he Cardiff Times and Newport and South Wales Advertiser was weekly English language liberal newspaper, selling at a penny. It was established in 1857 by David Duncan, a native of Dundee, and circulated throughout Glamorganshire, Monmouthshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, Breconshire, Radnorshire, Montgomeryshire and the adjoining English counties.
In 1888, the South Wales Daily News, admittedly a partisan voice, recalled that when the Cardiff News was founded, a 'dead weight of unrelenting monopoly pressed upon the community, making it a risk for men to speak out openly what they thought. The Liberalism of Cardiff was, to a very considerable extent, sub rosa. Much of it was in bondage, and had to tread the ground softly and in silence. Toryism was the pathway to commercial success. The Liberal merchant and the tradesman were frowned at and scowled upon, and had to endure much that in a free and independent borough is never imposed upon the inhabitants.' In 1869 another Cardiff-based newspaper, the Western Mail, was founded by John Crichton Stuart, 3rd Marquis of Bute, as a Conservative daily. (It was purchased by Lascelles Carr and Daniel Owen in 1877.) In 1872 the South Wales Daily News was set up by D. Duncan & Sons as a liberal alternative to this Tory organ. David Duncan was politically active in the Liberal cause, and was an Alderman of the town of Cardiff until his death. He was an influential ally of the important Cardiff radical, John Batchelor ('the Friend of Freedom') as a consistent champion of the cause of progress and of free, popular institutions. The two men were non-Conformists, Batchelor a Unitarian and Duncan a Presbyterian. David Duncan, died in January 1888, and his papers were continued by his son.
For the first forty years the main content of the Cardiff Times was Welsh Liberalism, but in 1886 it was completely re-modelled to include other features such as contributions by Welsh writers and eminent Welsh bards, including serial stories and descriptions of Welsh social life. 'Samuel's Sentiments was probably one feature in this 'rebranding', as we might call it today. One of its contributors was William Abraham (1842-1922), a Welsh trade unionist and Liberal/Labour politician, and a member of parliament from 1885 to 1920, known by his bardic name 'Mabon'. It seems unlikely that he was the author of 'Samuel's Sentiments', although there is one particularly political article, 'Samuel on the Shah’s Visit' (no. 97, 3rd August 1889 ) which is more politically radical than any of the others.
The Bute family were exceedingly wealthy, the third marquis having the reputation of being the richest man in Britain, if not in the world, and utterly dominated Cardiff, as the quotation from the Liberal South Wales Daily News, above, makes plain. Although the articles in the series 'Samuel's Sentiments' are not part of a political campaign, Liberal thought can be detected in most of them in the first few years. Later a subsequent writer or writers of the column are noticeably less Liberal in attitude, and sometimes overtly Church of England. This change may be part of a general swing away from Liberal political thought towards Conservatism in the late century.
At their best, 'Samuel's' essays show a lively, almost Dickensian fantasy, and it is striking how different these are from some of the later, more staid and conformist contributions. The best of the articles give a lively and approachable introduction to the views and behaviour of the lower middle classes, in all their complexity and contradictions. It is notable that, despite the wide circulation claimed by the paper's title, hardly any of the articles in the series show awareness of rural or farming interests. The first contributor knows Cardiff quite well, though as the series progresses, the subject-matter and the attitudes become more English. Indeed a large number of the articles are penned in Yorkshire, particularly in Bradford or Leeds. It may be worth remembering that the population of Cardiff grew so fast that a majority of potential readers in the town by 1891 were newcomers. When the Cardiff Times was founded, the population of Cardiff was under 30,000, and by 1891 it was 142,000.
Note: Cardiff did not become a city until 1905, or the capital of Wales until 1955.
Last modified 16 May 2022