“JEAMES”

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1741, 12 November 1862, Page 3

“JEAMES”

AND THE PRINCE OF WALES. To the Editor of the New Zealander. Sir, —Doth the above illustrious individuals shine conspicuously in the leading article of the Daily Southern Cross of Monday last. It is unnecessary to state that the Hunkcy is the operator and the Prince the patient. A column and half are devoted to the artistic display;—24o lines (for I have carefully counted them) which at the nominal rate (if remuneration represent one sovereign,—make a graceful anagrammatic compliment to the destiny of the object of their praises. The writer having considerately premised that “ at a period like this the mind is lifted above the acrimony of party and faction, and a healthy tone of feeling is produced ” proceeds to illustrate the beneficial effects of this elevation of spirit, and this salubrity of sensation.

Trope, euphemism, ami periphrasis follow each other in graceful revolutions. Chastened regret for the illustrious father “who had deported himself so wisely in early and mature life,” and who was expected to be “ a wary guide to the future King of England ” subsides into cheerful eulogy of the “ heir ol the Revolution ” (whatever that means], whose “ training,” Jeamcs assures ns, “ has been excellent,” and who “ enters on his public career with an experience of men and a knowledge of the world vastly superior to that possessed by any other scion of of the Royal Houses of England, called to reign over the kingdom.” His Continental tour has been a royal road to wisdom. “ The art treasures of Europe have been displayed before his eyes, and he has had ample opportunities for studying the science of Government ” during his journey. “ The lessons of the past, and the errors of the present” (rather a large order) have been imprinted on his mind as ho contemplated the desolate anil crumbling ruins of the splendour of by-gone dynasties, and the social miseries engendered by the mistakes of existing continental governments.” There is a stereoscopic picture 1 One eye on the crumbling ruins, and the other on the social miseries, in order to obtain a vivid impression of the lessons of the past and the errors of the present. Canada, however, is the special theme of the writer. There “Ids Royal Highness won all hearts by his affability and polished maimers,” and “ the courtly sagacity of the Duke of Newcastle” (His Grace evidently tipped Jcamcs) is eloquently alluded to. Canadian scenery appears to have been specially created to teach lessons to the Prince, and to allow Jeamcs in sublime ecstacy to ask “ in presence of the stupendous glories of Niagara, so imposing in its grand simplicity of Nature, what are all the pageants of courts, the clash of arms, or the thunder of artillery? What are men?” And, if possible, more sublimely to reply, “ the prince and the peasant, the peer and the commoner, wordly splendour and worldly poverty, —they are all on a dead level of insignificance in close proximity to the ever-rushing waters of Lake Erie, the endless cataract and the deep-toned thunders of the seething Hood.” The American Republic also contributes to the lesson of its Royal visitor; “ the great federation was then intact, and the President was then styled 'my good friend,’ ” by Queen Victoria; the latter circumstance being obviously, in Jcamcs’ opinion, of equal, if not superior importance. Also “in the presence of the Prince of Wales, the great questions of internal policy, which have since split up the American Federation into hoetile camps, were kept out of sight,” a piece of excruciating politeness, resembling that of the seedy swell in courtly society, when a rupture threatens his integuments, or debility affects his gills. Wc are then led into Eastern lands, and with appropriate hyperbole, are informed “ of the rapid strides in advance” which “ Egypt the mystical, under wise rulers has made,” and 11 is Royal Highness, after being struck how “ the extent to which Egypt improves is entirely measured by the character and capacities of the Pasha for the time being, and how much the prosperity of a people depends upon the character and intelligence of their rulers,” learns in Turkey “ how unsuited Eastern despotism and manners arc to the development or conservation of a nation.” Wc arc also told that “ while the Prince of Wales was in Asia, his illustrious father died.” lam sorry to impugn the historical accuracy of Jcamcs, but the Times differs from him on that point, for it states that the Prince of Wales was telegraphed for to Cambridge, and that he arrived in time to attend his father’s deathbed. A little confusion on the subject of dates is allowable in the midst of Asiatic Mysteries. The writer concludes with a logical deduction that “ as a member of a most ancient University, and a “ trained soldier, His Royal Highness is qualified to “govern with intelligence and vigour, and with a “confidence that the instructions of his tutors and his “ observations in foreign lands will have the effect of “ increasing Ids affection for that Constitutional Throne “ which, as heir of the Revolution he will in due “ course ascend.” I remain, sir, An Anglo-Saxon.