Hugh Chisholm

“ In John Walter’s way of meeting them we find a principle upon which he consistently acted through life, and which goes far to explain his success. He never allowed himself to be diverted from the pursuit of a great though distant object by any petty calculation of immediate gain or loss. He had set himself to build up a journal which all the world should recognize as independent of government favour, and which governments themselves should be compelled to respect and reckon with. ”

“ About 1798 he was associated with his elder brother in the management of his father’s business, and in 1803 became not only sole manager but also editor of The Times. The second John Walter was a very remarkable man, the details of whose practice would be extremely interesting if we could recover them. But the conditions of newspaper work at that time, together with the natural reticence of one born to do, not to talk about doing, drew over his operations a veil of secrecy which there are now no means of penetrating. His greatness must be measured by the work he did. ”

“ At times the way must have been hard and the anxiety great, but great also was the reward. For the public in ever-widening circles received assurance, in an age of considerable literary and political servility, of a man who could not be bought, and a newspaper that could be neither hoodwinked nor terrorized. ”