12 s. ii. OCT. 28, 1916.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
343
reaped a rich reward. The reduction in price
took place on the 27th of June, 1881, and
Punch gave out a sorrowful remonstrance
through the mouth of the redoubtable
" Jeames " :
Sir Halgernon 1 Sir Halgernon I I can't believe it
true, They say the Post's a penny now, and all along of
you ; The paper that was once the pride of all the swells
in town, Now like a common print is sold for just a vulgar
brown.
In 1894 Borthwick's son Oliver was asso- ciated with him, and on the death of the editor, Mr. Moore, Oliver filled the vacancy until the appointment of Mr. Locker in May. On his retirement in 1897 Locker was succeeded by Mr. J. N icol Dunn, who in turn was succeeded in 1905 by Mr. Fabian Ware. Oliver Borthwick was only 21 when his connexion with the paper began. Both his father and mother had from the first brought him up to feel interest in it, and when Mr. Locker was appointed editor, and Oliver coached him for a time, the father expressed a hope that the new man would do his work half as well. On the 16th of November, 1895, Borthwick became a peer wirh the title of Glenesk ; he had been created a baronet in 1887.
On the 28th of March, 1898, Lady Glenesk died. In all matters connected with her husband's work she had been a helper and H'l riser, and had occasionally contributed to the paper. She is of interest to our readers as being the stepdaughter of Sir George C'ornewall Lewis, who, with Dilke of The Athenaeum, and our founder Thorns, devoted much study to the question of longevity. I am the happy possessor of a presentation c-npy of Thoms's book on the subject. Lady Glenesk was a faithful disciple, and in 1897 an article on the ' Duration of Life ' appeared from her pen in The Nineteenth Century.
The year 1 898 was one of grave anxiety to Britain. In January there were rumours of a French expedition under Major Marchand to Fashoda, and both here and in France very serious tension existed. Lord Glenesk had an interview with the Queen, who ap- pealed to him to do all in his power to retrain the press, especially his own paper. The Morning Post counselled moderation, but tiie ill-feeling long continued. Happily Marchand was met by Kitchener, and The Morning Post of the 27th of October was able to announce that the Fashoda bubble had hurst.
A heavier trouble was to come, however, in 1899. At the close of March a letter
appeared in The Morning Post on the
gathering war gloom in South Africa. This
was the first intimation that our Colonial
Office received of it ; Lord Selborne wrote
to know if he could be put into communica-
tion with the writer, and this was done. It
was not until the 9th of October that the
Boers presented their ultimatum. Lord
Salisbury referred to Kruger as " an amiable
but very sensitive old gentleman," but this
levity did not agree with the grave speech
made by Chamberlain two days afterwards.
Young Borthwick, who then had full control
of the Post, recognized the danger at once.
He proceeded to obtain the best military
advice, and set matters before the public
with unsparing frankness. He did not work
without knowledge, as he had studied the
Transvaal for years. He saw no good
in concealing difficulties, and warned the
Government of the large force the Boers had
at command, while our own was quite in-
adequate to meet it. Such boldness was
resented by some, who looked upon the
attacks made on the Government as " a
wilful and disloyal attempt to embarrass it,"
but, as Borthwick explained, " it was the
organization of the War Office that must be
changed, not the Government." He asked
for patience, and his forecast was indeed
fulfilled : " The Morning Post will be
amply vindicated."
Mr. Winston Churchill wos one of its correspondents during the South African War, and it was while acting in that capacity that he was taken prisoner on the 15th of November, 1899. He escaped from Pretoria on the 12th of December, and, as he wrote to The Morning Post, had to main- tain himself for some time on nothing but chocolate.
The Morning Post has consistently adhered to its hostility to Free Trade. When. Chamberlain on the 15th of May, 1903, made his Tariff Reform speech, Borthwick was among the first to hail the new evangel ; and although his friend Mr. Winston Churchill implored him not to support the scheme, as if it succeeded " it would break up the Empire," Borthwick was firm, and The Morning Post remains to this day true to its old traditions.
Oliver Borthwick's brilliant management of the paper was to be but a short one. He had long suffered from bad health, which he fought against courageously, determined r.ot to be an invalid. In June, 1904, he had promised to preside at the Newsvendors' dinner, but was unable to do so ; and on the 23rd of March following he died.
