Review of Rerieivs, l/S/06. 



RICHARD JOHN SEDDON : A MEMORY. 



By R. a. Loughnan, Wellington, X.Z. 



\V h e n 

 Richard 

 J oh n Sed- 

 d o n first 

 took his seat 

 in the New 

 Zeal a n d 

 House of 

 Representa- 

 tives he at- 

 tracted a 

 good deal of 

 a 1 1 e n t ion. 

 He was a 

 splendid 

 specimen 

 of Anglo- 

 Saxon man- 

 hood : tall, 

 brawny 

 and brainy. 

 There was 

 ability in 

 every line of 

 his ■ shapely 

 h ead : his 

 clear blue 



Fnt' Liina\] 



eye was 



The Late Mr. Seddon. fcarl eSS, 



geniality and shrewdness gave characteristic expres- 

 sion to his features, and there was determination 

 and strength in ever)- line of face and figure. Brisk 

 and breezy withal, he quickly became popular in 

 the House. In speech he was rough, inclined to ver- 

 bosity ; men who did not stop to analyse predicted 

 that he would develop into a bore. Others re- 

 marked that all his best efforts and all his fine 

 gifts were devoted to local matters. But one da\, 

 about a year after his first appearance, he de- 

 livered a speech in which he handled the doctrines 

 of the Liberal party of the time with understand- 

 ing and skill. Sir George Grey, the Liberal leader, 

 was seen to leave his place at its close and cross 

 the floor to lay a paternal hand of approval on the 

 bioad shoulder of the man from the West. Later it 

 was known that the veteran had caused a precis to 

 be made, and had telegraphed 200G words of the 

 same at his own expense to all the Liberal papers 

 of the colony. Soon after that it was discovered that 

 the Western man had a wonderful knowledge of the 

 business of Parliament, could quote at need many 

 precedents, and had the decisions of " Mr. Speaker '' 

 at his fingers' ends. Enquir\' ensued as to what 



this man had been in his own country and what he 

 had done there. It was found that he had held 

 everv local government office in the p)ower of his 

 fellow-countrvmen to confer upon him. A few 

 years he had led the sturdy life of the mining camps, 

 and in one wav and another proved himself a iiian 

 among, men — an expression meaning much among 

 the strong, restless, enterprising, courageous ner- 

 sonalities who people the goldfields of all countries. 

 He btgan that life in 1866 at the age of twenty- 

 one. In 1869 he had acquired a reputation 

 throughout the Coast for manliness, fair dealing 

 and ma.sterful defence of his just rights. He was 

 known, moreover, as an ideal comrade and a formid- 

 able opponent. With the aid of that reputation he 

 went through all the positions open to him, from 

 Road Board member to chairman of committees in 

 the Westland County Council. 



For the next ten years he worked diligently in 

 these public capacities, acquired a familiarity with 

 Parliamentary tactics and usages which made him 

 master of his field, and was recognised as easily 

 the first man " on the CoaBt." The greatness was 

 local, of course, but echoes of it had reached the 

 outer world. Twice, for example, it was found that 

 strangers who had been sent down to contest Western 

 seats (in the House of Representatives) had been 

 easily placed at the top of the poll by the exertions 

 of a power widely and lovingly known as " Dick 

 Seddon." These miracles attracted the notice of 

 Sir George Grey, and when he was appealing to 

 the constituencies in 1879 he determined to secure 

 the services of the said mysterious power for the 

 Liberal party in Parliament. The occasion came 

 with a letter of enquiry from the power as to a 

 suitable member to stand in the Grey interest. The 

 veteran lost no time in naming " Dick Seddon," 

 and thus came about that first appearance in the 

 House which attracted so much attention. 



A few words may be necessary- here as to those 

 Provincial institutions which gave Mr. Seddon his 

 knowledge of Parliamentar)' work. To the mind 

 unversed in the histor)- of this countrv- it will be 

 difficult to understand how Road Boards and 

 County Councils could have taught anyone anything 

 about Parliamentary government. But the Pro- 

 vincial Councils — and the Westland County Coun- 

 cil was one of them — were parliaments in a full 

 sense of the word. Thev made laws, they sat under 

 Mr. Speaker, they studied the precedents of Parlia- 

 mentary government, they were familiar with usages, 

 precedents and rulings extending back into the re- 

 motest times. When these institutions came to the 



