THE PREMIER'S BIRTHDAY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4868, 26 June 1901, Page 3

THE PREMIER'S BIRTHDAY.

The Premier was fifty-six on Friday and has been receiving congratulations on the event from every quarter in the colony. In another ten years or less he will be eligible for the pension from the scheme propounded and carried through the Legislature himself. But being a rich man .with a generous provision in hand for the quiet days of his life, he will never need such extraneous aid. He is now the oldest of what may be called the " strong " Australian Premiers of the nineties ( as the " Lyttelton Times " reminds us, excepting Mr Reid, who is the same age. Sir John Forrest is fifty-four, Mr KiDgston fiftyone, and Sir George Turner not quite fifty. The present Federal Premier, Mr Barton, is fifty-two. Sir William Lyne, who succeeded Mr Reid, in New South Wales, is a year older than MrSeddon, and, curiously enough, the present Premier of the premier State, Mr See, is the same Age as onr own Premier. The fifties are evidently popular among Australasian politicians. Few of them, however, have been so long in the service of their States as the New Zealand leader ,and only Sir John Forrest has such a record as Premier. In these days no one needs to ask who is Premier of New Zealand, for, if we eicept, perhaps, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, no colonial statesman has so wide a reputation. Whether we agree with Mr Seddon or not, whether we admire him or not, we cannot but marvel at tbe splendid persistence of his work, his untiring industry, and his great achievements. By sheer force of character he brought himself absolutely to the head of the State, and to-day he~ stands head and shoulders above, not only tbe other members of the New Zealand Parliament, but also above Australasian politicians. The fickle multitude may some day demand Borne other man for king ; but whether in his present position .or on the Opposition benches, he should bave many years before him to give to the service of his country, and we wish him many and happy days.