for Darling's conduct, but on one occasion at least it was of a kind that cannot be defended. Hall applied to be allowed to rent land adjoining his own, and his application was refused, not on any legal ground, but because he was the editor of The Monitor. Hall fought throughout with great ability, possibly not always wisely, considering that he had a young family to care for. As he said himself afterwards: "I was young, generous and disinterested, but imprudent. I am now a wiser man, but not a better one". In August 1891 Sir Henry Parkes, speaking of the early friends of freedom in Australia, said: The name I mentioned first Edward Smith Hall belonged to a man of singularly pure and heroic disposition . . . he met the greatest form of aggressive power we ever experienced in this country, and he paid the price of resistance to it by all that kind of punishmerit which follows a man who tries to preserve the public spirit and awaken a love of liberty in a community. In spite of Parkes's eulogy, Hall's name fell into obscurity, until the publication of an article on him in the Australian Encyclopaedia, which was followed by Mr Justice Ferguson's more complete account read before the Royal Australian Historical Society. External links To Bank or Not to Bank: Edward Smith Hall on Free Trade and the Commodification of Money in Early New South Wales A Manifesto for New South Wales: Edward Smith Hall and the Sydney Monitor, 1826–1840 Book synopsis at Australian Scholarly Publishing R. v. Hall, Supreme Court of New South Wales details of libel case at Macquarie law The Benevolent Society which was founded by Edward Smith Hall Edward Smith Hall Family History Everything about Edward Smith Hall, known as Monitor Hall, and his descendants, as compiled by Sue Talbot References M. J. B. Kenny, 'Hall, Edward Smith (1786–1860)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, MUP, 1966, pp 500–502. Retrieved on 15 January 2009 1786 births 1860 deaths Australian bankers Australian people of English descent Australian newspaper editors 19th-century Australian journalists 19th-century Australian male writers Bondi, New South Wales 19th-century Australian businesspeople Australian male journalists