The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1920. THE PRINCE OF WALES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10507, 7 February 1920, Page 6

The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1920. THE PRINCE OF WALES

The loyalty of the people of the Dominion to the reigning House passed beyond doubt alien they' placed 100,000 men in the lino of battle thousands of miles away. That loyalty they anil show in no uncertain manner when the Prince of Wales, the heir of the House, visits them, just as they did in 1901, when his father, the then heir of the House, came among them. The .loyalty is rather Republican in character than Monarchical, for everyone agrees with the statement of General Smuts that the only possible head of the British Empire is not a King by election, or President, but a duel I —lot him be called what he may—by iuj heritauce. By that way all occasion for disturbance is avoided under a rule which holds together autonomous dominions in a federation more real than formal. There is also the personal element to consider. Since the accession of Queen Victoria the House has been popular, by the personal qualities of its successive heads; by their fidelity to the constitution; and the ability, charm, and correctness they invariably showed in their dealing with their people. That the Prince of : Wales has begun to move in these footsteps is proved by the extraordinary popularity —beyond all, precedent in the relations with foreigners—he achieved in America. There his reputation had preceded him as a Pfince who at the front had insisted on doing the work of an officer without the privileges of a Prince, 1 and had obtained the respect which’ soldiers always accord ( to frankness and courage. The tolerant suspension, of "instructions'’ in his commanding: officer’s “Go where’ you like, hut, for goodness’ sake, don’t get killed,” was the natural forerunner xif the kind things said to the Prince in his sweep from Now 'York across the continent to San Francisco and hack.

In the general loyalty there is; among us a slight difference of opinion as to the manner of the Prince’s reception, and there are various proposals for variation of customary methods. Among the latter is one for meeting him on arrival with a Maori war canoe manned by chiefs, transhipping him into the same and rowing him ashore. There is a certain pride of royalty in the proposal. It reminds us of an, incident during the day 8 the Heptarchy, when the dominant King was rowed by the inferior Kings down the Severn in a barge. But would it ho according to Maori custom? According to that, hundreds of canoes could moot, him; the more canoes, the more honour, just as it was at Rotorua in 1901, when it was a case of more tribes, more dances, more' honour. If we remember right, however, when great arikis arrived by water in the days of old, it was their custom, though met by the shore

people in canoes, to, so to speak, 1 ‘paddle their own canoe.” Moreover, whether there is precedent or not, would it ho sale or comfortable to do this honourable disembarkation from the Renown ? Hew many chiefs of to-day know how to handle a canoe paddle? As to the tribesmen, wo know that those who danced so surprisingly before the Duke of York all the dances of older days, had been specially coached for the occasion by the old men. There is groat mastery of sailing among the coastal and lake Maoris, but the working of a great war canoe is not what it once was among them. By .all means, let the war canoes escort the ship across the harbour if they can bo got with, efficient crows—and let the Prince’s march through the city begin at the wharf. An advantage is that there is no way better Burn the march through the streets for the citizens to sec the Prince, as was proved by the experience of 1901. That experience has another side. The march of the visitor was accompanied by cheers from start to finish. The visitor, therefore, got the, best demonstration of loyalty that was , possible.’ The enthusiastic chronicler who described the Royal tour of the ; Duke of York as ‘TOGO miles of loy- ’ alty,” hit the mark with a picturesque , : inaccuracy most convincing. Arches, and festoons, and ribbons, anti streamers, illuminations, and flags—these .are but various settings of the gem of : loyalty; whereas the cheers of the : populace are the articulate expression’ of its sparkle. They are the work of various authorities, political and municipal. Often they are supplemented by the hangings, flowers, greeneries, and illuminations displayed by individuals and the flags they fly from their various coigns of vantage. All ibis pageantry of arches, masts, lights, flowers, and all this riot of colour is as old as the hills and as familiar as., the forest. Why seek originality, when probably the new thing will be but a fad uprooting the artistic work , of ages. Let the artistic sotting of the gem follow the old course, and let the citizens have room to voice the. spirit of its sparkle in the widest pos-' siblc way. _ !