r> 118 PAST AND PRESENT OF schools; and on the accession of the coali¬ tion government, led by the Hon . Louis H. Davies , he was appointed to the office of Queen's printer. When the coalition was broken up, two and a half years later, the "Argus" returned to the party of its first love and there remained until absorbed by the "Examiner" in February, 1881. In the last two years of its existence, while Mr. Fletcher was absent in the United States, the editorial and business management of the "Argus" was in the hands of Mr. Alex ¬ ander McDonald, who had been associated with the paper since 1873. In the meantime, Mr. J. B. Cooper , who had previously published the "Colonial Herald," and had for several years been en¬ gaged in lecturing for the Sons of Temper¬ ance and in other pursuits, began the publi¬ cation of a weekly paper called the "Moni¬ tor"' on the 20th of May, 1857. The "Monitor" was first issued from the press of Messrs. Burris Brothers, and later from the office of the editor. It was an agricul¬ tural, commercial, scientific and literary journal, politically opposed to the Liberal 'party, then in power. Always a strong par¬ tisan, Mr. Cooper espoused the cause of the Conservatives with such vigor that largely through his efforts the Liberal government was driven from power. Though he did not receive the reward of the Queen's print- ership, Mr. Cooper continued the publication of the "Monitor" until the year 1865, when he turned the business over to his sons, Messrs. Henry and James Cooper , who changed the name of the paper to that of the "Weekly Bulletin," which was published for a short time on an independent basis. Mr. Cooper was clerk of the Legislative Council throughout the Conservative re¬ gime. At the close of his career he went to live with his sister at Truro, Nova Scotia , where he passed away in the year 1888. In succession to the "Vindicator," a campaign paper, Edward Reilly , printer and politician, began, in 1864, the publication of the "Herald." This paper strongly sup¬ ported the political party of which Mr. Reilly was a prominent member. After Mr. Reilly 's death, it became the property of Mr. John Caven , a cultured gentleman and a keen, critical writer, who made it a terror to those by whom it was opposed. When Mr. Caven became a professor in Prince of Wales College, its publication was sus¬ pended. But in 1882 the Herald Publish¬ ing Company was formed and it was con¬ tinued. Mr. James Mclsaac became its pro¬ prietor and editor in the year 1891 and he continues its publication. Contemporaneously with the "Herald," its publication having been begun in the same year, the "Patriot" has continued to represent the views of the leaders of the Liberal party in Prince Edward Island . The Hon . David Laird , himself a leader, was its proprietor and editor. It was issued weekly from 1864 to 1867. Then it be¬ came a semi-weekly. In 1882 it developed into a daily newspaper and it has since con¬ tinued its daily as well as its weekly or semi- weekly issue. While Mr. Laird was in Ottawa as Min¬ ister of the Interior and in Battleford as lieutenant governor of the ¬ tories of Canada , the "Patriot" was pub¬ lished and edited by the late Mr. Henry Lawson . Mr. Lawson held a prominent place in the journalism of this province and this dominion. He was a facile and vigor¬ ous writer, who contributed largely and variously to the columns of the "Exam¬ iner," the " Journal , the "Prog-