Home / Arts

Singapore Chronicle

The Singapore Chronicle, the first newspaper in Singapore, was first issued on 1 January 1824. Originally owned by publisher and editor, Francis James Bernard, and initially a commercial newspaper, it included official government notices and details of trade and shipping. The Mission Press printed the early newspaper editions, and subsequently, the Chronicle had its own printing press at Commercial Square. Due to competition and failing business, this newspaper folded up in September 1837.

History
The original application to publish Singapore Chronicle was made by British Resident John Crawfurd in mid-1823, on behalf of Francis James Bernard, a former Master Attendant, who at that time was officer-in-charge of Police. The 1823 Gagging Acts in force then required newspapers to be licensed and screened by the authorities before publication, and forbade criticism of the English East India Company, the local government and their policies.

The first issue of this newspaper with the title Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register was published on 1 January 1824. Unfortunately, Bernard remained only a short while as editor and it is unlikely that there were more than three issues of the paper under his leadership. John Crawfurd, who succeeded Farquhar as the Resident of Singapore, became the paper's main contributor for its first two years, particularly as Crawfurd took over editorship after a fall-out with and subsequent resignation of Bernard. In March 1824, William Campbell took over, and from the next publication starting on 1 April 1824, the paper was published regularly, once a fortnight. As the trade of the settlement flourished, it was felt that more frequent information on commercial matters was needed, resulting in the separate publication of a single sheet paper published every Saturday, from mid-1826. This was called Commercial Register and Advertiser.

Crawfurd contributed some of the early articles while he was Resident, and the Chronicle was a semi-official gazette, but restriction and supervision of the paper by the government was relaxed after his departure on 14 August 1826. At the end of that year, William Campbell left the settlement and his interests as proprietor and editor of the paper was transferred to a newcomer, James Loch. Loch took charge for two years, until 30 March 1829 when the paper was sold to William Renshaw George. The paper was enhanced at this time with more reports on local affairs, a fuller account of commerce in the eastern seas, and important news events in India and Europe. For the coverage of additional material, George added an extra half-sheet to the Chronicle, and later five to six pages became the normal lengths of the paper.

In early 1830, John Henry Moore, a former schoolmaster with newspaper experience in Malacca, took over editorship of Singapore Chronicle, while William Renshaw George continued to provide commercial news. Developments at this period included occasional publication extension to seven or more pages; and at the end of 1830, with the amalgamation of  Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register and Advertiser, page-sizes were doubled and this new look issue appeared on Thursday 6 January 1831. The newspaper became a flourishing enterprise.

The change in the paper's fortunes came in September 1835, when the newspaper was sold to Singapore merchant Walter Scott Lorrain. The first issue to bear his imprint was dated 26 September 1835, but he was only a nominee. A month later ownership of the paper was transferred to a Scottish merchant James Fairlie Carnegie from Penang, who had ideas of news distribution throughout the Straits Settlements. But the Penang takeover provoked and spurred a group in Singapore to set up a rival newspaper, The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser,  which first appeared in October 1835. To compete, the Chronicle halved its price and advertising rates. But in spite of this the business failed. The last issue of the paper was dated Saturday, 30 September 1837.

The earliest available copy of Singapore Chronicle dated 4 January 1827 can be seen on microfilm (NL 3219) at the National Library. Also available here is the final issue dated Saturday, 30 September 1837 on microfilm (NL 2213).

Timeline
1 Jan 1824 : Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register was first published under Francis J. Bernard's short reign as editor.
1 Apr 1824 : Name shortened to Singapore Chronicle and published fortnightly. The four quarto, three-columned single sheet carried news, editorials, shipping notices with selective births and deaths.
Jun 1826 :  Commercial Register and Advertiser was added every Saturday as there was a rising demand for commercial news.
Aug 1826 : With Crawfurd's Residency at an end, the editorship and proprietorship were passed on to James Loch ( d.19 July 1838, Singapore).
30 Mar 1829 : The papers were sold to William Renshaw George. George would later purchase The Singapore Free Press in 1842 which he would sell six years later in 1848 to Abraham Logan who served as its editor between 1845 - 1865.
1830 : John Henry Moore (b. 29 December 1802, Macao - 1 May 1843) became editor, bringing with him experience as editor of Malacca Observer. George continued to provide notes to the expanded commercial news with the full paper between expanding to five or six pages.
Sep 1830 : George set up his own press, the Chronicle Press at Commercial Square.
End 1830 : Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register and Advertiser were amalgamated and published weekly. The paper size was doubled.
1831 - October 1835 : With the cessation of several newspapers in Penang and Malacca, Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register became the only paper in the Settlement.
Sep 1835 : George sold the papers and the press to Walter Scott Lorrain, a merchant. The reasons for this transaction remained uncertain. The merchant sold it merely a month after to James Fairlie Carnegy and the papers floundered
1837 : The paper ceased, probably overwhelmed by its competitor The Singapore Free Press.

Description
Its full style seems to have varied slightly under different editors, but the Chronicle was essentially an exclusive commercial paper for the mercantile community. Issued on a Thursday, it was initially printed on a single sheet of rough, Chinese-made paper and folded once to make four quarto pages, each with three columns of type. Later five to six pages were the normal lengths of the paper. From mid-1826, Commercial Register and Advertiser a separate complementary single-sheet weekly paper was published every Saturday. There were also occasional Singapore Chronicle Extra Ordinary issues and one-page Singapore Chronicle Supplements, when sufficient news information warranted the release of these extra issues. From 10 January 1835, the Chronicle appeared weekly, on a Saturday. When the Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register and Advertiser amalgamated, the page-size doubled to 31.25 cm by 48.75 cm. The Mission Press owned by the London Missionary Society, at Bras Basah Road, printed newspaper issues no. 1 to no. 168. Issue no. 169 dated 8 September 1830 onwards until the last issue in September 1937 were printed by the Singapore Chronicle Press at their 26 Commercial Square (today's Raffles Place) office.

Cost
The Chronicle was mainly sold by subscription, but non-subscribers could also attain copies at little extra cost. It has not been possible to determine the charges of the early period. The weekly Commercial Register and Advertiser was sold at half a Spanish Dollar per month to subscribers, and 25 cents per issue to non-subscribers. From 6 January 1831 Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register new series annual subscription rate was $12 a year, and single copies were sold at 50 cents. The optional Commercial Register cost an extra 25 cents.

Content
News of trade, commerce and shipping. In an era before the development of modern transport and communication, the paper provided vital information of shipping arrivals and departures reflecting the movement of cargo, people, and mail. The paper also included a list of imports and exports, local and foreign current prices of commodities, and carried advertisements and commercial announcements, for a fee. News of the Straits Settlements were carried in the form of editorial comment, plus articles or letters from correspondents, but later, outdated world news were copied from Bengal or English papers, and this practice grew with time. Unfortunately news and notices of personal disasters, births, deaths and marriages were printed only at the request of interested people, and so the record of these occurrences is far from complete. All Government notices usually always appeared on the first column, top of the front page, for which the editor received a regular fixed subsidy of $60 per month until 1829, when the subsidy was withdrawn on the grounds of economy.

Newspaper editors
Dec 1823 - Mar 1824 : Francis James Bernard.
Apr 1824 - Dec 1826 : William Campbell.
Jan 1827 - Mar 1829 : James Loch.
Apr 1829 - early 1830 : William Renshaw George.
Early 1830 - Sep 1835 : John Henry Moore.
Sep - Oct 1835 : Walter Scott Lorrain.
Oct 1835 - 30 Sep 1837 : James Fairlie Carnegy.



Author
Vernon Cornelius-Takahama, 2001



References
Buckley, C. B. (1984). An anecdotal history of old times in Singapore: 1819-1867 (p. 134-317). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 BUC)

Makepeace, W., Brooke, G. E., & Braddell, R. St. J. (Eds.). (1991). One hundred years of Singapore (Vol. 2, pp. 278-281). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 ONE)

Sheppard, M. (Ed.). (1982). Singapore 150 years (pp. 179-203). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call No.: RSING 959.57 SIN)

Turnbull, C. M. (1995). Dateline Singapore: 150 years of the Straits Times (pp. 5-7, 24). Singapore: Times Editions.
(Call no.: RSING 079.5957 TUR)

Turnbull, C. M. (1989). A history of Singapore: 1819-1988 (pp. 30, 68-69). Singapore: Oxford University Press.
(Call no.: RSING 959.57 TUR)

Turnbull, C. M . (1972). The Straits Settlements, 1826-67: Indian presidency to crown colony (pp. 130-131, 243). London: Athlone Press.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.57 TUR)

Gibson-Hill, C. A. (1953, July). The Singapore Chronicle (1824-37). Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 26(1), 175-199.
(Call no.: RCLOS 959.5 GIB)

Singapore Chronicle (1827, January 4 - 1837, September 30) [Microfilm: NL 2212, 2213, 2466, 3219, 3220, 3221].

Library of Congress. (n.d.). Singapore 20^th Century Newspapers in original format. Retrieved January 6, 2004, from www.loc.gov/rr/news/bound/frn/singapore.html

Monash University Library. (1994-2003). Research materials for Malaysia and Singapore. Retrieved January 6, 2004, from www.lib.monash.edu.au/subjects/seasia/malaysgpres.html

The information in this article is valid as at 2001 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Arts>>Literature>>English (Singapore) Literature
Newspapers
Newspaper publishing--Singapore
Business, finance and industry>>Industry>>Communication and media>>Media



All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.