Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published Daily-SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1895. THE PREMIER AT HOKITIKA. ♦■

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 166, 12 January 1895, Page 2

Oroua & Kiwitea Counties Gazette. Published DailySATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 1895. THE PREMIER AT HOKITIKA. ♦■

To judge from the very full summary of the Premier's speech telegraphed by the Press Association it almost appears as though the extreme length of the oration was its most notable feature. Four hours of stale politics is a pretty stiff dose even for a Now Zealand audience. Mrs Besant came to the conclusion that as a people we showed " great political activity." If that means crowded meetings of elec tors sitting out to interminable lengths the delivery of distorted party speeches then, apparently, she judged us right The attraction is in the excitement created and not in the education that it affords, for, in our politics, as in everything else, we prefer excitement to anything of an educating or culturing influence. Adepts in the art, like Mr Seddon, can hold an audience for four hours at a stretch and maintain ; his reputation as a parliamentary leader by simply dishing up the same old political olla potlrula in a slightly diversified form. Mr Seddon believes in Party Government, because he knows that he would cease to be the power in the laud he now i 3 were it abolished. With the abolition of parties, political excitement would die out, and men of Mr Seddon's stinip would no longer tickle the ear and trade upon the credulity of the mob, who, in the majority of instances, notwithstanding their " political activity," cannot give an intelligent reason for the faith that is in them. Mr Seddon's speech was mainly a defence of the past legislation of his Government, and of his own individual acts, including the story of— " How I jumped the Premieiship," — though that was not quite the title he gave it. As a ministerial address the speech does not compare favorably with that delivered by the Colonial Treasurer at Auckland, theother day, which was really lucid and instructive to an exceptional degree. One small item in the Premier's address, however, shows which way the ministerial cat jumps with regard to the tariff. There is to be no remission of duties on the necessaries of life. The bulk of Mr Seddon's constituents who are of the working class, and who have derived no benefit from the legislation of the past four years, might well ask when their turn is to come. If a plebiscite had been taken at Hokitika last week on the question " remission of duties or no remission," an overwhelming verdict for remission would have been recorded. But the political sorcerer has spoken and his audience unanimously ratified the ukase of the antocrat that they shall have no remission of their fiscal burdens. Verily, our " political activity " and mobility are indeed marvellous.