Bay of Plenty Times. EVENING DAILY SATURDAY, JANUARY 25th, 1936. KING EDWARD VIII

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXIV, Issue 11932, 25 January 1936, Page 2

Bay of Plenty Times. EVENING DAILY SATURDAY, JANUARY 25th, 1936. KING EDWARD VIII

The Royal youth whom we have known as the Prince of A\ ales ascends the throne of his forefathers with the affectionate goodwill of the composite nations which make up the British Commonwealth of nations. And we venture to say that he will fill the high position of constitutional monarch with complete satisfaction to his numerous subjects. As Prince of Wales he has had a wonderful training for kingship, travel has widened his knowledge of the great British Empire and its various peoples, and the environment in which lie has grown up, has made of him a good democrat. Edward Vi 11 will be as popular and beloved by the people as was his gracious father George V. It is unnecessary to lavish praise on our new King—the people know and love him, and the affection will grow, rather than diminish. It is pleasant to reflect on the flexibility and even the perfection of the unwritten British Constitution. “The King is dead, Long live the King.” We pass from one reign to another, but the transition involves merely bowing to King Death who enforces the transition. The head of the British Constitution is always there, and law and order are never absent. The constitution of no other country is just as good, because in no other is there the same veneration for law and order as under the British Crown. In the United .Slates to-day President Roosevelt is the first citizen and head of the American Constitution, and yet it is on record that he was called a “liar” in Congress by a- Senator, Law and order are not held in the same veneration as they are in Britain. America cannot even guarantee its citizens a peaceful life. Bandits, gangsters and kidnappers menace the lives of old and young. Justice is tardy and never certain. The British constitution is by no means perfect, but it is the best in the world. King George V had to face many trials and tribulations, the Great War, and the Great Depression being two outstanding events, both of which must have torn at his heartstrings. Let us hope that Edward VIII will be spared such trials. The depression is passing away and a period of calm and international amity seems probable. . Let us hope that he may be long spared to reign over us, and that the years of his reign may be marked with world peace and international prosperity and goodwill.