THE SEDDON BIOGRAPHY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13498, 27 May 1907, Page 6

THE SEDDON BIOGRAPHY.

SOME INTERESTING CRITICISMS. [FROM our OWN CORRESPONDENT. London, April 12. ' In the course of '* a review a column, in length of Mr. J. Drummond's Life jof Richard John Seddon," the Daily Telegraph says:—"Hew at Home the popular opinion of Seddon was from the first a right one. At times, it is true, his burly personality seemed to subtend . a ' larger angle in the circle of the Empire than was wholly justified by the importance either of the man or of the colony, which he ■so ably represented; but it is a testimony to' the substantially accurate intuition of the multitude that ..these -. occasional ebulbtions . of his personality were taken in good part, and :laughter' rather than dislike was the invariable result. On the other hand, the • solid loyalty 'and unquestionable capacity ; of Seddon were recognised on all sides as ah- imperial asset, and England 1 was well content to believe the best of.a man who knew his countrymen better perhaps than they • knew themselves. If. a somewhat stronger brand of labour legis- - lation . suited a new and vigorous colony than would be welcome at '.Home, it was pre-eminently New Zealand's business; and; not ours. : That,, both he .and:. we- wereright could receive no more overwhelming, proof • than-the'':splendid initiative of Seddon and 'the equally; magnificent response 'of his people in*the' dark days of the : Boer war. -That is a matter we shall never forget." ■ .-.''." -.'.■:../. ,'.' On the other hand, the: Morning .Post in its review, also a column in length,, marks:"There is little attempt at criticism, except by way of praise— intimation to the reader- that some of. the best minds in New Zealand were deploring what they believed to bo the political personal ascendency. Their misgivings arose riot from his measures so much as from his methods. Without questioning either the sincerity of his motives, the loftiness of his ideals, or the integrity of his character, many, nevertheless, believed that he was playing the party, game in a way which tended to sap the independence of -the electorate, and to pervert the forms ■> of democracy into the machinery* of a modem 'tyranny' : in . the old ; Greek -sense.. •,' But of all this there is little indication in the present biography, and perhaps it : is well that the reverse side of the picture should neither be revived nor examined until the task may be undertaken in the clearer light of after day 6. . .'■.'■•• The firsthand last portions of the book are biography proper, while the middle portion is devoted to an " account' of the. bold 'social legislation with which Mr. Seddon's era will always be associated in history. -Here ■ particularly ■ rthere is ) a deficiency of criticism. Readers of the Morning Post have been made aware within the last few days that tne Arbitration laws have not yet justified the idea that New Zealand is definitely a land without strikes. And in describing the re-opening of the whole land question; by Mr: Seddon in 1905 his biographer does not make it clear for the . general reader that this action was tantamount to a confession of failure 'in the previous measures to reach the root of the difficulty. The fact is that in New Zealand it is still an open question whether it is possible to devise a .system of lease or tenancy under the State which will meet the legitimate demands of the occupier on the one hand and of the public on the other. But whatever may he the ultimate outcome of these daring legislative experiments, the fact that they have been actually made will always redound to Mr. Seddon's credit. He was essentially the practical man as distinguished from the theorist."