TO SAVE MONARCHY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 296, 14 December 1936, Page 7

TO SAVE MONARCHY.

KING EDWARD'S LEAVING.

CHURCH'S VIEW OF GRAVE CRISIS. DECAY OF RELIGIOUS MYSTICISM. (By Telegraph.' —Press Association.—Copyright.—Kec. 12 noon.) LONDON, December 13. "King Edward went in order that the Monarchy might remain an effectual symbol—a sacrament of national unity," declared Bishop Barnes, at Birmingham. He added: "The Englishman is neither a Pharisee nor a harsh judge. Throughout the crisis, when some of the strongest feelings which move us were unloosed, the people's essential kindness and political wisdom did not fail. We have brought, by the grace of God, good from evil. Our unity has been strengthened by a week of painful distress. Our new Sovereigns are worthy of the great position to which they have been called. "Both in Britain and the Dominions there is a semi-mysi:ical regard for the King, which has grown more profound in the present century and has found legal expression in the Statute of Westminster. We hope that decay of religious mysticism is not permanent, but partly because of such decay of mysticism, joining patriotism and loyalty to the leader, it has become one of the most potent forces of our era. Yet, being so potent, it is de.ngerous if the confidence in the leader is to be injured and profound dismay excites emotional turmoil. "The Sovereign, by virtue of that mystical regard, must be the nation's ideal. Only a grave moral issue can destroy such regard, but if such issues force a crisis the King's position becomes impossible. Already most of the British people on reflecting on recent events, feel that King Edward's abdication had become a necessity, bu'c for him personally there is much sympathy. '