Edward Smith Hall
| Edward Smith Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 March 1786 London, England |
| Died | 18 September 1860 (aged 74) Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | English-Australian |
| Occupation | Political reformer, newspaper editor, banker |
| Parent(s) | Smith Hall, Jane Drewry |
Edward Smith Hall (28 March 1786 – 18 September 1860) was a political reformer, newspaper editor and banker in Australia.
Hall was born in London, one of six sons of Smith Hall, bank manager, and his wife, Jane née Drewry. Hall grew up in Lincolnshire, had a good education and as a young man was interested in social and religious work, which probably brought him under the notice of William Wilberforce. Hall travelled in the Friends and arrived at Sydney on 10 October 1811 with a letter from Robert Peel, under-secretary of state, which asked that assistance in settling should be given Hall, and stated that he had been strongly recommended by Wilberforce and others. Hall was given a grant of land, but in October 1814 Macquarie mentioned that he had "commenced merchant at Sydney", and he was associated in this year with Simeon Lord and others in the promotion of the New Zealand Trading Company. Hall had additional grants of land made to him in 1815, 1817, 1821 and 1822, but it would seem that in the early years at least, Hall was making little profit from them.
In 1813 Hall founded the Benevolent Society of New South Wales, later to be renamed the Benevolent Society.
Hall was opening speaker at a meeting on 5 December 1816 for the establishment of a bank. In 1817 Hall was appointed cashier and secretary of the Bank of New South Wales.
In 1818 an application had been made in England that Hall should be permitted to practise as an attorney, which was not granted. It was probably as a result of this application that Hall was appointed coroner of the territory in February 1820, however he did not hold this position for long, and in 1821 went with 10 assigned servants to the land granted him near Lake Bathurst. In 1826 he was back in Sydney, and on 19 May 1826 published the first number of the Monitor, at first a weekly but afterwards published twice a week. It exercised a strong influence on public opinion in connexion with the existing form of government. It stood for trial by jury and a popular legislature, and it condemned in unmeasured terms the oppression of convicts, public immorality on the part of officers, and even the conduct of the governor himself. Actions for libel were brought against Hall, and, having been tried by a jury of military men nominated by the crown, he was convicted, imprisoned and fined. He had to defend seven separate actions, the fines amounted to several hundred pounds, and his terms of imprisonment totalled over three years. However, on 6 November 1830, on the occasion of the accession of William IV, Governor Darling issued a free pardon to Hall. But some six months before, Hall had written to Sir George Murray a letter in which he made 14 specific charges against Darling, and he had succeeded in enlisting the aid of Joseph Hume, who took up his cause in the British House of Commons.
...
Wikipedia