MR SEDDON AND THE ENRAGED TOURIST.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8479, 10 May 1893, Page 5

MR SEDDON AND THE ENRAGED TOURIST.

There is sometimes much in a name. So a tourißb who arrived in Wellington the other day found. His name was Hamer. He was full up of tho importance of Britons in general and the British tourist in parti* cular. He believed thoy owned the earth* He pub up at a leading hotel. Mr. T. Hamer, the Premier's Private Secretary* pat up at the same hotel. Ministers (especially the Premier) are persons to whom night and day arc one, who seldom sleep* and hardly ever eat—except at banquet*. Private secretaries aro people who try to do these things, and sometimes succeed. At other times their lives aro ordered as the lives of Ministers. At 4 a.m. last Sunday the Minister of PubUo Works sent for Mr Hamer, Private Secretary. An energetic hotel employee proceeded to the room of Mr Hamer, tourist, and thundered thereon an awakening peal, Mr Hamer, tourist, leapt from his warm bed under the impression that the house was on fire, found it was not, and retired to bed once more. Ho had scarcely slept before another messenger came over, was directed to his room, rushed up, knocked, yelled "Mr Seddon says to hurry up," and fled as ho heard the infuriated inmate rushing for the door. Once more the unfortunate tourist composed himself to sleep, but presently the Minister, chafing under the delay, sent still another messenger, who, also directed to the room of "Mr Hamer," roused the now maddened tourist a third time, and intimated that Mr Seddon said he had to wait there till he got him oat of bed. After standing tho siege for a while the British subject burst upon his tormentor and., demanded in sulphurous language to know who this Mr Seddon was. and when he was told that he was the Acting Premier, and insisted on his coming over at once, he sworo by the Britannia who rules the waves, and all his other cods, that all the Premiers in this infernal country would not move him, and that they would have to call out their adjective troops if they wanted to quell him, and if be wasn't left alone at once he would telegraph to Mr Gladstone and bring the British Government down on them. Then there were mutual explanations, and it was discovered that the original Hamer was peacefully enjoying the repose of which his namesake had been robbed ; but Mr Hamer, tourist, packed up his portmanteau and left the country by the nest boat. His story of the way British subjects are oppressed by Colonial Minister* will make exciting reading for his friends.** —Pott.