THE ROYAL VISIT

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4309, 19 March 1901, Page 4

THE ROYAL VISIT

hhie. last .farewell gun has been' , fired and the last word has been spoken; the last toar has been shed l and the last ship of jfcha Channel escort has returned to-her jnoorings; and the voyagel cf the Ophir has begun. :It is in one way an eventful voyage. .The voyage itself, that is to say, is the event which marks the difference between the) reigns of-the present King and’ of the late Queen.;When the Queen came to the throne, the colohiels simply were not. Even Canada, in the sense of which we speak of colonies in these days, was more likely to drive the British mind to thoughts of Bunker Hill than to visions of expanding Empire on British lines. The voyage of the Ophir marks the vast difference. The Queen’s reign was spent in acquiring alid developing; the King’s is face to face with the’ duty cf consolidation; and the first thing for the King’s people to do is to “take stock.” The emotion of the King at parting from his son is l natural,’for the seas and the winds are as treacherous now

qs they were yvhen the old Plantagenet King lost his Hair Apparent in the Channel, and medern naval architecture is as powerless to resist their .mighty forces. Being natural, the emotion re-establishes the, link of human interest which was one of the strongest bonds of Empire the glox-ious old Queen took down ’ with her into the grave- Another bond is touched by the Duke of Cornwall’s speech in reply to his father's farewell. He thanked his Majesty for the “permission to make this most interesting voyage.-” When he saw these countries in his boyhood,’ the Duke found them interesting

( by reason of the position to which they had attained in one of the shortest , periods of development-that history re- ' cords, and on the truest lines. When . ha sees them again, as the heir of Edward VTL, they will be Interesting by reason of the vast stx-ength of loyalty which the pressure of foreign war has so unexpectedly revealed. , , ! That is the simple fact. To build an elaborate superstructure of reasoning upon it, as the London “Times” has done, is to fall-into the extreme of ingenuous platitude. The Australian Commonwealth is a great fact in Australian history. But it adds nothing to the solidarity of the federation which binds the British Empire together. It is a detail of that federation by which every part of the Empire is bound to its great centre. The course to he followed by this

country in relation to the Commonwealth will be governed by other reasons than a Royal visit, which, is a sign of the higher and closer federation of the whole Empire, For this Imperial federation all the parts are preparing; and for this their peopled are content to wait till the fuller developments of time give it the formal character which, however desirable it will he at the right moment, can add nothing to the strength of the! bond of union which holds the Empire: together to-day. • The suggestion of the • great London journal, that this country I;

is likely to be.“corralled'’ into the Australian Commonwealth by the Royal visit, is an imputation unintended, but real, upon their loyalty and common-sense, which Now Zealanders can afford to disregard. _ lor many reasons it is regrettablcHhat the discussion of the small details of the expenditure which loyalty prompts the people of ’Wellington to incur has taken tho form so largely chronicled hi the newspapers. We of the capital know quite well that nothing that was said or done at tho recent meetings reflects, or was intended to. reflect, on our loyalty. To outsiders, hbwerer, a wsung impression can easily he given. Therefore, tho turn the discussions have taken is to he deplored. Tho main fact in this situation is that tho public have to pay, and are ready to pay, the expenses cf the reception. Whether they pay as ratepayers or as taxpayers is immaterial. Tho municipal law, on the one hand, -imposes an inconvenient restriction. On the other, the Government has signified its willingness in the last resort to pay something, if not everything, and has intimated its readiness to help through any legislation that may bo necessary. Between these extremes a compromise lias been suggested by which the Government shall give a pound for pound subsidy to the* municipalities to help them bear the cost of loyal welcome. Inasmuch as it apportions the cost equally between ratepayers and taxpayers, the suggested compromise is good. A statement has been made that those who expect to benefit hy the Royal visit must he made to pay subsidies of corresponding weight. That suggestion is not workable, and, if it were, it would be still liable to the fatal objection that it is not in tho right'spirit. In the situation that is looming near the main question is of the adequate reception of the Royal visitors. It is the plain duty of the citizens, and of Government and Parliament, to sink all other considerations and to concentrate their efforts on the work of making the reception what it ought to he. It can do no good, and may do much harm, to accuse! Wellington people of disloyalty, or to cast undeserved aspersions upon them for meanness. It is degrading to assume that loyal generosity can ho stimulated by appeals to sordid motives or by stirring up tho worst form of provincial jealousy. Tho whole tone of tho debates is to he deplored, the more especially as there was not the slightest necessity for any asperity of feeling being imported into the question. It will bo no matter for surprise though the Government should have thrown upon its shoulders the w’hole burden of the official expenditure in Wellington in connection with the Royal visit.