R. J. SEDDON.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 June 1919, Page 4

R. J. SEDDON.

(N.Z. Times.)

I Thirteen years ago the news of the death of the m st remarkable j Prime Minister in the annals of New | Zealand tell upon tliis couritty like |an eclipse. There ivas glooln over all the land. Men found it difficult to believe that the stieugtii which had been so prodigally exerted for thirteen years—it is a coincidence that his anniversary boars the same number as the years of llie historic Premiership—had gone for ever. They showed tlieir sorrow by recounting his deeds. dwelling on his personality, recalling the events of his career, and it was a career worth recalling, it had beguii in the obsfc'UiitV ot ;I The Coast,” which is tiie name for a great school of men, iri vVhicti the ihaiiiy Virtues were developed, and nothing else counted iti the way of distinction. lii that school the institict of the race for self-government had toll play. Tne then were for law ahd Older. The terms are decried in some quarters to-day, and in others misused. But the men of ** The Coast ” knew their real value, judg-d them indispensable, aud established them by sheer force ot manliness, when magistrates were scarce ami policemen few, and the laws for the most part ill-adapted. But they settled matters on right lines; if ionglily, and as the work of good government grew into smoothness on constitutional lines, the men to do it were found in astonishing numbers, ahd though never a oii'e had been trained, they did it well. Amongst these oiie stood out above liis fellows, and that one was R. J. Seddon. When the constitution got into full swing he was a political ppwer on the Coast, foremost in the Provincial Govern-

ment of his day, aud influencing many an electiou for the House of Representatives. When he entered that House himself, the obscurity of “The Coast” went with htm as a covering cloak, but lie soon threw it off. Firstly, the member for Kuiiiara showed that lie had brought with linn a mastery of Parliamentary procedure second to none. Then it was discovered that the roughness of “ The 1 Coast ” concealed a keen knowledge of men and d strong power of handling them, to say nothing of abilities capable of grappling with the most difficult subjects. The latter quality shone lil-ore and more as the roughness of “Tiie Coast” disappeared. It was said of liini, when pitted against men of wide reading, that he had had one book better than 'any of his contemporaries--the Book of Hamah Nature—aud that he could master aiiy book that occasion required him to know. Of this there was an echo when, having come into his own. he Was busy with the historic discussions that followed the banking crisis, for the men of finance confessed their astonishment at the grasp he displayed of financial questions. That was at the outset of the long, brilliant, and memorable Premiership to which the great qualities he had brought with him out of the obscurity of “The Coast” had . carried him. The struggles of that outset are

historic. There was Homeric fighting in Parliament in those days, and things, if they were talked about, were done. Service unceasing was the Seddon spirit. He reminded one of Napaleon’s frequent call to his secretaries made in the dead of night after days ot prolonged labour: “Gentlemen, let us make good to France the money she pays us to work for her J” with New Zealand—the “God’s Own Country ” of tliis great worker—substituted. Service succeeded service iuitil the African War brought Him to the topmost height of his

career, and placed him at the head of a Unanimous people. New Zealand buried him with high honour. His memory is still green, and his example is witli us. It is fresh without lingering, and it is strong with longing. The country longs for that strength, that clearness of objective, that firmness of purpose, that knowledge of men and its attendant power of persuasion, that tactical skill, that presence of mind in difficulties, that readiness of robust speech. Above all it longs for the instinct of law and order with constitutional recognition, which made Seddon the first in the famous school of manhood on

The Coast,” and carrying him to the Premiership of New Zealand kept him in it until he had a unanimous public at his back. It was a unanimous public in many things, but he left behind a party unanimous in all things. He fashioned that party out of two great.elements and held it together firmly through the shocks of the storms of thirteen years. His memory remains, but the elements he united have fallen asunder. His memory is hououfed yet in the crisis of our fate which, as Sir James Carroll—one ol the strong men who stood by his side throughout his great thirteen years —said yesterday so well, hovers between order and disruption. The remains of the elements he united so strongly will be the highest honour we can pay to his memory —au honour that will perpetuate its freshness.