WELCOME TO THE PRINCE!

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVIII, Issue 18408, 14 May 1920, Page 6

WELCOME TO THE PRINCE!

The Piiince oe "Wales 1 Son of a hundred Kings I Heir to the Throne of the migntiest of Empires! We welcome to Olinstcnurch this most distinguished

gentleman, ivho is all but the head of the .British aristocracy and yet stands in iho same commanding position in respect of the British democracy. He comes to us in youth who is destined

in later years to take up the sceptre and wear the crown of his fathers. He comes to us a young man of twenty-six, with a smile that tells of a happy, almost care-free disposition; interested in new scenes, gathering valuable knowledge, more every day of the wide dominions over which he one day will be called to rule. He oom.es in a

spirit of obviously sincere modesty, en- * toring to the full into the spirit of the entertainment, joining in the dance and participating in the sport, grateful for our hospitality and always deeply sensible of our affection. And yet.while his manners are so winningly youthful, his pleasures so manifestly natural and simple, this young man is nevertheless able to deliver speeches that reveal a full sense of responsibility and no mean conception of statesmanship. Of course the Prince has been trained from infancy for his great station in life. He has been instructed and guided by his ' noble parents so that he may grasp the realities* of his position and the enor- «■ mous responsibilities to which he is born. The fruits of his upbringing are ripening with splendid promise. No doubt the experience of recent years, during which the Prince took his part in the Great War, have broadened tbe mind and strengthened tbe character of our future King, and hare assisted to develop in his Royal Highness that fine manliness and those democratic sentiments which are among his characteristics. But it is abundantly, and most happily, apparent that the Prince is inherently an exceedingly fine man. He seems to combine the attributes of Royalty with those of the ordinary mortal in a very special degree, and so wherever he has travelled applause and

praise have been bestowed upon him, not only by the devoted subjects of the King, but also, in very marked degree, by the independent citizens of the American Republic. His tour, so far as it has gone, of the Dominion of New Zealand has been a triumphal procession, and we are proud to think that in- no centre could tho Prince have received a heartier or more sincere welcome than was accorded to him by the assembled crowds of Christchurch last evening. The cheers upon cheers from many thousands 'of throats must have convinced his Royal Highness of tho depth and genuineness of our feelings; and although those are no now sounds to his ears, it is safe to say that custom has not dulled, even to one so thoroughly familiar with it, the peculiar effect of honest, lusty British cheering. The Prince may be assured that tho welcome and the cheers have their full meaning and significance. They are intended to express, of course, the loyalty of tho nation to the Throne and all that it symbolises. When tho people of Now Zealand acclaim the Prince they acclaim the Monarchy, but not because it is a Monarchy so much as what, in our time and our glorious Empire, it stands for —the constitution, unwritten but not less real, whose vital principles are Freedom and Justice. These principles are cherished and protected by the King and the Royal Family with the same steadfastness, tho same fervour, that inspired the Empire’s soldiers and sailors throughout the long and bitter war; and that is how the world is able to witness the spectacle, instructive, although, in a sense, perhaps, a little anomalous, of the most democratic peoples on earth loving and honouring their King in times when other mou archs are being dethroned. British people all over the far-flung Empire—aye, and beyond it—sing “God Save the King ” because they realise that his Majesty stands, with them, for liberty and the right. They aoclaim the Prince of Wales because he is the future King, but they also welcome and lovo him for himself, for his great personal charm and his kindness in visiting these geographically remote islands. With the sineerest pleasure and affection we wolcome our Royal guest to Christchurch, and hope that his short stay may in years to come bo a very happy remembrance. God bless the Prince of Wales 1