ROYAL GEORGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 126, 29 May 1937, Page 1 (Supplement)

ROYAL GEORGE.

TRAGEDY OF A GOOD MAN. I A MONARCH'S MISTAKES. I (By CYRANO.) George the Third Should never have occurred. I sometimes wonder Who was responsible for this dreadful blunder. At the end of the World War a friend propounded to me the theory that there might be a Providence watching over England. This is a comfortable thought to be found in quite a number of minds, but one did not look for it in that of an Irish Nationalist well versed in the history of his country. He particularly instanced attempted invasions of Ireland by the French at the end of the eighteenth century, when the winds, as they did in the days of the Armada, blew in England's favour. England was sorely beset with external and internal troubles in those days, and if the 15,000 French who got as "far as Bantry Bay had landed it might have gone much harder with her. My friend seemed to think there might have been the hand of Providence in those winds. I have been reminded of the incident by a new biography of George 111. in which the conditions of those swaying years—a stupid king who went out of his mind, shameless corruption in high places and grinding poverty at the bottom, savage laws and discipline such as helped to produce the mutiny of the Bounty, and on England's flank a fiercely discontented Ireland—are vividly set forth. With a little lucjc a skilful and determined enemy might have made things vastlv unpleasant for England.

Virtue and Stupidity. r< ulliam v's book* is not a particularly striking- ulography. It shows the faults of the imitators of Lvtfon Strachev and Phillip Guedalla." It strives too much after the personal and the picturesque. The story opens wltli a lively account of the winning of Dettingen by George ll.—the last time a king of England led an army in battle— but this has little or nothing to do with George 111. One loses count of the number of times George 111. walks on the terrace at Windsor and doffs his hat and says, "Hey—what—what—what?" The value of the book lies in the fact that it throws the main light on the man who was ruler in that time of tremendous events, when we lost the American colonies and met the wind of the French Revolution and conquered Napoleon and emerged from long years of war the strongest nation in the world, with the worst horrors of the Industrial Revolution still to come. It enables the reader to see the Royal figure separated to some extent from the crowded events of his reign. It is the exalted position occupied by George that makes him worth studying. Had he been a country squise he" would not have risen aboye the ruck of his class though Mr. Vulliamy tells us that he

was a really competent farmer. It is often said that more harm is done in the world by stupid people than by bad people, and George 111. is a striking example in support. By standards commonly applied he was a good man. He was honest, kind, amiable, affectionate and physically courageous; and his domestic life was pure. Private scandal is sometimes public misfortune, as with Charles Stewart Parnell. It is not cynical to say that if George 111. had beaten his wife and kept two or three mistresses, but at the same time had shown a moderate amount of political sense, it would have been better for England. Unfortunately, in their effect on his country's fortunes, his virtues were much less potent than his faults. It was his narrowness of mind, his rigid insistence on principles, his unshakable belief in the necessity of maintaining the Royal authority, that cost England the American colonies, and his bigotry that made him stand out against Catholic emancipation. England and America.

Long views are desirable in history, and to-day we can perhaps see more clearly what the American Revolution really meant to Britain and the world. It is said that Britain could not have kep£ the American colonies attached indefinitely, and that even if she had. the capital of the Empire would have been New York, not London. The point to-day, however, is that if separation had been caused by factors other than rebellion Britain would stand a much better chance of enlisting American help in the cause of world peace. Moreover, the American feeling towards Britain that was a product of the revolution was strengthened over a long period by Britain's treatment of Ireland. The evil that George 111. wrought has outlived him long. Yet Mr. Vulliamy concludes his biography with the comment that the reader's conclusions about the King need not be uncharitable; "they may, indeed, be considerably modified by promptings of pity." George w called to a task for which lie was unfitted, and the very honesty and simplicity of his character not only deepen the tragedy of his blunders, but appeal to onr sense of compassion. His mind was so simple that in a time of crisis he could busy himself happily with the detail of a uniform. He was happiest when he was riding or walking about Windsor, talking to tradesmen and farmers. The madness that came upon him increased his popularity among the people by touching their hearts. And—the irony of ithe gained in public estimation through the behaviour of his sons—especially the Prince of Wales. They were an affliction which few men can have deserved Thackeray had George IV. in mind when he wrote of his father that the heart of Britain still beat kindly for George in. —"not because he was wise and just, but because he was pure in life, honest in intent, and because according to his lights he worshipped Heaven." From the Georges there issued—through a marriage made for State reasons—Victoria. We may admit all Victoria's

faults, and ret ask whether there is anything of the kind in history that is more like a miracle. Perhaps my Irish friend detects here also the possibility of providential intervention. English Minorities. This biographer's remark that "there was an honest confusion in hie mind which identified the good of the conntry with his own will" is probably as accurate an explanation of George's political policy as one could frame. One finds men like George in responsible positions; any kind of opposition is regarded a£ disloyalty. George, however, had to meet with a great deal of opposition. Strong minorities opposed both the American war and the war with Napoleon. The World War of 1914-18 found Britain much more united. "One of the great and hopeful qualities of the English people," says Mr. Yulliamy. "is their refusal to be unanimous. The obstinate intelligence of the English minority has always persisted. and often prevailed, in opposing the follies of Parliament: and even where it has not prevailed it has acted as a timely regulato."—a comment that should be noted for use in the daily discussions about democracy and its alternatives. The State of England. This is a good book to give a pessimist. The state of England in the closing years of George lll.'s reign was enough to daunt the stout-hearted. Look at Shelley's description of it:

An old. mad, blind, despised and dvin" king, " I Princes, the dregs of their dull race, who flow Through public scorn—mud from a muddv spring— Rulers who neither see, nor feel, nor know. But leech-like to their fainting countrr cung, T,U blow dr ° P blind in bl ° od without a A r fieW, aDd StSbbCd 5 " the and so on. Shelley exaggerated—for one thing the dying king received a good ft affection from his people—but the outlook was certainly black. Beneath all this stupidity and selfishness and corruption and crueltv, however, lay solid national strength and virtue There was, for example, the evangelical movement, which was reviving the sense of Christian responsibilitv In societies large and small weakness "is a - i, to . m ' ar B er than strength. especially ,n the eyes of enemies. Many a political party, many a nation, has learned the truth of this through bitter experience. But, comparing the England of George lll.'s time with the England of to-day a pessimist should see some ground for hope. Four times the population three times better off. is. if I remember rightly, one economist's summary of the p'lanjre. If there has been so much improvement in the last i hundred years or so, what may not the next hundred years produce? •"Royal George: A Study of King George 111., His Experiments in Monarchy, His Decline and Retirement: with a View of SocietT. Politics and Historic Events During His Reign," by C. IS. VullUmy 1 (Jonathan Cape).