THE LATEST NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12002, 26 June 1902, Page 4

THE LATEST NEWS.

The latest cable messages from London concerning the King's health' do not allay anxiety although they by no means discourage hope. It is evident that the United Kingdom! was generally taken by surprise as completely as were the colonies. " The news came like a thunderclap,"' says one account, so suddenly thati Mr. Balfour stated in the House of Commons that it was impossible to conveniently alter the proclaimed Bank Holidays and that they must stand. All reports show that His Majesty made a most heroic attempt to avoid yielding to the insidious approach of disease, discharging his duties in opposition to the advice of his physicians and being finally only saved from speedy death by the operation which they unanimously; urged upon him. His dread was not of that most severe ordeal but of disappointing his people. A* was to be expected His Majesty's illness has evoked the hearty sympathy of America, and President Roosevelt promptly cabled a most cordial message. In such moments even national animosities are forgotten, and the Continent of Europe is expressing similar good wishes. But it is within the Empire itself that anxiety . v eigns supreme, * single hour having changed anticipations of national rejoicing into universal gloom. It is altogether indicative of His Majesty's kindly thoughtfulness that he should have borne in mind the special disappointment and loss to the poor if their entertainment were postponed. This is a touch of the humanity which makes the world akin and which every loyal subject will hope to recall with pleasure when we may have forgotten what Mr. Seddon aptly terms " disquieting rumours."