Manawatu Herald [Established Aug. 27, 1878.] THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1904. The Premier.

Manawatu Herald, 24 March 1904, Page 2

Manawatu Herald [Established Aug. 27, 1878.] THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1904. The Premier.

Mb Seddon has, perhaps, never been in greater form than during the last few months. Those kind critics who prophesied his approaching dissolution, and saw indications of fading powers and slackening grip, must surely have been confounded by the energy and determination which he has exhibited in the course of his southern campaign. He has covered almost every district and electorate in the South Island. He has speechified and harangued, received deputations and inspected railways and bridges, and has been feted and banqueted until the record of the tour reminds one of those heroic statesmen of Georgian times who were equally remarkable at the counsel board and the festive table, and whose constitutions had no need of sleep or rest. Nor has the tour been one of pleasure only. Mr Seddon knows the value of his personality. He knows quite well for how much it counts in the success of his party and of his measures. He has taken care over the length and breadth of one half of the colony to come into personal contact with the

electors, to exhibit his zeal for their welfare, and his practical interest in the progress of their industries. It may be all very cheap, this tour of the electorates, but it has ■ a quite incalculable effect, and Mr Seddon knows perfectly well that it is worth more to him than if ho had all the newspapers in the country singing his praises. The contrast between the Premier’s methods and those of the leader of the Opposition are most marked. Mr Massey has addressed a meeting or two in the Auckland district, and he has had a banquet tendered to him by hia friends and admirers. But the country knows him not. Sir William Russell has, at one time or another, spoken in most of the centres of the colony, and he has made friends wherever he has gone. Mr Massey, who has just been appointed to fill the position which Sir William Russell formerly occupied, has not considered it worth his while to make the acquaintance of the electors outside his own district. Yet now is the time when that is most necessary in the interests of the party he represents. The country wants to know who it is that the Opposition have selected to lead them, It wants to find out for itself what manner of man he is. It wants to see him and to judge for itself. That is one ordeal.which apolitical leader must face. It is an ordeal which Mr Massey must not shrink from if he hopes for success; It is particularly important at the present moment that he should get into personal relations with the electorates, because it so happens that for the first time for some years the two parties are divided on a question of principle which appeals to almost the whole population of the country - the question of freehold v. leasehold. Mr Massey has clearly a chance to score on this question if he goes the right way about it. But we can only say that he appears to us to show small comprehension of the methods of political warfare if he does not realise that something more is to be done than to make a few speeches in Parliament and to acquire the reputation of being a good fellow among his friends in the House.