THE GREATEST KING

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 22, 27 January 1936, Page 4

THE GREATEST KING

CAUSE FOR GRATITUDE

Choosing as his text the words, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord," the Rev William Gilmour, 8.A., of Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church, in making special reference to. the passing of King George, said in a sermon yesterday morning that when God gave to the Empire King George* He gave no small gift. He gave us a great constitutional ruler, a Kirig with a strong personality that had sustained the Commonwealth of Nations- during his memorable 25 years' reign. , "Modern kings still make history, if not in the same way as the'old kings,", said Mr. Gilmour. "We believe that history will single out as the great distinction o£ our late Sovereign, his gift of getting the best, out of everyone. What he had done perhaps better than any other Monarch was to diffuse an influence under which we gave to our country the best that was in us. Would anyone else have brought us through the political crisis with which his reign began; the devastating war years of 1914-18, and the post-war 15 years of dislocated economy, and puzzled, groping social policies? The least slip on his part might have had the gravest consequences. The whole Empire, and, in particular, Ireland, has cause to remember him with gratitude." A TROUBLED REIGN. When we speak of a great King nowadays, w§ do not mean a man who can wield thunderbolts, or force his subjects to do his will. Perhaps the day has gone for that type of leader, whether in a Royal or another station. The great King is he who can best make the spirit of unity among us, so that our will is equal to tasks which might be beyond the reach of the most stupendous genius. In this sense, our late King has been among our great Kings, and it is no exaggeration to say that he was' one of the greatest in our history. His reign look him through troublesome waters, and if he cannot be said to have bestridden events so vast and so far-reaching-no man could—his quality matched them as the captain's skill matches the storms of an angry sea. His father, King Edward yil, was popu-'

lar, and was styled the Peacemaker and reigned for a brief period. Victoria was a great legend, rather than a personality to the great mass of the people. That George the Fifth was the best Monarch for more than 300 years, is one of the proud things that can be said of our late Sovereign.

"Speaking of the married life of the late King and his devoted wife, Mr. Gilmour said their life was a model of what marriage ought to be.

"History gave us Alfred the Great and Frederick the Great, but I believe the war gave us George the Great," said Mr. Gilmour. "He was known to every soldier as a friend, and to every citizen, including the children, as the father of a great family. Tact, industry, and monumental unselfishness adorned his activities, and made them lasting. In an age when thrones have tottered and crumbled, the Throne of Great Britain stands firm as a rock, cemented by the good will of a people and sanctified by the idealism of a King who was the most practical monarch in the world."