The Press. SATURDAY, MAY 6. 1893. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8476, 6 May 1893, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, MAY 6. 1893. THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Had anyone a few years baok pre* dieted that the rough, little educated, bub excessively talkative member of the Westland County Counoil would become Premier of New Zealand he would have been scouted as a mad-

m j-. .'__.«. c-_*_.<»»» _«*, w6u~yei; there has been no luck about his win. He has been uo spoiled darling of fortune- never the "white headed boy "of a powerful party. By years of toil, by dint of hard fighting, by pluck and energy, by pusfi, he has year by year risen slowly buc steadily to the front in his party. No one made room for him, no one helped him, alone he has elbowed his way to the benches. He is no scholar, aud though he had a fair sohool education has never been a reader, and has seen little of the world. He has no brilliant) cleverness like Sir Robert Stout. Outside a few local bodies in Westland he has had no experience of government. His position in life gave him no business habits. Of many departments of government he has no knowledge whatever. He does not know even the rudiments of finance, is ignoraut of the education department and of Native affairs and of Customs and lauds. His speeches are wearisome to listen to, and we do not believe that his warmest supporters could say they would be read by any one but a lunatic for pleasure or instruction. Of the 6fcience of government as carried ou outside New Zealand be ia as ignoraut as a babe, All that we have stated is true in every hue of it and yet Richard John Seddon is to day Premier of New Zealand and leader of a majority in the House.

How did he do it ? Well iirat of all nature built him as a fighter, with great big limbs, a big chest aud an iron frame, a moderate brain and an immoderate ambition. Early he became a kind of bush lawyer and talked, then appeared as a mining agent in the. Law Courts and talked, joined debating societies and talked, was elected to local bodies and talked ; talked himself into the House, became notorious as tbe longest aud most frequent talker in it, talked till every one bated the sound of bis incessantly clattering tongue. Having talked himself into the position of a Minister, at once .he used the spacious new field, for he talked, and has talked in many a village where no Minister had ever appeared before. As a Minister he talked himself into the Acting Premiership and then talked himself into the position of Prime Minister ! Great is talk, and Seddon is its prophet i Mr. Rees once talked straight on end for twenty-six hours and was beaten. Mr. Seddon has talked almost continuously for three days, aud a House cowed, exhausted, yielded to him. JSo matter what tbe subject, he is ready to talk. His talk is never clever, never witty, always spun out till it is not worth listening to. It is quite impossible to do justice to his powers of talk. Last session he stonewalled his own Billshe had done it so often in Opposition he could not leave it off as a Minuter. But Mr. Seddon is more than a mere talker. He has a very retentive memory, hia knowledge of New Zealand Parliamentary history for the last twenty years is considerable, and he knows the many Acta that have been passed. What reading he has done has been Hansard aud the local newspapers. Until he became a Minister he cared for nothing outside Westland, and his iutenseat energies were concentrated upon his beloved Kumara sludge channel. Some five or six years ag6 it

was clear that Mr. Seddon was "shaping for a portfolio," that he meant to be a Minister, and many an M.H.R., knowing his streugth and his dogged determination, backed him to winf When he became a Minister they said he would fight his way higher; he elbowed aaide his ooU leagues and grasped the Aoting Premiership. When Mr. Ballancb died, many in Wellington said Sir Robbbt Stout would be Premier, but, the knowing ones said Mr. Sbddon has got the one great chance of his life j he has got the Premiership and he will keep it. Having been Acting Premier for so long, hia Exoelleucy of course sent for him, and Mr. Sbddon is Premier and Sir Robebt Stout left a nobody, with no understanding, it is said, about the Premiership ia the future.

Naturally the next question is, What sorb of a Premier will ho make ? Ib is difficult to believe that a man so uneducated, whose speeches betray such scanty acquaintance with affairs, can be a successful Premier. Undoubtedly he is a clever man, very quiok at making a little knowledge go a very long way—"all his mental wares are always ou view iv the front shop window." He is, we repeat, a born fighter, aud has fought his way to the top. but the Premier must be more than a clever heavy weight pugilist. As leader of the House last session he was a dead failure. But Mr. Seddon is in a sense clever; he has won every position in life ho has fought for, aud notwithstanding his many disadvan« tages, his determination may pull him through, He has won the ambition of his life, and he will struggle all he knows to be a suooess. Many wise judges kuowing him well think he will lead hie party more successfully than did Sir Robert Stout. Scoffers say he ia only Premier ou trial, and that he will have to give way to Sir Robert, We doubt it. Mr. Shddon is a stronger man, more dogged; he has the position, and he will uever, if he can help it, let Sir Robert lead the party. On some burniug questions Mr. Seddon*'- attitude is doubtful, and it is noteworthy that ou the last occasion that the Private Schools Bill aame up he conveniently found another engagement aud shirked it, He is known to bo hostile to the Female Franchise, and will see it does not pass while he is Premier. His speeches betray such narrowness of mental range, such an absence of broad statesmanlike views as to place him raenta'ly far below New Zealand past Premiers.

Poor Sir Robert's position is a painful one. He told Mr. Badlanob before the operation that he was willing to enter Parliament and lead the patty —as the sick Premier desired, lnangahua becoming vacant the necessary seac in Parliament waa there open to him. It was known that a majority of the Ministers wished him to be Premier as soon aa he could get a scat—it looked a settled thing. The arrival of Southern M.H.1.1.5. changed everything . it soon became clear that the set of their opiuions was towards Mr. Seddon and agaiust Sir Robert. The day of the funeral and on Monday morning the impression gaiued ground that the Government M.H.R.'s were unanimous in favour of Mr. Sbpdqs ; even thoso hailing from Dunedin. Than Mr. Seddon, being thu3 backed up, told his JExoelienoy he would form a Ministry. Sir Robert is not, it is said, even to be offered a portfolio. He is today a political cipher iv his own party, or rather he is like Sir George Grey, a political so-called "Liberal" leader much applauded but leading no one. Of course the man in the street says Mr. Seddon is merely being tried, aud Sir Robbrt will come again as Premier. That is all moonshine. Mr. SsddoN's motto is, " «/•_/ suis,fy rcste." Mouths of office may harden Mr. Seddon in his place, and exclusion will weaken Sir Robert. Curiously enough, one reasou alleged agaiust the latter was that "he is so unreliable." It is pretty dear that the rauk aud file of the party esteem Mr. Seddon higher thau their erstwhile leader. Iv the discussion regarding the Premiership, it was very dear that Ministerial supporters ' remembered the horrible mess Sir Robert made of things when he was premier. Mr. Seddon, they thought, could not manage worse, and they hoped he would do better. It would seem aa though Sir Kobert Stout will have to run iv harness with Sir Gisokgb G-rby as another fallen public idol, or, more likely still, like Sir George, he will become dangerous and useless aa a " rogue elephant." Taken as a whole, the Ministry must be weakened greatly by the substitution of Mr. Seddon for Mr. Bal lanob as leader, aud most certainly by tha faot that Mr. Ward and not Mr. Bat_.l_.ncb is Treasurer. The new leader has no fcact in dealing with men. That, however, chiefly affects his party. What is mora important ia his mental inability to deal in a states-man-like manner with public questions. During the late Premier's administration it was an open secret that Mr. Seddon and hia chief were often hotly opposed to each other. Last recess these disagreements became so publio that it was everywhere currant gossip in Wellington official circles that Mr. Seddon was plotting to overthrow his chief, to seize the Premiership for himself, and to pat Mr. Ward in as Treasurer. Had this been the idle gossip of one or two it would not have been repeated here, but it was repeated week after week and month after month, and was believed by many men who discard street rumours. Mr. Ballanoe's long illness stopped these rumours, but Mr. Seddon to-day is Premier, and Mr. Wabd his Treasurer. It is likely that the policy and thefinaucial administration will be different under tho new Premieq, and no oue can believe that auch changes will be for the better. Mr. Seddon and Mr, Ward wiU do as they please quite unfettered by Messrs McKeszib, Reeves, Carrol/ and Cadican.