KING GEORGE V.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 129, 2 June 1934, Page 8

KING GEORGE V.

A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE.

THE KING AND HIS MINISTERS. (By HECTOR BOLITHO.) [All Eights Reserved.] It is not easy for the Dominion visitor, pausing perhaps as lie passes the railings of Buckingham Palace, to realise the modest, devoted and diligent man within, in relation to his contemporaries. But it is certain that when posterity, weighs up the, incidents of King George's" life, it will he j upon his moral courage" and his domestic example that his fame will rest. He . may come to be known as "George, the Good," like his grandfather. ".Albert the Good," whom ho resembles in so many ways. We cannot designate King George's place in history, but, at the beginning of his seventieth year, we may be excused for ail intrusion upon delicate and personal ground: we may be permitted to pay a tribute to a life which ■ 'has become increasingly precious to English-speaking people. ' -■. . y ■ •

A Prince's Up-bringing. Prince George was twelve when he became the youngest cadet on board -the Britannia. Then and during his world cruise in' the Bacchante there was no hint that -Prince George would become heir to the throne, through his brothel's death. He was therefore educated as a second son, with the consequent differences in aims and responsibilities. A ' sailor's life suited him: he was a man's man and his character and tastes were of the mould that thrives in a wardroom or an officers' mess.

Prince George's education was a problem upon which Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales were not in full agreement. Haunted by recollections of his. own childhood', the Prince of Wales was alarmed when his mother wished to interfere in the education of her grandchildren. There had been grim episodes in his education: the lonely weeks at White Lodge, with none but generals and aged tutors to talk to; the science master who impressed the wonders of Natufe upon him by telling him to dip his finger first in ammonia and then in molten lead. He never complained openly about the straight-jacket of discipline which had been imposed upon him as a child, but he did his best to prevent a repetition of the story in the teaching of hi* sons.

Alliances by. Marriage. The Queen was wholly pleased by the announcement of Prince George's engagement in ISD3. By this time Queen Victoria may have come to doubt the glory of marriages of English Princes and Princesses, with ruling families on the Continent. One of her sons, Prince Alfred, had married a daughter of the Czar, but this had not buried the 'hatchet, of the Crimea, uor had it stemmed the ambitions of Russia towards India and Constantinople. 'Her daughter had married in Prussia, and had been Empress for a few brief months, but all that was left over from the splendid marriage was the pompous and dangerous young Emperor William IT., who had proved himself to be a mountebank and the enemy of England before he had been on the throne for one year. Neither contentment nor glory had come to Queen Victoria through the ambitious alliances in Europe. Nor had the cause of Royalty in England been strengthened by them. The Queen turned to the calm union between her grandson and a Princess, already loved and well known in the land, with infinite pleasure. Khe said. "Thank God, George has married such a good woman."

In 1914, when war was declared, British people were not obliged to look anxiously towards the Court and anticipate any cleavage in feelings or emotions there. - The Court reacted with the country, and, from the beginning to the end of the war, the King and Queen, represented a focus for loyalty and devotion. Moral Leadership. '< It can be, said, perhaps, -that King George was the one-man at the head of affairs during the war who'never made a mistake. His difficult position called for a large amount of tact, patience and foresight.. Perhaps some future historian will be able to see this aspect of his story in a true light which is denied to us now. To suggest that the King was a cipher during the war is nonsense. This was a German gibe. His influence was a per-manent-support in the shifting tides of battle, and it is terrible to think of the possible etl'ect upon loyalty if £he nation had lacked his moral leadership. The British might have been a demoralised people if we had lacked one permanent, trusted leader, while politicians and generals changed places and favour. The fall of monarchies has only .seemed to make King George's throne more secure and the indignities which came to kingship in other countries did not touch him.

While tlie personal influence of Royalty has increased in the past fifty years, the political - power has decreased, and the present King has been obliged to receive many violent reformers among his Ministers. The manner in which he has essayed this is truly a proof of— greatness. King- George has no time for bores, and he hates hunibug. Where the Socialist Ministers who came to him were sincere men, they found a man eager to understand them, willing to discover the best in them. The reception of Mr. J. H. Thomas has led to what might be called a friendship. There is a story of their first meeting which is,, as authentic as any which comes to us second hand. Mr. Thomas often has a healthy Elizabethan smack about his vocabulary. The vigorous Anglo-Saxon adjectives give colour to his. talk at times. He is said to-have used one or two when lie went to the King as Minister in Mr, Mae Donald's first Ministry. The King, a little surprised, said. "But, Mr. Thomas, I thought you were coming here to represent »a high-ii)inded and rather sanctimonious Government."

"Yes, that is true." answered Mr. Thomas, "but I am the relief."

Wise Advice. . The King's patience and foresight have carried him through the radical changes in a way perhaps Queen Victoria or King Edward would never have achieved. In time, when the letters of to-day are released for historians to pour over, this aspect of his achievement -will assume importance. When the poker-backed Tories sickened at the appointment; of Mr. MaeDonald as Prime Minister, the King repeated an. adage, which he had remembered from his days on the Bacchante: "In the Navy we have a motto, 'Keep your hair on.'" It was a homely and wise piece of advice in a troublous time. Hiis sanity gave the Socialist Government every chance. And it can be said that the. Socialists, without exception, fell under the spell of Ins justice, his- frank humour and. his, almost hidden, unsentimental kindliness,. The recent humiliation of Sir Stafford Cripps over his foolish attack on the King's rights is proof of the esteem in which the Monarch iis held by Socialist leaders. Then there', was' the. incident of Mr. McGovem, a Labour member, who chose an unfortunate moment to display his temper. During the opening of Parliament, and in the middle of tile King's speech, Mr. MeGovern interrupted His Majesty. It was a monstrous impertinence. The Hou.se of- Lords gasped. There was one calm man: one calm ..voice, continuing the speech. There was no flicker, no hesitation. It is said that when the King had ended his address and that when he was disrobing, he made his first comment on the incident. "Apparently,"'lie said, "somebody t-ie wanted | to make a speech, too." There, in nine word.*, ] wc have the mirror held up to the King's ■ character and humour. j