The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1901. THE PREMIER'S RECORD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 88, 3 May 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1901. THE PREMIER'S RECORD.

We fce'ieva we are correct in saying that people of all khades of poli ical opinion will unite in congratula'ing the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon en holding the senior position iu resp«ct ©f length of office of any Premier in the British drpendenciti. On Wedte-day, the let of May, Mr. Seddon completed his eighth year as Premier of N*w Z.aland and ovsr ten yea r s continuous gjrvice as a Minister of the Crown; Of the ekven Premiers who attendtd the late Queen's Jubilee in 1897, Mr, Seddon and Sir Wilfred Lmrier are the only two whs bare remained (u<ttiauously in office, and Mr. Seddon has the additional honour of being the only member of the House of Reprt'entatives who his htld Lis seat continuously Moce the general elec'ion of 1879. Mr, SedJon has also practically r»presented the same electorate, although tho name has been changed, for 21 years, during 24 sessions of Parliament ; before that tian hj» had attained considerable clebri'y as a member of several local bsdie«. Al' hough throughout his long public career Mr. Seddon Kas been a m<in of robust opinior s, very determined in the prosecution of whaV he believed to b» right and very emphatic in hisdenunc ; ationof what he believed to be wrong, we do not believe he ha' a single personal enemy iu the colony. Although, natural'y, his political opponents would be glad to shorten his administration, every colonist must feel proud of the steadfastness of public opii ion ard the loyalty of the people to what is admit'fdlya people's Governmen', because it shows an appreciat'on of the 'responsibilities and power which the universal suffrage has placed in their hands. Mr. Seddon's record a« a Minis'or of Oiown is probably on*) cf the most extraordinary of mode n Generally, before attaining to the high p-sition of Pkmi»r, a p litician occupies a leading posi'ion in the House and in the 1 country. In Mr. Seddon's case he was a comparativily unkcown member of j the Hcuse, ar.d hardly known ou'side of it when he vras chosen .£y the late Mr. Balance as Minister for Public Works, on the resignation of the late Sir Hariy Atkinson, after the general elections cf 1890. Mr. Ballance, who never made a mistake in his selection of men, h-dd the highest opinion! of Mr. Seddon. We remember htar-| ing him reply to one he was expressing bis surprise at Mr. Seddon's inclusion in the Ministry in the following prophe'ic words: " Do not make any wißtike as regards Mr. Ssdd jn. Under his rough exteriir he conceils a genjlenefs and kindliness of disposition equalled by few, and as regards ability he is head and shoulders above an> man in the House. You ffiatk my wordp, nl hough I may cot live to setit Mr, Seddi n will hold the bighes' position possible in the Government. He ; s a man that is gaing to leave his mark cn this country and I consider myself fortunate in securing him as a member of my

Ministry." Mr. Seddon soon showed his met'.le by bringing down a strong public works policy, and the newspapers which had ridiculed bis ircluMoo in tv-e Ministry began to speak of him as the strong man of the Ministry, Oil the lamented dea*h of his Mr, Ballanee, he was called to the Premiership arcd in that p sit'on shown an obi i'.y, a grasp of great public quesions and a statistic ship have gained him a world wide repu'ation. On the retirement of the Hod. J. G. Ward from the position Of Colonial Treasurer, Mr. Seddon ag*in cami to the rescue and practically at a moment's notiea took over a department which had always be?n cousidered to require special training, and be completely surprised every one by his knowledge and gr.isp of the financial position of the c lony, and the statesmanlike budget he brought down. In like manner he took over the Defence Department, and his scheme of colonial and Imp ml defence is recognised by the greatestj mili ary and nwal experts as perf,cMy found, and one which mus 1 ; sooner or later te adopted, Few men bave had greater difficulties to surmount than Mr. SeJdon. Independently of beiog largely self-educated, as soon as he assumed the load J ) ship of the Liberal party and the championship of the masses be beeima the object of ha'reel of the classes, no money was spared t > damage bim and his colleague l !. A subsidised pr«ss by abusa and wilful misrepresentation did all it was possible to do against the Liberal causa. Mr. Sedd in boldly took the platform; and rbfuted their culumriies and in three successive elections came out triumphantly. All sorts of evil was to befall the co'ony, capital was to flee to ,nior.< favoured lands. Need'e s to Fay, a l ] these predictions have been falsified and the c louy was never mora prosperous than it is to day. Wlr n the Libaral administration c.ime into offic the cridit of the colony wasso'oT tint money was unobtainable, whe'eao now h?ilf a million is raised in the colony itself without an effor\ A great deal bas been eaid end wri.ten i awarding Mr. Seddon's accession to the Premi-r----shtp on the death of Mr. Billanoe, ir S eid of Sir Robirt Stout As one who was a goad deal with Mr. Ballanee during his last illness the writer of this article h in a portion to say that Mr. Ballanee repeatedly expreisrd bis pleasure at the ali i y ind tact displayed by Mr. Stddon as Acting Premier, and on more tlnu cne occasion referred to bim as his successor. One of the most pie sing features of Mr. iSeddoa's administra'ion hns been the 1 yal'y and ability of the Premier's colleigues. In spi'e of statement to the contrary the whole of the Mini .try has wo-kei loyally and well together. In congratulating Mr. •'■ eddca on the proud pisi'.ioT be holds we feel that wt are only echoing the feelings of the whole pfoplo of New in »x----pressing tha hope that the Premier may long be spared to give bis s-;r> icas to this great cdouy.