Newhall Hill.—­Famous for ever in our history for the gatherings which have at times taken place thereon, the most important of which are those of 1819, July 12, to elect a “representative” who should demand admittance to, and a seat in, the House of Commons, whether the Commons would let him or no.  For taking part in this meeting, George Edmonds, Major Cartwright, and some others, were put on their trial.  A “true bill” was found on August 9th, but the indictment being removed to King’s Bench, the trial did not take place till August 7, 1820, the sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment being passed May 28, 1821.—­In 1832, May 14, nearly 200,000 persons present, Mr. Thomas Attwood presiding.  This is the meeting described as “one of the most solemn spectacles ever seen in the world.” when the whole mighty assemblage took the vow of the Political Union, to “devote themselves and their children to their country’s cause.”—­In 1833, May 20, at which the Government was censured for passing a Coercian Bill for Ireland, for keeping on the window and house taxes, for not abolishing the Coin Laws, and for not allowing vote by ballot.

Newhall Lane was the original name for that part of Colmore Row situate between Newhall Street and Livery Street.

New John Street, for a long time, was considered the longest street in the borough, being 1 mile and 200 yards long.

New Market Street.—­Some ground was set out here, years ago, for a market; hence the name.

Newspapers and Magazines.—­In 1719 there were many small “sheets of news” published in London, but the imposition of a halfpenny stamp finished the career of the majority.  In 1797 a 3-1/2 d. stamp, and in 1815 a 4d. stamp was required.  In 1836 it was reduced to 1d., and in 1855, after a long agitation, the newspaper duty was abolished altogether.  About 1830 the trick of printing a calico sheet of news was tried, the letter of the law being that duty must be paid on news_papers_, but the Somerset House people soon stopped it.  In Oct., 1834, among many others, James Guest, Thomas Watts, and William Plastans, news-vendors of this town, were committed to Warwick Gaol fur the offence of selling unstamped papers.  In 1840, the total circulation of all the local papers did not reach 14,000 copies per week, a great contrast to the present day, when one office alone sends out more than 150,000 in the like time.  During the Chartist agitation there were frequently as many as 5,000 to 6,000 copies of Feargus O’Connor’s Northern Star sold here, and many hundreds a week of the Weekly Dispatch, a great favourite with “the people” then. Cacoethes scribendi, or the scribbling itch, is a complaint many local people have suffered from, but to give a list of all the magazines, newspapers, journals, and periodicals that have been published here is impossible.  Many like garden flowers have bloomed, fruited, and lived their little day, others have proved sturdy plants and stood their ground for years, but the majority only just budded into life before the cold frosts of public neglect struck at their roots and withered them up, not a leaf being left to tell even the date of their death.  Notes of a few are here given:—­