provincial papers and to give country printers the written min utes of the proceedings in Parliament that John Nichols says within his remembrance were regularly circulated in the coffee
houses before the daily papers were tacitly permitted to report the debates.” In 1728 , Cave had supplied Robert Raikes with the minutes of the House of Commons for the use of the Gloucester Journal, - a proceeding that resulted in reprimands and heavy
fines for both Cave and Raikes. With the founding of the Gen
tleman's Magazine in 1731, Cave began tentatively publishing the reports of parliamentary debates . He first cautiously gave the King's Speech in the May number , and later gave a few harmless communications. In 1732, after the July prorogation of Parlia
ment, he printed the proceedings and debates, with the initial and final letters of the names of the several speakers. The reports
quickly grew in length and interest, so much so that they evoked a storm of protest in Parliament and in 1738 the House of Com
mons resolved, “ That it is an high indignity to, and a notorious violation of, the privileges of this house, for any news-writer, in
letters, or other papers, (as minutes, or under any other denomina tion ,) or for any printer or publisher of any printed newspaper,
of any denomination , to presume to insert in said letters or papers, or to give therein , any account of the debates, or other proceedings of this house , or any committees thereof, as well during the recess, as the sitting of parliament; and that this house will pro ceed with the utmost severity against such offenders.” 8 But the resourceful Cave and his rivals quickly found ways of 7 Rise and Progress of the Gentleman ' s Magazine, P . vii. The author gives a full account of the difficulties of Edward Cave in securing the reports .
8 Honsard, XXIII , 148. 9 So popular had the publication of the debates become that the London Magazine quickly entered the lists, and the Gentleman 's Magazine as quickly showed the asperity of one whose supremacy has been threatened . In March , 1739, it comments: “ At length , determining to be no longer de barred from a share in so beneficial a project, a knot of them combined to seize our whole plan ; and , without the least attempt to vary or improve it, began with the utmost vigour to print and circulate the London Magazine, with such success, that in a few years, while we were printing the fifth
edition of some of our earliest Numbers, they had SEVENTY THOUSAND of their Books returned unsold upon their hands.” — Gentleman 's Magazine,
March , 1739,
