MASSEY AND SEDDON

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6601, 19 May 1925, Page 5

MASSEY AND SEDDON

THE PASSING OF TWO GREAT PREMIERS (Contributed.) LATE MR MASSEY For six long weeks New Zealand stood round the bedside of its stricken chief; party feeling was buried, Labour Vied with Reform and Liberal in its expression of sympathy for the big man who lay at bay. It was whispered round that the malady was the most dreaded of diseases that afflict mankind. Yet the indomitable spirit of the doomed man refused to give in; it defied the germ reaper. Hope rose and fell alternately; finally fell on Saturday week when the fact that the end was near was apparent to all. It was with no surprise that we learned 6n Sunday evening that the spirit of William Ferguson Massey had left the tortured body. The general feeling was that it were better so; his trials were over. Peace had come to the warrior. Tributes, expressions of sympathy, of regret and sorrow have poured in from all parts of the Empire, from America and. from France; from all classes and creeds. From the gumdigger’s lonely hut at Paerengrenga to the lighthouse keepers at Puysegur Point the sorrow has been universal.

To-day those .of us who cannot be present will follow the hearse in our imagination, and as we .see the coffin being lowered into the gun pit that is to be his tomb we will utter the prayer: “Peace be to him.” - R. J. SEDDON How different the death of Seddon. Seddon fought his last election in 1905, when he gained his greatest victory. During the election campaign he addressed 37 meetings, and appeared to be in the best of health. At various times before this there were rumours that his health was not too satisfactory, but his remarkable energy during the election campaign dispelled any fears about him. Yet Seddon knew that his health was not as good as it might be. He told a friend that he had serious warnings from the doctors. “I must have a good rest, they say. I’m going for a holiday to Australia.” “But will you take a holiday?” asked his friend.

“Oh, yes; there’ll be the trip across, and then I am not going to worry about anything on the other side. I’m going to have a good holiday.” He left Wellington on May 12th, but that restless brain could not rest; politics and public affairs were uppermost in his mind. Australia received him with extra-

ordinary enthusiasm. Not since Grey’s visit 15 years before had such a welcome been extended to any visitor. Whereven he went it was a triumphal procession; Seddon attended meetings, banquets, making speeches, and all the time working on the reciprocal tariffs between Australia and New Zealand. He received all sorts of deputations, in fact worked from morning till night. This was his holiday ! On the 9th June he arrived in Sydney from Melbourne, attended the theatre with Mrs Seddon, attended a supper at Parliament House, returned to his hotel and worked till 2 a.m. On Sunday.-he-went on board the “Oswestry Grange” in apparently the best of health. But he was no sooner on board than he went to his cabin. He had been buoyed up with the reception, but now it was over he felt the need of a rest. “It’s the hardest month I’ve had. I’m glad its over,” he said. . /He rose on Sunday before lunch, but did not feel very bright. After lunch, as he was still not feeling well,

he rested on his couch. He slept for two hours and arose much refreshed. He said that on the following day he

would prepare some speeches for the opening of Parliament. At 6.20 p.m. as the ship was passing Sydney Heads he was sitting on the couch talking to Mrs Seddon and his private secretary. Suddenly he placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder and said: “Oh, Mother.” Richard John Seddon was no more. The news reached New Zealand on the Monday afternoon. The whole country was stunned. Could it be possible that the big, strong man who had literally Australia at his feet during the last month was po more. He had ruled so long and masterfully that his passing was like an eclipse. _Nobody had expected the end and its suddenness seemed to stupify the public. Tributes poured in; his mistakes and his faults were forgotten; all parties united in paying tri-

bute to his greatness and lamenting his passing.

On a high hill in Wellington overlooking Parliament House, the scene of his many battles in the cause of humanity, amid the mournings of the country he had ruled as an uncrowned King, Seddon’s body was laid to rest.

Seddon and Massey; two big strong men, two staunch patriots, two indomitable fighters; yet each represented a school of thought quite different from that of the other. Each did his duty according to his light. Both names will be imperis liable in the records of New Zealand.

To-day we mourn the passing of Massey, but we of the older generation in particular, also remember the passing of Seddon