HONORING SEDDON

Taranaki Daily News, 12 June 1922, Page 5

HONORING SEDDON

ON 16TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH. SIR JOSEPH WARD’S TRIBUTE. (By Wire—Special to News.) Wellington, June 10. The friends and relatives of the late Rt. Hon. Richard John Seddon gathered around the Seddon monument, outside the Parliamentary Buildings, this morning to pay a tribute to the memory of the statesman on the sixteenth anniversary of his death. Two laurel wreaths were placed upon the- statue, one from Mrs. Seddon and the members of her family, and the other from the West Coast ■ people. The most conspicuous figure in the gathering was Sir Joseph Ward, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. T. M. Wilford) being also present, and a number of men and women who honored the late Mr. Seddon had braved the weather in order to assist at the commemoration. “We are commemorating the sixteenth anniversary of the death of the late "Right Hon. R. J. Seddon,” said Sir Joseph Ward, speaking from the foot of the monument. “In this country Mr. Seddon will ever be Ternembered as a man who worked -for the people; a great man who, by his own efforts, raised himself to the highest pinnacle that anyone in this country can attain. He was a forceful man, a man of great courage, and above all he was a man ever true to his friends. I had the great honor of being associated with him for many years, and had the opportunity of judging him when the world did not see how he worked and what he was achieving. I can say that I never knew a man more strenuous in effort and more guided by the principles that he placed before himself. “Richard John Seddon was a man who did more to bring New Zealand into touch with the Old World than any man up to that time had succeeded in doing. “We all remember that at the time of the South African war there was no man in this country or in the Empire who did more to concentrate national opinion upon the necessity of success in that war than he did. That was the beginning of the cementing of the scattered portions of the Empire, in the sense that a true realisation began to reach some of the people in the. Old Country that they had a duty to the outlying portions of the Empire, while in this country, and the other colonies, there grew a consciousness of the fact that the solidarity of the Empire was essential. He is remembered as a very great imperialist. “The humane side of his character was revealed in various directions. The records of this country show that although he was a big man, and a courageous fighter who never turned his back upon his opponents, he yet endeared himself to the men and women of this country. His resourcefulness was demonstrated in every task to which he placed his hand. “The beauty of his home life was one of his bright characteristics, and I wish, on behalf of thousands of people in this country, to convey sincere good wishes to Mrs. Seddon and the mem- [ bers of her family. I assure them that Iwe regard this little gathering as a I just tribute to a man who won admiration and affection, even from those who differed from him—a man who was a great imperialist and a great friend of the people.”