LEVEE AT PALACE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22567, 10 May 1935, Page 9

LEVEE AT PALACE

KING THANKS THE NATIONS DEEPLY TOUCHED BY MESSAGES SYMBOL OF ENDURING PEACE (British Official Wireless.) (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) RUGBY, May 8. The King's thanks to the nations of the world were expressed at a levee which his Majesty.held at St. James's Palace.. Congratulations on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps were presented by itd doyen (Senator Regis de Oliviera, Brazilian Ambassador), by the Empire Prime Ministers and India through Mr Ramsay MacDonald, and on behalf of the colonial Empire by Sir Philip Cun-liffe-Lister (Colonial Secretary).

The King, in reply to the Diplomatic Corps, said that he and the Queen were deeply touched by the warmth and sincerity of its good wishes, and added: " I pray God that the unity of purpose which brought you here to-day may be a symbol of enduring peace in the world at large."

The King prefaced his reply to the Empire congratulations with a welcome to their representatives. "We welcome one and all to our home," he said. "Eventful your visit cannot fail to he. I trust that it will be happy also, and when the time comes for your return I would ask you to take back to your own people a message of affection to every member of this great family, of which I am so proud and thankful to be the head, and a message of deep gratitude for the loyal and kind words which you have spoken on their behalf. ; "Before I succeeded my father the Queen and I had the privilege of studying at first hand the dominions overseas and India. We were fellow-travellers then, as now, comparing notes and sharing impressions. •. We treasure these memories and keep them alive. Moreover, what we forget our four sons are now able to recall.

" Many years before our happy partnership began I had as a midshipman sailed the seven seas. I realised early that the Empire had many climes, but one spirit. I regard this as a unique gathering where we can tell one another of our successes and also of our failures and mistakes, but there will be no sharp criticism or vain regrets, for we are in sympathy one with another, conscious that we have acted according to our lights for the good name and ordered prosperity of the family. " We are sometimes told that we are lacking in logic, ami that our political institutions are loose and undefined, but I look back on the trying and testing time through which we have passed and wonder whether a less flexible system would have withstood the strains to which we have been subjected. With common sense and goodwill as our shield and buckler, we kept, in spite of all d : f£culties, our heritage of liberty, alike for the individual and for our many constituent races. The numberless and invisible ties of sentiment and tradition which bind us together are indeed delicate, but many strands make a cable strong, to bind in times of adversity. It is my prayer, no less than my firm belief, that this bond of spirit may prove also a bond of peace. Some of you are, with a few happy exceptions, about my own age. I. pray for the continuance of God's blessing on your labours. With His help I will work on with you in the years that remain for that object which has ever been next to my heart —the welfare of the Mother Country, of the dominions overseas, and of India, and their happiness and prosperity." ACOAIMED BY CROWDS LONDON, May 8.. A crowd of 10,000 waited ior several hours outside Buckingham Palace, and a further 6000 lined the Mall as the King, bare-headed, and wearing an admiral's full dress uniform, the Queen and the Duke of Gloucester, in a car, drove at walking pace to St. James's Palace. They were ' enthusiastically cheered and their Majesties smilingly Vi.ved acknowledgments, .__ Upon reaching St. James's Palace, their Majesties were conducted to the white and gold throne room, where other members of the Royal Family were grouped round the throne, and diplomats representing the whole world, in addition to the dominion Premiers and representatives, were assembled. NEW ZEALAND'S MESSAGE , LONDON, May 8. Mr J. A. Lyons, presenting to his Majesty the parliamentary addresses, said: "Australians' loyalty to the throne and your person is not lessened by the distance separating us. I assure your Majesty that as far as Australia is concerned there hat, never been greater devotion and respect to the head of the Empire. Your life has been an inspiration to all your subjects. The dignity, courage, wisdom and self-ascrifice shown during your 25 years' reign have been an example worthy to be followed by every Briton. I humbly and sincerely tender to your Majesty this message of loyalty from one of your most distant dominions. It is a message of love as much as loyalty. It is a message of pride that we are able to share in. the glory of your reign." Mr G. W. Forbes,, speaking on behalf .of New Zealand, said: " You have led your people through unprecedented difficulties. The unity of the Empire and the prominent position it holds are mcinly due to your leadership and inspiration. New Zealanders preserve indelible memories of the noble courage and self-sacrifice of your Majesties and other members of the Royal Family in the dark days of the war. Your unfailing sympathy to all sections of the sorely tried people later has been a comfort during the depression. New Zealanders desire to be worthy in, every respect of the race from which they sprang. I pray that you and the Queen may long be spare 1 to guide the destinies of the Empire." . . The King, replying to the dominion representatives, said: "I am gladdened •when friends from overseas say that when visiting England they are coining Home. The Queen and I meet you in that spirit and greet the Prime Ministers of the dominions now as equal partners in the Empire. I thank them for the addresses from their Parliaments." The most striking phrase in the King's address to the diplomats was: "I heard it rumoured among your colleagues that my capital is a greatly coveted post." Representatives of the dominions were de?ply touched by the intensity of feeling in his Majesty's speech in reply to the addresses. . Mr Lyons was the only Empire statesman who did not read his speech. He relied entirely on memory, which was a severe test at such a ceremonial gathering. He delivered his oration withi out a hitch. ■'■;'; ■ ■ ■ At least 20,000 people assembled outaide the palace during the levee, and wildly cheered and waved hats and handkerchiefs as their Majesties departed.

PARLIAMENTARY ADDRESSES (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 8. In both Houses of Parliament a motion that a humble address be presented to his Majesty to congratulate him on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his accession to the throne was carried unanimously after speeches in support from all parties. The King will visit Westminster Hall to-morrow to receive the addresses. In the House of Commons the Prime Minister said the King had received in the streets of London on Monday a greeting which went far deeper and higher than a mere formal expression of loyalty from the people to their Sovereign, and revealed regard and appreciation, warmed by personal affection. The words which the King spoke over the wireless disclosed that he was a very human Sovereign. He had taken possession of the hearts of his people, and he had worn the crown not only with the dignity and distinction of monarchy, but with the rectitude of a constitutional. Sovereign solicitous to preserve the liberties of the nation and the rights of Parliament, and also with the consideration and care of one who rejoiced in lis people's joys and sorrowed when they suffered. There was a time when the Crown seemed to be little more than a survival of an institution —an in heritance of the past apart from a tradition whose value was to give some measure of support to continuity in the constitutional, political, and spiritual evolution of the nation. "To-day these mainly intangible justifications are supported by others of a more tangible character. The great dominions have passed beyond the colonial stage. Westminster is no longer their capital city. The evolution of their nationality has made them self-governing communities. The Statute of Westminster, which sealed their freedom as States, discovered and proclaimed a bond of continuing unity, and that bond is the Crown. Today the existence of the Crown enables the dominion nations to be free and still united."

In the House of Lords, Lords Hailsham, Ponsonby, and Reading and the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke in support of the address to the King. Lord Ponsonby said that through all the troublous times the King stood as the symbol of reliability and constancy which was a sure reflection of the feiod character of the British people. The journeyings of the King's sons had increased the affection for the Royal Family throughout the world. Lord Reading said it was a worthy reflection that the expansion of democracy in Britain had led to strengthening and cementing the loyalty and devotion of the people to the throne.

GREAT THANKSGIVING SERVICE LONDON, May 8. Albert Hall contained 8000 people, and might have been filled five times with those desirous of attending the united jubilee thanksgiving service organised by the World's Evangelical Alliance. Fifty clerics and Salvationists surrounded the Duke of Kent on the platform. Sir James Parr, the Earl of Stradbroke, and Field-marshal Sir. William Birdwood were present. The fervent singing of the National Anthem, led by a choir of 1000, accompanied by the gigantic organ, 6hook the roof. The Bishop of Norwich, who presided, said it was a family festival of the whole Empire unequalled in history. The Duke of Kent read a message from the King acknowledging the audience's telegram of loyalty, and cited the King's utterance that the foundations of national glory were set in the homes of the people. Bishop Taylor-Smith offered a prayer of thanksgiving for his Majesty s unceasing service to the Empire. General Sir William Birdwood read the lesson, and Lord Bledisloe testified to New Zealand's loyalty. The Bishop of Norwich terminated a moving meeting with an act of homage in the form of an Empire call to thanksgiving. THANKS TO THE POLICE (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 8. The King, in a letter to the Home Secretary, congratulates all concerned on the wonderful way in which everything was so successfully organised and carried out on Jubilee Day. The Queen and he were especially pleased to notice that every house along the route had by its • tasteful decorations taken part in the outward display of rejoicing and goodwill. After reference to the work of the special constabulary and ambulance services, the letter added: "During the past days I have greatly admired the tactful and sympathetic manner in which the police* have handled the cheerful and good-natured crowds thronging the streets surrounding our home' in London, and taking every opportunity of giving us an enthusiastic welcome." MESSAGE TO HERR HITLER BERLIN May 8. The King, replying to Herr Hitler's message, said: " I am especially grateful for the friendly reference to the efforts of myself and my Government in the interests of peace. The cause of peace is extremely dear to me, and is the constant aim of my Government. I reciprocate your good wishes for the success of this cause. I trust I express not only the feelings of my people, but those of the whole civilised world." LOYAL FERVOUR OF CROWDS LONDON, May 8. (Received May 9, at 8 p.m.) Loyal fervour again rose to the highest pitch among 50.000 assembled at Buckingham Palace, where the King and Queen appeared on the balcony, causing the crowd to surge across the road waving hats and umbrellas. The Duke of Gloucester joined his parents, and the trio remained for 10 minutes, bowing and waving to the crowd. The West End traffic is as congested as ever, an endless stream of vehicles moving at a snail's pace. Miss Betty Baxter, a clergyman's grand-daughter, aged 23, known as "the silver lady of the embankment," gave a dinner to 600 down-and-out men and women at Westminster Hall. The King, upon learning that the 000 were drinking their Majesties' healuh in tea, telegraphed his thanks. As they left the hall, each man and woman was given a ticket for a free bed and breakfast.

Miss Baxter maintains a free coffee stall in Trafalgar square, which is a God-send to the destitute. In the House of Commons, Mr G. Lansbury (Lab.), seconding the address to the King, described the King's broadcast on Monday as unsurpassed in the history of monarchs. That his Majesty should have remembered tie unemployed on such an occasion stamped him as very human. Mr Lansbury added that, though he was a Socialist through and through, he always believed in the destiny of the British people, and he hoped that the young men and women of the Empire would lead the world in upholding individual and international freedom and liberty, and away from war and trust therein. Mr Lloyd George said there had been no more remarkable scenes in living memory than the past few days' demonstration of gratitude and deep affection for his Majesty. It was a celebration of the triumph of democratic government under the King's leadership. De-

spite the economic depression, the condition of the people had improved, and the nation's wealth was the envy of the world. There were few ether countries and no empires of which this could be said, " No wonder people of every class and condition universally prayed that the beneficent reign would long continue."

KING'S REMARKABLE SPEECH

LONDON, May 9. (Received May 9, at 8.30 p.m.)

The Empire as a family of nations is the keyuoto of many editorials. The Daily Telegraph describes the King's reply to the Empire addresses as one of the most remarkable speeches ever made by a British Sovereign. "The words will be quoted not merely by statesmen of to-day but students of history centuries hence. It is a familiar truth that the Crown is everything to the Empire, and now we know what the Empire is to the Crown. It is a family alliance for the maintenance of common ideals."