In January, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln was grappling with a secessionist problem at Fort Sumter, British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston was working on the "Greek Question'' and Governor of Bermuda Freeman Murray was proclaiming Penno's Wharf in St. George's to be a revenue collection/storage centre.

All the news was reported in the January 23 issue of The Bermudian, a weekly "commercial, literary and political journal''.

A rare copy of the newspaper was brought to The Royal Gazette by Mrs.

Elizabeth Bang, a Bermudian whose grandfather William Lanyon Penno built and named the wharf at the west end of St. George's.

Mrs. Bang (pronounced Bong) was known in Bermuda as Miss Betty Penno, eldest daughter of Mr. Thomas William Lanyon Penno.

Her East End bona fides are underlined by the fact that she was born on Ordnance Island.

Mrs. Bang lives in West Sussex, England and is visiting with her husband Mr.

Christian Bang.

Her almost pristine copy of The Bermudian reveals the Island's early interest in what was going on in the world around it.

Concern about the deteriorating situation in the United States was the top news of the day.

In the upper left corner of Page 1 -- Poet's Corner -- someone wrote of the "The Star-spangled banner that blows broad and brave/ O'er the home of the free, or the hut of the slave.

"Twixt the Fiend's work and Freedom, let's hope it is strong!'' The journal also carried news from Japan, India and Australia, Albany, New York and Charleston where the Fort Sumter drama would ultimately explode into Civil War.

But it is the advertising pages which give the best insight into how Bermudians lived in 1861.

Ads show a lively commercial community with small businessmen putting their goods on the market.

Mr. H.J. Hinson was offering 500 gallons of Bermuda brewed beer in gallons, kegs and bottles while Mr. John T. Bourne was offering Puncheons Fine Flavoured London Market Rum, Molasses and Hogheads Prime Sugar and dark brandies.

Furniture maker Mr. John Jackson was selling ladies wardrobes, wash stands, dressing tables, cedar bedsteads and dining tables.

"Any article of furniture not on hand can be made at the shortest notice,'' his advertisement said.

Auctions of goods abounded.

A freehold, ten-acre property in Sandys belonging to Mrs. Sarah Wells was being put on the market by auctioneer John D. Gilbert.

One auction listed was for "To-Morrow Thursday... On The Wharf''. The offering included flour, oats, corn, pork, coffee, etc., all from the brigantine Ocean Isle .

Bermuda was clearly well connected to the outside world through its many ocean-going ships.

The Bermudian-built brigantine Peerless was scheduled to sail for New York on January 29. "For freight or passage, please apply to the Master on board, or to Samuel P. Watson,'' the ad read.

The newspaper's columns recorded the sailings of the schooner Rover to Barbados, the Quadruple to Turks' Island, the Princess Royal and the barque Anna Kinball to New York.

The Bermudian also published lists of arriving passengers, a practice that continued in Bermuda up to the Second World War.

The commercial page also showed Bermuda in the prison business. The Commisariat was issuing tenders to businesses who could supply the Convict Service with pad locks, iron and rat traps.

Socially, the Island was active. A theatrical group associated with the 39th Regiment was performing a comedy called "The Maniac Lover'' and the farce "Did you Ever Send Your Wife to Camberwell''.

RARE COPY -- Mr. and Mrs. Christian Bang display their copy of an 1861 edition of The Bermudian.