On February 10, 1848, Wait enlarged the paper to twenty-four columns. The first edition was only four tabloid pages; their contents were described by Himes in 1902. It was printed on a hand press which was purchased in New York City and shipped by sailing vessel around Cape Horn. The paper was initially published semi-monthly, with pages of 11 by 15 inches, arranged into four columns. For the first four years the owners did not allow sectarian political discussions in the paper. This lack of partisan politics from the "Spectator's" pages does not mean it did not have an overt political line, however, as throughout its existence the paper took a consistent stance agitating opposition to Hudson's Bay Company. In the view of pioneer Western American historian Hubert Howe Bancroft, the "Spectator" might reasonably be viewed as the organ of the American merchant class against its British competitors. During most of the provisional government period, it was the only newspaper published in Oregon. The paper also advocated in favor of the principles of morality, temperance, and education among the European-American immigrant population of the Oregon Territory. Owing to transportation and communications difficulties, "current" national news in the "Spectator" was usually at least 6 months out of date, consisting of rewrites of material covered in newspapers brought into Oregon by annual migrations of settlers or by ship via the Hawaiian Islands. After 5 issues T'Vault was dismissed as editor for his moderate temperament, to be replaced by Henry A. G. Lee. Lee lasted for 9 issues in the formal editor's role before he was himself replaced in favor of a period of collective editorship. Effective with issue 18 George Law Curry formally took over the editorial reins. He remained on the job until he was removed in 1849, to be replaced briefly by Aaron E. Waite, who was followed as editor by Wilson Blain. In 1850 the "Spectator" and the press on which it was produced were sold to Robert Moore, who continued with Blain at the editorial desk. Blain was subsequently removed by D. J. Schnebley, who purchased the publication and edited it for a time in conjunction with C. P. Culver. The "Spectator" was sold one final time, with C. L. Goodrich buying the paper in March 1854 and continuing it until its termination in March 1855. Oregon City's position being eclipsed by that of nearby Portland as the center of commerce and Salem for politics, the paper's fortunes faltered, and publication ceased in 1855.