THE PREMIER IN ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 202, 30 August 1897, Page 2

THE PREMIER IN ENGLAND.

THE END OF THE JUBILEE.

(From Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, July 16.

WITH THE G.O.M,

TWO HOURS AT HAWARDEN.

Sir Wilfred Laurier, Mr Reid, and Mr Seddon, ciceroned by Lord and Lady Carrington, left Euston at 9 on Saturday morning, for Chester, en route to Hawarden and Llanrwst. Distinguished tourists are common in the first-named ancient city, and their arrival attracted comparatively little attention. They drove at once in landaus to the Duke of Westminster's palace at Eaton Hall, and looked over the house, picture galleries, gardens, and stud farm. The family not being in residence this; took but a short time, and a move was then made for Jlawarden. Here1 they found the park full of the picnic parties who come over from all parts of Wales and Lancashire for Saturday afternoon, and whose crowning glory it is to catch sight, if only for a moment, of Mr Gladstone. The G.O.M. was—though looking all his four-score years—in great form and took the lead in the entire proceedings, Mrs Gladstone, his daughters, and indeed everyone except Miss Dorothy Drew, being quite subsidiary. Mr Morley, of the "Daily News," who was present as a personal friend, says that after an inspection of the library, the guests appeared on the terrace, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Mr Gladstone bringing up the rear, and took afternoon tea under a shady old hawthorn. The visit was a great success and it is safe io say that no incident in their experiences in this country will leave a deeper impression. The pleasure was mutual, and Mr Gladstone was greatly interested in the presence at Hawarden of statesmen who have upheld the Liberal flag in Britaius beyond the sea. Let me say at once, however, that present day politics were entirely excluded from the interchange of ideas at Hawarden. The colonial premiers are the guests of no party, but of the nation, and it was in "this spirit that Mr Gladstone received them. They were impressed by the range and variety of Mr Gladstone's conversation, and by his stories of reminiscence on subjects in which they were specially interested. Mr Gladstone mentioned that it was 62 years since he was appointed under-Secretary for the Colonies, and drawing on his own recollection of events <n which he played no inconsiderable part —though this was a fact he did not mention—he spoke at length on the characteristics of the old colonial system, and on the great reforms introduced therein by Lord John Russell. To Sir W. Laurier, Mr Gladstone spoke of the Hudson's Bay Company, that great trading and exploring corporation whose romantic history still remains to be written. To Mr Seddon, he talked about Sir George Grey, the grand old man of New Zealand. Mr Gladstone warmly congratulated Mr Reid on the success of his free trade policy and declared that he was heart and soul with him. However, I am trenching upon private ground; the conversation throughout was informal and familiar, and not intended for publication. '•" ' ' Sir W. Laurier, himself an accomplished orator, was much struck by the beauty and richness of Mr Gladstone's voice. One and all felt to the full the magnetism and charm of the great statesman. "It is no wonder," said they, "that the man has exercised such great influence over his countrymen." The visitors were much interested in the peaceful and happy domestic circumstances of MiGladstone's life in retirement, but not less by his physical vigour and unfailing mental alertness. The kindness of Mr and Mrs Gladstone, and their evident desire to make the visit pleasant, greatly charmed tho. visitors. They were especially struck by Mr Gladstone's courtesy and consideration in himself accompanying them to the station on fhe termination of the visit. Before the partyleft Hawarden, a photographer took several groups, and the premiers will take copies home as among the most valued souvenirs of Jubilee year. j AT GWYDR CASTLE. j The visit to Mr Gladstone con- j eluded, Lord Carrington conveyed his • visitors by special train along the i Welsh coast to the beautiful Vale of Conway. The whole district was en fete for the occasion, and Llanrwst itself had gone in for extensive decorations and a volunteer escort. Of course, there had to be a speech. The Welshmen presented an address, and Sir Wilfred Laurier replied. As usual, he forgot he must answer for Mr Reid and Mr Seddon as well as himself and was aggressively Canadian. Mr Seddon looked like orating for half an hour if let go. Lord Carrington and Mr Reid,however, wanted their dinners, so the procession moved hurriedly on to Gwydr Castle. Mr Morley says that during dinner national airs and other music were played by one of the best harpists in Wales. Towards the end there was a pleasant surprise by a serenading of choirs and bands outside. The Premiers and their hosts afterwards went out and took the deepest interest in an open-air concert. One choir and band were local to Llanrwst; another choir, entirely composed of miners, came sixteen miles from Festiniog, and is probably the best choir in the Principality. The scene was very striking. The grounds of the castle were filled, owing to the free-and-easy hospitality of Lord and Lady Carrington, with people from all the neighbouring villages. The choirs and bands having sung and played in turn the semi-circle of mountains above the vale was lighted up, an avenue leading from the Castle gardens across the River Conway to the town being hung with innumerable twinkling lamps, while on the mountain tops on the opposite side of the valleys bonfires blazed. The evening was warm and still, and no more romantic setting could be imagined for the music, now passionate,now weird and melancholy, from deep-chested quarrymen. Sir W. Davies, Sir W. Laurier's colleague, himself of Welsh descent, was intensely interested. The leaders of : the choirs were introduced to Sir W. Laurier, who stated that nowhere except among his own French Canadians had he heard such charming national . music. Pressed to award the palm between them, he laughingly added that not even in Canada had he heard : better. At the conclusion of the concert Lord Carrington spoke a few very < felicitous words of thanks to the musicians, and called for .three cheers for

the Queen, which were most heartily : given. Three cheers for Lord Carring- ■ ton and one cheer more for her lady- ; ship brought the proceedings to a i olose, and testified to the esteem in which they are held by the people among whom they have made their home. MR SEDDON'S DOINGS. .Mr Seddon did not get back to town till Monday evening, but no sooner had he snatched a mouthful than he wae off to Shorediteh, where j Mr Lowles, M.P., had called a meet* | ing of his constituents to "welcome the Colonial Premiers," I do notr-as j I've frequently stated — believe in j either Mr Lowles or hia Trade League \ and the New Zealand Premier might : safely have followed the example of the other ten and stayed away from thiEj function, Aa it was he bad the , floor to himself and gave the Southsiders a severe dose of New Zealand, iOn Tuesday morning the Premier was as usual the victim of a aeries of interviews, the number of which im- ■ peratively curtailed their duration to a quarter of an hour. After a very •■ considerable amount of difficulty and more than one call I waa able to . squeeze myself into one of these I quarter-of-an-hour periods. The most i important function the Premiers have been present at since the last of the ] • conferences with the Colonial Office was, of course, their visit to Mr Glad- j ' stone at Hawarden, and on this sub- : . ject Mr Seddon waxed mildly enthu- | • siastic. "Almost the first observation j • that Mr Gladstone made," remarked i your Premier, "was that in 1835 he | ■ was in the Colonial Office —a date be- j fore I was born—and from then on he j • kept himself thorough!}' conversant j • with Colonial affairs." "Our wel- 1 . come," continued Mr Seddon, "was ! particularly warm. You see, all the i • colonies are what would be called in j , i England very advanced Liberal in j . I politics, and this gave the gathering | ;j a different tone to what it under . j other conditions would have had. I , j mean there was a sort of fellow-feel- , j ing in meeting the G.O.M. the head of '. advanced liberalism in the Empire. 'I It was surprising to all of us how Mr ,' i Gladstone had kept in touch with the . i advance of the Colonies, and how well 'j up he was in their geography. He '~ particularly pleased the Right Hon. 'G. H. Ileid by a reference to thj acknowledged beauty of Sydney Har- \ bour, and it will be interesting to I New Zealanders to know that frozen mutton had not escaped his notice. He spoke of Colonial meat as tender '. and of delicious flavour. In refer- ; ring to the expansion of the Empire | beyond the sea, he spoke in glowing ; " terms of Lord John Russell, to whom, | hesaid, the Colonies owe the self- j governing freedom they enjoy. Mr I ' Gladstone also passed commendation 'on one less known, but to whom the ' j Colonies owe a great deal, namely, L j John Robert Godley. He paid a trib- ' jute to the work done by Sir George I ] Grey, and also had a word for the far- ; seeing political aims of Daniel O'Con- ' | nell. We were photographed with j "I Mr Gladstone on the lawn, and the 1 II day that we spent, besides being a • j most pleasant outing, possessed for >: us a significant interest that is somer| what complicated and much easier.to • feel than explain." JI "Did you find the G.O.M. as alert as I reports woflld have led you to supi I j>ose him to be ?" "He certainly is a marvel. His step lis firm, his eye bright, and his voice ' strong and resonant. I can tell you 1 there was not one among us who i would have cared to have tried a fall i with him." THE CONFERENCES WITH THE COLONIAL OFFICE. The Premiers are very naturally . somewhat reticent with regard to the outcome of the conferences with .Mr Chamberlain, Mr Seddon among | i the number, and one cannot help ; taking the view that nothing of importance transpired simply because ' nothing practical was decided on 1 cither at the earlier or at the last of 1 the series, which was on Friday, the Bth inst. However, I popped off the j question on Mr Seddon at what appeared |peared an auspicious moment on : Tuesday. "What was the outcome of ! these conferences ?" The answer I 1 received was very much what experi- ! ence had taught me to expect. "Oh, ■ the conferences were entirely satis- : factory, and I have reasons to believe • that every weight will be given the recommendations made by the various Premiers." However, I patched a few hints : with the information I had previously acquired, and came to the con- • elusion that the tremendously secret confabulations with Mr Chamberlain and the officials of the Colonial Office had three more or less practical outcomes. In the first place ,the ques- • I tion of the investment of trust money Jin colonial securities was thrashed out and put on a decidedly more satisfactory footing than was previously the case. Secondly, the arrangements existing with regard to colonial naval defence remain exactly as they stood before, it being found impossible to better the present agreement, biit the Australasian squadron will be somewhat strengthened. This question is always open to discussion, however, by any of the parties concerned. Thirdly, this Jubilee conference will not be by any means the last hieeting of the Colonial Office and the Premiers I or representatives of. the various colonies. Fourthly and lastly, the great talk of colonial representation in the Imperial Parliament, although approached on all sides, could not be satisfactorily settled. There were rumours that the colonies would be represented by peers in the House of Lords, but this solution is chimerical. New Zealand is, of course, in a very roundabout way now represented in this way, for her late Governor, the Earl of Glasgow, has been raised to the English Peerage, and is entitled to a seat in the House of Lords. On this subject of colonial representation Mr Seddon was more communicative, and he favoured me with his views at length. COLONIAL REPRESENTATION AT HOME. "So the Agents-Geaeral are to sit in ] Parliament as representatives of their : colonies. Are they to have votes?" : The Premier smiled as he replied: : "Nothing of the kind has been settled, \ but representation of some kind is es- ] sential, for at present the ten million 1 inhabitants of the self-governing 1 colonies are disfranchised so far as 1 Imperial affairs are concerned." * "Would you be satisfied with an s Agent-General sitting in the House ' with power to speak upon questions 1 affecting the colonies, but without the 1 right to vote?" 1 "Yes, that would do for a begin- '■ ning. I should be very pleased, for < instance, to see Mr Reeves sitting in t ; Parliament either with or without f voting power. He would at all events 3 be able to - correct publicly such glar- c ing falsities as the statement made by < Mr Digby that colonial mutton pro- i duced hoxTible diseases in its consum- i ers. Of. course, the Agents-General c yould have to be in touch with the £

I colonial executives. It would never ! :do for them to hold views differing j i from those of their Governments, but I i direct representation we must hay j the lack of it entails much confusion, j a great waste of time and energy, and a want of simplicity and directness in | our dealings with the Home Government." "Failing representation by AgentsGeneral in Parliament, what else do you propose?" IMr Seddon intimated that an Im- ! perial Consultative Council, to which ; each self-governing colony could send ; a representative, and at which quesI tions concerning the Empire at large, ■ such as defence, trade, and foreign re- ! lations, could be discussed, would be i the next best thing. And, failing such a Council—which would, of course, be a permanent body—Mr Seddon favours the holding of periodical conferences like those the Premiers have been attending at the Colonial Office. These meetings might be held every three or five years, or when special matters cropped Up. "The details are immaterial." FREIGHTS ON PRODUCE. " Is there any other matter of jnj terest to the colony outside the conI jferences at the Colonial Office ?" "You might mention that as a result :I of representations made we have succeeded in effecting a material reducI tion in the freight on colonial produce ;— a reduction which will mean a very j considerable sum in the pockets of INew Zealand producers." MR SEDDON'S FUTURE MOVEr ; MENTS. ,j. Mr Seddon enjoyed his trip on Sun- . ■ day to Wales. The Premiers at , ! Gwydyr met the mining community, II and their reception was particularly , j warm. "I was, of course, at home in ! the mining district," said the Right ;Hon. Richard, "and coming in contact • j with the miners of the Old World was •Itome an interesting meeting. They ; regarded us as the connecting link ■ with friends and relatives in the colo- ? res." END OF THE JUBILEE. At last the Diamond Jubilee may I be considered fairly over and done with, at least so far as the London ' correspondents of New Zealand pap- | ers are concerned. The Australian '■ premiers have all left the metropolis, most of the Antipodean troops, 1 including the N.Z. Contingent, have 1 said "good-bye" to their temporary ; sweethearts, and on Sunday, Mr and Mrs Seddon with their daughters [ j leave the Hotel Cecil for Paris, en ; route to Naples. 'Tis true we shall ■ I still have with us a grand selection [j of Colonial Bishops, including half- a- . j dozen from New Zealand, but with ( all respect to the cloth, it can be said _ that our clerical visitors have plajred a very indefinite part in the Dia- [ mond Jubilee celebrations. So far as , the great British public is concerned, \ the bishops have been a negligable . quantity. Their comings and goings ! have been unheeded by the multitude , ! and whatever speeches they may have made "nave been to a very great ex- . tent sweetness wasted on desert air. Yes J Bishops notwithstanding, the , Jubilee is now a thing of the past, and many of us are heartily glad that ,it is so. In regard to news of an . Anglo-Colonial character,^ -the past seven weeks have constituted a per- , iod of abundance, the like of which iwe shall not see again. But though the ensuing weekly harvests may be , poor in comparison, one's labour in gathering them in will beinfinjtely less arduous than it ha^' been'during the time of Jubilee, and 1 have j-et to have speech with the London correspondent whose sorrow at parting with the premiers and the troops 'is not largely mingled with feelings of profound thankfulness. \ THE PREMIER'S FINAL TOUR. Afher several fruitless journeys to . the Hotel Cecil in the course of Wednesday and Thursday, I managed to ; get a few minutes conversation with :Mr Seddon last evening. The Pre- : mier was extremely busy with preparations for his departure, and several gentlemen with more or less im- : portant missions on hand were waiting his pleasure, so my time was Btrictly limited. In answer to a query as to his movements since I saw him last, Mr Seddon rapidly related the incidents of his final tour in the Old Country with his wife and daughters. Leaving London on Tuesday last week, the party proceeded to York, where they were entertained by the Lord Mayor, and duly shown the "lions" of ancient Eboracum and neighbourhood. On the following day they proceeded to New-castle-on-Tyne, the Mayor and several of the leading citizens meeting the Premier's party at the station. Having sampled the hospitality of the good people of Newcastle, and viewed the sights of the town, the Premier and his entourage proceeded by the night mail to Scotland, their destination being Annan—or rather the neighbouring hamlet of Ecclesfecb.au the birthplace of Thos. Carlyle and of Mr Seddon's mother, whose family has been associated with the place for centuries. After a couple of! happy days in the neighbourhood of Annan, Mr Seddon took his party over to Belfast. During the brief stay in j the heart of Ireland's commercial life ' the Premier and his wife and daughters lunched with the Lady "Mayoress inspected the famous works of the Belfast Linen Company, and the equally celebrated Rope Works. At the.' latter place Mr Seddon had the pleasure of seeing New Zealand hemp and flax spun into ropes of various thickness, from the ordinary clothes line gauge to cables of from four to six and eight inches in diameter. From Belfast the party proceeded to Dublin, breaking. their journey at Dundalk, where they were very hospitably entertained by relatives of the Rev. Dr. Waters, of Wellington Catholic College. In Dublin Mr Seddon and his family were the guests of the Royal Society, the council of which entertained them at lunch and enabled them" to see the sights of the town rapidly and effectually. The Bank of Ireland, the Zoological gardens, College Green and Trinity College were included in the round, and of course the visitors were driven through Phoenix Park. They were also shown the site where Donnybrook fair used to.be held. The Premier paid a visit to the distillery of Sir John Power and Sons, and the friends of temperance in the colony will be shocked to hear that he did not resist the temptation of his guide to sample the contents of one of the 11,000 casks of whisky stored in the firm's cellars. The evening was spent at the house ' of Mr J. Talbot Power, at Leopardstown, and next day Mr Seddon crossed , to Liverpool, and went thence to St. Helens, to spend a few hours with his , old foreman, Mr Mellings. Mr Seddon enjoyed his brief trip in Ireland immensely, and confesses that though : the hospitality of the English, Welsh and Scotch people to him during his -, stay at Home was almost too great to ■

endure, it was almost exceeded by tha royal treatment he met with in th« sister isle. Q On Tuesday Mr Seddon paid a fly. ing visit to Wigan to meet some of his friends of six-and-thirty years ago, and the occasion was taken ad vantage of by the Mayor (Alderman It. Richards) and members of the County Borough Council to extend to their distinguished guest a cordial welcome. Mr Seddon was met hv Mr J. Wood J.P., Mr G. L. Campbell/ J.P., and others, and was escorted to the Borough Courts and shown I through the Library, etc. Afterwards accompanied by some prominent Wigan gentlemen, the Premier drove through Haigh Park, belonging to the Earl of Crawford, and visited several manufacturing works The party was also entertained to luncheon in the old Council Chamber and the health of Mr Seddon was proposed by the Mayor. The Premier, in responding, assured those present that the residents of New Zealand had always the greatest love and affection for the Mother Country. The New Zealanders were proud to be in a position to say that they belonged to this, .the oldest, the brightest, the most glorious nation upon the face of God's earth today. (Applause.) All the world would see during the Jubilee rejoicings that .we were a powerful combination, and whilst they rejoiced in the joy and sorrowed in the sorrow 6f the Mother Country, the colonists would ever be ready to defend her in that which was right. Whilst imbued with, the utmost loyalty, he must add that oftentimes in the colonies the actions of the rulers of the country were looked upon as being hesitating in character. Everything should be done to bring the Mother Country into closer touch, and to give greater confidence to the colonies. Speaking with reference to trade, he said the British manufacturer did not advance in proportion to the growth of population. In New Zealand they were consumers of products which for many years to come they could not expect to manufacture, and, as was natural, they desired that their kith and kin should reap the advantage thereof.' But what gave him considerable anxiety, was— trade of foreign nations was steadily increasing,' whilst that of the mother country, relatively speaking, was not expanding. It seemed that, so long as as the English manufacturers and mills were running steadily, no thought was taken for the future. No expansion of trade had taken place as it might have done, and now there was talk of finding room for what was termed the surplus population—those for whom employment could not be found elsewhere. Every means ought to be exhausted before we saw our mother country turned into a breeding ground for supplying populations to other countries, even though it was to our own colonies. The mother country, he wished to point out, was not getting what it deserved or what it was entitled to. America had doubled itself. The foreign manufacturers were alive to future development; they had their agents in the colonies, and, instead of being content with steady employment, they were loking forward in a manner that must eventually cause great anxiety to the cotton manufacturers of Lancashire.. In his opinion, it was weU worth the while of Lancashire manufacturers ,to send out agents to the colonies to show the class of products they could turn out, and by that means; counteract foreigncompetition and increase both the prosperity of the mother country and the colonies. Before proceeding 'to Wigan, Mr Seddon was waited upon at Mr Melling's house by Mr H. R. Lacey, the Chairman of the St. Helens' Library Committee, who presented the Premier with a handsomely bound copy, of the Free Library Catalogue, a handsome volume, bearing a splendid view of the Gamble Institute and the following inscription in gold letters on silk : —"County Borough of St. Helens. Presented by the Free Public Library Committee to the Eight Hon. R. J. Seddon, Premier of New Zealand, as a memento of his visit to St. Helens, his native place, upon the occasion of his return to Hngland after an absence of 33 years to represent his country on the occasion of the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. —June, 1597." Mr Seddon arrived back in London' on Tuesday night, and- since then has been busily engaged with preparations for his return to the colony. The accumulation of correspondence whilst he was oh. his tour had not been entirely cleared off last night, and every post brings fresh material for him to work upon. And every hour of the day brings its. batch of callers, many of whom must be seen, if only for a few minutes. ._ > : Yesterday morning Mr Seddon repaired _to the Docks to see the NewZealand contingent off, and on. his way home to the Cecil stopped. awhile in the, city to talk over freights with the I managers of the shipping companies. jHe informed me that he looks forward to still further concession from' the shipowners in the matter of freights upon produce. Another matter upon which Mr Beddon has been engaged during the last few days concerns the increase of the cable facilties of the colony. But at present he is unable to give any definite information as to the line of : action he has taken on this point. Today the Premier is occupying his leisure moments by paying official and social valedictory calls, a duty which will also find him employment to-mor-row. On Sunday morning he starts with his wife and daughters for Paris, and contemplates a brief continental tour before joining the Oroya at Naples on August 2. Mr Seddon has undoubtedly enjoyed his stay in the Old Country immensely, so have the ladies of his party. One certainly would be very willing to stay here in spite of climatic vagaries for.a year or so. At least she thinks she would, though, probably, what is called a " good oldfashioned winter" might alter her opinion of London.