REMINISCENCES OF RICHARD SEDDON

NZ Truth, Issue 442, 10 December 1913, Page 6

REMINISCENCES OF RICHARD SEDDON

HE present strike, m which the impotence of our law-makers m Parliament is so mournfully displayed, at once brings to mind the magnificent personality, the commanding presence— ' with its leonin<»jiead— of that marvellous man— Richard John Seddon. Had he been with us toclay, it is safe to say that the trouble would have been over before the first week was ended. Such a man, with his varied experiences, necessarily left a host of reminiscences behind him which h'aye never reached the light of print. People have wondered that no adequate life of such > towering figure m New Zealand's -history has been written. That such has not been done :s due to the fact that "Dii*k," to give him the name by which he was popularly known to the public, led a life so brim full of activities/that he had not time to record his doings. Consequently, it will lake many years of reminiscences and searching to gather those details which will enable a biographer to present the man as he really was. , ''■,'' . * * *

It is somewhere m the region of ..twenty-eight years ago that the writer, whom Dick afterwards christened "Young Colonial," first set eyes on the hurly form of Richard John Seddon — not then so rotund as he afterwards became. The occasion was the writer's arrival at Kumara, after travelling through the world -famous Otira Gorge by coach, with Arthur Davis m charge of his shanking sixhorse team. About half-way up Seddon-street, Arthur pointed with his whip to a figure standing on the verandah of the Queen's Hotel, with its white shirt sleeves rolled up to its elbows, and said "That's Dick Seddon, member, for Kumara, member of the Westland Council and of the Westland Education Board," Over a long beer, drawn by Dick himself, commenced a friendship that lasted till the day of his death. , At that time he was fighting lieutenant for John Ballance against the Atkinson Government. As an instance of his genius for action and determination, a story of his iirsi week's experience as a Minister of the Crown, after Ballance was returned to power m 1890, will be apropos. He accepted the portfolio of the Alines Department. A few days after he had taken his official seat he wanted something done, and called m the Under- Secretary of the Department, On stilting his requirements, the man of "red-tape" said, "That is im"rossible, Mr. Seddon." "Why 1 /" curtly queried Dick. "it is against all precedent, sir, and will upsot the n-hoh of the- routine of the office, "came the reply. "Is that so? It is impossible, you say." "Utterly impossible; sir," returned the official. Dick looked at him ■for a moment, and quietly said, "Mr. , if you cannot do it, I will quickly find some one who can. Thank you. That will do." Within twenty-four hours the thing was done, and' no one was upset. "While Dick was m the cold shades of Opposition during the Atkinson regime, he had gained the ill-will of the miners over, a question of tailing sites. To the uninitiatod it must be explained that m nil sluicing claims on the West Coast, it is absolutely necessary to have. a site on which to deposit the tailings carried down by the bluice boxes. Of course, the swiftly running rivers that come down from

By "YOUNG COLONIAL."

the Southern Alps form the main outlet m this respect. The consequence is that, l in the cor use of time, they become silted up with debris. . After the excitement of the first gold discoveries had died down, and things were becoming more settled, many people found that the rich alluvial flats of the Hokitika, Kanieri, Arahura aud other rivers formed splendid agricultural land. Farms were, taken up and^ permanent settlements formed. Then ensued a conflict between miners and farmers. The latter found the beds of the rivers gradually rising and portions of' their farms covered with water m limes of flood. Things beeaineaeute and representations were made to Parliament. Of course, the miners, by far the larger portion of the population, fought the matter tooth and nail, since their very existence was at stake. For some unexplained reason Dick took up the cause of the farmers. There was a general hullabaloo, which resulted m an indignation meeting being! called at Stafford, a goldmining town on the "Waimea. The House was m session at the time, and Dick's opponents thought th^y had him on toast, as he could not possibly get to the meeting and they would have everything their own way. The hall was packed. The chairman had voiced the grievances of the assembled miners, the proposer of a resolution ■' of- 'Condemnation on their member's actions and want of confidence m Rim was well into his speech, when the burly form of Dick was soen to emerge from the wings of the stage and , quietly take a seat right at the back. By some good fortune, his presence was unmarked by either applause or remark. Tho seconder got up, and, m a very fine speech, voiced tho indignation then rampatit. The chairman was just about to put the motion, when Dick stepped forward, much to the consternation of this organisers of the "shivoo,'* and said, "Mr. Chairman, 1 think I have something to say on this matter. >: He then started to talk. It took him

over an hour to jrain his first round of applause; and he wound up Avith three, cheers for "Good old Dick," and the defeat of the motion. That was the occasion, when his old uncle, Nat Seddon, was standing on a form at the back of the hall. When his nephew had succeeded,' after a hard battle, m evoking the- first symptoms o£ ; agreement from .the audience, he yelleci out, m his broad Lancashire dialect, !i por Dick ull bo goovnor yit:' Old Nat's prophecy was very nearly realised. * * ",.■• ' In the '90 election Dick lost his Kumara constituency through a. redistribution of seats on a population basis. His section of "God's Own" was thrown m with Hokitika/and the whole became known as AVestland. The question then was, should Dick go north and oppose Arthur Guinness or go south and oppose Joe Grimmond, who was a supporter of Harry Atkinson and the , Continuous Ministry. He r;liose the latter course. The fight was bitter. Nearly all the money m Hokitika was against him; and he had very little of his own. The only man on his side who cpuld be called at all wealthy was Jimmy Holmes, who afterwards became an M.L.C Many of those, who, m after years, when he had; reached fame and power, were his prominent supporters,' were his bitterest opponents m that great fight. And it was a great fight. Liberal and Labor stood shoulder to shoulder, and, as one united solid body, simply swept the polls. Since those j d^ys.the words of Wordsworth on the French Revolution have often risen before the mind : "In that glad day 'twas good to be alive, ' ; But to be young was very Heaven. ;> Jiowrver, filings looked very black for Dick, and his various conim: l--tees, though not despondent, were at their wits' end to know how to turn the scale m his favor. His central secretary was a well-known schoolmaster at Stafford. It was some two months before the election, when things were beginning to crystallise. The secretary was standing at his gate one fine morning, when Dick drove down i:rom Kumara on liis way South. After the usual greetings, Dick said, "Weil, how are things going, old mail?" "I don't like the look of them, Mr. Seddon. There's too much money against us." "I know," he replied. "Its-g oing to be a tough fight. However, I'm oft' for a fortnight to do the country south of Ross. While I'm away, keep the flag flying; but, before I go, let me tell you this — if 1 don't win this election I'm damned socially, politically and financially. Good-bye, o)d boy!" Away he drove. But Dick won. • * • *"* On that trip South, he met with a funny experience. Both >ho mid Griinmonci were members of the Westland County^ Council. A ..liuit time before there had been a proposal before the Council to reduce the salaries of those m charge of the ferry services on the Southern rivers, and, consequently, there was much indignation among ferry-men and their wives — especially the wives. For canvassing purposes, Grimmond had advertised a visit to the Southern districts of his electorate on a certain date. The wily Dick determined to get uheud of him, so set off, unodvortisod, a fortnight ahead of his opponent. He duly arrived at one of the largest rivers south of Ross, and signalled for tiic boat. The ferry-man had met neither Seddon nor Griiumoml; so, when he reached the bunk, he said, "How ?:o you do, Mr. Grirninond? I'm pleased to meet y<m. n Dick determined to lie low and say "nuflin." ''Come across to the house and

have something to eat," was the hospitable invitation. Arrived there „&nd the necessary introductions haying been effected, the good lady burst out with her grievance. ''That villain, Dick Seddon! It's hard tiiough. with a young family, to make a living as it is I He'll get no vote from this house, and, if he dares to come near, I'll pour a kettle rf boiling water over him!" "While being bombarded with these and similar expressions of wrath, Dick had been chumming up with the kids, nursing, the youngest, and serving out lollies and fruit, of which he always carried a liberal supply on trips to out of the way places such as these, to the older fry. He further agreed that Seddon was a bad lot altogether, and fully deserving of all the things that had been said about him. After a bountiful meal, however, he could contain himself no longer. He burst out laughing, and, with many apologies for his innocent deception, explained that ho Avas Dick Seddon. Consternation 'sat on the face of his good hostess, as she blurted out, "Good God, are you Seddon ?" He then went on to^explain his attitude on the County Council and showed the good lady that her information was incorrect, and that, though changes were to be made m the furry arrangements, her husband would not bo affected. In five minutes he had her won over — the kids having played 'm meau part. As Dick rose to go, she said, "Look here, Mr. Seddon! You're going to get Jack's vote, and every vote I can influence aiound here!" # • « Among the old Coasters, when reminiscences are being indulged! m and Dick Seddon 's name crops up, which is sure to occur before < many old yarns have been spun, the question is always asked, "Did < you ever hear about the fight at the Big Dam?" The Big Dam was | a mining township just across the hills from Waimea, now known! as Goldsborough. In the early clays, Dick had a store and butcher*3 } shop there, and was m the habit of advancing money to the diggers 1o help them m their prospecting. He also went guarantee for any materials they might require on their claims, such as' pipes, timber! nnd tools; and packed provisions m to the various parties every! week. As those "specs" often required months upon months for! their development the accounts were frequently very large— £Bo, ' iIOO, £120, for a party of four men being not uncommon. Should j the claim prove "golden," Dick was well paidi but if the ominous | 1 word "duffeß" had to be reported, he, with the miners, had to stand the brunt, and, with a cheery, "Better luck next time, boys," back ' them up m their next venture. When a golden claim was struck, I j | there was no reneging and the results were more than satisfactory ! to both parties— such was the "bon ami" feeling that existed m those j wild West days. On one occasion a dispute arose between Seddon and a big Irishman called Jack Ivilean over the accounts for one of j these prospecting trips. Argument grew heated, and big Jack burst ! out, "I'm as good ab— man as you, any day, Seddon!" "That remains to be. seen," quietly replied Dick. This was enough, espe- 1 cially as English v. Irish feeling ran very high m those days, and Dick was the loyal British Lancashire boy he remained to the" end of his days. Nothing could stop a fight m circumstances such as thuse. I | There was no such thing as hailing a man before a magistrate for j I using abusive language. Both men had th'jir followers, as Dick had 1 defended his honor on many previous occasions, and Big- Jack's bare knuckle fights m Victoria and Otago had oftentimes been recounted. So both men stripped to the buff, took oft their boots, and went out "on to the grass." It was agreed to fight to a finish, and that no time should bo called. The first man knocked down, who failed to > •we again at the 10 sec.mds' call, was to forfeit his 'laurels and ad-i hiit that he had met his Waterloo! The contest lasted forty-five I minutes, and was refereed by Charlie Reid, now resident m Welling- \ ton. The remainder is best told), m .that official's own words. He says: — ■--■• '■ "■ ; v ....- • : j "I asked the crowd to make a ring, which they immediately did. j 1 called on the two men to 'shake, 1 and what a shake it was— the real ' miner's grip — one would have thought that two friends had just met after, a separation of many-years. 'Now, then, boys, get at it, and make it a clean go, ' ' ' said I— and a clean go it was. Bound I— Body punches befel each man like blows rained by a ■blacksmith. .on his anvil. j • ■ ■ ■ '■•■■'.. j Round 2— Blow after blow was- gi von. and taken on chest, shoul- - ders and ribs. ■, Round 3 — Both men, from the severe punishment' and the hailstorm of blows that beat an incessant tattoo on their skins, bore tho appearance of being badly sunburnt. . Round 4— Continued body punches — uppercuts given and taken j that gave the idea of a baker punching dough. Hound s—Both5 — Both men commenced to "bruise and blacken"— still they fought on undauntedly. Round 6— Seddon 's body absolutely black. Kileau— black, blue and bleeding. * ' Hound 7— Spectators excited. "Out the b , Dick!" semimed the Euglish section. "Settle him, Kilean! Keep up the name of your country!" roared the sous of ould Ireland. Round S— -Kilean grassed for eight seconds. Round 9 — Seddon knocked down twice for five seconds ench time. Kileau, one eye completely bunged up. Round 10— Both mer bleeding and unrecognisable, Kilean was the bigger man, but Seddon stood his punishment like one who was fighting for his life. Rounds 11 to 13 wore livelier Mian the first three. They were simply a whirlwind of slogging and guarding until the end. ' Both I 'ljcn struck a blow simultaneously. Seddou got home on the point, n mid Kiloan on the hcurt. That finished things. Neither coul-.l rise, though both made desperate efforts -to do so. After being brought Hi. they re-unte'red the store, settled thu dispute and shook hnnds.