Public Opinion in Great Britain on the American Civil War, 1861-1865: As Shown in the London Times

A study of public opinion in Great Britain in 1860-65 must center largely in the London Times. Upon it the smaller papers depended for home and foreign news. To them it was the forerunner of the Associated Press dispatches, the private cable, the special correspondent. Its owner and its editor were powerful in the Cabinet, in Parliament, in clubs, and country houses. Its circulation of 60,000 had been protected by the paper tax. The editor, John Delane, "the Man in the Iron Mask," kept his personality hidden from the reading public, but to those in the Prime Minister's circle no figure was more familiar in society.In America in 1861, the Mew York Herald was giving the public what it wanted in columns of rude abuse of England. Between these unbridled journalists and the intriguing politicians, the foreign diplomat must head cautiously. Minister Adams "maintained himself immune from criticism," and in course of time he gained control of English public opinion.