at first buchanan was both editor and proprietor of the paper, but in 1852 the printing was taken over by a company named may and davis. may seems to have dropped out of the picture and by 1860 the paper was owned by the firm of p. davis and son. this marked the beginning of a long period of close association between the paper and the davis family, of whom the most enduring was peter davis jnr, who took over from his father as chairman in 1873 and continued in this position until his retirement in 1916.