PUBLIC SENTIMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22595, 7 December 1936, Page 10

PUBLIC SENTIMENT

THE FINAL ARBITER CONCERN OF AMERICANS IMPORTANCE OF EMPIRE FUTURE OF THE DOMINIONS By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received December (J, 6.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, Dec. 5 The New York World Telegram says public sentiment in a democracy is, in the final analysis, the real ruler. It is sometimes slow to form and act, but, once aroused, it sweeps everything, and so the answer will be given by the great rank and file as yet scarcely heard from.

The Herald Tribune says that if the sudden and incredible crisis into which the British Crown has been catapaultcd has revealed nothing else, it has revealed to thinking citizens of every nation tho basic importance of the British Empire in the world structure. The far-llung sympathy with the King is tho sympathy that every human being feels for the appealing theme that the world is well lost in the cause of love, but tho problem of Empire brings other factors into play. No man can say what would happen to the distant Dominions if the powerful centralising force of the Crown were removed.

"Americans will not pretend to offer advice," the journal adds, "but they cannot conceal their profound concern. That a solution may be found before irreparable damage is done will be the universal hope."

A PRIVATE MATTER LABOUR PEER'S OPINION QUEEN'S POSITION IN REALM (Received December <>, 11.35 p.m.) NEW YORK, Dec. 6 When addressing tho Foreign Policy Association, Lord Marley, Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords, who is visiting New York, stated: "I see no reason why the King's marriage should be a public act. The Queen occupies no official position. "No doubt the power the Government has gained, and gains, lias been at the expense of the King. It may well be that this power is carrying us near to a dictatorship. 1 have cabled to England that I support the King in any matter touching his right to marry, which is a private matter."

CONSERVATIVE GROUP LETTERS TO THE KING ASSURANCES OF SUPPORT (Received December 0, 0.30 p.m.) LONDON. Dec. 5 It is understood that a number of Conservative members of the House of Commons met in the smoking-room of the House after the adjournment yesterday and decided to send personal letters to the King assuring him of support in any action he might think necessary to defend his constitutional rights. The movement is described as more or less collective. Other parties were approached but the result was not revealed.

The Daily Telegraph, in a leader apparently referring to the decision of this group, says it would be utterly deplorable if what used to be called the King's Party showed even the faintest signs of emergence after a lapse of 150 years, and it would lead to more dangerous constitutional crises.

OPINION IN CANADA BRITISH CABINET SUPPORTED VARIETY OF NEW YORK VIEWS (Received December 0, 11.35 p.m.) OTTAWA, Dec. 5 Canadian reaction supports the Cabinet in its stand on the constitutional crisis. The press is solidly opposed to the marriage. A typical leader is that in the Toronto Globe-Mail, which states: "The simple facts are that Mrs. Simpson is an American, twice divorced, who was introduced to British people as a notorious expatriate. These are circumstances which offend tho standards circumscribing King Edward's position as a constitutional monarch. "Whatever the King's decision," adds tho journal, "there is no probability that British faith in British institutions will be shattered. If the result is not what is best for the Empire, it will bo but an interregnum in its progress." The Toronto Telegram says the undisputed facts are that tho much-dis-cusscd lady comes of poor but honest parents—her widowed mother kept boarders in Baltimore, which is nothing to bo ashamed of —and Mrs. Simpson has been twice divorced, all of which is not an ideal setting for tho Queen of Britain.

Lo Solcil, Quebec, says: "Unless ho abdicates or attempts a revolution, King Edward cannot follow his inclination to marry a person unsuitable to his station and to his Church."

A Now York message says the British crisis continues to dominate the press. Newspaper circulations aro reported to bo mounting. Tho kind and variety of the comment on tho news beggar description. A great deal of it is plainly silly. Soino seriously examines tho constitutional question and somo is vicious. Most, however, is friendly and romantic.

Typical of tho silly stuff is a despatch from Tokio that Professor Heki, Japan's leadipg phrenologist, recommends that Mrs. Simpson should marry a man with .a wide face, broad forehead and heavy jaw. Among many leading Americans who have commented aro Mr. H. L. Mencken, who says it is "tho biggest Cinderella story." Mr. Upton Sinclair, a second cousin of Mrs. Simpson, has cabled a protest to the British Cabinot. A group of Columbia University professors in a symposium emphasise the possibility of a compromise with the Dominions on conventionality rather than constitutionality. The New York Sun, in a loader, is one of the few newspapers to express concern for Queen Mary in her perturbation, which must enlist the sympathy of all.