A GREAT JOURNALIST.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13610, 20 December 1909, Page 6

A GREAT JOURNALIST.

The death of Mr Frederick Greenwood removes from the profession of journalism one of its most distinguished members. He was one of the ablest representatives of the older School, who, in addition to calm judgment and dignity of tone., maintained a standard of literary taste in their writings which it is almost hopeless to look for in these days of the halfpenny Press and the snippet style of journalism. Mr Greenwood was editor of the "Pall Mall Gazette" when it was emphatically " a "paper written by gentlemen for " gentlemen," and men of fine literary taste and skill like Sir James Fitz-

James Stephens contributed to its columns. "When the paper was sold to a new proprietor in ISSO, and came under the sway of Mr W. T. Stead and x'he " Dew journalism," Mr Greenwood, with a number of his colleagues, transferred their services to a new journal, '•The St. James's Gazette," which they conducted with great success. To Mr Greenwood we-owe the conception of the brilliant idea of purchasing the Suez Canal shares. He got to know that the Khedive of Egypt, who after "going the pace" was practically on the. eve of bankruptcy, was trying to sell his shares in the Canal in France. Mr Greenwood suggested to a member of the Cabinet that it would be a good thing for England to purchase these shares, but the Minister threw cold water on the idea. Nothing daunted, Mr Greenwood next approached the Prime Minister, Mr Disraeli, who fortunately saw the importance of the suggestion. Ho acted upon it with great boldness and promptitude, and- on Xovember 25th, 1875, the world was startled by the news that the British Government had bought the Khedive's 176,000 shares for £4,000,000. Merely as an investment the purchaee has turned out an immense success. It marked, however, a most important new departure in our foreign policy, and from this point of view, also, the originator of tbe idea deserved the gratitude of his fellow countrymen. Mr Greenwood was not a man to push himself into notoriety, and his services to the State, so far as we are aware, never received any tangible recognition. It is a striking instance of tho manner in which Governments sometimes overlook real services to the State, and reserve their rewards for party wire-pullers and wealthy and influential party supporters.

GOVERNMENT AND THE CROWN

SUITS ACT.

We are glad to see that the House of Representatives has given the Government a decided expression of opinion in regard to the injustice of its conduct towards the Farmers' Distributing Company of Wellington. It will be remembered that this comimny has been caused considerable loss and damage owing to the coal dust from the State depot, and that the Government has set up the Crown Suits Act to prevent the company from obtaining the redress which it would evidently have secured from the Law Courts had th« nuisance been committed by a private individual or firm, or by a public company. The present Government claims the right not only to compete with private enterprise, but to compete unfairly, since it will not submit to the legal consequences which private persons cannot evade. Mr . Field, a Government supporter, moved a reduction of £1 in the Estimates as an indication that tho Crown Suits Act should be waived, co as to allow the company to.seek Tedress through the Law Courts for its grievances. This amendment was carried by 30 to 23. Among thoso who placed the ties of party before the claims of justice to individuals were Messrs Buddo, Buxton, Ell, Laurenson, Witty, and Sir William Steward. Canterbury electors should remember this at the next election. We hope that the House will go further than merely recording a protest, and that one of its first acts in the next session will be to insist on an amendment in the Crown Suite Act, so that a Government department shall not be allowed to escape coot-free if it chooses to maim a man for life by its coal carte, or even to ruin a private person by rendering his premises uninhabitable by the dust from a State coal depot.