Manchester Observer
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| Founder(s) | John Knight, John Saxton, James Wroe |
|---|---|
| Editor | James Wroe |
| Founded | 1818 |
| Ceased publication | 1821 |
| Political alignment | Non-conformist Liberal |
| Headquarters | Manchester |
The Manchester Observer was a short-lived non-conformist Liberal newspaper based in Manchester, England. Its radical agenda led to an invitation to Henry "Orator" Hunt to speak at a public meeting in Manchester, which subsequently led to the Peterloo Massacre and the shutdown of the newspaper.[1]
By 1819, the allocation of Parliamentary constituencies did not reflect the distribution of population. The major urban centres of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Blackburn, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Stockport, with a combined population of almost one million, were represented only by their county MPs; and very few inhabitants had the vote. Lancashire (in which all the above other than Stockport lay) was represented by two members of parliament (MPs), with voting restricted to the adult male owners of freehold land valued at 40 shillings or more—the equivalent of about £80 as of 2008[2]—and votes could only be cast at the county town of Lancaster, by a public spoken declaration at the hustings. Stockport fell within the county constituency of Cheshire, with the same franchise, but with the hustings held at Chester. Many MPs were returned by "rotten boroughs" (Old Sarum in Wiltshire, with one voter, elected two MPs,[3] as did Dunwich in Suffolk, which by the early 19th century had almost completely disappeared into the sea.[4]) or "closed boroughs" (with more voters, but dependent on a local magnate). More than half of all MPs were elected by boroughs under the control of a total of just 154 proprietors[3] who therefore had a hugely disproportionate influence on the membership of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform.
Publication
The newspaper was formed by a group of radicals that included John Knight, John Saxton and James Wroe. It pioneered a popularist form of articles, with an editorialship agenda aimed at the growing literate working-class. Within twelve months it was selling 4,000 copies per week to its local audience.[1][5]
Its style resulted in sales outside its core geography, and by late 1819 it was being sold in most of the booming industrialised cities—Birmingham, Leeds, London, Salford—that were calling for non-conformist reform of the Houses of Parliament. Hunt stated:[1][5]
The Manchester Observer is the only newspaper in England that I know, fairly and honestly devoted to such reform as would give the people their whole rights.
The articles within the non-conformist agenda, combined with a racy-popularist style, often resulted in the principal journalists—T. J. Evans, John Saxton and James Wroe—constantly being sued for libel. When found guilty, particularly for writing articles critical of Parliament's structure, they were often jailed. This, however, only managed to raise circulation.[1][5]
But, despite its popularity, association with its radical agenda was seen as bad for sales by traditionalist conformist-Tory business people, and hence advertising revenue was low.[1] Resultantly, with often only one of its 24 columns filled by adverts, the Observer was always in financial difficulties.[1][5]