," translates to "Whatever men do." A special edition of the newspaper was titled the Madras Courier Extraordinary.
The first two pages typically featured excerpts from British newspapers, especially reports of parliamentary proceedings, while the third page contained Letters to the Editor and Indian news. The fourth was reserved for poetry and advertisements.
Due to the lengthy voyage required for ships to transport news from Britain to India, the latest English news was often four to five months old. As the the Madras Courier was in English, the readership of the paper was primarily limited to the English-speaking community in Madras.
In 1788, three men sought to establish a new printing office capable of printing characters in Persian and Indian languages along with English. Johnston requested the company not to grant permission as it would affect the huge investments his company had made with minimal returns.
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| Hugh Boyd, editor of Madras Courier |
The following year, Paul Jodrell, physician to Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah of Arcot, filed a complaint with the Madras government regarding alleged libelous statements published in the Courier about him and his family and asked that the editor's "base career" be checked. Hugh Boyd, the editor at the time, defended the publication, stating that no specific instance of libel was cited and hence there was no argument in support of it.
Boyd resigned the editorship of the Courier in July 1791, "finding the weekly return of attention which it requires extremely inconvenient and hardly compatible with other employments which claim his first care." Two years later, Boyd launched his own newspaper, the Hircarrah, on September 9, 1793. The Hircarrah ceased publication when Boyd died in October 1794.
Unlike the Bengal Gazette, the Madras Courier took great care not to offend the East India Company. However, the newspaper had to apologise on multiple occasions for its contents.
One such incident occurred when Mr. Landon, a civil servant of the Company at Madras, complained to the Government of a libel on him, which had appeared in the Courier on September 15, 1791, under the title "A Chinese Anecdote." The editor, James Stuart Hall, denied any intention of casting any aspersions on Landon and consequently inserted an apology in the next edition. However, when pressed to reveal the author of the article, Hall claimed ignorance.
 |
| Madras Courier, Wednesday, 29 December 1790 - British Newspaper Archive |
On October 12, 1791, the directors of the Danish East India Company at Tranquebar expressed concerns to the Madras Government about an article that appeared in the Madras Courier on September 29, which portrayed their Company "in a very prejudicial light to the public." They requested the removal of the offensive paragraph. However, the offensive paragraph had been inserted among other extracts from British newspapers, and was not authored by Hall. The Governor in Council of Madras ordered the Courier to publish a counter statement prepared by the Danish officials, which it did.
In January 1795, a new competitor to the Madras Courier emerged with the founding of the Madras Gazette, a weekly newspaper managed by Robert Williams. In due course, the printing duties of the Government were split between the two presses.
In April of the same year, Humphreys started an unauthorised newspaper called the India Herald. The Government soon found "several gross libels on the Government and the Prince of Wales" and arrested Humphreys but he managed to escape from the ship on which he was to be deported to England.
On June 29, 1799 an order was issued requiring all newspapers to be submitted to the government for inspection before publication. That same year, free postage facilities were discontinued, leading to protests from both the Madras Courier and Madras Gazette. As a result, a levy was imposed at the time of delivery.
Initially, the Madras Courier was published every Wednesday, but there are records of issues being released on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday as well. The newspaper ran for 36 years until 1821.
References:
Indian Journalism: Origin, Growth and Development of Indian Journalism from Asoka to Nehru By Nadig Krishna MurthyThe first newspaper of Madras Presidency had a 36-year run, The Hindu
Print, Folklore, and Nationalism in Colonial South India By Stuart H. Blackburn
Peeps at the Press in South India: A Short Survey of the Achievements of Editors and Publishers By A. A. Nair
The Nabobs of Madras By Henry Dodwell
Social Transformation and Nationalist Consciousness in Colonial Tamil Nadu, 1858-1918 By S. Ganeshram
Vestiges of Old Madras, 1640-1800 Volume 3 By Henry Davison Love
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