LONDON CHAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12272, 16 May 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

LONDON CHAT.

tjtOK OT7B OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

; ' London*, April 11. ' SHORTLY after King Edward's accession to the British Throne I was sble to send you some notes of a deeply interesting conversation which I was fortunate enough to have with a very eminen* lawyer and statesmen who had been a member of a former Conservative Ministry, and who was privileged to enjoy the intimate personal friendship both of our late Sovereign Queen Victoria wld also of our resent lung and Queen. Mv readers may perhaps remember ' »i a this distinguished peer spoke in the highest terms of Kilii; Edward's ability, and declared that as a result of large personal experience with His Majesty when as Prince of Wales he presided over numerous Royal Commissions of which my friend was a member lie did not hesitate to say that the present King was without exception the best chairman or president that he had ever seen, and was also quite unrivalled in the acumen with which lie invariably detected the gist and the strong and weak points of any question that came bel'oie him. while his tact and judgment, alike in j public and private affairs, were equally remarkable. >"ow this was very high praise coming from a maw who is eminent in more than one branch of learning and of science. But 1 1 think it is already in a fair way of being vindicated by the words and acts 01 His Majesty during his presen round of foreign visits. " Nothing could possibly have been more judicious and more tactful or in better taste and humour than our King's speeches while in Portugal. That he had a distinct and important public object in view there is no doubt at all. If so, it would have been quite impossible for abler methods to have been adopted toward securing it, and whether or not it is quite certain that there can" be few Englishmen who do not feel proud and gratified at the admirable manner in which the nation has been represented by its Sovereign on this occasion. Queen' Alexandra is still in Denmark, where she went in the teeth of a fierce gale and mountainous sea, to be present at the toth birthday of her father, the venerable King of Denmark. The absence of the Court from London has one drawback, namely, that it somewhat keeps back the London spring season. At the same time this always flags more or less during Lent, and probably after Easter, when the Court returns to Loudon and Parliament reassembles, there will be an outburst of gaiety of all descriptions that will soon atone for the present dulness. So far as present indications go, the London season of 1905 promises to be one of the most brilliant yet known, and I understand that the King and Queen are determined to do all in their power to ensure this. The Royal Opera is to open toward the end of the month, and is to continue somewhat longer than usual. The special operatic attraction this year is to be a revival of Wagner's stupendous music-drama, the " Nibehmgen. Ring." which is to be produced in its entirety in three separate cycles, each of four days' duration. I hear that almost every seat for all three cycles has already been "taken, notwithstanding the increased price which is charged on. these occasions. So far there are no indications of any operatic " stars" of special magnitude appearing above the horizon, but this may occur later. Even-body is delighted that the King has taken it upon himself to confer upon the hero of the South African war, Sir George White, whose vast services to the Empire have hitherto passed so strangely unrecognised in official circles, the highest rank that can be held in the British army, ot in any army, that of field-marshal. There are only five other field-marshals in the British army, excepting Royalties, so that the honour bestowed" on Sir George White is exceeding select, as well as great. It is all the more popular inasmuch as the public realises now how entirely he may be said to hare saved the honour of the British Empire, if not indeed the Empire itself by his indomitable defence of Ladysmith. That Was the saving feature and turning-point of the South African War, and so we all rejoire that its hero has at last been worthily honoured, and by his Sovereign too, of his own personal Royal morion. Once more King Edward has shown how much wiser he is in such matters than his advisers!