Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/257

EARLIEST BENGALI JOURNALISM — 238 consented to its publication when Marshman promised to send a copy with an analysis of its contents in English, to Government, and to stop the enterprise if it should be officially disapproved.' Lord Hastings was fighting =H. Long (Catalogue) calls the paper Serampore Darpan and in the xiiith vol. of the Calcutta Review (1850) in the article on Bengali Literature he calls it the Darpan of Serampore. Of course this might be an abbreviated way of speaking, but accurately put it must bear the name of Sama&@char Darpan. The narrative of the publication of Digdarsan as well as of this paper is thus given by J. C. Marshman : “It appeared (in 1818) that the time was History of its ripe for a native newspaper, and I offered the publication as given missionaries to undertake the publication of কান, চি it. The jealousy which the Government had always manifested of the periodical press appeared, however, to present serious obstacle. The English journals in Calcutta were under the strictest surveillance and many a column appeared resplendent with the stars which were substituted at the last moment for the editorial remarks and through which the censor had drawn his fatal pen. In this state of things it was difficult to suppose that a native paper would be tolerated fora moment. It was resolved therefore to feel the official pulse by starting a monthly magazine in the first instance, and the Digdarshan appeared in April 1818, It was composed of historical and other notices, likely from their novelty to excite the attention of the natives and to sharpen their curiosity. In the last page, in a smaller type, some few items of political intelligence were inserted. Two numbers were published, and copies were sent to the principal members of Government (including the Censor) and the fact of the publication was widely circulated by advertisement in all the English papers of Calcutta. As no objection appeared to be taken to the publication of the magazine by. the. censor, though it contained news, it was resolved at once to launch the weekly paper, and call it by the name given to the earliest English news-letter, the Mirror of News or Samachar Darpan, But Dr. Carey, who had been labouring fifteen years in India during the period when the opposi- tien to missionary efforts and enlightenment of the natives was in fall vigour, was anfavourable to the publication of the Journal becanse he feared it would give umbrage in official circles and weaken the good understanding which had been gradually growing up between the missionaries and the government, He strenuously advised that 30