The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAT 8, 1914. A REFRESHING TENDENCY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 288, 8 May 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAT 8, 1914. A REFRESHING TENDENCY.

Romance seems to be so entirely banished from modern life that it is reallyrefreshing to hear of a youthful prince, the heir tot the greatest earthly tlhrone, thinking and acting for himself and interesting himself in the conditions of the poorest and most degraded of the people that he will one day be called to reign orer. The British Throne has for so many generations been occupied by monardhs of a mediocre calibre, some of them 'highly respectable, but others far from being so, that it gives one a thrill of pleasurable anticipation of better things to learn that the present HeirApparent is a youth of quite exceptional clunacter, who does not give himself up to vacuous pursuits and so-called pleasures, but who studies the questions of his day and generation and aims at fitting himself for the exalted position that will in natural course be his. The story of the Prince's doings, as cabled to the Chicago Tribune by its London correspondent, may be taken as faithfully reproducing gossip 011 the subject in the British metropolis. English newspapers, more or less enslaved by stupid convention or musty tradition, do not report anything concerning the Royal Family beyond the barest record of Court functions and official routine. It says much for their power of self-repres-sion that they succeed in doing this, for of course they often hold back news which is of the greatest interest and importance to their readers; but the London journalists who are correspondents of American journals aro under no restraint, and*they freely place 011 record whatever they learn of the doings of Royalty. The report that was cabled to America states fully and categorically that the Prince of Wales has become impregnated with Socialistic ideas, and is not ashamed to confess his faith and give reasons for it. It is stated that at Oxford, where he lias been attending the University, the Princo got into close association with a group of young men who are ardent Socialists and who earnestly desire to see the existing order of things altered. The views enunciated by theso enthusiasts deeply impressed him, and he readily agreed to the proposal of two companies of aristocratic birth that they should go to London and visit slum dwellings and work-rooms. On itke plea of business in connection With the Duchy of Oornrall, the Prince visited Buckingham Palace when the King and Queen were absent, and for two days he devoted his whole time to social enquiry. He and one of the friends already mentioned, disguised as casual laborers out of work, Visited some of the worst sweating dens, and also a number of dwellings wliere itwo or ev:m three families occupy one room. They visited slums in Shoreditch and Hoxton which have such an evil reputation that policemen neyer venture into them except in pairs; they saw things for themselves —things that no Royal personage had ever been allowed to see before; and th»y were duly and deeply impressed by the sights. The Prince, in particular, was profoundly affected by what he saw, and after his return to Oxford several meetings of Socialists took place in his rooms. When the King was informed of what was going 011, he sent for the Prince to learn from his own lips how much was true. To his great surprise, King George found that his son and heir confessed his firm belief in Socialistic doctrines, and admitted his visit to the dangerous slums. The Oxford authorities, »n being asked fur information, stated that the Socialists at the University were not seditious conspirators, but' merely a group of young men "with a rather exaggerated sense of their duty towards their neighbors." This did not satisfy the King and Queen, who are said to have at once withdrawn the Prince from Oxford and hurriedly arranged for him to pay a visit to his aunt, the Queen of Norway, with a tour through Germany to follow. "The great fear of the King and Queen," it is said, "is that the Prince may become infested with .Socialistic ideas at an impressionable age. which might prove difficult to eradicate later.'' Why they should wish to eradicate the»e ideas is not quite clear, unless they believe that a high ideal of duty to the lowly and degraded is unbecoming in a King. We may be sure that the intellectual Socialism that a young man ■may imbibe in the aristocratic atmosphere of Oxford cannot possibly be dangerous, but may on the contrary be of the very greatest importance to the monarch of a great and wealthy nation which has an enormous proportion of pauperism, and whose wealthy classes are almost in revolt against ameliora-

tive measures beoftusc of the increased taxation they may have to pay. A Socialist King on the British Throne—even itflio hope of one —may prove to be the very salvation of the realm from the horrors of revolution; and. the example and pTecepts of such a monarch would surely shame the aristocracy and plutocracy into cheerfully surrendering a portion of their wealth in order to make the conditions of life tolerable to the poor and degraded. The late King Edward is reported to have said on one occasion, When Prince of Wales, "We are all Socialists nowadays." He is hardly likely to "turn in his grave" because his grandson has "an exaggerated sense of his duty towards his neighbors." Years and experience may be trusted to give the present Heir-Apparent a true sense of duty and remove any false or exaggerated ideas he may have imbibed. It seems positively wicked to attempt to "eradicate" ideas that are based upon an earnest humanitarian spirit and a sincere desire for the welfare of all classes in the community. People in New Zealand, which is the most advanced Socialists State in the Empire, are not likely to be frightened by that muchabused teita "Socialism," which is too often confounded with communistic schemes and wild anarchistic talk of confiscation and spoliation. The true Soialism—that which has been adopted in this Dominion and which our future King has assimilated—is that which works from the top of the social scale downward, and is based upon the humane idea of uplifting the poor and degraded and enabling all "to stand erect in selfrespect and share the teeming world." In the meantime, it is stimulating to read of the Heir-Apparent going forth in disguise, like a modern Haroun A 1 Raschid, braving adventure and danger in order that he may gain a true knowledge of the people.