by the American Loyalists. The first paper appeared in Upper Canada on
the establishment of Parliamentary Government, and was published by
Louis Roy, at Newark, on the 18th April, 1793, under the title of _The
Upper Canada Gazette, or the American Oracle_. The sheet was in folio,
15 by 9-1/2 inches, of coarse, but durable paper--not a characteristic,
certainly, of our great newspapers now-a-days, of which the material is
very flimsy; the impression was fairly executed; the price was three
dollars a year. In 1794, the form was changed to a quarto, and one
Tiffany had become the proprietor. When the _Gazette_ was removed to
York, in 1800, with all the Government offices, the Messrs. Tiffany
started the _Constellation_, which, Dr. Scadding tells us, illustrated
the jealousy which the people of the Niagara district felt at seeing
York suddenly assume so much importance; for one of the writers
ironically proposes a 'Stump Act' for the ambitious, though muddy,
unkempt little town, 'so that the people in the space of a few months,
may relapse into intoxication with impunity, and stagger home at any
hour of the night without encountering the dreadful apprehension of
broken necks.'

The _Constellation_ only lived a year or two, and then gave way to the
_Herald_ and other papers at subsequent dates; and it is an interesting
fact, mentioned by the learned antiquarian of Toronto, that the imposing
stone used by Mr. Tiffany, was in use up to 1870, when the old _Niagara
Mail_, long edited by Mr. W. Kirby, at last ceased publication. The
_Gazette_ and _Oracle_ continued to be published at York by different
printers, and, like other journals in America, often appeared in
variegated colours--blue being the favourite--in consequence of the
scarcity of white paper. The title, _American Oracle_, was dropped from
the heading when Dr. Horne became the publisher, in 1817; it continued
to publish official notices, besides meagre summaries of general news,