DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

Evening Star, Issue 10339, 12 June 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

DIAMOND JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

TO THB EDITOB. Sir,— lt appears to me that whatever opinion “J.8.H.” has of himself, he has a' very poor one of his fellow-people, as regards, at any rate, the.choice of persons on whom they bestow’ their appreciation. It is quite true that those who have done all in their power towards the furtherance of the good of humanity have not always received the appreciation that their efforts deserved. Human nature undoubtedly often mistakes the sham for the real, but 1 do not believe we go to the extreme, and, as “J.8.H.” says, “delight to honor most those who have never performed a great and useful action in their lives; . . . who have consistently set their faces against the abuses of their times.” Will your correspondent please mention the kings, priests, and S” ‘oians “who have deliberately hinthe progress of our race and are now receiving the homage of millions of our kind.” Mr Gladstone’s policy did not please everyone, but he is revered by almost every English-speaking person. Has he never assisted to bring about any improvement in our social couditiou ? Again, “J.8.H.” says: “The statues and monuments in our great cities are not erected to those who have striven for universal justice ; to those who have spent their lives in research to add to the store of human knowledge, but principally to princes-and kings who had neither inclination nor capacity to ‘ do any of these things.” This statement I do not believe is true. J am not familiar with the Old Country, but do there not lie in Westminster Abbey statesmen, soldiers, -and poets ' held in deepest reverence by the British nation, and whose claim to be placed atrestin such a hallowed place was based upon their labors to exalt their native land and its inhabitants. In our own City to whom have statues been erected ? Robert Burns (has he not given to the world “ a literature that has done much for'civilisation ”?), Mr Macandrew, and Captain Cargill. ' Surely we did not erected monuments, as “J.8.H,” suggests, to them because of their efforts to hinder the growth of this province. Why, sir, “ J.B.H.’s ” assertions are absurd on the face of them.

It appears to me Hhatr ytiur correspondent is desirous of having the usual tilt at royalty. We all know that there must be a ruler. It is a necessity of the people. Granted that there ate faults with the system adopted by the British, can " J.8.H." point to a better? France and America are certainly no happier I in their system, and. the pedple of Canada know it, as witness their enthusiastic ex-' pressions of fealty. John Bull is longheaded enough to hold on to what suits him j very well on the whole till he is sure of something proven to be better. In the ' history of England there have been times -when royalty has been deposed, but the' nation has soon reinstated it. It is true it costs a lot of money, but so did the last Presidential election in America. ;

What has Queen Victoria done? She certainly has not the pbwelr that the Czar or the Emperor of Germany has, but her office is no sinecure, as "J.B.H."says. Many of her Ministers have confessed that her help in the most trying of situations has been of the greatest value, and it has been stated that on more than one occasion her personal influence has been the means of preventing war'between Britain and other nations. And sorely this latter is a matter of no small moment when one takes into consider*-; tion the dreadful coat war entails. The! Queen has led a most moral life, and the effect bt this upon the nation cannot be overestimated. Court society, which was in a. most unhealthy state at the time of Victoria's ascent, has besn,ifc~ is generallyconceded, greatly raised ia. its tone, owing to Her Majesty's refusing to tolerate about her any person whose reputation was at all questionable. She has always been to the fore in. encouraging aots of philanthropy, and her personal acts of benevolence are many. f But the reason for the present jubilation is something more than Her Majesty attain-, ipga record ih>tespeotiifk|ig& efreigntof English sovereigns. Xhe occasion- of th'e sixtieth year of her reign is being seized to celebrate the progress made by the Empire, during the last sixty years—progress that ; exceeds all that -made during the 600 years preceding. It cannot be denied that the social conditions of the people have Improved vastly during the iWtt ate -decades, Bas poverty there always will .-be, wnether there, be rpjralty or not. > ■* J.B.|L" lifaks'sfiffec-! eSßtly, perhaps. He, I pappose, wishes aIF men placed on one level, Ufeespective of their intelligence or industry. rAnd beqafUßft/«the; the faddists desire to revolutionise, society he prates'' of injustioe, unappreoift-; tional enthusiasm" be the ereofcion of ohil-

dteb’s bond tali, asylums for the poor and needy, and of public libraries, «tp., I think most of ua will agree that a Mamond thing -after all.—laii|pMß*""lgr ■ i-f ,!r J^YOUN( I ®r-w ZtaM'rawu Dunedin, J 10.