YEARS OF JUBILEE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4263, 24 January 1901, Page 6

YEARS OF JUBILEE.

Ne’er in our Crowned b’cpnblie’s story yet. Of all that, men remember or forget. This Btrnngn. flih) precious thing bus been: No reign of threescore years oi -King or Queen Our annals bold—lilt in Ibis waning age. Time’s finger writes it on flic storied page. EXPANSION OF EMPIRE. Everv other advance made during (lio Victorian era. is dwarfed by tbei tremendous expansion that has taken place of the bounds of the British Emmre. Hie firm sotting in the Queen’s crown of one of its brigUUM’. jewels, India, suggested to u Prime Minister who stood hiL r ,u nr her Majesty’s favour an addition to Her titles. At. tho beginning of tho session of .1870 -the Royal Speech announced that such an addition was to bcl made, and after several attempts on tho part of the ’Opposition to got at, tho nature of the change, Mr Disraeli at lasfc announced in a somewhat hdsitating way that the Queen urns to be eallod “Empress or India.” A strong dislike was displayed to what was considered by many to be a superfluous and tawdry addition to tho ancient stylo of the sovereigns -ol England. Tho Govornraonb of course carried ,1s point. It deferred so tfar to public feeling ns to put into the Act a provision against the use of tho Imperial title in tho United Kingdom. FIFTY YEARS A QUEEN. In 1887 tho Quoon had reigned for fifty years, and her Jubilee was celebrated at Westminster Abbey on a magnificent scab; and wider tho happiest ' conditions. Tho spontaneous loyalty of the nation and of the whole Empire to tho thi’ouo was most elfo; lively manifested. With the usual mingled round of jov and triable, of anxiety and deliverance, the often long intervals of calm, the Queen had pursued her quiet round o r duty never neglected, and Royal functions perfdrrncd with almost too little ostentation. so that tho ignorant scarcely knew, and tho best informed often forgot, how onorous and exhausting these were, until sho reachc'l tho climax of her Jubilee, after Hty years of faithful service to. her country unci tho world. This great event, it was instantly perceived by all, must, bo celebrated in a manner worthy' - of its rarity in history, and of the great venclratiou and affection borne, not only bv her own dominions in that famous circle upon which the sun never sets, but by tho whole civilised world, towards the most honoured sovereign in Christendom. Her ‘Majesty wont in state to Westminster to make hor thanksgiving, through tv, o endless living waKT of her subjects, crowding every window, ever.v housetop, ©very pavement on her way, giving forth one prolonged shout of applause and blidssing, and mooting her eyes wherever they turned with tho smiles and tears of multitudes;, rick and poor, faces all beaming wedcome, and full of tender revcvcincci and admiration. She was surrounded and escorted—by a brilliant and romnii tic inspiration too full or poetry to have come, ono would think, from any oiliciul brain—by n bodyguard of Princes, hor son® and sons-in-law, the future King of England and the futnru Emncrov of Germany among the band, a gallant group, who inspired the imagination shore any othet detail of tho procession. though that included a number of ,Sovereigns, Western Kings and J3astern Princcr,, tUq latter blazing in diamonds and splendnl colour, amid the mere sembro costumes of Christendom. The glorious Abbey (continues Mrs Oliphantj, decoratdd more splendidly than by either flag; or flowers, with row upon, row ami tier upon tier of faces, in every g.'.lk'ry and corner, till! of enthusiasm and emotion, made a tit etud and climax to nil this splendour, and many a heart beat with a pang ol sympathy as tho centre of all this ro■ioiciim, the Quoon, a woman well stricken in 'years, full of experience, nurroun ded bv her children and her subjects, yet. ill tho great Relation of her rank, alone, knelt before thtl altar at which sho had been consecrated —feeling, who can doubt, at that moment, as at all others, ’but doubly in, tho grdatnoss ct the event, the absence of him who alone could have taken from her a portion ef the burden of that triumph, as ot all thd troubles that went before it. THE DIAMOND JUBILEE.

The wravor, “Clod Save the Queen, was so fully answered that her Majesty lived to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. On the I'brd September, 1800 her any'English monarch. Cleorgc 111., whoso fourth son, Edward Duke of Kent was the father ci the Queen, having d.ed in the hftv-ninth year of his occupancy of the throne. It was the Queen s expressed desire,. however, that the na+mnal roioicina; which would naturally si"iriliso so auspicious a day should bo loMed until tho sixtieth anniversary of her succession. As soon as the Rojal wish in this regard _ was made kuoiM , spontaneous preparations commenced all over her vast Empire with a view to celebrating in a manner worthy the natfon and the nations Sovereign so great orul glorious a reign. Side by side wi h extension of enmire there hau been the C grow th of Imperial sentiment among the mass cf the I’.nghsn people, and of Icvo for the Mother Country on the Tiart of her colonial sous. Ihe invitation to the Premiers of Australia, Cana-

da, the Cape, New Zealand and Nciv-j feundlaiid to visit England and take aj porsonal bljaro in tho national ceicbra-] turn was ono which consequently n l ® 4 ’ ] with a ready and hearty icsponse. They •.■•ere to bring with them, to use the words of Sir Waiter Bcsant, representatives of the fighting forces of the colonies and dependencies —of the bravo fellows v;lii) wen; helping to rnair.tam that Greater Britain beyond the seas: —and wore io i i. .lie as ('ueMs of the nation. r i hey came and brought with them something more valuable than ail-lho desire for closer union and for a united defence A UNIQUE CELEBRATION. As tlie historic L'lind of Juno drew nearer, London put on the gayest ana bri'ditest attire. From ever house-top and window floated the Union Jack, or 11 uttered flags and bunting, '’.duL cm me lino of route mapped ( >"t tor the triumphal progress of the Sovereign decorations had been arranged on a scale ot heantv and never equalled in the history of tin; capital. Wherever timber could bo safely fashioned into temporary seats, there stands had been erected—.somo of immense size holding as many as live thousand persons, others of towering height, some on roofs of Government offices and some resting amiinst sides of church steeples, or bunt on tho few vacant spots to he found amid tlio bricks avid mortar of an overcrowded city. For days the streets were thronged’with eager sight-seers from all parts of England, from Europe ayd America. Foreign princes, distinguished ambassadors and special envoys arrived at the invitation of the Sovereign and the Go- \ t'l'iiuu'tit; Ihcrti was feasting aiut jiu)il:ilion, and London for once at any' rate was the gayest of gay cities. Sunday, o()(li June, iBU7, tho sixtieth anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne, mi, observed as a lay of general thanksgiving throughout Hie country. In the morning her Majesty, attended by many of hor children, went to St George’s, Windsor, to return thanks in the historic chapel of the castle for all the blessings and glories of her reign. In London tho members of tho House of Peers were present in their robes of scarlet and ermine in Westminster Abbey; her Majesty’s ‘‘faithful Commons” went to the Church of St.Margaret’s, near neighbour to tho Abbey: and tho Judges attended St. Paul’s Cathedral, at which the 'Prince and Princess of Males were! also | worshippers. COMMEMORATION DAY. When Commemoration Day broke, dull and 1 cloudy, London was already j a wake, and thousands wero pouring m I from the suburbs to take theiir places on I the lino of route, the privileged on scats 'and stands, the lost by the roadside, i Those who had slept out in the- open in

|wt. James':; Park, anxious to be the first | to greet their Sovereign on this auspi'cious day, saw tho Royal Standard float- ! in<r under tho eray sky and above Buckingham Palace, whdre tho Queen had passed tho night. Soon (we continue our quotation from Sir Walter Besaut's narrative) there is lifo and movement behind tho great gates, a passing to and fro of servants in brilliant scarlet liveries, and tho comin<' of Royal carriages bringing tho distinguished guests who are to rido in the Royal procession. Tho crowds grow denser under tho line of trees standing out in the green perspective of thd Parle: as the morning wears on, although there is no sun, the heat; becomes .stifling and oppressive. There is tho marching and countermarching of troops to the soiunds of military mujsio, the slow approach of thoso ''warworn veterans," the pensioners of CholSea' Hospital, for whom kindly forethought lias provided benches within tho palace gates, and the hurrying here and there of court functionaries and chiefa of police, until, just as Birr Ben, in the clock tower of the House of "Commons, chimes out the first quarito.r after nine, tho strains of tho National Anthem herald the approach of j tiio colonial procession. It had been so arranged that these sturdy representatives of tho guardians of peace and j power over-sea should be the first to ! rear;h the Cathedral, there to lino the j roadways, so as to he able to gaze upon. ■ tho Queen's cortege as it went by, and [ then to fall in behind;. thus not only ■ seeing, but ultimately participating in ; tho Sovereign's progress. Cheers rend tho air as, by way of the tree-shaded Mall, comes this mighty force of Empire personified, this moviug column from tho greatest volunteer army tho world has ever seen. Men in red coats, men in blue, soldiers in. the serviceable khaki; meJn with glistening helmets, or with turbans, carrying guns or holding lances the stern Zaptiehs from Cyprus, tho diminutive and yel-low-skinned Dyaks from North Borneo. tho troops from Hon-kong in their curious hats sitting like mushrooms on their heads, those big-limbed fighters the ITausas and Maoris, tho handsome forms of the Australian troopers, the Capo Mounted Rifles (fit bodyguard for the colony's Premier), the Rhodesian Morsd, whose participation in the recent troubles in South Africa secures for them a cheor of particular heartiness—men from Natal, from Canada, from every quarter where* the British

flag flies unci the English tongue is heard, move along between the unbroken lines of a joyous people, ready to acclaim them' brothers in patriotism and loyalty as well as by blood and the tics of" racel. It is a stirring scene, one which makes the pulse beat faster, and the face flush with pride and excitement. But a greater and a grander is ydt to come. While these brave sons are on their way to St. Paul's, the Queen is preparing for her historic and triumphal progress along the same gailydecked streets, now packed with a moving mass of loyal people. There is but a, short interval of increased expectancy betweten the passing of the colonials and the appearance of the front of the military pageant which is to accompany her Majesty to the steps of the Cathedral, wherei praise and thanksgiving are to bo rendered to an Almighty God for j the blessings of an unparalleled reign. It is tho British Army in miniature, at the head of which, by defeiro of the i Prince of Wales, rides the tallest man in tho service, Captain O. Ames, of the Life Guards, proud of his six feeSb eight inches, and having as an escort four troopers of exceptional stature. Bluejackets dragging their naval guns are followed by d'etachmdnts of cavalry regiments ; and then in imposing array, in what seems to bo a never-ending line, mounted men pass in revie'w—Hussars, Dragoons, Lancers, and Horse Artdlery —with bands playing and pennants flying, and high above the martial music rises tho prdud cheors of a people; justly glorying in this spectacle of military strength. With the appearance of the foreign suite, aa dels-de-camp, equerries and gentlemen in atttendance on the Royal personages, the procession gains in stateliness and 1 colour, every nation contributing its distinctive and gorgeous uniforms, making up a moving picture of unequalled splendour as these high dignitaries, some hundreds in cumber, pracede the first of the Royal carriages. An escort of Indian.-cavalry, richly dressed and splendidly hoTsed, follows, and then there is a slight break in tho procession, for the seventeenth and last carriage is that containing the beloved Sovereign, on whom all thoughts and hearts are centred. . . . It is calculated that; considerably over a million persons saw the Royal procession, but so admirable was the conduct and the tetaiper of tbe vasb niultitfude

that the accidents along the six miles of route were comparatively insignificant, and no loss of life was recorded. ii the Tuesday of tho week of Diamonc. Juhiloo. with its gorgeous pageant tlirougn tlio streets of London, gave proof of military power and Imporia. greatness, tint naval review on t-ne Saturday, when the Prince of V. a.cs, on behalf of the Queen, passed down lines of battleships moored a length ol -o miles, afforded significant evidence o. unparalleled naval ,strong.h. In the quiet waters of tho Bolen, roue at anchor these maritime leviathans ui ft columns, each nearly five ruilrs lon ft , everv battleship decorated with hunting and manned by Eug and s Wi j: torpedo x o ■., urn ‘ trujiboat" ?!nd t-orpeiiO-l)Got erst*sca-cngincs of dmtnudiou m every kind were there, and cHleetion of ilritish war ' ■ ' i 10w “ CJ tor Him ol tte vid'dSc' tered over tho waters ot tno giobc. Foreign nations sent a brave an ay of v It! "hips in honour of the occasion, tlioi'sanfls of spectators crowded steamf -s in the waterway hetyoer. the southern coast and the Isle of Wmht. while tho shores wero black with Rclifc-secra. 4 great military review by the Queen ou' Lnfran’s Plain, Aldershot and the illumination of Loudon tor a week, wuo other outstanding events of -Diamond Jubilee week.