Occasional Notes.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 395, 3 December 1912, Page 4

Occasional Notes.

(By Bystander). At the time of Mr Balfour's retirement from the leadership of the Unionist Party, I felt that a grave mistake had been made in appointing Mr Bonar Law to succeed him. Mr Austin Chamberlain, should, in my opinion, have been selected. As Chancellor of the Exchequer in the last Unionist Government, and his proved ability as an administrator, gave him so unassailable a claim to the qosition that it could not have been ignored without his own consent. It was, however, the wish of his distinguished, father that Mr Bonar Law should got the position, as he has proved himself to be the most powerful advocate in the Party in the policy of Tariff Reform, and in deference to his wish the appointment was made. It is a case absolutely unique in Parliamentary . annals. Here was a father urging that his own son's rights should be ignored, and that a man who had, comparatively speaking, been but a short time in Parliament and who had never held .office, placed in th exalted position of leader of one of the two great parties in the State, and made heirapparent to the Premiership of the United Kingdom. The result has been deplorable. Mr Bonar Law, who is a Canadian, is of Ulster descent, and has no doubt inherited the bitter feelings common in that province on the subject of Home Rule. ' Whatever one may think of this question, nothing to my mind can justify ths incendiary speeches the Unionist leader has made, and^now the same spirit of unbridled violence and absence of a sense of the responsibilities of his position, has led to a scene in the House of Commons that should bring a blush of shame to Englishmen the world over. In the historic chamber associated with some of the most important events in our history, and whose proceedings are supposed to be conducted Avith gravity and decorum, a scene of the greatest violence and disorder has been witnessed, abusive epithets applied to the Prime Minister, and a book hurled at the head of another Minister. It must b 1 evident to everyone that from the national discredit, such tactics mu tend to assist rather than retard Home Rule and to inflict lasting injury on the Unionist Party. It is the more unfortunate as I frankly admit that I should like to see • this party return to power, aa they are pledged to introduce Tariff Reform, and I have been long convinced that there can be no amelioration of the miserable social conditions prevailing in the Old Country as long as the workers remain in a position of unrestricted competition -with, the whole world. Strange as it may seem, this is the first time since the reign of Henry VIII, a period of nearly four hundred years, that England has had a King aud Queen who are both natives of the country, and this has only been achieved by the marriage of cousins, a most undesirable thing, and one that, if continued, is bound to produce both mental and physical detei-ioration in the Royal Family. It is true that James II had an English wife, Anne Hyde, hut she died before his succession, and- his consort during his brief reign of three years was Mary of Modena, an Italian princess. These reflections are brought to my mind by the coming of age of the Prince of Wales. The time is not far distant when it will be neo» essary to select a wife for hint, poor follow ! he won't be allowed to do so for himself, and I think the time is ripe for the introduction of some British, blood into the reigning family. There are ladies in Eng. land, Scotland and Ireland with as long descent, as many social graces, and, I believe, far greater personal charms, than any foreign princess. It is true that they are not of royal blood, but what of that ? We have ample precedent to justify us in ignore ing it. There was probably never a Kingwith a higher idea of his own importance than Henry VIII, and yet three out of his six wives, Jane Seymour, Catherine How? ard, and Catherine Pan, had no pretence to. royal blood, and in the case of two others, Ann Boleyn and Anne of Cleves, it was of a very flimsy character. Then, again, with his autocratic daughter, Elizabeth, if con« siderations of State had not made her suppress her desire to marry the handsome and courtly Leicester, who, by the bye, appears to have had his own wife, Amy Robsart, murdered in anticipation of the joyful event, it is very certain that nc nonsense about royal blood would have beon allowed to stand in the way. As before mentioned James II was married to Anne Hyde, the daughter of Lord Chancellor Hyde, and the grand-daughter of a brewer, and she was the mother of two Queens, Anne and Mary. How great an influence has beer had on our national history ! Cardinal Wolseley was the son of a brewer ; Oliver Cromwell did a little in that way before he left his brew vats to rule England, and re-conquer Ireland and Scotland, and to-day the beer lords, the Beerage, aa they are called, exercise a preponderating influence in the House of Lords. But to return to my subject. If the Prince of Wales were to obtain his wife within the borders of the British Isles, how immensely popular would the marriage be all over the Empire ! It would, I am -sure, be quite in harmony with the young man's feelings, who should be considered a little in the matter, and the infusion of new blood could not fail to benefit the family iu future ages. If, in the dark ages of the past, when the fetish of royalty was worshipped far more devotedly than it is to-day, this royal descent idea could be ignored, surely in this enlightened age it is time to throw this superstition overboard. In this connection, it is interesting to recall the fact that Queen Mary, who should be Queen Victoria) her name being Victoria Mary, hut probably ehp did rot like to assume the same title as her illustrious relative, is really more Hanover, ian, more of a Guelpb, in a sense, than her husband. On her mother's side, »h© U a great grand-daughter of George 111, and hep father, Princd Teck, was desoended from George 111, through his daughter, Anne, who married William, Prince of Orange, a colateral descendant of " King Billy," beloved of Orangemen. George I[ was the last English King to lead his troops on the battlefield, although George VE used to hare the effrontery to boast of his deeds at the Battle of Waterloo ! It was at Dettingon, 1743, where the King appears to have shown considerable bravery, but personal courage was * bis only visible virtue. A more uncouth, J brutal ruffian it would be hard to imagine' occupying a throne. History records that when his Queen Anne, a woman of high intelligence and culture, lay dying, she said to the King, who Btood at her bedside, deeply affected, that she hoped he would not marry again. " No, my dear," he replied, through his tears, " I shall hare mistresses \" and he kept his word i '