Up to this period, but one newspaper had been published in New York. Thatwas The New York Gazette, by William Bradford, started in October, 1725, under government patronage, by which it had been continued until this time. Supported by government, it had, however, been a mere sycophant, and very naturally espoused the cause of Cosby in this controversy. During the progress of this trial, New York was startled with the issue of a new and independent paper, called the New York Weekly Journal, and published by Peter Zenger. This enterprising little sheet thought it entirely within its province to examine the affairs of government, scrutinize and advise the Governor, question the proceedings of the Court of Exchequer, discuss questions agitating the assembly, and present its own showing of the grievances of the colonies. Week after week, its columns teemed with earnest, spicy, and witty articles, in which the cause of Van Dam was with marked ability maintained, and the policy of the Governor arraigned. Smarting under the scorn of the people, and wounded by the incessant discharge of these paper bullets, the Governor resolved to take the offensive. The columns of the Gazette had boldly stood in his defence; but these were not sufficient: opposition must be suppressed. It was resolved to select four of the issues of the paper, containing the most obnoxious articles, which were to be burned by the common hangman, the officers of the city and the populace being required to attend the ceremony. Scarcely anybody attended, however; which convinced the mortified Governor that he had entered this paper warfare at his own charges. But one thing remained, and that was to crush the editor. Zenger was accordingly arrested on a charge of libel, and as an enormous bail was exacted, which he could not procure, he was thrown into jail, and denied the use of pen, ink, or paper. Here he continued more than eight months, without, for a single week, suspending the issue of his paper, giving direction to his friends through a chink in the door. His paper lost none of its vitality by his confinement. Its ablest articles are believed to have been written by Van Dam's lawyers, and other deposed officials. On the 4th of August, 1735, Zenger was brought out of his cell for trial. Every preparation, it was believed, had been made by the Governor and his friends to secure his conviction. There were but three eminent lawyers in New York at that time—William Smith, James Alexander, and Mr. Murray. Smith and Alexander, having been employed to defend the prisoner, were greatly surprised by the Governor, who, for a pretended offence, ordered their names to be stricken from the list of attorneys. It now looked as if the court party were to have things all their own way. But the friends of Zenger were not to be thus outwitted. They had silently engaged the services of Andrew Hamilton, of Philadelphia. Hamilton, though eighty years of age, had not greatly declined in mind, was a man of warm and generous impulses, and one of the most brilliant barristers of his day. A more able or dignified advocate could scarcely have been found in the world, and his appearance in the crowded court-room, just as the case was called, almost stunned the leaders of the prosecution. The case was tried in the Supreme Court, with a jury of twelve of the citizens. The prosecution produced certain statements printed in Zenger's paper, and claimed that they were libelous, and that the jury were required to render a verdict of guilty, when satisfied that he had published them.