68

Martin should be horsewhipped by Edwards as soon aa
Edwards caught him on the street after he was well.¹³⁹
Fortunately the altercations with Lieutenant Edwards
were soon over; in an editorial on September 11, Martin
stated that he was misinformed on some of his assertions
on Edwards' character, and Edwards, on his part, de-
clared that his statements were made in a jocular way;

and they "mutually agreed to bury all animosity."¹⁴⁰

Martin apparently had no interest in book printing,

or no time for it, for few publications besides the
newspaper are known to have been issued from his press.
Or it is possible that he had an agreement with Pechin
not to invade the look-printing field, while Pechin
did not publish a newspaper. Like his rival publishers,
he kept a supply of printed blanks, the extent of which
can be judged from this advertisement:

The following blanks are for sale at the office

of the American.

Bills of sale for vessels.

do. do. for chattels, &c.

Entries inwards.

Bills of lading.

Clearances, manifests, &c.

Seamen's articles.

And all kinds of blanks used in commercial

transactions.

Apprenticed indentures, &c. &c,¹⁴¹

In his first issue, Martin promised his subscribers
that in six months' time he would "present them a paper

139 American. August 30, and September 10, 1799.

140 Ibid. September 11, 1799.

141 Ibid. December 12, 1799.