Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1934. THE KING’S BIRTHDAY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 157, 4 June 1934, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1934. THE KING’S BIRTHDAY.

Yesterday His Majesty King George V entered into the seventieth year of his life, and New Zealanders spent to-day in celebration of the event, seeking- the pleasures associated with the holiday on the field of sport or in the manner suitable to their tastes. It is pleasing to record the marked improvement in His Majesty’s health. His grievous illness several years ago left physical infirmities which time seems to have fully repaired. Last year, when a condition of rheumatism was more discomforting than serious, he was unable to attend Court functions and the Trooping of the Colour on his birthday, but no report comes in 1934 to say that King George is not enjoying good health. The nation’s concern for His Majesty in the days when his illness was grave will not be readily forgotten. It was a visible expression of the great bond of love between a ruler and his subjects, for whose welfare, indeed, the Royal Household, with the King and Queen at its head, is ever alert. The simplicity of their domestic life, the kingly demeanour of His Majesty and the wise counsel he has' given always when the nation’s leaders have been sore beset, the gracious personality of Her Majesty, and the intimate concern of their children for the people of the Empire have given to them the love and affection of their millions of subjects. Next year King George will celebrate the silver jubilee of his accession to the Throne. It has been a period of great events in world history. Thrones have crashed and republics have replaced kingdoms; but even democratic government so proudly acclaimed has had in places to give way to dictatorships. Throughout the British Throne has stood firmly to increase its prestige. Observers have in recent years remarked upon this greater influence, ascribing it in the first place to Queen Victoria, who “thoroughly understood and expressed the desires of the strongest section of the community, the newly enfranchised middle classes.” She was, a commentator has observed, in absolute sympathy with the opinion of the politically dominant class. “Later,” he adds, “when the extension of the franchise transferred political preponderance from the middle classes to the democracy, British kingship established a sympathy with the aims of democracy which rivals in intensity the mutual understanding of Queen Victoria and the middle classes.” The understanding between King George and his people, the desire to share their triumphs and their sorrows, and the nobility of monarchy he has brought to the Throne have been his marked contribution to its prestige, and there will be a general wish that in' the coming year he will be spared to enjoy a full measure of health, and to share in the pleasure of his subjects when the jubilee celebrations take place.