Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/343

 Sir Langdon Bonylhon ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 317 the hand," when in 1881 he saw the general demand for cheap papers, and advocated the reduction of the price of The Advertiser to one penny. As pubHc support was more and more liberally accorded. Sir Langdon showed a greater desire to retain and increase it. The Advertiser grew in size and attractiveness as the years rolled on, and it is still growing. Machinery of the most modern description was added as the existing plant passed out of date, and at the present moment there is not a newspaper office in the world which is better equipped than that over which Sir Langdon rules, while there is no other city or town <jf the same size as Adelaide which can show anything even approximating to The Advertiser in completeness of outfit or extent of circulation. It was the first office in South Australia to employ a stereotyping plant or a really up-to-date printing press ; and at the present moment it is well in advance of every other office in the Province. The clear view of business needs in the establishment has been paralleled by the clearness of vision concerning the wants of the Province. In its policy, as in its management, it has alwa)s been progressive. It has sought the good of the Province as a whole — the producer, the artisan, the commercial man, the manufacturer, and the capitalist — without respect to class or party. Sir Langdon has always been independent of outside infiuence, and he has pressed forward consistently to the goal he set before him, which was the jjrosperity and stability of South Australia as a nation. Largely as the result of this high-minded seeking after the best things, rather than those which seemed to be expedient at the time, the way has been made clear for the Province to enter the Federal compact with an assured confidence that it would not suffer by the trade competition of the neighboring States. The paper and its attitude towards the genuine advancement of the people, of whom it is the most potent champion, have always been Sir L-angdon's chief concern. With all his weight of work and responsibility, however, he has not been a man of one interest. He has always displayed a willingness to stc)) outside the editorial office to help in public matters in his capacity as a private individual, where he could do real good by such action ; for he does not value mere complimentary offices, and when he accepts a position he is ready to undertake all the duties fairly appertaining to it. Sir Langdon Bonython was born in London on October 15, 1848, and is a son of Mr. George Langdon Bonython. On the father's side he represents the main branch of an ancient Cornish familv-the Bonvthons of Bonython and Carclew, who were landowners in Cornwall more than seven centuries ago. Sir Langdon came to South Australia with his parents, both of whom still survive, when he was quite a child ; and he was educated in Adelaide, one of his earliest teachers at Brougham School having been Mr. T. Burgan, now a member of the Board of Inspectors which controls the Department of Public Instruction. Having early shown a leaning towards literature, Sir Langdon, directly after leaving school, secured a position on the staff of The Advertiser, and there won an immediate place in the esteem and confidence of Mr. J. H. Barrow, who was a keen judge of character. To that gentleman's guidance Sir Langdon has always acknowledged a very great indebtedness, and he attributes his success to the