The Novascotian was a newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It became one of the most influential voices in the British North American colonies in its nearly one century of existence. The paper was founded as the Nova Scotian or Colonial Herald by George R. Young, in 1824. Joseph Howe took control of it in 1827, establishing the paper's motto: "The free constitution which guards the British press." Published as a weekly, the paper played a key role in the intellectual and political life of Nova Scotia. A letter published in the Novascotian in 1835 led to charges of libel against Howe. When acquitted, he proclaimed: "the Press of Nova Scotia is free." With a circulation of 3000 subscribers, the Novascotian became the leading provincial newspaper in the 1840s. A well-known contributor was Thomas Chandler Haliburton, creator of the immensely popular character Sam Slick. Howe's entry into politics necessitated selling the paper. Nevertheless, the Novascotian remained a liberal voice in the province until the First World War, reaching a peak circulation of 20,000. Later it was published as the Nova Scotian and then Nova Scotia's Farm and Home Journal. It was discontinued in the 1920s after years of dwindling circulation following a change of its political allegiances to the Union Government. The name Novascotian is still in use. It is now printed as a human interest section of The Chronicle-Herald newspaper of Halifax. The early years, 1824-1931 The paper was founded as the Novascotian or Colonial Herald by George Renny Young in 1824. Young had a very respectable circulation due to the ability of him and his writers as well as the great newspaper industry emerging at the time. Towards the end of 1827, Young was showing waning interest in the running of his newspaper, because he wanted to become a lawyer, so on January 3, 1828, he sold the Novascotian to Joseph Howe for 1050 pounds, making Howe the sole editor and owner. The initial reaction to Howe running the Novascotian was poor. Many of its readers withdrew their subscriptions, believing that Howe was too young, unskilled and inexperienced to run a newspaper. Howe indeed was only 23 years old when he purchased the Novascotian and had had no regular education as it had not been possible for him to walk to school in the winter. However, Howe had been working in the office of the Royal Gazette