ROYAL LETTER WRITING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7731, 15 June 1903, Page 2

ROYAL LETTER WRITING

OF THE FREKCH PRESIDENT. (Daily Mail.) ' A commission has recently been appointed by the. French Government to revise and settle the ceremonial which should be observed by the head of the State, and discussing the matter the "Matin" points out one notable difficulty, i.e., that of definitely establishing what forms the President of the Republic should make use of in writing to foreign rulers. Apparently there are no fixed formulae. Kings of France used, to call the Russian Emperor " brother." The latter now calls M. Loubeb liia " dear and great friend," while M. Loubet himself, not ' knowing what to do t usually employs the title of "Sire."' The Emperor of Austria, in his letters accrediting a Minister, calk M. Loubet his " dear and honoured friend " ; M. Loubet, in replying, can only make use- of the words "Sire" and "Majesty." It is, by the way, curious that the Austrian Court always employs Latin in its correspondence- with other Courts. This, according to the same authority, is how the King of England writes to M. Loubet. The English, as published, is not quite N as good as it might be, but this can hardly be the King's fault : — " To the President of the French Republic: " Edward, by the grace of God, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender o,f the Faith, etc. . . to the Presideut of the French Republic sendeth greeting/ Our good friend, etc. " And so We recommend You to the protection of the Almighty. " Given at Court, the first day of April, in the . . year of Our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and' thr*^ and in the third year of our reign.— Your good friend, Edward R." M. Loubet, while employing the formulae of extreme politeness demanded by the proiocol, naturally avoids speaking as a sovereign, and finishes his letters not by praying God to preserve King Edward in His holy and gracious keeping, but 'by employing tho consecrated phrase, "I embrace with eagerness this opportunity of renewing to your Majesty the assurances of the highest esteem and 'sincere friendship with which I am your Majesty's ..." It would appear that M. Felix Faure once added, in writing to the King of Denmark abput some now forgotten event, "Your good brothei-," thus employing the old wording adopted by the Kings of France. The President lias, in writing to a monarch, to give him ajl his titles. They take up six pages when he writes to the Austrian Emperor. It would appear that there is far less difficulty in. writing to King Edwai'd.