THE KINGS WEEK.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13993, 31 August 1909, Page 2

THE KINGS WEEK.

HIS MAJESTY AS A MAN. King Edward has. been given many pupm.jf iiiUs u aiLii uo iiui ikiuny i»y iuii.tiit.iry nglu. i..j ui.jii' niw Hear tue l.i.pei'Ml Cl'l-'iiil. lie is- calico "The Peaeemaketr. : ' ana it is tnc best of his titles.. And over the aiuncr-cables when men rise H'ltli tliut little thrill of emotion which always mils tlieir Hearts, at tue good old worus: " lieutleiucu —tue the chairman, whoever he may 01-, sometimes expresses his loyalty in another phrase more "arming than the "iiie tuey touch with their lips. " Let Us driuk." k~ says, •■ to the King of Hearts.''" Many a time, also, as I have stood on a raeecourcc watching the King as lie levels his glass and sweeps the hold with it, or raises his hat for a moment, to the cheers of a great multitude of racing men. 1 have heard a shout repeated again and again, so that the Sovereign could not fail to hear it, and has smiled as he heard.

'"King of Sportsmen! -King of Sportsmen!" V\ e arc apt to think that this personal devotion to the King has been an instinct of the English people through centuries #>f history: and certainly the Sovereign, however much he has strained fidelity, has always been surrounded !>y men loyal to the death. But it would show an ignorance of history to pretend that .=ince flic Stuart days the Kings of England have received the personal enthusiasm of the people. On the contrary, in the first reigns of' the Hanoverian dynasty both Tories and Whips had on ill-disguised contempt for the person of the Sovereign, and reserved their reverence for the office of majesty. In the memoirs of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries one may see this attitude of the nobility and gentry of England towards the Crown. The old county f.-imil'os were pleased to consider thomse'ves far superior in blood and breeding to any of the four George*, whom they tolerated as " parvenus" nccessarv in the scheme of things. <)ucn Victoria was th«" first of her dynasty to arouse the strongest feelings of personal loyalty in her people, lint her long retirement- cud her dislike of the' epiemony and pageantry of a jrroat , Court were in some wars a disadvantage to the influence of the Sovereign in social rnil public life and in intern-'''"iml affairs. THE KING'S TACT. It lias bectn reserved to Kin:: Ivl- - in restore the full power and all the eld glamour and glory of the English Crown, as far as may b- to a l'"nstiti>ti"":il -Sovereign :il->nf fr mi the noliti'-'l arena. \nd future historians will rnd-.ebtodly h-»vo to recurd that it is Kdw-H VII. n-'m lias brought hack nwt fully, and in a remarkab'e t'>" se , "•.' , <f warm nerson-d In'-diy f" *be King, apart from his office, which belonged to many of the PlnntagoWt.s. the Todors. and r'"» Sftin'-ts. hut hardly at a!! +o the Hanoverians. This is dup in a icvi-Miro to tli« wav in which the King has taken a lead in at! those .affair* of State a—l everyday life, upon which. outside party polities, the welfare of the. people depends. That is acknowledged, but not evervouc realises or iinder--'-.noS- "•« ••••'<- «re.-+ ' I' + v !•■>- w'.i• •• Edward has caiucd bis firni hold upon the helm of our national shin. People are never tired of praising his extraordinary tactfolness, genialifv and real kindness of heart, bis unfailing desire to help forward the social progress of his country and of his his broad-mindedness, and 'sane, fin la need judgment, and bis interest ill every .subject of eon temporary importance. AH that is perfectly true, and these characteristics are essential qualities in Edward Vll.'s success as a king. Hut. people forget, or perhaps are not in « position to know. the. one paramount thing in his Majesty's life, without which he would not have goined so secure a place in the affection of the people or in the counsels of the world's Powers.

It is King Edward's extraordinary, unflagging, persistent, indomitable industry. It is, not too much t" s'.v that "lie is the hardest workjng man in his own Empire • NOT *X EK'UT HOinS FMV. He rollers under m:»nv disadvantages fnun nliv-li mffit other working men hove bu"i freed by nvoy;icssivo legislation. Ho is a member of no trade union. Kini'.s have not yet handed tliomselv-s t-'ii-tl.'er to resist the t.vranriy of their <">ii>le< ei-:. Sot for him i.s nn ri-.'ht hours d:-y. Tie does not fet paid for overtime. Tie is the victim." indeed, of swo-ilcd lahnirr, and hrt f-T tlie disjv trr-n.e consequences, his ."Uajcvtv would be prriVctly justified in going on strike. Tet lis tal-o li'* '-"-esont "oo'-'s work, and having looked down the |j-;t 'of hN labours, let us ask ours- )v. f- whether any bank clerk, any civil servant, any small shopkeeiK-r. has done more with his time than lviug Edward VIJ. On' Saturday, a week ago, the Kin;; began his (lay by receiving in audience. Atiimral .Sir Harry Rawcuii hjmiij reliiK|iiishiiig the .Governorship of New South Wales; and ' afterwards Sir Edward Henry, commissioner of Police, an! the President of' the Republic of Columbia. His Majesty' then held a Council. After luncheon the King journeyed to Kugby, where lie went, through a long and fatiguing programme, of events, and made an inspiring siM.-ecii to me hoys. On .Monday his -Majesty travelled to Knowsley and reviewed and presented colours to the 30,1X10 men of the \\est Lancashire Territorials. On Tuesday morning the King opened tne Royal .Infirmary at Manchester in state, and in the afternoon, reviewed and presented colours to the East Lancashire Territorials. On Wednesday his Majesty visited Liverpool, where he replied to an address of welcome, and afterwards travelled to Birmingham, where he ojx-nctt the new buildings of the university and made an important speech in reply to the address.

On 'l'lmr.«<!:iy the Kinj; .spent :i strenuous day in London. At 12 o'clock he I;iid the foundation stone of the Xeiv Royal ".School nf 3lincs ;it South Kensington, making another impressive speech: in the afternoon he inspected the Uononrahle Artillery Company, to whom lie made a sikm-cli : and in the cvenine, he attended a special perform-uih-c of the Knirlifch Opera Company ;'t His Majesty':,. " On l-ndav the \\nys iu«--»>f«-t«'<l thof the Grreitttieh .Naval College, and in the eveniiiK dined at the I'liiled States Embassy. Needless t" say. a.ll these were ill arldltion to the nia«""f correspondence upon affair:, of state whi-h confronts Mis Majesty d;iv hv d:.v. What fills -me with the df.-fl.est. ad-'-irat-on i- >»'>• *!'" number ol the Kin-'s cn^i K emeiits. thou-di thry are astonishing "and would be a severe strain noon the health and strength of manv* rounder men. hut the really amaaini' ivav in which the l\ing eiiin each item on his day s I>r ™'KlNO IS XKVKH HOHEI) He i- not like the journalist.-? who follow and describe all tlu-ic ureal, functions. IManv of them fetarc at the brilliant scenes with weary eyes. Custom has staled them for pomp ami pa-eantrv. They.-f.-t terribly tired

of the pomposities, of the ceremony, nf the loyal addresses, of the. formal speeches delivered upon every subject of national life, upon the laying of a foundation stone, or the opening of a now building, or the review of a. Volunteer regiment, or the reception of a Iloyal potentate. The journalistdo not conceal their boredom, and yawn behind the helmets of the policemen.

J3ut the Kins: is never bored, or. if so. conceals his boredom admirably. Yet his Majesty has the worst of it. lie has had to change his clothes perhaps for the filth time in one day and is in a tight, hot uniform, wiiii a big busby on Ins head. He is in the centre, of all eyes, and must smile and smile, however tired he ieels. He has not only to listen to the address of "" Mr Mayor," but to answer him in words suitable to the occasion, tactful, inspiring, encouraging. jJetore I coming upou the scene he has had- to I con his part, to approve and amend the speech prepared tor him, to study, as it were, Jus brief, upon a subject which not even a king may be expected to be perfectly tumiliar with — fclieh as the importance of a School of Mines or the progress in trade ol a provincial town. -ind, unlike the journalist—who after the function goes back to his office to uritc his brief description and then retires into private life, no water the rose-trees in a suburban garlen. lor example— the King goes back to his Palace to find a dozen instructions, to find innumerable papers requiring his supervision and signature, and in a little while he has to atte.id another ceremony, private or public, • where he is again the'centre of all eyes, where again he has to smile and to be genial, and to say tactful words, and to be interested, and alert, and keenly observant.

The mere physical strain of kingship must be severe, and King.Edward has less sleep than many of his subjects, but the psychological strain must sometimes be a. torture to any man not fiorn with the exact- qualities necessary to those who wear a crown. Because there is no greater torture for the mind of man than to be bored and to appear .interested, to be. weary yet to seem freshly interested in every foolish thing and stupid person, to long for the quietude and peace of a private room with a good cigar and a good friend to stand in the centre of a gay throng, in the public gaze, and without relaxation from the ceremony and state which surrounds a king. " .... So at least we in our simplicity mav ima-rine. But it is im-"inat : oii morel v. for no one has seen King Edward "look weary of what is going on around him. and upon every occasion he seems to pa.ssess the magic gift of taking a keen personal interest in the subject of the scene before him. That gift must surely be his. because otherwise the human nature even of a king would not be '- strong enough to endure these lnn-j hours and that continual work which King Edward devotes to duty. .„„-,' PHILIP GIBBS..