Page 9 Advertisements Column 1

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 April 1926, Page 9

“JAMES THE FIRST” “PATRIARCH OF WINDSOR” v . ’ . ’ / STRANGE HEAD OF NEW RELIGION AT the head of a new religious movement. which is to include ex-Servieemen of Great Britain and America, is a strange individual who styles himself alternately “.Tames I” and the “Patriarch of Windsor.” In a luxurious flat in Bloomsbury, the Patriarch struts* about in robes and bishop’s mitre. Private means, he says, keep him in his self-appointed ecclesiastical position. But. “James I.” is not unknown to the Sunday Chronicmle, and a special representative paid a visit to li}s new establishment. He gives his account thus: — James the First stood me a whisky and soda in his palace off the Tottenham Court road. With a steady hand he poured out three fingers from a bottle labelled “Scotch,’’ added a dash of soda in a practised manner, and wished me “good luck” and “all the best” for the New Year with truly Royal courtesy. Three flights of stairs led me to the portcullis of his palace—a mansion flat with a brass knocker on the door bearing a coat of arms with three castles rampant and the word “Windsor.” A butler in a blue uniform with gold facings answered the doro. “Is James the First at home?” I asked. The next moment a figure in a crimson robe swept out of a side door and extended a plump hand of welcome. It was James himself. It needed more than one glance to take him all in. One’s eye travelled from the jewelled cross suspended round his neck by a slender gold chain, hung a moment on his silken cummerbund with its gold tassels and loops, and had scarcely recovered from the shock when it came to rest at a pair of scarlet morocco slippers ornamented by huge buckles. . Ilorn-rimmed glasses and rings of pantomime size put the finishing touches to a startling toilet. James the First, as he styles himself —or to give him his other official cognomen, “His Excellency the Patriarch of Windsor” —is a young man who sits on a gilded throne at the head of a new religious movement which is to include the ex-Service men of Britain and the United States, and which has been set up, he claims,, “in memorv of 1 the men who died in the Great War.” For some time, owing to a visit to America, he has been out of the public eye. He has now returned with the ambitious idea of having himself crowned with a real gold, crown at Windsor. For a modest start, he proposes to build a Mother-Cathedral, where he will keep a bodyguard of ex-officers and men arrayed in blue and white uniforms like a Ruritanian a rmy. But there are many mysterious features about this self-styled Patriarch that require explanation. His real name is James Bartholomew Banks. A few years ago he came to London with scarcely a penny in his pocket. To-day he rents a flat for which lie ]*avs £3OO a year, and is able to keep a butler. Still only a beardless boy, he is already Aveighed doiim with titles and distinctions. Upon his finger he A\ r ears a gigantic episcopal seal, and when he takes part in one of his ceremonies his insignia include a magnificent gothic mitre and an elaborate crozier. From a self-styled priest he has risen by Swift and dazzling steps to his present proud eminence. It is a great career to have achieved in a few years. “There is nothing mysterious about me,” Banks said, smilingly. “I know the Big Four have been taking an unusual interest in my doings, but I am really quite an innocent person. Everything is open and above-board. ‘‘ My idea is simply to establish a sort .of permanent memorial to the men who died in the Avar. In my vieiv there is no church Avhich eaters as it should for the men of to-day. I may be wrong, but I think that a good many men are rather shy of attending a church which is packed to the doors Avith Avomen. "> “We do-not encourage women at our services, but if any cOme, of course they are made welcome. ” . Formerly Banks had a church at Maiden Lane, Strand, W.C. There he sat beside the High Altar on anrArchiepiscopal Throne, and held his services. AfterAvards it became a club, and for several months noAV the scarlet cushions and the pink throne have been stored aAvay. He iioav estimates that it Avill cost, between fifteen and.tAventy thousands pounds for his new regalia as Patriarch of his proposed cathedral at Windsor. He would not venture an estimate of the cost of the -cathedral itself.

KING, OR SUBSTITUTE? a BEHEADING OF CHARLES I. JTVHE 377t1i anniversary of the execution of King Charles I —it was on January 30 —was responsible for the opening of a discussion on the question “Was Charles 11. beheaded or was his place on the block taken by a substitute. To Vice-Admiral B. M. Chambers belongs the credit of initiating the discussion, which has continued since, though the great majority of people accept the version of .standard histories and the writing of most historians that no substitute went to the block to oblige the man. whose head hadl been in request'. Admiral Chambers’ contention is that there is no .goodl ground for believing that King Charles escaped the axe and lived' on as Elias Ashmole, the founder of the Ashimolean Museum at Oxford. v “King Charles, the martyr, was one of the most romantic characters in our history,” declared the admiral. “Around his trial and execution a vast mass of legend and tradition has accumulated. “Not the least curious of such is that which identifies Elias Ashmole, the founder of the Ashmolcan Museum with King Charles—a strange theory built on a slight foundation of curious fact, sufficient, however, to prove attractive to minds of a certain bent. “Elias Ashmole,” says the Dictionary of National Biography, “wasjjno ordinary man. The visitor who enters the. museum at Oxford, on arrival at the top of the stairs, will see immediately in front of him three splendid portraits. “They were presumably painted by the same artist, which, no doubt, accounts for the curious likeness which pervades the three works. With two this is natural, for those to right and left are portraits of . King James 11. and King Charles II.; but the central portrait, which is the finest and not the least kingly of the three, is that of Elias Ashmole, the f bundlin'. “King Charles, Grand Master of the Freemasons —say those who support the theory—could never have been executed by men who were Masons themselves. To avoid this difficulty* a substitute took his place on the scaffold, while he withdrew to honoured retirement at Oxford. The scribe in the official picture representing the execution writes the account with liis left hand. a. symbolism, of course, indicating that he writes the thing which does not exist. ’ “They further point out that after the restoration this. obscure person, Elias Ashmole, became at once Windsor Herald and had the close of Henry VIII. assigned to liis use, so that he eould' bo in close touch with the king. They point to the sardonic smile which was chronic on the face of Charles II

TIA JUANA

MEXICO’S MONTE CARLO -yy-HAT was once the scene of a skirmish in the Mexican Revolution in 1911 is no'vv one of the premier gambling centres of the world, ranking second only to Monte Carlo. This small town, Tia Juana by name, which when translated means in English Aunt Jane, is by no means saintly and sedate as its name depicts. Tia .Tuana (pronounced by Americans as Teeahwanna) is just over the Mexican border territory, and is described as a border town. It is less than JO miles from San Diego, which is on the American side of the boundary. San Diego is the resort where the elite of America “summer.” So, one may see, this small town is very handy for thirsty and reckless AmeriOn any Friday or Saturday in any part of the year, large crowds of tourists are to be seen motoring over the'border for a hectic week-end. On arrival there, all the cosmopolitan tastes of the American are cateted for. In one palace alone there is every gambling game imaginable played, from the lowest to society/s pick, let us say, from crown and anchor or the "three-card trick" to bridge or roulette. Crowds flock here during the evening, where the play continues right through Sunday, disregarding the Sabbath, until the players tire. While outside the parking area, which takes in two acres, four traffic attendants are continuously busy regulating the traffic, so there will be no bother when the car owners come out. When they do come out, in some cases ytry sprightly, they tip the attendants /100 dollars, after winning; while others \ome out with all the life taken out of them, the attendants in these cases receiving only the stipulated fee. This is only one of the attractions at Tia .Tuna. Besides this there is a racecourse, on which races are held for 365 consecutive days.* Then there is the stadium, where the bull fights take place. But this has lately lost the public favour, who would rather lose their money at racing than watch matadors risk their lives at bull lighting. Of course, the gambling is not sufficient to entice the wily Americans from their luxurious homes. They can obtain sufficient of this in their own country without travelling to another for enjoyment. The other attraction is "hootch," or, as we would say, drink. Since prohibition was brought about in America, some of these people will do anything, to obtain /"hootch." Well, Tia Juana is an ideal place for the booze-loving class. There is one small bar. In fact, it is said to bo the smallest in the world, which measures 12 feet x 9 feet, and in this, hovel there is every drink known throughout the world, from beer to champagne. BM this is not the only bar in the town. Oh, no, far from it. There is an hotel practically on every street corner, they are all well patronised. Next comes the cabarets. These are generally part of the hotels. All the flappers and their swains congregate there after they have tired of gambling. They drink the whole night through, and ■then ieave for home, arriving back on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning feeling fit or otherwise for the week's work before they decide to have another week-end frolic to Tia Juana.