The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-20 00:00:00

Top LAPE Jill, WWI.

The Athenceurn of Saturday contained the fol-
lowing paragraph :—" William Weir is a name
which may not be known to the world at large ;
but, three days ago it was worn by as honest, truth-
ful, and genuine a man as that world at large could
produce ; and now he who answered thereto an-
swereth no more, and again one of the great intek.
lectual labourers has gone to his rest, dying, as it
were, at his post, leaving to those who survive him
for a while, much sorrow and a bright example.
Mr. Weir was editor of the Daily News ; he had
occupied that honourable position since the death
of Mr. Hunt in 1854, and he had maintained it with
such straightforwardness of spirit, such honesty of
principle, such vigour and such courtesy, as to win
for himself not only the affection of his friends and
colleagues, but the respect and admiration of his
political opponents. He was a man of great en-
dowments, of strong natural sense, of gentle heart—
a learned, a modest, and a wise man—in the ranks
of literature there was no nobler or more unassum-
ing soldier than he ; and if the nearest and
dearest to him may look on his grave with weeping
eyes, they may turn from it too with a mournful
pride in their aching hearts."
In the Spectator of Saturday we read :—" The
death of Mr. William Weir, the editor of the Daily

News, is a public loss. He died on Wednesday last►
after a short illness of only four days' duration ; its
fatal conclusion created little surprise, as many had
noticed the effect of wear and tear in his aspect,
and previous illnesses had been sharp and not un-
frequent. Born in 1802, Mr. Weir, we believe, was
originally educated at one of the Scottish univer-
sities ; at Gottingen, with the prosecution of his
classic studies he laid the foundation of his know-
ledge of Germany and its literature; afterwards ex-
tending his studies to the languages and literature
of France and Italy. He was destined to the bar,
and with a rare industry he had made progress in
the law, with excellent prospects ; for to his other
qualifications he added those of a fluent and
eloquent speaker. But his course of life was
changed by an infirmity which attacked him early
—a deafness that increased with his years ; and
he transferred his great abilities and multiplied
attainments from the bar to the journal. He ob-
tained a distinguished position as editor of the
Glasgow Argus, a journal set up by the Whig
party with a view of conciliating the support of the
liberals in general. Mr. Weir succeeded admirably
in that object, but at the expense of " going fur-
ther" than the Whigs ; and in 1839, in the thirty'
seventh year of his age, he resigned his post, and
came up to London. For some years he was a
valued contributor to our own journal ; he was, vie
believe, amongst the earliest to be engaged on the
Daily News, and on the death of Mr. F. Knight
Hunt, Mr. Weir accepted the Editorship• He
brought to his office an extraordinary array Of
qualifications, for on many branches of law, history,
geography, literature, biography, and bibliography'
his active and retentive memory served him like-
a cyclopedia. Our readers scarcely need to be re-
minded of the manner in which he conducted his
journal as the most independent of the daily pry
in the guardianship of popular rights,__needfal
reforms, and social improvement. Weir was a man of
strong personal sympathies, but his mind was essen-
tially above party politics, and the most constant
aim of his life was to recover for mankind what
others had given up to party. Of late he had applied
his influence to the difficult task of consider**
how to rescue the Liberal party from its compli•
cations of inertia, and how to reconstruct. it
for renewed and healthy action. We had hoped
that the weight of his authority, and the influence
of his well-known and spotless integrity, might he°
contributed to the success of that needful but trou-
blous work. The task remains for other hands
but, in common with all the best interests of the
country, it has received services from William
Weir, of which the useful influence will long Bur°
wive. A great artist has said, that even the.tran-
sient performer aids in developing the resources
and spirit of art, and thus the perishing executant
survives in an immortal service. How well may
this rule be applied to a man who, master of what
intellect had done for the world thus far, contri-
buted so powerfully to keep other minds right, and
confirm the lasting encouragement of patriotic
aatiou. '