The Vernacular Press Act: The revolt of 1857 forced the government to curb the freedom of the press. After the revolt, enraged Englishmen demanded a clampdown on the ‘native’ press. As vernacular newspapers became assertively nationalist, the colonial government began debating measures of strict control. In 1878, the Vernacular Press Act was passed, on the model of Irish Press Laws. It provided the government with extensive rights to censor reports and editorials in the vernacular press. The government started keeping regular track of the vernacular newspapers published in different provinces. When a report was judged as seditious, the newspapers were given a warning and if the warning was ignored, the press was liable to be seized, and the printing machinery could be confiscated.