[Footnote 144: The disorders of this period will be found described in vol. ii, of this History.] [Footnote 145: _Appeal to the British Nation._ By R. L. Murray, Esq.: London, 2nd edit.] SECTION II. The newspapers of this hemisphere were long mere vehicles of government intelligence, or expressions of the views and feelings of the ruling powers. A censorship established from the first issue, was rigorously exercised, and the founder of the Australian press spoke of its vexations to the end of his life, with horror and tears. This was George Howe, a Creole of St. Christopher. He arrived in New South Wales in 1800: with the sanction of Governor King, he obtained material from Great Britain, and sent forth the first-born of the Australian press, named the _Sydney Gazette, and New South Wales Advertiser_, on the 5th March, 1803. The conduct of a periodical was a work of toil and anxiety: the default of material, the paucity of local intelligence, the vices of the prisoner workmen, and the jealousy of the authorities, severely tried the industry and patience of the intrepid printer. He continued his toil until his death, having kindled the unextinguishable torch of a free press, and taken his rank with the benefactors of mankind. Sir Thomas Brisbane at first relaxed, and then removed restrictions from the press. In 1823, he permitted the discussion of colonial affairs, and in the month of October, 1824, the colonial secretary informed Mr. Howe that he ceased to be amenable, except to the courts of law. Malice or humour, in the early days, expressed itself in what were called _pipes_--a ditty, either taught by repetition or circulated on scraps of paper: the offences of official men were thus hitched into rhyme. These _pipes_ were a substitute for the newspaper, and the fear of satire checked the haughtiness of power. The _Hobart Town Gazette_,[147] established by Andrew Bent, the first permanent newspaper, was under the immediate patronage and control of the government, and Mr. Emmett was the first official editor. The articles were brief, mild, and complimentary: they represented the views of the ruler; perhaps, at that time, also of the people.