SEDDONIA.

NZ Truth, Issue 93, 30 March 1907, Page 4

SEDDONIA.

(Contributed.)

!• The 'King is dead, long live the Kino; ! The King is dead; and after the first shock everyone heaves a sigh of relief. The Kins is dead, and . after nine months a whole hundred pounds has been contributed to perpetuate his memory! "Vanity ot vanity," !saith the preacher, "all is vanity," and surely the truth of the saying' -was ■. never -. more .apparent. ofcf the capital city seems to have foj|e;c;tten how to spell his name even: No amount of sophistry will explain the. ugly fact away ; , it is here, there; everywhere, and secretly admitted by even those who deny its existence the most strongly. .Your strong man is always secretly hated, most of all by those who attach themselves to his person, and owe everything to their connection with him. And why? Because human nature is only human nature after all, and' the mere knowledge that, but for. another, they had not emerged from the sea of obscurity, owing to their own mediocrity, is sufficient, to engender "envy, hatred, malice, ' and all uncharitableness" toward one who is a constant reminder of their necessity. What of the masses? King Stork or King Uogj it matters not which, so he lessen the weight and monotony of the daily round. They have no time, even if they had inclination, to bewail the dead lion, a live dog is more important. Seddbn was the very antithesis of a; democrat, was, m fact, absolutism personified. Considering the pliant tools he found ready, nay anxious, to do his 'bidding, and the success of his policy of bluff and bounce, who shall say the man's implicit faith m himself was not justified? Whatever secret contempt he must have felt for those whom he swayed so aib" solutely , yet everyone seemed determined to merit Ms treatment of them. Seddon suffered fr,om lack of strong opposition, which, meriting respect, was, with perhaps one excep.tion, not strong enough to demand it. The' result was inevitable, he became impatient of opposition, and, even when most respectful, regarded it as a personal affront. He. was a giant among pigmies,- though it is difficult to judge what he would have been had he played his part on a larger .stage, surrounded, by men of different calibre. Uneducated, the man's instinctive faculty ; was marvellous v ' almost compensating his lack m other directions. Opportunist to the core, he differed from other opportunists i-n that his initiative iaculty enabled him* to judge with extraordinary inerrancy which way the political cat would' jump, and profit by the knowledge. Under other circumstances Seddon might have been expected to play the part of Diaz m Mexico. He was none the less a dictator because he saw. the way to 'dictatoßShip lay through real or sham concessions to democracy. That democracy did not see the inconsistency of delegating so much power to one man was surely not his fault. He, at least, was consistent m the methods by ' which he ultimately centered all power m himself. His wellknown treatment of opponents, and even of those satellites who revolved round his own person, is alleged against him, but they merit little sympathy by their meek and contemptible attitude m. the face of his bullyragging tactics. As with everyone entrusted with uncontrolled power, he abused irt, openly and unashamed. The public service became demoralised by political .influence, with the natural results of impaired efficiency, and increased cost to ,the taxpayer. And yet, withal, Seddon rendered valuable service to democracy.

Apart from his motivis, which were far from being always above suspicion, he focussed the limelipftt of the whole world of himself m his character of the strong democrat, even while violating m himself every democratic principle. To the outside world he was the personification of triumphant democracy. We m New Zealand are too near to get a true perspective of the man and .his work. To us his faults are sufficiently patent to obscure his undoubted achievements. It is said he viewed politics as a financial proposition ; that, m short, he made the game pay. Why not? There is nothing. mi n the charge if he gave value for money received. The man was no siftruist fighting for mere love. His favorite character of the Great Humanist was mainly pose, though it is possible he ended by believing m his own humbug. He would not be the first who did. So. It is possible that this- presentment of what seems to the writer a cursory glance at the real Seddon, may offend the susceptibilities of some, even though m their heart of hearts, they admit the justice of the estimate. But a writer . is under no obligation to save people's feelings at the sacrifice of truth. One may indeed be mistaken, for no man ever yet saw into the innermost", recesses of- another's brain to accurately ■ ■judge" his every motive. We can at best judge merely toy his speech and actions; Very inadequate material no doubt, but as it's all we have, it is foolish to quarrel with 1 it. 'No man, liv-ina; or dead, merits more than the truth, and the public utterances and' actions, of a public man are fair field for public criticism.