H.—B.

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In forwarding this, I feel confident I express the feeling of every citizen when I say that the people of this colony have lost a friend and benefactor —one who has done more for the workingclasses in New Zealand than any previous Premier, and his loss will be keenly felt throughout the colony. Trusting you will have the consolation needed to bear such a great loss, I am, &c, Mrs. Ballance. R. Slatee, Secretary.

The Secretary, Rangitikei Liberal Association, to the Hon. R. J. Seddon. Sib,— Marton, 28th April, 1893. Will you kindly convey to Mrs. Ballance the deep sympathy of the members of the Rangitikei Liberal Association for her unspeakable loss. Independent of the high position he held, the late Premier was to many of us a personal friend; and we feel his death the more keenly inasmuch as we have the honour, in this district, of having first sent him to Parliament, and we have proof here, even at that stage of his career, of his earnestness in the works done in this district. And we feel that we and the country have suffered a blow that will be hard to recover from. I am, &c, The Hon. R. J. Seddon. H. Snellgrove, Secretary.

The Secretary, Federated Trades Union Council, Wellington, to Mrs. Ballance. Deab Madam,— Trades Hall, Wellington, 28th April, 1893. The members of the Federated Trades Union Council of this city, in approaching you on the painful subject of the death of your husband, experience a difficulty in finding words to adequately express the deep sympathy which they feel for you in your bereavement. They, with others, recognise in the death of your husband a national calamity, and share in the universal sorrow. They are sensible, however, that yours must be a grief of another kind, and one which time alone can assuage. They beg, therefore, to convey to you their heartfelt sympathy, and to express a hope that time will deal gently with you, and that you may live to see the full harvest reaped from the good seed sown by the hands that are now cold in death. I remain, &c, Mrs. Ballance. 11. C. Jones, Secretary.

Mr. W. H. Lucas, President, Thames Miners' Union, to Mrs. Ballance. (Telegram.) 29th April, 1893. Thames Miners' Union express regret at the decease of the Hon. Mr. Ballance, and profound sympathy with Mrs. Ballance in her bereavement.

Mr. J. M. Murray, Secretary, Knights of Labour, Hamilton, to Mrs. Ballance. (Telegram.) 2nd May, 1893. The Hamilton Knights of Labour beg to express their heartfelt sympathy towards you in your great bereavement.

The Secretary, Knights of Labour, Eketahuna, to the Hon. E. J. Seddon.

Sir,— 2nd May, 1893, I am instructed by the assembly to send to you a vote of sympathy passed by the assembly to the Ministry on their losing such a valuable member by death. I remain, &c, The Hon. R. J. Seddon. A. H. Wright, Secretary.

The Secretary, New Zealand Federated Tailoresses' Union, Dunedin, to Mrs. Ballance. My Dear Mrs. Ballance, — Manse Street, Dunedin, 3rd May, 1893. I have been directed by my union to convey to you their deepest and most profound sympathy in your sad bereavement, and their great appreciation of the noble services which our beloved Premier has rendered to the working-women of our colony. We deeply deplore the great loss to New Zealand, and we women feel that a true, tried, and trusted friend has passed away from our midst. His death has left a sting, Which time cannot heal, Poet cannot paint, But the toilers feel. We have lost him, but his good influence, however, we cannot lose. It will pass down through the history of our colony, and those that come after us will be inspired by his zeal, his unselfishness, and his nobility of character. Yours, &c, Mrs. Ballance. 11. R. Morrison, Secretary.

Mr. T. Craweley, Secretary, Trades Council, Southland, to the Hon. R. J. Seddon. (Telegram.) 2nd May, 1893. Southland Trades Council wishes you to convey message of sympathy Mrs. Ballance in her sad bereavement.