In the past the Edinburgh Evening Courant, the chief organ of the Tory party, of which James Hannay was editor for a few years, had a high reputation.
After repeated successes of the same sort Benjamin threw off his disguise and contributed regularly to the Courant.
One of the printing establishments has the reputation of being the oldest in the Netherlands, and publishes the oldest Dutch paper, De Opragte Haarlemmer Courant.
In his thirteenth year he was apprenticed to his halfbrother James, who was establishing himself in the printing business, and who in 1721 started the New England Courant, one of the earliest newspapers in America.
When, after various journalistic indiscretions, James Franklin in 1722 was forbidden to publish the Courant, it appeared with Benjamin's name as that of the publisher and was received with much favour, chiefly because of the cleverness of his articles signed " Dr Janus," which, like those previously signed " Mistress Silence Dogood," gave promise of " Poor Richard."