JOHN NORTON'S GREATNESS

NZ Truth, Issue 568, 6 May 1916, Page 1

JOHN NORTON'S GREATNESS

His Liberation of Peter Anderson M«oboarne' 4 Trtith, >< ; of April 15, publishes the following; relattey to thY death d£4he late Wtertoii:--. Mr. John Norton, proprietor and conductor of Truth." died m a private hospital m East Melbourne at 8 o'clock lost Sunday evening, after havJnff lain for nearly a fortnight In a paralysed condition, as the result of cerebral congestion. Thia is the most momentous announcement this paper has ever made, and one of the most momentous that present-day Australia could hear, for therrfv is no more, valuable asset to any country than sa fearless public man, and that is what Mr. Norton was, as is well known throughout the length and breadth of the Commonwealth and New, Zealand, and indeed throughout the British Empire. Afore than SO per cent, of the people by whom John Norton was revered as a fearless fighter -Tor justice for the oppressed had never seen the man whose name meant so much to them, but from the pulpit of "Truth" he commanded the respectful attention and interest of a vast congregation of a million readers week after week, until he laid down his pen (alas tor ever) less than a month ago. ■ Though it was not generally known, Mr. Norton's health had beon failing for some time, the .. strain of strenuous litigation, added . to his literary labors and the management of large and important business interests, telling the inevitable tale. It bad been hoped that a couple of months' sojourn m Tasmania during December and January last would have a permanently beneficial effect, and Mr. Norton set off on a long- deferred visit to Western Australia. Returning thence, he stayed at Melbourne while en route to Sydney, and here at last he completely broke down. It was thought at first by Dr. Mackeddle, his medical attendant, that the focapacitatlon was only temporary, but more serious symptoms supervened* and on Sunday, night, about 9 o'clock, after having been m a comatose condition for several days, Mr. Norton passed peacefully away without regaining consciousness. His wtte, his ootx Bzra, and bis Uttlo daughter Joan were at the bedside at the end. Thus closed the career of a great man who has left an indelible Impress on/ the contemporary history of the Commonwealth, and for whom tens of thousands who never knew him personally win mourn as for the loss of an intimate friend. After referring to Mr. Norton's career as a member of Parliament and on alderman, Melbourne "Truth" goes on to BMy: "Latterly Mr. Norton forsook public speaking; the last occasion on which he mounted the pubilo platform being just two years ago next Easter Sonday night, when he addressed a crowded gathering m the Melbourne Olytnpla, denouncing the flogging of criminals. The great work of recent years tn Melbourne, however, that will always odd lustre to Mr. Norton's narao was the liberation of Peter Anderson, who would stfll have been immured' in a lunatic's ooU had it not been for the labors of Mr. Norton, who, convinced that the mfJJ was being wrongfully treated, spared neither time, trouble, nor expense In his efforts, happily crowned with success, to have' him freed. [Peter Anderson !» a carpenter, a Dane, who has been resident of Melbourne for a number of years. His wife confessed, to him that fcho had behaved improperly with a Victorian Judge. Anderson instituted local proceedings, wan unsuccessful, and subsequently ventilated 'his troubles from tbo public platform. He was next lockedup aa a lunatic, and his property was sold. He escaped from the asylum, and waH sent to New Zealand by Mr. Norton. In Wellington he wa» examined by two doctors, who had no hesitation m certifying to hl» BCnity. Anderson worked In Wellington under an I aMtuned name for 12 months, when be i returned to Melbourne and ruumtd

the status of a sane cldzen. — ISd, ••NJS.T."! "As la well known, fctr. Norton's straight speaking w«j» often reacnted by those a grains t whom It wan addressed, and tbo result waa a multitude of libel actions, some turning out adversely, and others resulting In a substantiation of the hardest thloga that bud beon said and written about persona that sadly needed ftbowint,' up. There wan nothing Mr. Norton loved better than a keca legal flgbi, and on numerous occasion* he conducted hi* own cases before vtuiaujß court*, even baforo the hlgheat tribunal m the land. He was an accomplished French scholar, a Biblical execrate, and a close student of history, particularly the classical, OeorffUn and Napoleonic p*riod&"