KING AND HIS PEOPLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16847, 11 May 1918, Page 2 (Supplement)

KING AND HIS PEOPLE.

PALACES FOR WAR WORK.

CONVERTED INTO HOSPITALS. " The King's sole anxiety is, and has been all along, to do his best for the nation and for the men of his fighting forces, and no considerations of personal convenience have been, or will be, entertained by His Majesty." " How keen the King is to " pull his weight" with his subjects in winning the war is shown by this extract from an official announcement. It was issued to amplify a report that His Majesty had offered three of his palaces for war purposes, and is as follows: — "In August, 1914, Kensington Palace and St. James'. Palace were offered by the King to the Red Cross, but both these buildings were found to bo unsuitable for the purpose of a hospital for several reasons, notably, the absence of an efficient drainage cyst-em. In 1916 Balmoral was offered, first of all, as a hospital, and, secondly, as a convalescent home, but the fact that it could only be used for eight months of the year, and the great distance from London, proved insuperable objections to His Majesty's offer being accepted. " At the beginning of 1916 the question whether the State rooms at Buckingham Palace could not be used in any way by the Red Cross was seriously discussed, but the same difficulty with regard to the drains occurred, To make the palace suitable for this purpose it would have been necessary to build a separate entrance, so that the weekly investitures should not bo interfered with, the only entrance into the State rooms being the grand entrance; if this was utilised for hospital grounds His Majesty would have been obliged to discontinue the investitures.

"It having been reported to His Majesty that there was no existing further demand for beds for the wounded in London, the King came to the conclusion that the expense of creating an efficient drainage system, erecting Hfte, and building a separate entrance could hardly be justified, and that it would be wiser for him to give a large subscription to the Central Committee of the Red Cross and Order of St. John of Jerusalem than to spend money on these alterations. His Majesty accordingly gave the sum of £10.000 last year. "The King has, however, made it clear to the Red Cross that in the event of ihere being any dearth. of beds for the wounded in London he will be pleased to consider whether the State rooms at Buckingham Palace could not even now be converted into a hospital. "While no use has been found for Balmoral, St. James' Palace is occupied by Queen Mary's Needlework Guild, and also the North of Ireland Association for supplying comforts to Irish regiments. Kensington Palace has been handed over to Lady Macdonnell for the Irish Regiments' Comforts Fund.

" The question as to whether any of the apartments at present, occupied by organisations supplying comforts to the troops, or even the State apartments at Buckingham Palace, could be profitably used for Government purposes, is etill under consideration of His Majesty's First Commissioner of „ Works, and there the matter stands for the present."