WATCHMAN

WATCHMAN ' June 12, 1890 - Jan. 21, 1921. LOCATION Charlottetown, P.E.I.. FREQUENCY Weekly on Thursdays, June 12, 1890 —

June 3, 1897(?); Semi—weekly on Fridays and Tuesdays, June 10, 1898(?) — June 5, l900(?); Weekly on Fridays, June 14, 1901(?) - Jan. 21, 1921.

PUBLISHER Watchman Publishing Co., June 12, 1890 - Apr. 7, 1892; Aug. 30, 1894 - May 30, 1913; '

Peter McCourt, Aug. 8, 1913 - Jan. 21,

1921.

PROPRIETOR P. Monaghan, June 23, 1892 — May 31, 1894.

EDITOR Peter McCourt, June 12, 18901 — Jan. 21, 1921.

MANAGER Peter McCourt, Oct. 3, 1895 - Dec. 6, 1912.

PROSPECTUS

When it first began publishing in 1890, the Watchman was a politically independent Roman Catholic newspaper. It printed Catholic and general news, sermons, fiction, poetry and ad— vertisements. The Watchman supported the repeal of the Scott Act and it opposed the disenfranchisement which resulted from the closure of the Legislative Council. At the end of the 18905, religious articles disappeared from the pages of the Watchman and the paper acquired a Conservative bias, Liberal corruption and overspending being habitually attacked.

The Conservative bias had disappeared by 1905, however, when the Watchman became politically nonpartisan. Agricul- tural articles began to appear in the paper during the first decade of the twentieth century. By 1910, the Watchman's political alinement had again changed and it began to support the Liberal party, promoting Laurier, reciprocity and the pro~ vincial Liberals. During the last decade of its publishing history, the news coverage in the Watchman became very limited, with large numbers of anecdotes and short essays appearing in each issue. Editorials during this time dealt with politics, transportation, the war and foreign news, among other topics. The Watchman ceased publication on January 21, 1921.

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