GREATER THAN THE GARTER

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6573, 7 February 1925, Page 2

GREATER THAN THE GARTER

Prior to June 26th, 1902, the day upon which King Edward VII. would have been crowned* but for a sudden j attack of appendicitis, the < highest | honour in his gift would, in most | people’s estimation, have been the | Order of the Garter, and it is still the j premier order of chivalry in the jj world. On that day, however, a new jj “C rder” was instituted, which for real jj distinction, takes precedence of any other. It is the Order of Merit, jj which is limited to twenty-four men j and women of extraordinary emin- [ er.je. It confers no title, only the j addition to the name of the magical j letters “0.M.” Twelve outstanding j figures in our national life were'orig- 1 : inally selected for the honour, but, i with the death of Lord Worley re- j cently, there is now only one left of |: the original members, Admiral Sir J Edward Hobart Seymour, who is now f in his 84th year. Among the present ; members of this unique order are Mr j Lloyd George, Earl Beatty, Lord Hal- j dane, Earl Haig and Thomas Hardy, j the novelist and poet.