THE ROYAL VISIT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12535, 24 June 1901, Page 6

THE ROYAL VISIT.

If, as the optics tell us, there was more enthusiasm among the Ohrlst church people on the arrival of the .Duke and. Duchess of York than in the northern cities, New Zealand , can hardly he said to have lost its head during the Royal visit. But, happily, the heart, of a people is not to be .measured by the volume c.f its cheers. ■Curiosity is a strong characteristic of the colonies, and the crowds that lined'the streets on Saturday' were often too anxious to catch a glimpse of the Heir Apparent and his consort to remember to cheer. But thev were not undemesnstrative, and, considering the absence of mere spectacular effects, the short, simple functions of the day were something more than. a tuoces d’estime. It is not easy to define the exact attitude of the colonies towards Royalty; perhaps it would not be wise to attempt * the task. In New Zealand, at least, we are; in a transition stage. We arc far.removecl 1 from the influences which would keep us true to the constitutional system, of a personal monarchy, and the visits of Royalty are so much like angels’ visits that our loyalty lacks the intensely personal note. But we are not old enough to have shaken ourselves free from the bonds of tradition, and beneath our devotion to the Empire and our-pride in the history of the Motherland there is a reverence for the reigning house. If the Duke of York came to us simply as the grandson of the dead Queen we should greet him and honour him for the sake of the love we knew. Remembering that this Royal tour is a fulfilment of Queen Victoria’s express desire, could we <Jo other than take the Prince into our hearts? But there' is more to be said. The Prince is the King’s own deputy, his messenger to the people of the uttermost parts of the Empire. It is a duty that the monarch owes to his subjects, to move among them, and to be approachable, not merely through his Ministers, but through t&> people’s own representatives. Considerations of State deprive us of the privileges and rights enjoyed' in this direction by our fellow-subjects of the Home land. W© have in the Governor, it is true, a viceroy or King’s deputy, hut Governors have top close a connection with the Colonial Office to impress us as Royalty should do. This visit of the King’s son*, therefore, gives us a new and wider rang© of sentiments and emotions, and if Governors and authorities could only realise that the people are glad to have the/Duke amongst them, and desire to see and know him-, the visit might change, in an instant, the whole quality and intention of our loyalty. We do not hesitate to credit the Duke himself with the desire to move among the people and to be taken into their hearts, but we cannot rid ourselves of the notion that the well-meant efforts of the colonial authorities, sometimes rather unhappily represented by the Governor, are keeping the Duke and 'the mass of the community apart. We have protested from the beginning against-the too strict in--]

sisten-ce upon formality and etiquette. The tour should be a popular and not an official function, and while we cannot and would not write it down' a failure in New Zealand, it is evident that its possibilities have been unnecessarily restricted. That we are nbt singular in holding this view is shown by the announcement of a special reception for to-day, an arrangement designed, we may be sure, to remedy the omissions of Saturday’s - programme. It remains for the people to rise superior to the limitations imposed by zealous officials, and to give to the remainder of the Royal stay in Christ church a- popular note, stronger and: more sustained than any that has yet been sounded in New Zealand. We know that their hearts are right, that they are anxious to prove their loyalty to the Motherland and to the Throne, and that they appreciate the spirit of the message borne to them by so- noble a messenger from the King. The heavens have smiled on tho visit of the Duke and Duchess; Canterbury’s earnest wish is that the sun of their lives may be ever as bright as that which shone yesterday, and that their course will ever be shaped under skies as blue and clear.