PROEM.

New Zealand Graphic, 27 June 1906, Page 25

PROEM.

T» hen great men die. the thousands who are left to mourn their loss seek to find ■iterance for their sorrow by raising memorials in honour of the dead. It is not that the erection of imposing monument or stately architectural structure, the contemplation of “storied urn or animated bust,” can assuage for us our grief or fill the place in our hearts and lives once filled by those for ever unforgotten, whom we mourn. But it is as if, brought face to face with the inscrutable mystery of the unseen, we cling all the more closely to everything that pertains to life; knowing that the dead have passed beyond the scope of human vision, we seek to persuade ourselves of their reality, of the continuance and persistence of their being, by holding always before our eyes some sign or relic of the past that they once shared with us. And mingled with this yearning for continued personal association with the dead, there comes in the case of such men and women who have deserved our reverence and regard, a longing that the purpose of their lives may be achieved, and that the work to which they devoted themselves may be perpetuated, even though they themselves have ceased to suffer or to toil. And so it comes to pass that the men and women of this country, standing in spirit to-day around the open grave of the late Premier, seem to draw consolation from the t'ought that it is in their power at least to “keep his memory green,’’ to hand down his fame to generations yet unborn by the erection or the establishment of some appropriate memorial in honour of “the mighty dead.” The suggestion of a national memorial to bear the name and celebrate the lifework of Richard John Seddon is natural and laudable. Yet it may be doubted if the architect or the sculptor eould ever devise for us any material symbol of our grief or token of our reverence that could honour the dead man so fully as the record of his own life-work. Beyond all else a man of action, his whole public career has been but a succession of persevering efforts for the benefit of his country and its people. “If you seek my monument, look around you.” Surely the builder of St. Paul’s had no j aster claim to this proud boast than the man over whose untimely death the country laments to-day. The true “Seddon Memorial” is the history of his life set forth for all to read in the laws and the institutions, the social and political conditions of the land that he loved so well. And it is for this reason that we may venture to hope that many will welcome gladly and cherish as a permanent possession the brief record of the great Premiers life and the estimate of his character set forth in these pages. Without any claim to be regarded as an exhaustive biography in either the personal or the political sense, this sketch may at least serve to bring clearly before the eyes of its readers the great man who has just passed away; it may assist them to understand his nature, to follow the course of his public policy, and to appreciate his purposes. And if in this way it should help them to realise that, though dead, our great Premier still speaks to us all through his life-work, still urges us on the path in which he trod so boldly, it wilt have as just a claim as the most imposing and splendid product of artistic skill and national gratitude conjoined to bear the proud title of “ the Seddon Memorial.”