 In the 1894 pastoral strike the police were given sole power to 'preserve order and secure liberty to all alike' to avoid the expensive and controversial involvement of the military as in the 1891 strike, and he took command in Longreach, Winton, and other centres.After his request for greater legal power to compensate for limited manpower the government introduced the controversial peace preservation bill, which permitted detention without trial for periods up to two months.On 30 June 1895 Seymour retired on a pension of £700