Evening Post. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1935. LESSONS OF THE JUBILEE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 104, 4 May 1935, Page 8

Evening Post. SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1935. LESSONS OF THE JUBILEE

In the universal rejoicings throughout the Empire over the celebration by a beloved Monarch of the twentyfifth anniversary of his accession to the Throne the deeper significance of iho occasion may pass unnoticed. It is therefore fitting to dwell on two aspects of his Majesty's reign which seem to us worthy of study by all citizens of the Empire. The first is the character of die King himself, as revealed in the discharge of his high office through some of the most difficult years in the long and chequered history of the British people. The second is the solitary supremacy of the Crown in the Constitution of the British Empire today. These two aspects will be found to have a close relationship to each other!

When King George V came, to the Throne twenty-five years ago he had none of the popularity, it has been [stated, of the present Prince of Wales. Greatly overshadowed by his father, ,King Edward VII, he was regarded as an , ordinary English gentleman, simple .in his tastes, a 'good naval officer, a fine shot, but with no exceptional qualities, just a typical Englishman, unassuming, unostentatious, unselfish. His first speech to his Privy Council moved all hearts in sympathy. "I have lost," he said, ''not only a father's ' love, but the affectionate and intimate 'relations of a- dear friend and adviser. Standing here a little more than nine years ago, our beloved King declared that as long as there was breath in his body he would work for the good and amelioration of his people. -To endeavour to follow in his footsteps and at the same time to uphold the constitutional government of these realms will be the earnest object of my life." A few days later, in, a message to the people, he concluded: "With such thoughts I take courage, and hopefully look to the future; strong in my faith in God, trusting my people, and cherishing the Laws and Constitution of my beloved country." That was twenty-five years ago. How faithfully the King has kept his word then given, through all the trials and troubles since, may be read in the story of his life we publish in this issue, and how rich, has been the reward in the love of his people and the respect of all the world we know by the signs about us and the tidings from overseas of popular enthusiasm for his Silver Jubilee festival. Snch is the triumph of devotion to duty, adherence to principle, steadfastness in ordeal, kindness of heart and thought for others, the simple, yet sublime virtues of the ordinary, > honest citizen1 of a democracy, perfected in prac-! tice, an example to all the world of what may be accomplished by character and common sense, rising to strength and wisdom by conscientious exercise in the "daily round, the common task." This is : the lesson the King leaves to all ,his people to learn and the hope he inspires in,die hearts'of the most humble/ of his subjects of a useful achievement in life. That the Crown is all in all, so far as the unity of the Empire is concerned, is probably not yet adequately realised, though the critical times through which Europe is now passing may test the effectiveness of the new Constitution sooner than we expect. There is no longer an Imperial Parliament in name and theidea of Imperial Federation with which statesmen of the Empire toyed a; generation ago never came near the realm of practical politics. The difficulty of the Dominions over "diplomacy without representation" is still not completely solved, but there is now a bond of unity in allegiance to a common King far stronger than the ties of even a mild subservience to the Imperial Parliament at Westminster which occasionally chafed a colony with growing aspirations. Whose was the genius that conceived of the Crown as the only satisfactory symbol of unity we do not know, but if it was not that of the King himself, it was the prestige and dignity of the Crown raised in the eyes of the people by its present wearer and the Royal

Family that gave the idea instant validity. One can think of past rulers of Britain whose conduct might not have commended the adoption of such a symbol. Thus the two aspects on which at the outset we elected to dwell are found to be intimately connected. The cardinal virtues of courage, vigilance, fidelity find yet a higher sphere of service. The world has none higher than that conferred by the British Crown today, with its profounder responsibilities towards the Dominions and the rest of- the Empire. It has been justly pointed out that while the King reigns he does not rule. Constitutionally he "can do no wrong," but socially, ceremonially | and in touch with the people, there is no wrong that a King cannot commit, with consequent damage to the | prestige of the Crown and die fabric of the Constitution. Hence the scrupulous care with which his Majesty has always carried out his duties, ably seconded by the Queen and the Royal Family. The democracies of the British Commonwealth have been singularly happy in their King in this respect and also in the King's representatives in their midst. But if a King has his duties to his people, so in turn the people have their duties to their King. If the foundations of the Throne are broader today than they have ever been 'before, it is due to an esteem and affection that are mutual, and with the Crown as a symbol not only.of the unity of the Empire, but of the very liberty of its constituent nations to live their own lives, these are feelings devoutly to be cherished. No example could be better than the King has set and it is for the people to try to live up to it.