 The articles were meant to promote discussion, and it focused on literature and philosophy, as well as various anecdotal articles, poems and letters.Benjamin Franklin encouraged Mesplet to found the newspaper to persuade Canadians to join the American Revolution; Mesplet, an immigrant from France, had previously lived in Philadelphia and supported the Americans when they occupied Montreal during the war.The newspaper was shut down in 1779 when Mesplet and the editor, Valentin Jautard, were arrested for sedition and imprisoned for three years.