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the instance of the Prince of Wales. The last trial for libel, previous to the passing of Fox's libel bill, was that of one Stockdale, for publishing a defence of Warren Hastings, a pamphlet that was considered as libellously reflecting upon the House of Commons. However, through the great exertions of Erskine, his counsel, he was acquitted. In 1788 appeared the first daily evening paper, _The Star_, which continued until 1831, when it was amalgamated with _The Albion_. The year 1789 is memorable for the assumption of the editorship of _The Morning Chronicle_ by James Perry, under whose management it reached a greater pitch of prosperity and success than it ever enjoyed either before or since--greater, in fact, than any journal had hitherto attained. One of the chief reasons of this success was that he printed the night's debates in his next morning's issue, a thing which had never before been accomplished or even attempted. Another secret of Perry's success was the wonderful tact with which, while continuing to be thoroughly outspoken and independent, he yet contrived--with one exception, hereafter to be noticed--to steer clear of giving offence to the Government. He is thus spoken of by a writer in _The Edinburgh Review_: 'He held the office of editor for nearly forty years, and he held firm to his party and his principles all that time--a long time for political honesty and consistency to last! He was a man of strong natural sense, some acquired knowledge, a quick tact, prudent, plausible, and with great heartiness and warmth of feeling.' His want of education, however, now and then betrayed him into errors, and a curious instance of this is, that on one occasion, when he meant to say 'epithalamia,' he wrote and printed 'epicedia,' a mistake which he corrected with the greatest coolness on the following day thus: 'For 'epicedia' read 'epithalamia.' The next event of importance is the appearance of Bell's _Weekly Messenger_, in 1796, a newspaper that met with immediate success, and is the only one of the weeklies of that period which have survived to the present time. The year '96 is also remarkable for an action brought by _The Telegraph_ against _The Morning Post_, for damages suffered by publishing an extract from a French paper, which purported to give the intelligence of peace between the Emperor of Germany and France, but which was forged and surreptitiously sent to _The Telegraph_ by the proprietors of _Th
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