The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1901. THE KING'S BIRTHDAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 259, 9 November 1901, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1901. THE KING'S BIRTHDAY.

i For the cauoe that lacks assistance { j For the wrong that needs resistance | for the future in the distance \fy t r{ i'r" -Too'i tHftt we oar do. ' ! . ._ |

The Empire is celebrating to-day the 00th anniversary of King Edward's birthday; and the occasion has a special importance from the fact that it is the first of his birthdays since His Majesty came to the; throne. The ninth of November lias ! always been accorded a very warm recognition on the part of our holi-day-loving community, and we do 'not suppose that the more regal character with which it is now invested can increase the whole-hearted 'celebration it has received. Yet, as the King's birthday, a greater prestige and a richer association attach' to it than formerly; and the proba- ; bility is that during the present: reign it will be more punctually observed than the birthday of the late Queen was. For, we are given to j understand that a much greater brilliancy and display will mark the j royal functions and general conduct j jof King Edward's court than we have; i been accustomed to during the later j j years of the Victorian period when' j her late Majesty rather discounten-i anced the pageantry commonly asso- j ! ciated with royalty. In accordance ; with that change, then, the King's birthday may receive an official and i popular recognition throughout the i Empire that the royal birthday has j not had for a long time past; and if that is the case we may be sure that New Zealand will not be behind hand. !It would be hard to tell how long ' a time has elapsed sir.cc the return jof a King's Birthday roused any genuine sense of loyalty and enthusiasm in a British heart. Our last King, William IV., was little loved or I respected; of George IV. it is not too 1 much to say that he was both hated land despised. George 111., a well-! ! meaning tyrant, was perhaps the only King of the Brunswick line who1 ; was ever personally popular, and he: i died s0 years ago. The long reign of: I the Good Queen has restored the! Xltrone to clie liig-b. place wliicli it lias always traditionally held in the; hearts of the people; and King Ed-| ward has already learned that he can; depend upon the affectionate loyalty j of his subjects, offered as unreservedly to him as to his august and revered mother. This instinctive'respect for royalty ] is a feature of the British character! i which some observers have found it i | hard to understand. Prince Bismarck j j once said to a visitor from the| j United States: "You are an American! and a Republican. It is impossible! for you to appreciate fully the feeling j ■that I have toward a king whose an-j cestors my ancestors have served for hundreds of years." The people of these colonies are perhaps in the strict sense even more democratic than the Americans, but we responded with the fullest sympathy to the outburst of loyalty which greeted! ■the accession of Edward VII. "Grief for the Queen," said an acute onlooker, "that was natural —but the sudden transfer of the loyalty of all England to her son was a thing far more remarkable." But no one doubts that this emotional fidelity to •the throne is sincere; and every Englishman feels that this indefinable sense of reverence for royal authority is no less valuable a national possession than the patriotism with which it is so closely involved. As a fact we need no spei cial celebration either to prove or stimulate our loyalty to the throne and the person of the sovereign. Very few monarchs have assumed the sceptre so absolutely assured of the good wishes of their subjects as the Prince of Wales. And very few nations have had such ample opportunity of knowing the character of their ruler before he came to the throne as -we have had. Having won the esteem nnd affection -of his people as Prince of Wales there is certainly no danger of his forfeiting them now. He has reached an age when men do j not easily change their characters, j and the same generous and tactful qualities which have distinguished him will remain his abiding characteristics now that he is entered on a wider sphere of influence and power. We have the most supreme confidence in our King to maintain that high standard which his royal mother set before the rulers of the earth, and which helped to establish Great Britain's place of honour and dignity among the nations as much as her triumphs of trade or battle by land or sea. We do not fail to recognise the severe labour which his position entails on the King. At a time wfoen

most of us are preparing to take life j more easily, or atfleast would gladly: Ido so if we could. His Majesty is load- j ed with the thousand duties, engage- • rnenT.-. and concerns which no modern J monarch can escape if lie is as con- , Indentions as King Edward has always! {shown himself to be. The fierce j light that beats about a throne makes i jit more impossible tha-u ever for a j monarch to be a roi faineant, and j even popular ignorance now-a-days is j more enlightened than to picture the. | sovereign's position as a gilded sine-; (cure. Our King has the reputation j for being a hard worker, early to rise j and late to retire, and never grudging j j his time and attention where it is j necessary. j During- the life of Queen Victoria ••his one duty." we are told of the Prince of Wales, "was to efface himself, to abstain religiously from the] expression of any opinion upon public affairs." Yet though lie constant; ly deplored the lack of opportunity for the use of his undoubted powers, j he left upon many who met him per-j sonally and intimately the injures-] sion of tin able and vigorous char-] acter. Mr Chauneey Depew, v.Lo hasj known most of the great Englishmen | of the last Two generations, was of! j the opinion that the Prince of Wales! j was one of the strongest mea that he. i had ever met; and it was reserved for; an American to prophecy ten years,' [ ago that when King Edward ruled he] would hold the reins of Government j I even more firmly than his mother.. The world is familiar with the accomplishments and amiable personal j qualities of the King—his tact and; courtesy, his resourcefulness anci: [energy, his industry and his vigorous-] (sense of duty in the discharge of all pub.Vc responsibilities. But too litde has been heard of the more impres-i sive and forceful faculties with which j ! the King has already given proof that; he is endowed. i Another American observer—some ! [of the King's most ardent admirers j (hail from the States—has lately desjcribed a poJiiical despatch drawn up |by the. King some years ago as "a I document that indicated an endowj ment of memory and intellect given |to few professional lawyers or statesmen." He has practically played the part of British Ambassador to many ! European Powers, and his diplomatic j i skill has confirmed the deep irnpres-l ! sion made on foreign Courts fttidj ! loyalties by his tact and social graoe. We have it on the authority of Lord Salisbury—the nio-t widely experienc- ! Ed British statesman now living—that j the King has "a profound knowledge jof the working and conduct of our j j affairs —that provision an,l security I against mistakes which few subjects ; have." And we know thai the King -has publicly confessed his sense of the j ; heavy responsibility laid upon him to I use his high position and authority j for the benefit and advancement of I his Empire. In his first speech to his I pi-jvy Council he declared: "In under- j ; taking the heavy load which now tie-1 j valves upon roe. I am full}' determined ] :to be a constitutional sovereign in the ; i strictest sense of the word, and so j ! long: us there is breath in my body, j ito work for the good and amelioration ! jof my people." It is because we be-1 i lieve in the sincerity of the King's i purpose, and his ability to carry it i into effect, not less thn'n for our in- ; herited, and now instinctive, loyalty . 'to the Throne, that we hail as an ' event of national importance, well | worthy of public commendation, the i recurrence of the King's Birthday.

The mail steamer Sierra, which ar- i rived from Sydney this morning, ex- i I perienced very bad weather on the s j trip across the Tasman Sea. and was '■ I slowed down for four hours on ac- j I count of the heavy sea, which con-1 j siderably retarded her progress, so i that she did not arrive till 9 o'clock | this morniriQ-. Day and night heavy j !sea.s were .shipped, but these luckily j ' did no damage to the vessel. The j ; Sierra resumed her voyage this after- j I noon for Pago Pago, Honolulu, and i | San Francisco. i A peculiar accident occurred to the j ! infant child of Mr and Mrs Larder, of i Auglesea-street, Hamilton, on Thurs- j day night. The child was sleeping in j a cradle when it was bitten through j the hand by some animal—presuin- j i ably a rat. The hand at once began Ito swell and the child was taken to Dr. Brewis for treatment, tinder which it is progressing favourably. A communication, dated Capetown, October G, was received this morning ; by Mrs. A. Kidd, wife of the Mayor, | from Captain T. Todd. In it he states | that he had arrived the previous day, and was leaving for the front on the 7th to join the contingent at Spring-' fontein. He was in perfect health, | and sent his kindest regards to Mrs. j Kidd and His Worship the Mayor and ; family. i The Cambridge Company of Mount- ! ed Eifles intend firing a feu de joie in j honour of it being the King's Birth- | day at eight o'clock this morning. Their loyalty received a sudden rebuff, for yesterday a notice was received from Lieut.-Colouel Davies, C.8., the officer commanding the dis- \ trict, that only artillery are allowed ito fire salutes on that morning. An old identity in the person of Mr : Robert Sheddan, cooper, passed away i last evening at his residence, Franklin ; Eoad. He was born in Glasgow in the j same year and day as the late Queeu Victoria. At an early age he left his native heath, and visited about every j country of importance, finally sailing- j into the Waitemata 50 years ago, and has resided in Auckland ever since. He leaves a widow and numerous children s^d ("•■uulchildren and a wide circle of friends. The last self - denial col- . lection in New Zealand ii connection with the Salvation Army totalled £7872, made up as follows:—Christchurch, £1070, Auckland, £1629;*Dunedin, £1878: Wellington, £2407; Greymouth, £423; Kelson,, £370; Eotorua, £75 10/. The amounts collected in the other places %vere: —Victoria, £4119; New South Wales, £4200; South Australia,,£2472; Queensland, £2080; Tasmania, £650; Western Australia, £1836; Java, £200; total, £24,350. Sisters Miriam and Winnie, Y.W.C.A. misaioners, from Melbourne, who have been holding services with the Central Mission and Knox Church, are to conduct the meetings in connection with the L.M. and Y.W.C.A. "All World Week of Prayer." A special feature of the sisters' services is their ginging.

U Wanganui yesterday, a man vras fined 20/"and costs for boarding a train while in motion. He had a narrow escape of being run over. A po'ter tried to -top him. and was knocked down. The man grabbed the rail? of the carriage, but slipped between two carriages and was rescued by other passengers, Mr Thornes desires to draw special attention to the sale by auction on Monday, at 12 noon, at his land auction rooms, when he will ofier the estate of Mr Ig-oe, situated in various pans of Parcel!. This presents a good chance to secure some freehold bara-ains. Full particulars in our advertisingl columns. The school children at Huotly yesterday assembled on the platform as General Macdonald passed Through to Auckland, singing- "Soldiers of the Queen"' in fine style . There will bo a church parade of the Seddon Light Horse at St. Peter's fTakapuna) to-morrow morning. The Rev. Mr Evershed .of Auckland, will conduct the service. The Ctntral Mission Hall will be reopened by special services to-mor-row. Captain Dnldr, enclosing- a cheque towards the cost 01 alterations, says:—"l bought the allotment in 1542. and built Shamrock Cottage, my first home in New Zealand, on it. I sold it in 1552, and assisted the 'are Sev. J. Earner to purchase it for a Connreca^i'-'niU chapel, and I am glad to think it is still used in the Masters servre:*." The building1, with the new addition, seats SOO, and looks very neat and attractive. A gallery has been built akm<? a portion of the south side, and ante-rooms are under-r-eath. Sisters Miriam and Winnie preach and sin? in the evening. A public tea will be held on next Wednesday evening1, and it is hoped by the commitTC! that all the necessary funds required for the extension fnearv £400) will be in hand. It is announced by advertisement to-day that the well-known Wapiti estate. Epsom, will be subdivided and offered for sale at an early date by Messrs. Samuel Vaile & Sons. The following- additional subscriptions have been received towards the purchase of the Mair collection: —D. L. Murdoch £20, J. Sehischka £2 2/; IL B. Morton £2 2/. and .1. Webster £2. making a total of £500 G/. The fifty-second anniversary of the Alexandra-street Primitive Methodist Sunday school will be celebrated tomorrow in the Choral Hall. The singing" will be rendered by some three hundred children, assisted by the church choir and many friends nndei the leadership of Mr A. Trenwith. Tenders for the installation of the electric light at Calliope Dock will be considered at the meeting of the Harbour Board next Tuesday. Applications for the position of assistant ?tiirpl-!»pnpr will p.'«n bp considered.