Sir Walter Buller on Seddon and Stout.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 206, 4 March 1896, Page 2

Sir Walter Buller on Seddon and Stout.

During an interview with a reporter down South the other day, Sir Walter Buller is reported by the Tuapeka Times to have said : — •* I intend to stand against all comers for the Otaki seat, Palmerston North. I feel pretty certain of election ; but, of course, it does not always do to count your chickens before they are hatched. ! In politics, as in horse-racing, the un- ! expected not infrequently happens. If i my candidature, however, is successful, i it is not likely that I shall be fonnd ' fighting under Sir R. Stout's banner. ( You ask if I prefer Stout to Seddon ? I would not like to answer that qiß^Kion off haud. Iv many respects is Stout's superior ; in others, fils equal ; and in others again, he falls below the standard. For example, Seddon, according to my idea, stands head and shoulders above Stout as a leader ; he has a better manner, a more kindly disposition, and a knack of drawing men towards him, whom Stout would allienate or repel. Seddon is a bluff, jovial, hearty fellow ; full of life and energy ; oue who meets a difficulty fairly and squarely, and rarely fails to overcome it. He is intensely practical, and, nofc like Stout, has few if any fads. He can see throngh a brick wall as far as any man, and he is just as ready to seize upon an opportunity and make the most of it as the smartest and most wide awake who have identified themselves with the politics of New Zealand. With tbe masses he is more popular than Stout. Of the two, the latter is the greatest statesman, but statesmanship, you knov, r , is a quality that does not always weigh heavily with the masses. Personally, I haye a very deep regard for Seddon — indeed, the more I am in contact with him the more I admire his great natural abilities and the deeper regard I haye for his personal friendship."