I

On one occasion Rolleston declared that the great value of Parliamentary Government is that it provides a safeguard against autocracy. But he could not have foreseen the rise to power of Richard John Seddon, who, after the death of Ballance, grasped the leadership and before long came to be called "The uncrowned king of New Zealand". He was to remain in that position until his death thirteen years later.

But, while Seddon imposed his masterful personality on his Cabinet, his party and Parliament, he was wiser than most dictators, for he did not seek to impose his autocratic will on the electors. On the contrary, his great skill consisted in finding out what the people wanted, and then proceeding to give it to them. He had a perfect flair for. gauging the constant changes in public opinion. If a major issue arose in which the issues were obscure, he played for time by setting up a Royal Commission. Sometimes of course this expedient was entirely wise and justifiable. For example, while it is difficult for us to-day to realise that the proposal to join the Australian Federation was ever a live issue in New Zealand, it is clear that it was seriously debated at the time when the Federation was established. On such a question, affecting the whole future destiny of New Zealand, there was full justification for delay and inquiry. Seddon accordingly set up a Royal Commission, and, on its recommendation, rejected the proposal.

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But this recourse to a Commission was less justifiable when Seddon found his party hopelessly divided on the burning question of freehold versus leasehold. A vast amount of evidence was collected and published in a huge tome; but, as the Commission was composed of an almost equal number of avowed freeholders and leaseholders, no clear recommendation emerged. Seddon, however, gained his chief object, which was a long delay. But the problem remained a constant cause of discord in his party, and after Seddon's death was one of the chief factors in its downfall.

This is not the place to attempt a full portrait of Seddon. In any case, the task has been brilliantly accomplished by his old colleague, Mr W. P. Reeves.¹ It will suffice to say that he was the most powerful and popular of all the Prime Ministers New Zealand has had. He was the father of much social legislation, and in time he became an ardent Imperialist. He was a loyal colleague—indeed, too loyal to the group of dead-heads who so largely composed his Cabinet.

He that seeketh to be eminent among able men (says Bacon) hath a great task, but that is ever good for the public. But he that plots to be the only figure amongst cyphers is the decay of an age.²

His immense physique and tireless energy enabled him to tour the country making four-hour speeches at innumerable meetings and banquets in a way that left his opponents gasping.