On Monday readers will find our title changed to ╥The Guardian.╙ The masthead on page one will follow the style adopted, for more than a hundred years, above our principal comment of the day. The omission of ╥Manchester╙ implies no change in policy and, we hope, no disrespect to our home. It acknowledges an accomplished fact. Nearly two-thirds of the paper╒s circulation now lies outside the Manchester area. Twenty years ago, although the ╥Guardian╒s╙ voice was heard and sometimes heeded far from Manchester, only 20,000 copies were sold more than a score of miles from Cross Street. To-day the number is about 118,000. Then the total circulation was 52,000; to-day it stands at about 183,000. These figures, of course, are tiny when compared to Fleet Street╒s millions. But they are satisfactory enough in a newspaper intended for people who want to give their minds seriously, though with a sense of tolerance and humour, to the day╒s affairs. The ╥Times╙ now stands at 255,000, having been at 190,000 twenty years ago. We are glad to see its rise and we hope that both papers will continue to expand ╤even if we also hope that the ╥Guardian╙ may perhaps move a little faster than its chief competitor. The immediate point, however, is that the ╥Guardian╙ now is national in the distribution of its sales as it has long been in its influence. We feel that this ought to be recognised in its name.
