I do not remember the name of the writer who made use of the expression, “Show me the songs of a people and I will tell you their character.” May not the same test, by which to discover the character of a people, be applied to the, newspaper press of a nation? The difference between the broadsheets in America and those of Great Britain is as decidedly marked as are those of the leading features of the people in the two countries. The American press is characterized with but few exceptions by a want of dignity in style—a loose tone of morality, and an ever ready willingness to pander to the pride of the people, who never think so well of themselves as when something ill is being said about other nationalities. Nearly all the papers have a puffing, playbill appearance, caused by the free use of sensational headings in the news columns. The manner, too, of getting up is slovenly, and in many instances the impressions are so bad that the matter is not legible; this, of course, arises either from the use of worn-out types or carelessness in printing.

The English newspaper press, no doubt, has its faults, but it is a rare thing for its conductors to condescend to personalties and vulgar abuse. If the conduct of public men is subjected to criticism, it is done in a manner the least offensive to good taste. The follies and shortcomings of the people are remonstrated against, their virtues praised, but they are never flattered at the expense of the people of other countries.