58

newspaper, the Eagle of Freedom, does not appear to
have had any political affiliation, but so few issues
exist that there is no adequate basis for judgment.

With the advent of the Baltimore Intelligencer_t
there was introduced a definite note of rivalry - at
first purely personal - "between Pechin's paper and the
Federal Gazette, edited by Matthew Brown, with Pechin's
complaint that no courteous welcome had teen accorded
his new publication by other local newspapers, and
Brown's stinging retort that no such custom existed,
except through the advertising medium, or when "from
the known genius and talents cf the editor, it is ex-
pected to possess uncommon merit."¹⁰⁴ Personal ri-
valry between the editors gave way to political rival-
ry between Brown, the Federalist, of the Federal Ga-
zette, and Pechin, who conducted his Intelligencer
"with much republican spirit".¹⁰⁵

Pechin was undoubtedly aided and encouraged in
his establishment of a political newspaper by his
Journeyman printer, one Alexander Martin, who had come
to Baltimore, probably in the first months of 1797.¹⁰⁶

Some idea of Martin's experiences before his ar-
rival in Maryland, may be gleaned from a pasquinade,

103 Baltimore intelligencer. March 9, 1798,

104 Federal gazette. March 10, 1798.

105 American. May 14, 1799.

106 Federal gazette. August 14, 1798.