PROCLAMATION OF THE KING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11564, 30 January 1901, Page 6

PROCLAMATION OF THE KING.

"A Visitor at Howick" writes:— the New., Zealand Herald arrived lien '.this forenoon, and it was learnt from Mr Ward's telegram in it that instructions hac been issued to all proper persons in an thority " to have the proclamation of tin accession of King Edward VII. read ir public, a number of visitors here vended their steps from the beach to the out-of-the-way post office, which, being the only official building in the village, would, it was 'thought, be the place selected for the ceremony. - On the way several residents were met, but none.of them had heard anything of the matter. At t» post office no notice was displayed, but it was ascertained that a copy of* the proclamation had, according to instructions, been sent to the , chairman of the Road Board. As that gentleman has not yet read it in public, so far as I can ascertain, he probably looked upon it as a compliment paid to him in his official capacity, and put the document in his desk. But the visitors in question celebrated the great event in their own way. As they were returning from the post office they heard the guns in Auckland firing the Royal salute, and they immediately uncovered, and gave three lusty cheers for the jiuw King and Queen. At the Marine Hotel, at luncheon, the toast of " The King" .mas given and drank with enthusiasm. ! At half-past twelve p.m. on Monday, jjjj Waiuku, business was suspended, and the proclamation declaring Edward VII. lung, -was read from the balcony of the Kentish Hotel, by Mr. A. M. Barriball, chairman of the Road Board. At the conclusion three cheers.were given for the King, and the brass band played the National Anthem and "Rule Britannia." Correspondent.] Promptly at half-past twelve on Monday Mr. Joseph Flanagan, chairman of the Drury Road Board, read the proclamation in. the centre of the village. A representative crowd collected, and showed their loyalty by singing "God Save the King," and giving heartv cheers for His Majesty King Edward VII. Our Paeroa correspondent telegraphs as follows: —The official proclamation announcing the accession of Edward VII. to the Throne, did not for some reason or other arrive here until after the appointed fcour, and as a consequence the ceremony of reading the same was postponed till today. The event, however, took place today, when Mr. Nepean Kenny, county clerk, read the proclamation at the Courthouse. .There was a' good muster of loyal citizens, who gave three cheers in honour of the King, and afterwards sang the National Anthem. The proclamation at Wark worth was read by the. county clerk. A salute of 21 guns Was fired in honour of His Majesty. At Pirongia the ceremony of proclaiming His Majesty Edward VH., was performed on Monday by Mr. G. J. Berry, chairman of the school* committee. The volunteers, under Captain Aubin, were present, and fired a eli-<le-joie. The National Anthem was sung by the assemblage. * ■ Considering the short notice there was a very large gathering in front ot the postoffice at Te Awamutu, on Monday, to hear the proclamation of King Edward VII. read by Mr. W. North, the chairman of the Town Board. . Three cheers were given for His Majesty, and the National Anthem was sung. All the bells in the town were rung merrily, and flags were flying. •,"--- ALLEGIANCE TO THE KING. Three members of the Sixth Contingent, viz., Captain Markham, Lieutenant Sykes, ■ and Private Bowen, were sworn in yesterday by Captain and Adjutant Reid, to serve i , "His Majesty King Edward V 11.." the first» tvho have taken this form of oath. ' { « ■'■' THE KING EDWARDS OF ENGLISH HISTORY.Edward the Confessor was the last Anglo- j Baxon King of the old Royal line. He was j born in 1002, and died in 1066. In consc- j quence of his monk-like virtues he was canon-.; ised by Pope Alexander 111. : Edward 1., who begins the numeration, was | a son'' of Henry 111., and was born at West- j minster in 1239. His name was given him by his father, out of reverence for the memory of Edward the Confessor, and in its English sound, as well as in the honest English tern- » per, no less than the yellow hair and stalwart ! figure with which the young Prince grew up, b Englishmen might well have read the promise i that once more after 200 years, England would ; be ruled by a native English King. Edward < was brought up at Windsor, and soon, became • engaged in the fighting of the time with the ] Welsh. At the Parliament, of Oxford (1253) he took part with his father in his contest i with his troublesome nobles, but thereafter ; appears to have at first sided with the great j Earl Simon tie Mont fort, the leader of the. | barons or national party, without, however, ] impairing his own personal loyr.lt> and affec- } tion for his father, with whom ere long he | was reconciled. It was his rash eagerness in | pursuing an advantage gained oven the Lon- j doners, who were devoted to the party of i Simon, that lost the battle of Lewes (126*), j one immediate consequence of which was the i Prince's imprisonment as a hostage foi his j father's pledges. Conditions for his libera- J tion, discussed at Simon's famous Parliament i of 1265, wore frustrated through Edward's t i escape by a stratagem from Hereford Castle; i and at the final battle at Evesham (August 4), j where Simon recognised,' in the skilful dis- i position of his enemy's forces ;- fatal lesson | learned from himself, the struggle practically • ended with the great popula. champion's . death on the battlefield. Edward gained ! much influence by the wise prudence and mo- i deration with which he stamped out the Inst ambers of rebellion. In 1270 lie started at j the instigation of Louis IX. of France to join the last of the crusades, but when ho reached ; Tunis, found that King dead, and the expedition already desperate of success. He went on to Acre, and won great renown as a knight, but failed to save the Frankish kingdom in the East from its inevitable fate. In •'Tune, 1272, while Fitting alone on his bod, bis own strength and energy saved him from ■ being murderd by one of the infamous sect '. of the Assassins. Hastily guarding himself with his arms, and receiving a desperate wound, from which heafterwards suffered much, he tore the knife from his assailant's hand, and buried it in his heart. The ancient I story that his Queen Eleanor, who had followed him in his pilgrimage, saved his life at the risk of hei own by sucking the poison from the wound, unfortunately, lacks historical support, but fits well with the romantic tempor of the times, as well as with the deep affection that survived throughout life betwixt husband and wife. Two months later he started for home, and at Capua, in the January of 1273, heard of his father's death two months before. Meantime he hod been .quietly proclaimed King, and as things went well in England, he visited the Pope, did jhomage at Paris for his French provinces, and Aid.not return to his kingdom till the August of 1274. At his coronation lie received the .homage of Alexander 111. of Scotland for his (5 ! toads in England, but Prince Llewelyn": of B wales neglected the summons to attend, and § only did his homage in 1276, under the com-1 bmod terrors of excommunication and the § • Royal.army, ■:--. Edward at once commenced that wise and large policy of domestic consoli- R datum and financial as well a. legal reform f that lias shed such lustre upon the reign of H the English Justinian, and made it almost 8 the. moat important, epoch in the "constitu- \ tion history of England. Edward - after- §

fc 1 wards / plunged into the ] war with Scotlanc 1 and overran that country. From the Palac l " 1 at Scone he took the Stone of Destiny, upo I which the ancient Bangs of Scotland had bee E" crowned. It ! was placed beneath the cor< nation chair in Westminster Abbey, and upo it Edward VII., our present Sovereign, wi I be crowned. He died in July, 1307, while c one of his Scottish expeditions. He wa buried at Westminster with the simple, br truly descriptive inscription, " Edwards J primus, Scotorum malleus, hie est." Edward 11., son of Edward 1., was bom s Carnarvon, in Wales, in 1284-, and in 1301 we ' created Prince of Wales, being the first hei 1 apparent to the English throne who bore tha 5 H title. He it was who fought and lost th * g battle of Bannockbum. ' He got into sa " troubles in his later years, through rebelhor - I and was murdered in Berkeley Castle i "-■ i Edward HI., his eon, was born at Windsoi S Edward HI., his eon, was born at Windsoi " 1312, and the time of his minority was tui 1 fbulent. He made wars in Scotland am !1312, and the time of his minority was bulent. He made ware in Scotland am France. He fought the battle of Crecy where his eldest son, known as the Blac, r 1 Prince, though but 16 years old, exhibited th t most heroic courage.' The Black Prince, -*vh ' had headed a party opposed to his father policy, died in 1376, and the King died n '■ 1377, after a reign of 51 years. Edward IV. was son of the Duke of York , ! and with him began the wars of the Rose; ' | He was a cruel King, and did many ruthles deeds. .-,.„„ __. Edward V., his son, was born, in 1470. Hi life was brief and tragic. He was one of th j Princes who were murdered in the Towel I" In 1674 some bones were discovered in : wooden chest below the stairs which for i merly led to the chapel of the White Tower and being supposed to be the remains of tin Princes, were re-interred in Westminste Abbey, in the chapel of Henry VII. Edward the VI. was born at Hamptoi Court on October 12, 1537. He was Henr; VHl.'s son by his Queen Jane Seymour. Hi warred with the &wt«. and had to encounte. various rebellions. He died at Greenwiel , in 1550. of poison it was rumoured, but mop probably from the eJect of quack nostrum: on a consumptive frai=>e. He was buried a . , Westminster. _ , 1 1 fidward VII., our present sovereign, is th< ! first of the Hanover line of quack borne tn( on a consumptive fraue. He was buried a Westminster. . , Edward VII., our present oovsreign, is the first of the Hanover line who has borne th< name of Edward. But it must be rememberec that his grandfather was Edward Duke o Kent, and would have bee* Edward 11. i. lie had ascended the throne. THE CORONATION OATH. There have been considerable variations from time to time in the oath. Originally | the King pledged himself to three things— ! peace and reverence. to God and the Church, I iustice to the people, the upholding of good land abolition of bad laws. In Edward $II 's time it became more precise, and assumed the form of question and answer. I The present form 'was settled after the Revolution of 1688. By it the Sovereign, in a series of responses to the questions by the Archbishop of Canterbury, swears to govern the people of the United Kingdom according to the statutes in Parliament agreed ij on; to cause law and justice, in mercy, to f be executed; and to preserve and maintain the Protestant religion established by law ! This oath was held both by George HI. and George IV. to prevent them from granting Catholic Emancipation, and was also by ! George regarded obstacle to the disCatholic Emancipation, and was also by many regarded as an obstacle to the disestablishment of the Irish Church. The _ treaty of Union between England and Scotland provides that the oath of the preservation of the government, worship, and discipline of the Church of Scotland should be i taken not at coronation, but at the accession lof the Sovereign. The Scottish coronation stone, the Lia Fail, or " Stone of Destiny,' was said by tradition to have been the I stone which Jacob used for a pillow, and j to have been brought to Ireland, and from Tara to Scotland, where it found a restingplace at Scone, till in 1296 Edward I. carried it to Westminster. It now forms I place of the coronation 1296 Edward I. carried it to Westminster. It now forms part of the coronation chair, occupying the space beneath the seat. I GOD SAVE THE KING! J For the origin of this phrase we have to go to the institution of the Jewish mon--1 archy. The prophet Samuel selected Saul, 1 who stood forward, showing himself head I and shoulders above those who surrounded 1 him. Then we have this: — i " And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that 1 there is none like him among all the people I And all the people shouted, and said, ' God I Save, the King.'" The next occasion is 1 when Johoiada, the priest, defeated the I scheme of the usurper, Athaliah, and seI creted one of the King's sons for six years. I The dramatic narrative proceeds :—" And » he brought forth the King's son, and put the 1 crown upon him, and gave him the testifmony, and they made him King, and I anointed him, and they clapped their hands i and said, ' God Save the King.' " |THE FIRST PROCLAMATION ISSUED 5 IN NEW ZEALAND. ! It is interesting to look back from yesterday's ceremonial to the first proclamation which was issued in New Zealand. Many indeed have been the proclamations issued here, and some of them are not pleasant historical landmarks. ; On January 30, 1840, in the third year of Her Majesty's reign, Captain Hobson ! read his commissions to the Europeans resident at the Bay of Islands. Then followed the first proclamation, which, at the ! present time, it is worth reprinting: — i PROCLAMATION jßy His Excellency William Hobson, Esq., ! 'Lieutenant-Governor of the British Settle- ! ments in progress in New Zealand, etc., | etc. ! Whereas Her Majesty Victoria. Queen of ; the United Kingdom of/ Great- Britain and I Ireland, has been graciously pleased to di- ! rect that measures shall be taken for the establishment of a settled form of civil goi vernment over those of Her Majesty's subjects who are already settled in New Zealand, or who may hereafter resort hither; and whereas Her Majesty has also been graciously pleased to direct letters patent to be issued under the great seal of the raid United Kingdom, bearing date the 15th day of June, in the year 1839, by which the former boundaries of the colony of-New South Wales are so extended as to comprehend any part of New Zealand that is or may be acquired in sovereignty by Her Ma- j jesty, her heirs, or successors; and whereas ! Hei" Majesty lias been furthei pleased by a commission under Her Royal signet and signmanual, bearing date the 30th day of July, 1839, to appoint me, William Hobson, Esq., captain in Her Majesty navy, to be Lieuten-ant-Governor- in and over any territory which is or may be acquired in sovereignty by Tier Majesty, her heirs, or successors, within that group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, commonly called New Zealand, and lying between the latitude 34 degrees 30 minutes and 47 degrees 10 minutes south, and 166 degrees 5 minutes and 179 degrees east longitude, from the meridian of Greenwich. Now, therefore, 1, the said William Hobson. do hereby declare and proclaim that I did. on the 14th day of January lost., before His Excellency Sir George Gipps, Knight, Captain-General, and Governor-in-Chief in and over the territory of New South Wales and its dependencies, and the Executive Council thereof, take the accustomed oaths of office as Lieutenant-Governor as aforesaid. And Ido hereby further proclaim and declare that I have this day opened and published the two commissions aforesaid; that is to say, the commission under the great seal extending the boundaries of the Government of New South Wales, .and the commission under the Royal sign-manual appointing me Lieutenant-Go-vernor as aforesaid. And Ido hereby furthei proclaim and declare that I have this day entered on the duties of my said office as Lieutenant-Governor as aforesaid, and I do call upon all Her Majesty's subjects to be aiding and assisting me in the execution thereof. Given under my hand and seal, at Kororareka, this 30th day of January, 1840. i and in the third year of Her Majesty's I reign. j (Signed) William Hobson, i Lieutenant-Governor. | By His Excellency's command. I (Signed) ' George Cooper. V a "God Save the Queen!" | (True copy.) (Signed) E. Deas Thomson. a The second proclamation, issued on the I same day, declared that no titles to land I would be recognised as valid until confirmed 8 by Her Majesty.