[Boer War]. GUEST, Herbert Melville

Speech by the Right Honourable R. Seddon, Premier [sic] of New Zealand. [Hon. Seddon's Speech (cover title)]

Klerksdorp, H.M. Guest, Printer and Publisher, Bookseller, Stationer, etc. 1902.

Tall octavo (253 × 160 mm), 4 pages (a bifolium).

Some marginal creases; two puncture marks near the top left-hand corner; a very good copy.

The position of prime minister in New Zealand was known as premier until 1907. Robert Seddon (1845-1906) was premier from 1893; he died in office. He 'attracted much publicity for his outspokenness about the South African war: he visited South Africa in 1902 at General Kitchener's invitation. He was increasingly ready to arouse and exploit popular nationalism' ('Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'). The speech was 'Delivered at a Dinner given in his honour by the Public Bodies of Johannesburg during his recent visit', en route to the 1902 Colonial Conference in London, held on the occasion of the coronation of Edward VII. The conference opened on 30 June 1902. In 1939, Herman Guest, the publisher's son, had some of these original Klerksdorp printings bound up and issued with a new foreword, telling the story of the production of his father's 'records of the campaign in the Western Transvaal and elsewhere. It will be realized that the accounts were written during times of stress, and consequently some of the statements have an "ex parte" complexion. The[ir] value ... lies in the fact that [they were] written and produced when Klerksdorp was practically in a state of siege. The inhabitants were unable to proceed a mile in any direction from the market square, and the one railway line, although closely guarded, was frequently disturbed by Boers'. Provenance: a Western Australian member of the 4th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse.

Item #121030

Price (AUD): $350.00
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