Australasian Chronicle (Sydney, NSW : 1839 - 1843), Saturday 22 July 1843, page 4


NEW WEEKLY P'APER. On Thursday, the 29th June, and on every succee- ing Thursday, will be published, price Sixpence, a new Weekly Paper, entitled The SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OBSERVER," edited by Mr. John Stephens. The announcement of the publication of another paper in the limited community of South Australia, may at first startle our friends and the public; but when it is stated that the journal for which a share of patronage is about to be solicited, will be marked by features peculiar to itself, and will not depend for support upon successful rivalry with the existing Colonial press, it is necessary to define the grounds on which its distinctive claims will rest. A paper embodying all the news of the week, and a due proportion of light literature (a species of reading specially demanded by the thinly scattered population of these Colonies, to whom larger works are inaccessible, and who are far away removed from the many sources of amusement which abound in older and more populous countries), without at all descending into the arena of politics,is a desideratum in South Australia. In fact, the political oand pug-nacious character of the press of this Colony is, and always has been, one of its greatest reproaches, and a source of deep regret to its disinterested friends and supporters at home, as well as to the more respectable and enlightened members of its own community; nor has this circumstance contributed in any small degree to retard the prosperous career of our adopted country. Such will not be the character of The South Australian Observer. Whilst open to all parties for the temperate and manly expression of their opinions, it will be uncontrolled by any, the Proprietor's object in its establishment being not to promulgate party politics, but to promote peace and good-will amongst man, and to stbserve the paramount interests of justice, truth,and charity. Poli. tics, as such, will, therefore, be carefully excluded from its columns, but every political occurrence will be jotted down amongst the events of the week, 'T'he frst object, then,of the Editor of The South Australian Observer will be to make it a good newspaper, by publishing, in a digested and readable form, an impartial record of all the local news, accompanied by occasional notices from intelligent settlers on the pastoral, agricultural, and commercial progress, prospects, and capabilities of the Colony, not omitting its statistical details; 2dly, by present. ing his subscribers with an epitome of everything of real interest in the neighbouring Colonies, com-piled from tihe Colonial papers or from private cor-respondence; and, 3dly, by recording, from time to time, a reflection of the homo news, divested of all party bias, and chronicling every important event which may transpire on the great theatre of the world. The South Australian Observer will also contain extracts from the English journals referring to South Australia or to Colonial subjects in general; and not only will the Editor busy himself to cull for his readers the light flowers of literature, but to search for facts from the fields of scientific inquiry and practical observation. The usual commercial and shipping intelligence, the Colonial markets, prices current, &c,, will likewise be presented In a form specially adapted for the information of the Colonists. It is the intention of the Editor and Proprietor of The South Australian Observer to steer as clear of the conflicting theological opinions of the day as of its political partisanships; at the same time the religious operations of each donomination of profess-

ing Christians, and the proceedings of the Courts of Law and public meetings, the progress of T'emper-ance and other philanthropic and benevolent Societies, and the fashionable movements of our haut ton, will be faithfully recorded. Original correspondence will form another, and, in the opinion of the Editor, not an uninteresting feature of the projected journal; and, in making this announcement, he relies with confidence upon the promised aid of several literary pens, whose ambition it is with him to interchango useful thought and feeling, to promote inquiry, and to diffuse imformation without provoking the angry passions or selfish jealoursies of their fellow.colonists. And here it may be proper to state, that personality of every description will be studiously avoided in the corres-pondence department, as well as in the editorial columns; but, at the same time, the Editor will not shrink from exposing the misrepresentations of the press, or the malversations of individuals, whenever he deems the welfare of the colony or the colonists in danger of being perilled. Poetry will have its niche in the columns of the South Australian Observer and should original pieces of sufficient merit and variety not be forth-coming, selections will be made from the best English and Continental Poets of the day; and as ' A little nonsense now and then, Is relish'd by the wisest men." the South, Australian Observer will contain a fair sprinkling of bon mots, on dits, comicality, and fun, whilst care will be taken in all things not to offend the most delicate or fastidious ear. Whilst it will be the Proprietor's aim to make the South Australian Observer an unobjectionable medium of constant communication between the colonists and their friends and connexions in the mother-country, it will present a novel and most desirable advertising channel to Merchants, Ship. brokers, Manufacturers, Auctioneers, General Agents, Tradesmen, Mechanists, &c., who may be desirous to give greater publicity to their various trades, productions, or articles of merchandise. In a word, it will be the constant aim of the Editor to improve the taste, to extend the knowledge, and to confirm the higher principles of his readers, and to render the South Australian Observer equally acceptable to the capitalist, the landholder, and the merchant, on the one hand-and the bush. man, the handler, fisman, and the labourer on the other-by conducting it upon the common grounds of their mutual agreement, rather than by fostering the widely differing political feelings and mere private interests of his fellow countrymen who, with their wives and little ones, have transplanted them. selves to these shores to assist in founding a new empire, and not to fall out by the way. Advertisements will be received upon tihe usual colonial charges, namely, six lines and under (each insertion), 3s. 6d.; above six lines, 3d. per line. Persons desirous of becoming subscribers to tihe South Australian Observer are requested to leave their names at Mr. Platt's, Hindley.street, Adelaide, to whom all communications for the Editor must be addressed.