CAN SELL THE NAVY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4954, 11 February 1937, Page 2

CAN SELL THE NAVY

0RIGHT OF BRITISH KING. Few people realise that the King of England has the power to start or stop a war without consulting Parliament; he can declare war with any country without asking the consent of the legislators. But it is the right of Parliament to withhold appropriations for the conduct of a war that the King may start on his own accord, says the “Winnipeg Free Press.” The King can conclude peace without the consent of Parliament. And he can cede British territory to a friendly or enemy country, make treaties or alliances without the sanction of that body. British constitutional authorities concede that even to-day King George “has the sole right to cede territory, arid that this right is not

vested in Parliament or the Government.” Occasionally an impulsive monarch, taking his or her prerogative too seriously, has had brushes with his or her Ministers. Mr. Gladstone, on a number of occasions, was forced to inform Queen Victoria that the Royal Prerogative would be better exercised with the consent of her Majesty’s Ministers. R. Reid Wyckhame, one of Britain's foremost authorities on constitutional law, declared the other day that nowadays the British Royal Prerogative “is confined to matters of mercy and equity, and only in the domestic affairs of the Royal Family itself, such as marriages, the education of the Royal Children, etc., is the Sovereign’s personal 'law to be obeyed.’ ” “Nevertheless,” Mr. Wyckhame continues, “the Royal Prerogative is an interesting survival, and if it were possible to abolish it, there might be some disconcerting and highly incon-

venient results.” So strange and weird is that most famous of all the "unwritten laws” in the world, the British Constitution. Still, theoretically, the King can do, or omit to do, certain things, and no matter how serious or inconvenient the results of his actions may be, he can not be held answerable - for them by the law of the land. The King can do no wrong and he cannot be sued in courts of law. If a British subject feels injured by any act of the King, he can only petition him for redress. The King can pardon a criminal, restore him his civil rights, or reduce a sentence. He can coin money. He is the legal owner of all customs. He can collect excise taxes, income taxes, inheritance taxes, and pocket the entire proceeds. He is the legal owner of all treasure troves. He inherits the wealth of his subjects who die without “next of kin.” Of course, in these instances the King hands over the proceeds to the British Treasury.

The British Sovereign is the guardian of all lunatic asylums. He has the right to open the gates of prisons and asylums and free all the criminals and lunatics. He can dismiss all his soldiers and sailors, sell the British Navy to anyone he wishes, and pocket the money. He is the guardian of all infants. If he wants to he can charge all British parents for his services. Pariament may impeach a man, but the King may set him free if that tribunal passes sentence on him. The King can dismiss a Government without consulting his Ministers. King William IV attempted this about a century ago. No other Sovereign has since tried it. The British Parliament may pass an Act, but it doesn’t become a law until the Sovereign consents. And the Parliament cannot pass an Act over his veto.

Queen Anne once declined to consent to an act passed by Parliament. She learned her lesson.

The British King may give honours to whomever he pleases. As a matter of fact he seldom confers honours without the advice of his Prime Minister.

He can also deprive men of all British honours. Yet seldom has a British King ever used this prerogative. True, the late King George deprived the ex-Kaiser and the Emperor Francis Josef of all British honours. In these cases the King was obeying the wishes of the British public during the height of the war.