THE LATE MR SEDDON.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8160, 18 June 1906, Page 5

THE LATE MR SEDDON.

ARRIVAL OP THE OSWESTRY \ GRANGE. | A MOST] MOURNFUL AND IM- < PRESSIVE SCENE.. ] By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, June 17. ;' 11. M.S. Encounter, which went J out again at 5 o'clock to meet the ( Oswestry Grange, failed to find her, t the steamer arriving in stream t shortly after 10 o'clock. * , She anchored there, and was joined by the Tutanekai, which took oat £ the Premier and members of the late ( Mr Seddon's family in Wellington. It wa«» 11.30 before the ship came up to the wharf, midnight striking just as the Oswestry Grange was tied up. Members of the Ministry, and of Parliament, vent aboard to see the body, which lay in the ssloou. The expression on the face was peaceful and very lifelike. l Mrs Seddon and family, who t were very much went t ashore shortly afterwatds. ( More than an hour was occupied in the difficult work of putting ( the body in the outer coffin, and 1 moving it to the gangway, the ] whole weighing nine hundred « weight. ( About 1.30 o'olook twelve Artil- 1 lerymen went aboard to aofc aa ' bearers, and the body was carried down to the wharf, the Premier (the Eon. Hall-Jones) preceding. < All stood bareheaded, and a group ' of officers of the military staff, and ' H.M.S. Pioneer standing at salute. , The coffin was*' covered with the New Zealand Ensign, and the hearse with the Union Jack, At the barriers of the wharf there I was a crowd of one or two thousand i people, who had waited four or five hours. They reverently parted to let the hearse pass, and followed silently to the Ministerial residence in Molesworth Street H.M.S. Encounter, which had returned to port in response to auwireless message from the Pioneer, fired a salute of 20 guns as the body left the wharf, the Post Office bell tolling. dt the same time. The remains will be interred at Wellington on Thursday at 2.30 p.m. THE HOUSE Ol<' COMMONS. LONDON, June 15. Some suprise is expressed at Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman not asking the House of Commons to express its regret at the death of Mr Seddon. ENGLAND'S TRIBUTE, A MEMORIAL SERVICE IN ST. PAUL'S. A few flays ago a suggestion was mode <: that a special service in memory of the late Premier might be held in the historic St. Paul's Cathedral,. London. On Saturday morning the Hoc. Mr Hall-Jones received the following cablegram from Sir Joseph Ward, who is in London t—"Happy to tell you that a memorial service has been arranged for Tuesday in St. Pauls." Received June 17, 4.20 p.m. LONDON, June 16. The memorial service will be ueld at noon on Tuesday.-

CHEAP STEAMER PARES. DUNEDIN, June 16. The Union Company has deoided to issue return tickets at single fares for Mr Seddon's funeral, available for a week. This only applies to members of Trades and Labour Councils and Labour organisations. DUNEDIN, June 16. The Hillside workers to the number of 250 subscribed sixpence each foi the purchase of a wreath. The Dunedin Telegraph and Telephone Service made a similar contribution for a like purpoae.

HIS LAST VOYAGE. A REVERIE ON THE PASSING OF THE PKEMIER. OUTWARD BOUND. Sunset and evening star, And one olear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar When I put out to sea. There bad been oeasolesa wanderings too and fro, and ever-accumu-lating work piled high upon thedesk and in the restlesß brain of tbe Prime Minister. Tbe first session of a new big witb possibilities, 'was rapidly approaching, and the tinia tor preparation was all too short. Bui; still there oaine the. calljfor the personal presence, and good-natured J habit bad made it impossible for this chief of a great political clan to say "No" to bis henohmen, wherever they might be or however bumble their position. How to escape it all? The sea. There stretohed the realm of solitude i that would' soothe tbe troubled spirit, shut oat importunate intruders, and conduce to that uninterrupted concentration of thought that I was so essential, to the working out of the Great Idea of the Humanist. Many of tbe great men who have; added important pages to tbe nistory of nations, whose work has had enduring effects upon their own age and upon posterity, have,

in the stressful periods of their <' lives, been unconscious of the full effeot of their activities upon themselves. Each, in his masterfulness, has been to himself [guide, philosopher, and friend—and each his own worst enemy. They work, "not because the night is coming, but because work has become an uncontrolled habit. Too late they seek respite and the journey which should mean a renewal of health, becomes a last voyage. And so this great Englishman, with the Great Idea remembered a cell from the Common wealth. The remembrance was opportune; he would make a neighbourly oall, would have an interchange of ideas, would bind more tightly the ties of kinship.—and, above all, he would have, if only for a few days, the solace of the sea. There was keenest pleasure in the very thought! There was peace and a great joy in the Voyage of the Outward Bound. HOMEWARD BOUND, But suoh a tide as moving seems asleep, . Too full for sound and foam, When that whiob drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. The sea had not disappointed the voyageur. There had been undis turbed rest, peaoeful communings, undistraoted thinkings, and only the work that was a pleasure to attack. Then came the added tonic of a new nation's welcome. Here was absolute appreciation of tho great endeavours, to do things! It came as the wine of life, without any lees. Heartiness was expected, but thiß was right royal recognitionjoy exuberant. Was it to be expeoted that he would not drink deeply of this free-flowing spirit of the times? -Was ther°> hint or danger signal as he passed along the line? Perhaps; but still there was work, and work, and still more work. After the feast came the discussion.! of subjects that be would not willingly let die. He had only forsaken work to do more work. And then there came the great longing again for the sea and for home. Was there never to be rest? Oh, to be home again—that was God's Own Country 1 Kia Oral And so he shaped Mb course towards the Way of the Homeward Bound. CROSSING THE BAR. Twilight and evening bell, ! And after that the dark! And t may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark i Onoe more the faoes turned to wards the sea; but even the sea failed to charm. Homel that was now the moot desired haven. By his side were: wife and son and daughter and servants and workbut Home was where heart and thought were. Work and yet more work. The rashf ulness and restlessness of life had kept the mighty foroe going; but now came the back* wash of life's exciting, rushing, uplifting stream. "I am going to God's Own< Countryj "he advises a kindred spirit, and his thought etrick truer than he knew. Or did he know? Did his own throbbing brain and pulsating heart give premonition of the Last Voyage? No one knows. But a great weariness must have lain upon his soul, and heart and mind. As the poet Tennyson had written, the voyageur bad seen the "sunset and evening star," and had beard .the "one clear call for me." If home, tho much/desired, whb far off or near at hand, the home-oall found a'responße in the affectionate and heart - reaching cry, "Oh, Mother!" 'The weary head bad found a last resting-place which is the greatest symbol of home; and the ; spirit had taken its final flight on the ' Last Voyage of the Homeward Bound. ,For though from out onr bourne of time and plaoe The flood may bear me far, 1 hope to see my Pilot face to face When £ have Crossed the bar. —Evening Post.

I" A PEN PICTURE. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES. The Auckland Herald publishes some interesting reoolleotions of Mr Seddon, supplied by a correspondent. Mr Seddon's acquaintance with literature was 'exceedingly limited. Be read few books, and it was a matter of astonishment to his friends that one who read so little should know so much, lhere ia a Btory told that be was only onoe seea in the Parliamentary Library reading a book, and a member, anxious to learn what work could have engaged bis attention, waited until he had put it down and gone .away, when he discovered that it was a book recounting the exploits of pirates on the Spanish main. But by. some means or another Mr Seddon had managed to piok up a ißrge amount of miscellaneous knowledge. He was a voracious reader of the newspapers—or rather suota 1 cuttings from the newspapers as his secretaries and his devoSed daughters brought under bis gnotioo The whole press of the colony was carefully gone through by these zealous assistants, and whatever was thovqht likely to be of use to bim out and preserved, and latterly this practice was adopted in the. case of his vast correspondence, all bis letters being opened by one of his daughters, and only those requiring his personal attention being submitted to him. 1 This arrangement he used to say disappointed those vicious correspondents who frequently sent him abusive letters, for he never saw them. i Mr Seddon had wonderful powers of organisation, and a remarkable aptitude for rapidly grasping the i essentials of any matter. When he, desired to master any question he gave Instructions that all data bearing on it should be carefully pre- > pared and laid before him. He then studied it as a barrister studies his brief, and in a, short time he had all the faots at his finger ends. The promptitude with which Mr Seddon was accustomed to act was well illustrated on the oocasion of : the surrender of • Gronje, the Boer general, during the Boer war. When the news of that important 1 even tj reached the colony, in the form of a message from the Agent-

General to the Premier, Mr Seddon was sfcayinsr at the Star Hotel in Auckland. It waa late at night when the cable message arrived, and Mr Seddon waa in. bed reading, as was his usual habit. He immediately got up, and only waiting to throw an overcoat over bis shoulders, went downstairs to the telephone. He first ranc up Government House, the Governor then being in residenoe in Auckland, but as all of the household had retired for the night, he failed to get any reply. He next put himself into communication with the officer in charge of the telegraph office, and dictated a long message to his Excellency, acquainring bin with the nature of the news which he had just received. This message, Mr Seddon directed should be sent up by special messenger to Government House, with instructions that the door bell should be rung until some one was aroused. He then dictated a message to all chairmen of school boar is and sqhool committees, recommending that the children attending the public schools should* be granted * half holiday in commemoration of the event. Ido not recollect how many other messages Mr Seddonf dictated, but I know he stood at the telephone for over an hour. He then ordered some wine to be brought in, and still in his pyjamas and overcoat, proposed the toast of "Bobsi" which was drunk with great enthusiasm by about half a dozen guests in the hotel, who had been invited by'Mi Seddon to join Mm, among them being the late Mr Robert Brough, the actor. , MEMORIAL SERVICES IN MASTEKI'ON. METHODLSTC BURGH. ' Ac the Methodist Church, the services yestorday were witnesses to the sense of ldss and bereavement experiencedbyjthe people. The Church was heavily draped, and the spirit of the services was expresaive of the feeling of universal sorrow, la the morning the Rev. Mr Buttle immediately before the sermon a-iid that he would there outy refer to the great loss which had 'be'eu sustained by the colony audHha Empire in the death of New Zealand's greatest leader. Mr'Seddon .had filled a large place in the'bistory and lifo of the colony, and now that he was jjoue it left a great blank which would be (Jiffi* oalt to fill. HeVqommehded the bereaved widow and sorrowing ohil dren. to the prayerful sympathy of the congregation.

At the evening service Mr Battle , dealt more fully with the personal 1 «jharaoterlssio.3 of. Mr §eddon ; and the outstanding features of his j remarkable career. A great man , 'had fillen. No one man bad filled so j large a place in the Britain beyond I the.Sea 1 , as the deceased statesman, and very fen had accomplished so many political reforms in so short a period as he bad. He was a born leader of men, and consequently ! was able by the influence of his powerful will to gain that assistance from others which was necessary to j pass his legislation through Parlia- ! inent. .He was mauterful, and brushed away difficulties in a mar-, vellously easy fashion, and was j thus able to accomplish his ob- \ jeots. ' In many ways, he was New ' Zealand's greatest leader. Sir Geo. Grey, was idealistic, and prophetic in his utterances. Mr Seddon was a man of action. This quality was inherent in his nature and pushed him to the front. He had a remarkable gift of presoience. He possessed the faculty of forecasting developments of public opinion. Frequently, he stpted it to be his work to discern the 'trend of the mind and will of the people, and then to rut that into legislative enactment. He was a great worker. Every position of responsibility brought its round of toil and labour. The late Premier bad many responsibilities and consequently had much labour, tn all his labour, he manifested a splendd enthusiasm. Mr Seddon's Imperialism was a noted feature in his great public ntteranoes. His services to the. Empire were conspicuous, and he Bought to impress the people of the colony with the greatness of forming parts of the British Empire. The preaoher made an earnest appeal to the young people present togseek the welfare of their country and the people as earnestly as their great loader had,done. During the services Miss N. Daniell sang the solo "Crossing the Bar." The anthems, "Bock of Ages" and "Be Near Ua O Father," were sung by the ohoir. The Orchestra played the Dead March. Hymns suitable to the ocoasion were' sung.

S. MATTHEW'S CHURCH. A good muster of the Masterton Rifle' Volunteers attended Ohuroh parade at S. Matthew's Ohuroh yesterday morning, 1 ander Captain Charters and Lieutenants Morton and Briprhting. I'be Masterton Band esoorted them under the leadership of Bandmaster P. W. G, MoLeod. The Ohuroh was very fall, and the whole service was a tribute to the memory of the late Premier. Mr Rupert Sutton played the "Dead March in Saul," and "Oh Rest in the Lord," from the Elijah as voluntaries, and the hymns were ohosen specially for the service. The Vioar took as his text, Prov. XXII. 29, and dwelt on some aspects ot the Premier's life. In the evening the anthem was Woodward's beautiful setting of the hymn "The Radiant Morn hath passed Away," and Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar," set by Piocolotmni, was most expressively rendered by Mrs E. Rawson. The "Dead March in Saul" was again played, and the service closed with the hymn "A'bide With Me." AT ST.\ PATRICK'S CaURCH. 3 After the 11 o'clock Mass at St. Patrick's Church yesterday morning, the Rev. Dean MoKenna made sympathetic reference to the death of the late Premier. He stated that the news had come aa a great shook to all. It was only right that the Catholics should do something to express their feelings oi such an

occasion. He had taken it upon himself to send on behalf of tbe congregation a message of sympathy to Mrs Seddon and family, and be was sure tbe congregation would agree with the action taken by him. To mark the respeot with which tne late Premier was held, he had arranged that on the day of the funeral a ceremony befitting the occasion would be held in the Church, and all the congregation were invited to attend. Personally, he had always held Mr Seddon in the highest esteem, and tbe first Mass that be had said after the news of the death was received had been offered for Mr Seddon. His private prayers had also been offered in that direction. They could not help feeling sad at the great loss that had befallen the colony through the death of Mr Seddon. The speaker then went on to deal with the geneious treatment the Catholics had always reoeived at the hands of Mr- Seddon. In the midst of his pblitioal labours he had always been able to find time to attend to little matters in connection with tbe Church in New Zealand. There was hardly a parish in the colony tbat Mr Seddon nad not done something for, and the Catholic people had always had a large share of his kindly considerations. Handel's "Dead Maroh in Saul" was played on tbe organ by Miss Dupre, all the congregation standing. SALVATION ARMY. There was a large attendance at the prayer meeting at the Salvation Army Barraoks last evening. Adjutant Powiok delivered a short address, touching on the death of the late Premier. The speaker, in the course of bis address, said tbat it was only fitting that a few words should be said in reference to the death of Mr Seddon. "Ha was," sail the Adjuiant, "a great man, a friend of the working and of the poor. He. was a friend, also, of the Salvation Army, and an admirer of the Army's social work." The late Mr Seddon had been the first to welcome General Booth to New Zealand. The .Adjutant made reference to the manner iu which the late Premier had entertained General Booth. He had been asked to visit Parliament Blouse, and further, the. Premier bad invited the General to bis own, 2rivat9hou.se. Th.o offloerg pf the Salvation Arm? on t~? Weßt Coast had often found the lute Mr Seddon in company with. his wife visiting the humblest of people and partaking of tea with them, in,conclusion, the Adjutant made reference to tbe late Premier's last telegram before leaving Australia, tbe text of which was that he was "leaving for God's Own Country." He trusted that Mr Seddon had in the truest sense gained that country. The address was listened to with great interest, and at the conclusion the anthem "No , Tears in Heaven," was sung. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. The Rev. Jameß Paterson, Senior ! Minißter of St. John's Wellington, at f he morning servine, preached an appropriate sermon from I. .Peter 1., 24—"A1l flesh is' grass, and all tbe glory of man as the flower of grass" —and at the close made the following referenoe to the death of Mr Seddon. "I have chosen this subject to-day as one specially appropriate to that sad event which has oast a dark, deep shadow over this land, and sent a thrill of regret and sorrow throughout the colony, and far beyond Its bounds even throughout the British Empire. i refer, of oourse, to the 'death of our Premier the Right Hon. Mr Seddon. The cablegram that conveyed tbe &ad <■ news on Monday last gave a shock to us ail. We oould hardly realize tbat he, of whose sayings and doings we had tbat morning been reading in tbe papers, was now no more. It is right that an event so startling, and so deeply and solemnly affecting, should be taken notice of from the pulpit. All nationalities have been represented in the tributes paid. And the natives, too, of these Islands are mourning for him whom they regarded as a. Father to them. Indeed, it is remarkable the sensation which the death of Mr Seddon -has caused iu this and in other lands. It is gratifying.to find that all the leading politicians iu the colony—the reprseentatives of all parties—and indeed those in tbe other oolonies and throughout the Empire, have sunk their differences whatever they might be and have spoken and written of the deceased statesman with impartiality, and with a hearty appreciation of his great abilities and great services to the State and to his oouutryman. £ll this, 1 think, proves that Mr Seddon was r a very remarkable man; and that by his great qualities and wise statesmanship he won tbe admiration, not only of bis fellow colonists, but of his fel-low-subjects throughout the King's Dominions. Unquestionably he was a man of great force of character, and strength of will. A man of weaker character or of lesser gifts could not have foroed his way forward to tbe front as he did, or held tbe position be held or done the work he did. And with all he was a man of 4<"ge and generous nature—warm in his friendships and affections, and kindly in his dispositions. He was, also, a true patriot—a lover of his adopted country. But his regards and his sympathies were not confined to New Zealand; they extended to the whole Empire. He was a thorough Imperialist. It was his desire and ambition to see the Mother Country and all her oolonies and dependencies thoroughly united. This is not tbe place, nor am 1 qualified to speak of his legislation. Only this, I may say, tbat it was often said he promoted olass legislation. Well, that may be, but it was legislation to benefit the blesses who were most needy—the poorer classes—and the women and children who were often left unprotected and unoared for. it was truly humane legislation—that he wished it to be; that he sought to make it; and on that he rested his claim to be gratefully remembered. This crave, strong man has passed away from amongst us, and

I has left the colony, and, indeed, the Empire, the poorer. And *bat ' a Joss and what a sorrow this i* to bis bereaved widow and family.. Deeply do we sympathise with ber and ber bereaved family, and pray that the God of all grace may be their comfort and stay." In the evening Mr Peterson aaain made reference to the death of the Premier, and at the close of the service the organist played the "Dead March, ,T all the congregation standing. MASTERTON BAND. There was a largo attendance of the public at the Park yesterday afternoon, when the Master ton Municipal Urass Band rendered a saared programme of music out of respect to the memory of the late Premier. The followinw were the items:—-"Funeral March" (Beethoven), "Latona" "Garland of Flowers," "The Last Judgment," and "The Dead Maroh in Sbul" (Handel).