Collection MS 185 - Glasgow Argus

The Glasgow Argus newspaper was established in 1833. It was the officially recognised mouthpiece of the leading Whigs in Glasgow. The newspaper was inaugurated at a meeting chaired by Colin Dunlop of Tollcross, proprietor of the Clyde Iron Works and who later became a member of parliament, on 4 February 1833. Others who attended the inaugural meeting were Charles Tenant, George Crawfurd and James Lumsden. The paper was a joint-stock venture with £4,000 risk capital and 200 shares. The newspaper was published twice weekly and controlled by three committees. The first editor was William Weir, a young advocate from Edinburgh. Initially the concern struggled and first became profitable in 1835. In 1839 it was expanded. Weir resigned in 1839. He had repeatedly been in trouble with the shareholders and had criticised Whigs such as the Lord Advocate Andrew Rutherfurd in the paper. The next editor was Thornton Leigh Hunt but he also resigned, in April 1840. The editorship was assumed by William Lang and in 1844 he was replaced by Charles Mackay. In that year the newspaper was once more enlarged although it continued to make a loss. On 29 November 1847 it was decided to wind up the company.