“THE MONARCHY”

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 55, 29 November 1923, Page 10

“THE MONARCHY”

VALUE TO THE EMPIRE “IT IS PART OF OURSELVES” LECTURE AT COMMUNITY CLUB An instructive lecture on the subject of "The Monarchy” was delivered by Professor F. P. Wilson, occupant of the Chair of History at Victoria University College to Senior Cadets at the Community Club, Buckle Street, this week. Professor Wilson, who was received with acclamation, was accorded a most attentive and appreciative hearing.

Monarchy,” said Professor Wilson, is one of the oldest institutions in the wortd, but th<e term has undergone maire changes of meaning, corresponding to the many changes in the part which monarch, has played. In the earliest times he is the lawgiver in times of peace, and the leader in times of war. He represents te the groups of families forming the tribe the idea of the patriarch, the hbad of the family. He is tie father of his people, and feels towards them as a father feels towards his children. But, when the tie cf bicod is lost, the Monarch often allows his own ambition to direct bis conduct, and subordinating the good of Iris people to his own ends, he becomes a tyrant. Amoncst the Greeks the two terms, the “Monarch” or the King,” were used in a special sense as the ruler inspired by “virtue,” by which they meant perfect wisdom, whilst the ruler who used his power for his own purpose was a tyrant. “Amlongst our Teutonic Ancestors the King was essentially the leader of the tribe, chosen from a family supposed to be descended from the god ‘Woden.’ _ Elected by the fighting men of the tribe, for the Saxons lived in tribes or clans of a few hundred people, his mission was symbolised by the warriors raising him on their shields, as they shouted their war-cries. Alfred, in his leadership of the Saxons against the Danes, affords a splendid example of the high-minded, selfsacrificing, patient, and heroic leader. He- is Alfred the Great, however, not merely because he conquered the Danish invaders, and forced them to leave his West Saxon kingdom in peace, but because, physically weak though he was, he gave his whole life to th|3 good of his beloved people, who paid him back with an equal love.

“The Conquest opened a new phase. Tlie King was now a conqueror, the head of a great military organisation, harsh and stern towards in’s subjects. But two generations after the Conquest, William’s son Henry earned the name ‘The. Trion of Justice’ from his Saxon subjects, on whose support he leaned. After him a tyrant would meet with, opposition at the bands of his subjects, in whom Norman and Saxon had blended to form the English people. Government was sfill in the hands of the Ring, but his Great Council, consisting of the greater lords, nut a check on tyranny.

“New Era in Government of England.”

“When Edward I. called to Parliament the knights of the shire and the representatives of the towns to vote taxation, ho began a new era in the Government of England. Parliament gradually realised that the power of refusing supplies gav-e them the mastery, and. redress <f grievances then went hand in hand with the voting of money. x From this time the importance of Parliament increased rapidly. Under the Tudor sovereigns Parliament seemed content to take a back seat. The Tudors, especially ‘bluff King Hal’ and Elizabeth, knew .their people and worked with them tor the good of England. Nothing is more striking in history than the perfect understanding between Good Queen Bess and her subjects, and the great outburst of national enthusiasm and glory which her leadership of the nation called out. There is a striking contrast In'tween the love shown by her for. her subjects, and the suspicion with which her successor, Janies 1., was regarded —suspicion which deepened into hostility under his son Charles I. Charles lost his head on the scaffold, but the stern days of the Commonwealth made England long for the return of the Monarchy. But the Monarchy must be one ruling in accordance with law, and not an arbitrary cne. So when James 11. tried to dispense with the law, opposition was quickly roused. and the peaceful revolution of 1688 established the principle that the Monarchy must be a constitutional one. It could no longer lie a tyranny; the novyer had passed to liament, which, though corrupt, did at least represent national interests. “The transfer of the Crown of Great Britain to the House of Hanover marked another stage in the position of the Crown, for the first two kings of the Hanoverian line did not understand British politics, and absenting themselves from Cabinet meetings on that .account, were content to leave the Government in the hand's of Ministers. Thus the constitutional practice developed bv which the actual government of the country was not in the hands of the monarch, but in those of the Ministers, who. representing a majority in Parliament, could carrv their measures through the House.

"King Reigns, But Does Not Govern." "From that time, although the monarchy, in theory, retains many prerogatives, it has become a fixed rule that government, though carried on in tho name of the king, must always be hv tho advice of the Ministers.. So lono- as Ministers command a majority in the House of Representatives, the King must take their advice, except, perhaps, when he has reason to believe that that majority is not representative of the true opinion of the country.

“The King reigns, hut doos not .govern. So many people, not realising what the monarchy really is, consider it should be abolished, and some other form of government, such as a Republic, set up. “Probably the two men who work hardest in the government of Great Britain are His Majesty the King and the Prime Minister. The King had the advantage in that he has no political leanings. If a Labour Government is set up in Great Britain, the Labour Prime Minister will gain much bv his consultations with His Majesty. whose experience and sympathy will be at his disposal. At a recent Labour meeting in New South Wales, one sneaker declared that the King’s ‘iob’ was.a very difficult and trying one. It is not one to be envied: it involves a devotion to. duty which calls for the highest qualities and for great self-sacrifice. King George is king by will of the people. He accents his high office with the responsibilities it entails. His is not » life of pleasure; it. is one of work. Many hours of each dav are taken up with consultations wvJi Miaistera, attending Jo-

nondence. receiving ambassadors from foreign countries. attending State functions —innumerable duties, which, only one who sacrifices self to the good of his country could endure. He can rarely escape the public gaze: ms every action is noted and commented on. “Unselfish Devotion to the Public Good.” “In return for this unselfish devotion to the public .rood, the King receives the lovaltv of his subjects. An American recently wrote: ‘Few Americans realise what the Throne and the Royal Family mean in the life of the British people. Our idea of the King is coloured, bv our Republican .prejudices —not knowing that England is in many wavs more democratic than America. The other day. in the City Temple, an American snoke of the King as an ‘animated flag.’ little dreaming of the thing of which he is a symbol and the profound affection in which he is held. There is something spiritual in this devotion to the King, something mystical. and the Empire would scarcely hold together without it- Never, in their true hours, do the British people brag of Britain as a.world power, actual or potential. It is al wavs the home and the hearth. Of every Briton ■we mav say. as Bunvan said of Greatheart. ‘But that which nut glory of grace into all that he did l was that he did it for pure love of his country. This sentiment finds incarnation in thh Royal Family, in whom the home rises above nartv and is untouched by the gusts of passion.’ Represents our institutions." “At a time when thrones are falling, th’e British King moves freelv amongst his people, everywhere honoured and beloved, and all who know the worth of this Empire to civilisation rejoice and give thanks. . “Our monarchy is part of ourselves. It represents our institutions. Its development is bound up with the development of our race. It is democratic. a higher type of democracy than one in which the nominal head of the State is the representative of a party. It takes its full share in government, but is always at the service of the majority. It is above class, for it represents the whole nation. Ihe K- g is interested in all. in every nmvbment which promises a better England. Lovaltv to the King is loyalty to ourselves and to our fellow-citizens. Honouring ihe king, we honour ourselves and our country. When we sing the National Anthem we are "Hering a prayer, not for an ’"dividual but for ourselves and our country Thei man who refuses to sing is to mtied. for ho does not understand that the words ‘God save our gracious King mean ■God save us. our homes our friends, our liberty, our country. < The lecturer was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.