Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, JAN. 21, 1936. THE EMPIRE’S LOSS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 44, 21 January 1936, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. TUESDAY, JAN. 21, 1936. THE EMPIRE’S LOSS.

The King is dead. By the passing of His Majesty the Empire sustains an incalculable loss, for King George was a Sovereign regarded with affection by the people of all classes, and his part in fostering the prosperity of this far-flung commonwealth of nations is immeasurable. Eor nigh on twenty-six years His Majesty was King “by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the seas, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.” No monarch strove so earnestly to achieve those ideals which are expressed in the accession prayer: “Let truth and justice, holiness and righteousness, peace and charity abound in his days.” It happened that King George’s reign saw not peace and charity, but war and hatred, but he himself was regarded as a prince among peacemakers and he ever followed well in the footsteps of his father in that respect. The Empire mourns to-day not only for the loss of its ruler, but for the departure of one whose private life was an example of Christian inspiration, a devoted and wise father and husband, and one who, had it been destined that he occupy a lesser place in the yanks of the people, must inevitably have left his impress upon those surrounding him.

King George’s life was one of splendid and selfless service. He indeed “directed all his counsels and endeavours to the welfare of his subjects.” Without ostentation and with a thousand acts of courtesy, of simple kindness and consideration, of unwearied labours in fulfilment of Royal duties, he worked for the good of the people, whether of Great Britain or in the Dominions beyond the seas. He made many voluntary sacrifices and one of these, his characteristic partaking in the national economies during’ the depression, will long be remembered. In the dark days of the war His Majesty set a noble example of faith and leadership and no one was more solicitous for the welfare of the women and men serving the nation in war than he and his gracious Queen. Both possessed the hearts of the people. His Majesty came to the Throne when labour difficulties, franchise controversies and constitutional issues were ’ clouding the' horizon. The war came quickly, and the after-war unsettlement. The period witnessed many revolutionary changes m social habit and conventions. But at no nu ment during this changing epoc! did the prestige or popularity of the Mnoarchy weaken Right op to the day of his death King George’s name was revered throughout the world, lrouc indeed he must have been when, last year, the whole Empne united' in special manifestations of goodwill and felicitations on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee; and it has been recorded how pleased he was to learn ol the repeated demonstrations of affection shown toward his sons when they visited the Dominions. The Throne of Britain is secure to-day largely because of the example and statesmanship of him who the nation now mourns. Other reigning houses

have been swept away in the European debacle. The glories of the Romanoffs, the Hokenzollerns, and the Hapsburgs are “one with the yesterdays.” But the House of Windsor stands impregnable, based on the rock of stability, of a great and deserved loyalty. Now there has ended a reign which will stand as an epoch in the history of the Empire, aye, of the world. The deepest feelings of sympathy of every loyal man and woman, great and humble, throughout Britain and her possessions are manifest, for while the Empire has lost a great monarch, it has also lost, and the world suffers that loss, too, a noble figure whose leadership and ■ steadfast, high example may never be adequately appreciated; and Her Majesty and the members of the Royal Family have suffered a bereavement the magnitude of which is all the greater because of King George’s upright life and devotion as the head of his own household.