Founded by Egerton Smith in 1811 the newspaper cost 7d and was published weekly, covering news relating to the city's busy port.

By 1858 the newspaper switched from being a weekly paper to a daily, with an extended edition published on Fridays.

The paper's second edition was claimed to be 72 columns long, making it one of the largest newspapers in the world.

Parliamentary historian Margaret Escott says that the election, in which Porter beat Nicholas Robinson by 1,780 votes to 1,765, was "the most expensive, venal and violent mayoral contest" up to that time.

The two sides co-operated with a subsequent inquiry that resulted in three people being prosecuted and disenfranchised for bribery.