The following is taken from the Oamaru Mail:—

"That the action of the Premier in relation to the Natives who reside in the most isolated parts of the North Island must be productive of good will be admitted by all colonists who are not blinded by prejudice. At much personal inconvenience the Hon. Mr. Seddon made his way to the Urewera country, and succeeded in establishing friendly relations between a once turbulent tribe and the European settlers. The course of duty is often not the agreeable course; and to the irresolute man there is many a lion in the way. But the Premier, whatever his other faults may be, is not irresolute. He possesses a strong backbone, and, when he considers that a certain course is right, his action is decisive, and his judgment prompt and sound. The Hon. Mr. Seddon is the sort of man who, in spite of obstacles, independently of what may be the opinion of partisans or opponents, will do what he thinks right. He feels like Pompey, when venturing on a tempestuous ocean, when on an important occasion he had to be at Rome, and exclaimed, 'It is necessary for me to go; it is not necessary for me to live.' Or like Luther when he said, 'I would go to Worms though devils were combined against me thick as the tiles on houses.' Or like Paul when he said, 'I am ready not only to be bound but to die at Jerusalem.' The sense of duty transcends every other active force. The man who is nerved with that cannot be worsted. He sets at defiance the attacks of his political opponents, and pursues a straight course in order to accomplish what he considers a good work. From the reports of the Premier's interviews with the principal Natives which have appeared in some of our Northern contemporaries we feel convinced that his trip through what was, until recently, a terra incognita will bear good fruit. Whilst taking up a firm and determined stand, he at the same time exhibited statesmanlike tact and diplomacy; thus winning the respect of a people who are shrewd judges of character, and can appreciate a leader of men when they meet him. The colony owes a debt of gratitude to the Premier for his action in bringing the Native race into closer harmony with the European population.

"One of the strongest illustrations of the yeoman service which has been performed by the head of the Government is to be found in the fact that, during the last couple of months, applications have been made for the establishment of four Native schools in districts where heretofore no such institutions existed."