INCIDENTS IN MR. SEDOON'S LIFE.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11668, 2 July 1906, Page 3 (Supplement)

INCIDENTS IN MR. SEDOON'S LIFE.

THE LATE PREMIER'S PARLIAMENTARY REMINiSUENCES. Mr Seddon's reminiscences, given tc a representative of the "New Zealand Times" in May last, have a melancholy interest. — j. "I have always said that the people of New Zealand should be proud of the salf-sacriiice made by those men in the past who have devoted their I best; energies to public life. And 1 must say that this country has been singularly fortunate in this respect. In 1879 the House of Representatives had veiy competent and capable men as members, who ever effaced selfinterest, ,and at great personal sacrifice devoted their energies to the public interest. The same can be said of the Parliament of to-day. 13 ut there is considerable change in the manner of conducting the busj" ness. When I first entered the House the first debate of consequence that I listened to was a no-confidence motion. Parties at that time were evenly balanced, and by means of election committees and an agreement with four Auckland members, who were returned to support Sir G. Grey's Government, his majority be- ! came a minority, owing to the fact that they voted with the^Opposition. "We then had the incoming Government carrying out the r' i»cy of the party they had defeated, d the quetsion of triennial Parliaments, manhood suffrage, representation on a population basis were carried, a^d Sir George Grey's and the Liberal ■ Party's policy was given effect to by the Conservative party under Sir John Hall's leadership. Many . gentlemen who took a prominent ■ part in the affairs of those stirring i times bare been removed from the political stage. I am the only sitting j member of the House of RepresentaI tives who has sat continuously since the year 1879." Are there any memorable scenes or i, circumstances which took place in . the House, and which strike you for i the moment as standing out in your political career? j '"The nearest approach to the i House forgetting itself, of heing j absolutely beyond control, was when ■ an Auckland member, Mr VV. J. » Hirst, was elected Chairman of Oomi mittees by a narrow majority. The ? feeling shown was so marked that he ; refrained from accepting the posiI tion. Viewed in the light of to-day, » it is only fair to his metnoiy to say • there was not sufficient reason for '. the feeling exhibited. In 1881 tnere i was a battle royal nver the Repre- > sentation Act, under the provisions [ of which the representation of Neli sou. the West Coast, and the other 3 outlying districts was considerably i reduced. In that occasion 1 formed i one of the seven stonewallers, Colonel Pitt— than Major Pitt— now E my colleague and Attorney-Geceral, ■ was ouv captain. The House was ■ Kept sitting continuously for three » days. The stonewalling speeches of E those days differed widely from r speeches delivered on similar oeca- j > sions nfc tbo present timo. The lite - Mr Richmond Hurßthouse's speeches ■ on the fauna, flora, and forest, as a they were delivered by him, would

grace the pages of the text odoks for the school children of the Colony; whilst the speeches of the Hon. Richard Reeves on apiaries, bees, and foul broods amongst bees, as applied to politics and politicians, wore of such a lively character that even a Mark Twain would probably not have been ashamed to write his aa~ne under them. I took as my text the West Coast and its residents, using the electoral roll as a sort of chart, and by this means brought the West Coast and its people under the notice of the Hou?e. I had got j as far as the letter 'I,' in this category, when, pausing, i said to the Chairman ot Committees: 'We are now going to 'L' — with the aspirate. He immediately ruled me out of ordur, and declined to allow me to proceed any further. Well, I moved to leport progress, and the Chairman refused to accept a motion. Mr Qisborne rose in protest, and asked that the quosfciou should be referred to the Speaker. Well, the result was that Mr Gisborne was fined £20. 1 may tell you that the fine on the motion was intended for me. Mr Giaborne intervening resulted in his taking my place. The fine was paid by the people of Nelson ; but it broke the stonewall up. "Another episode was Sir George Grey's 'Speech on Silence.' Wishing to havejthe attention of the Speaker, Hir George ceased speaking, but remained standing in his place for seme considerable time. When asked j to proceed, he said, 'I waited Mr Speaker's attention.' Upon this Mr Harris rose in his place, and asked whether Sir George Grey's speech was being reported, by|Hansard. The Speaker's attention having thus been called to the matter, Sir George Grey proceeded with his address, amidst the laughter of the House. "Dear Tom Bracken! Wo near vei/ little of him now. Occasionally his poem 'Not Understood' is recited, and the little children are heard singing the New Zealand Anthem, but if the question were asked who was the author of ii a very small percentage would answer correctly. The night he stood up in the House and sang 'Behave yourself before folks' will never be forgotten. Sir Maurice O'Rorue was so as- j tounded that . for the only time in the history of Parliament he seemed unable to control members. But some people say there was a merry twinkle in his eye, and that he looked on the other side of the House, and did not pay attention to the unusual departure from the ordinary procedure. "Then there was an incident of a totally different character, when the Hon. John Bryce left the Chamber as a protest againstjthe ruling of the Chair that the words 'The hon. member ought to be ashamed of himself were unparliamentary. 1 think, speaking from memory, that Mr Bryce never again sought to enter the Chamber. "There are many other incidents that are worthy of relation, and alao many pleasant reminiscences which this occasion orings back to me; but I must hold them for another opportunity. Ihey live in my memory, and when recalled are bright and cheering. Tnere is a comradeship in political life which never can be effaced. But there is also a tinge of sadness, for so many who were with me at the commencement of my parliamentary career are now no more — yet remembrance of: them is still green and pleasant to me."