Part 15 (1/2)
On the following day Parliament met in brief Session and the Marquess of Salisbury in the House of Lords and Mr. A. J. Balfour in the Commons read a Royal message: ”The King is fully a.s.sured that the House of Lords will share the deep sorrow which has befallen His Majesty and the nation by the lamented death of His Majesty's mother, the late Queen. Her devotion to the welfare of her country and her people and her wise and beneficent rule during the sixty-four years of her glorious reign will ever be held in affectionate memory by her loyal and devoted subjects throughout the dominions of the British Empire.” In moving an address of mingled sympathy and congratulation, in reply, Lord Salisbury spoke with sincere and weighty words as to the qualities and power of the late Queen, her position as a const.i.tutional ruler and her ”steady and persistent influence on the action of her Ministers in the course of legislation and government.” Upon the position of the new Sovereign the speaker was explicit: ”He has before him the greatest example he could have to follow, he has been familiar with our political and social life for more than one generation, he enjoys a universal and enormous popularity, he is beloved in foreign countries and foreign Courts almost as much as he is at home, and he has profound knowledge of the working of our inst.i.tutions and the conduct of our affairs.”
The motion was seconded by Lord Kimberley as Liberal Leader in the House, and spoken to by the Archbishop of Canterbury. In the Commons Mr.
Balfour referred at length to the great reign and character of Queen Victoria and to the Sovereign's influence upon public affairs. ”In my judgment the importance of the Crown in our Const.i.tution is not a diminis.h.i.+ng but an increasing factor.” Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Opposition Leader, seconded the motion, dealt with the late Queen's personal character, referred to Queen Alexandra as having long reigned in the hearts of the people, and paid high tribute to King Edward: ”For the greater part of his life it has fallen to him not only to discharge a large part of the ceremonial public duty which would naturally be performed by the head of the State; but also to take a leading part in almost every scheme established for the national benefit of the country.
Religion and charity, public health, science and literature and art, education, commerce, agriculture--not one of these subjects appealed in vain to His Majesty, when Prince of Wales, for strong sympathy and even for personal effort and influence. We know how unselfish he has been in the a.s.siduous discharge of all his public duties, we know with what tact and geniality he has been able to lend himself to the furtherance of these great objects.”
The tactful and obviously sincere language of the King's address to his Council had, meanwhile, won the warmest and most loyal commendation in all parts of the Empire--the unanimity of approval being extraordinary in view of the diversity of peoples and interests involved. Other messages which followed from His Majesty were of the same statesmanlike character. To the Army, on January 25th, he issued a special message, as Sovereign and as const.i.tutional head, thanking it for the splendid services rendered to the late Queen and describing her pride in its deeds and in being herself a soldier's daughter. ”To secure your best interests will be one of the deepest objects of my heart and I know I can count upon that loyal devotion which you ever evinced toward your late Sovereign.” On the following day the Navy received a message of thanks for the distinguished services rendered by it during the long and glorious reign of the late Queen and concluding with these words: ”Watching over your interests and well-being I confidently rely upon that unfailing loyalty which is the proud inheritance of your n.o.ble Service.”
An incident followed which once more showed the tactfulness of character so desirable and important in a Sovereign. The presence of William II.
of Germany in England, at this particular period, was creating much discussion abroad and his evident friends.h.i.+p for the King, whom he had just made an Admiral of the German fleet and with whom he had been having prolonged conferences--in company on one occasion with Lord Lansdowne who had been hastily summoned to Osborne--increased this interest. On January 28th the situation was accentuated by the announcement that the German Emperor had been made a Field Marshal in the British Army and his son, the Crown Prince, a Knight of the Garter.
In personally conferring the latter honour King Edward made a brief speech in which he expressed the hope that the kindly action of the Emperor in coming to London at this juncture and his own presentation of this ancient Order to the Prince might ”further cement and strengthen the good feeling which exists between the two countries.”
Between the time of the King's accession and the funeral of Queen Victoria, on February 1st, the press and public of the Empire were busy taking stock of the great loss sustained and measuring the character and possibilities of the new Sovereign. There was, in both connections, a curious and striking unanimity, as may be inferred from what has been already stated. A few expressions of authoritative opinion about the new King may, however, very properly be quoted here in addition to the references made in Parliament. The London _Times_, on the day following the Queen's death, spoke of the long training undergone by the Prince of Wales, of his wide experience and his acquaintance with the ceremonial functions of Royalty. ”Endowed as he is with many of the most lovable and attractive qualities of his mother--with warm sympathies, with a kind heart, with a generous disposition, and with a quick appreciation of genuine worth--the nation is happy in the confidence that, in spirit as well as in form, it may count upon the maintenance of that conception of Royalty which is the only one which most of us have ever known. To these qualities the King adds perfect tact, wide knowledge of men and the business virtues of method, prompt decision, punctuality and great capacity for work.”
KINDLY AND LOYAL WORDS
Speaking on January 24th at the City Temple, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Parker, Chairman of the Congregational Union of England and Wales, spoke of the King's great opportunities and personal powers. ”As Prince of Wales he has played a difficult part with strict sagacity and unfailing good-nature. He is a man of great compa.s.s of mind. Let us welcome him with our warmest appreciation.” From across the Atlantic came the voice of the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in his eloquent speech in Parliament on February 8th: ”We have believed from the first that he who was a wise Prince will be a wise King, and that the policy which has made the British Empire so great under his predecessor will also be his policy.” From the still more distant Melbourne, Australia, came the kindly and loyal words of the _Argus_ on February 1st: ”In the eyes of his subjects, near and far, he is clothed with the kindliness, the tact, the sympathy with social progress, the practical intelligence, the political impartiality, and the keen sense of duty he displayed during the many years in which he helped his mother in the discharge of the Royal tasks. His people know that he possesses the amiability, the dignity, the clear vision and the industry which befit the occupant of a most exacting as well as exalted position.” From all over the world came testimonies of similar feeling, and within British dominions the opinions and tributes everywhere partook of one quality--that of trust and confidence in the new Sovereign.
During this first week of his reign the work which devolved upon the King was tremendous. The signing and consideration of necessary doc.u.ments which had been delayed during the illness of the Queen was alone a serious task. The slight sickness of the Duke of Cornwall and York detached him from the help which he might have given in many ways, and the presence of the German Emperor increased the burden of discussion and of questions to be dealt with. The King also took charge of the large and complicated arrangements connected with the funeral ceremonies and supervised the immense variety of details with his usual business-like ability and energy. This great function, which eclipsed the Jubilee in solemn splendour and exceeded any demonstration in history in its unquestioned weight of public sorrow, commenced on Friday, February 1st, when the remains of the Queen were removed from Osborne to the Royal yacht _Alberta_.
The coffin was carried by Highlanders and blue-jackets, followed by the King, the German Emperor, the Duke of Connaught, the German Crown Prince, Prince Henry of Prussia, Prince Christian, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Arthur of Connaught, Prince Charles of Denmark, Prince Louis of Battenberg, and then Queen Alexandra and the Princesses. The _Alberta_ pa.s.sed across the Solent to Portsmouth, through a long and continuous avenue of saluting wars.h.i.+ps, and was followed by another vessel with the Royal mourners on board. The members of the Lords and Commons were on vessels placed amongst the wars.h.i.+ps.
On Sat.u.r.day the body of the late Sovereign was brought from Portsmouth to the metropolis and borne with solemn state to Paddington station through millions of black-garbed, silent and mournful people, and between lines, along the entire route, of thirty-three thousand Regular troops and volunteers. It was followed by the King, the German Emperor and the Duke of Connaught, riding abreast, the Kings of Portugal and Greece, forty Princes representing every Royal House in Europe, seventeen representatives of the Colonies, a long array of Amba.s.sadors and foreign representatives, the Queen, the Princesses, the King of the Belgians, the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Roberts, Lord Wolseley. The coffin was taken by train to Windsor where, in St. George's Chapel, the funeral service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester. The actual interment took place on Monday afternoon in the Royal Mausoleum of Frogmore, where the remains of the great Queen were laid in death beside those of the husband whose memory she had so long cherished in life.
These prolonged obsequies--the most splendid and impressive in history--pa.s.sed off with a smoothness of procedure which, under the circ.u.mstances of sorrow and crowding duties, indicated more than ordinary powers of concentration and management in the new King, as well as a most marvellous sentiment and sympathy amongst the people.
Throughout the Empire, as that solemn procession pa.s.sed along the purple-draped streets of London, funeral services were being held and sermons of sorrow preached in an uncounted mult.i.tude of churches darkened with all the habiliments of mourning. As the _Standard_ well put it on February 5th: ”The nation is conscious of its debt to the King, whose tactful perception and devoted labour gave it so splendid an opportunity of showing its reverence for the Sovereign who has just pa.s.sed away. The King on his side has found strength and comfort in those eloquent demonstrations of the sympathy of his subjects which have reached him, in innumerable ways, from all parts of his dominions.”
Immediately after the last ceremonies had been performed the King issued a series of Messages which, for tact and courtesy and kindliness, have rarely been excelled--even by the experienced eloquence of his Royal mother. They were all dated February 4th and the first was addressed ”To my People.” It commenced by saying: ”Now that the last scene has closed in the n.o.ble and ever-glorious life of my beloved mother, the Queen, I am anxious to endeavour to convey to the whole Empire the extent of the deep grat.i.tude I feel for the heart-stirring and affectionate tributes which are everywhere borne to her memory.” His Majesty proceeded to speak of the recent magnificent display by sea and land and the inspiration of courage and hope which the public sympathy had been to him during the recent trying days. ”Encouraged by the confidence of that love and trust which the nation ever reposed in its late and fondly-mourned Sovereign, I shall earnestly strive to walk in her footsteps, devoting myself to the utmost of my powers to maintaining and promoting the highest interests of my people and to the diligent and zealous fulfilment of the great and sacred responsibilities which, through the will of G.o.d, I am now called to undertake.”
A second Message was addressed ”To my People beyond the Seas.” After referring to the countless dispatches which had been received from his ”Dominions over the Seas” and the universal grief felt throughout the Empire, the King spoke of the ”heartfelt interest” always evinced by the late Sovereign in the welfare of Greater Britain, in the extension of self-government, in the loyalty of the people to her Throne and person, in the gallantry of those who had fought and died for the Empire in South Africa. He concluded as follows: ”I have already declared that it will be my constant endeavour to follow the great example which has been bequeathed to me. In these endeavours, I shall have a constant trust in the devotion and sympathy of the people and of their several representative a.s.semblies throughout my vast Colonial dominions. With such loyal support, I will, with G.o.d's blessing, solemnly work for the common welfare and security of the great Empire over which I have now been called to reign.”
The next and last of these historic doc.u.ments was a letter to the Princes and peoples of India in which His Majesty informed them that through the lamented death of his mother he had inherited a Throne ”which has descended to me through a long and ancient lineage” and then proceeded: ”I now desire to send my greeting to the ruling Chiefs of the Native States and to the inhabitants of my Indian dominions, to insure them of my sincere good will and affection and of my heartfelt wishes for their welfare.” He spoke of his ill.u.s.trious predecessor as having first taken upon herself the direct administration of Indian affairs and a.s.sumed the t.i.tle of Empress in token of her closer a.s.sociation with the government of that country; referred to the loyalty of its people and the services rendered by its Princes in the South African war and by its native soldiers in other countries; and concluded in the following expressive words: ”It was by her wish and with her sanction that I visited India and made myself acquainted with the ruling Chiefs, the people and the cities of that ancient and famous Empire. I shall never forget the deep impressions which I then received and I shall endeavour to follow the great Queen-Empress, to work for the general well-being of my Indian subjects of all ranks and to merit, as she did, their unfailing loyalty and affection.”
Following these incidents came the return home of the German Emperor, a letter of thanks from the King to Earl Roberts for his management of the military part of the funeral arrangements, and a most enthusiastic reception to His Majesty and Queen Alexandra during a rapid pa.s.sage through London to Marlborough House on February 27th. From this time on, during weeks of crowded work and the a.s.sumption of new responsibilities and functions, the King received many addresses of mingled condolence and congratulation. One of the first was from the Royal Agricultural Society of England which the King had done so much to aid as Heir Apparent. The President, Earl Cawdor, in speaking to the Council on February 6th, referred to ”the keen personal interest which the King had ever taken in all that related to the welfare of the agricultural interests of the country at large, and especially of the Royal Agricultural Society. They had made many and many calls upon his time and thought.” Canterbury Convocation referred to the pending visit of the Duke and d.u.c.h.ess of Cornwall and York to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The County of Derby the Royal Society, the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick--all sorts of organizations, political, financial, commercial, religious, scientific, official, artistic, benevolent and literary--expressed their admiration for the late Queen and their loyalty to the new Sovereign.
[Ill.u.s.tration: A GROUP AT SANDRINGHAM PALACE
The favourite residence of King Edward while he was Prince of Wales. The King is at right of the centre, and the Duke of Cornwall and York, now King George V. at the left side of the picture]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, WESTMINSTER]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HOUSE OF LORDS At Westminster, where the Peers of the Realm a.s.semble in their law-making capacity]
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT AT OTTAWA The cornerstone was laid by King Edward VII in 1860]
RECEPTION OF LOYAL ADDRESS
On January 13th the King received, in state, at St. James's Palace, the Corporation of London and the London County Council. In response to the addresses His Majesty made a direct reference to the Housing of the Poor Question, which he described as one in which ”I have always taken the deepest personal interest.” At a meeting of the Mark Master Masons of England on February 19th, with the Earl of Euston in the chair, the usual address was pa.s.sed, and then a letter was read from Sir Francis Knollys, saying that the King felt it necessary to resign the Grand-Masters.h.i.+p, but that he would remain a Patron of the Order. Five days later the King received at St. James's the loyal address of the University of Oxford, presented by its Chancellor, the Marquess of Salisbury; of the University of Cambridge, presented by its Chancellor, the Duke of Devons.h.i.+re; of the General a.s.sembly of the Church of Scotland, presented by the Right Rev. Dr. Norman Macleod; of the Corporation of Edinburgh and the Royal Society. Each of the deputations presenting these addresses was large and distinguished in members.h.i.+p, and to each His Majesty addressed a brief and tactful speech.
On March 12th another brilliant function was held at the same Palace, when the King received addresses from the Convocation of Canterbury, presented by the Archbishop, and that of the Northern Convocation presented by the Archbishop of York; the University of London, the English Presbyterian Church and the Society of Friends. Eight days later the great event in this connection, amidst surroundings of state and splendour, was the reception of over forty addresses from cities, boroughs, inst.i.tutions and various public bodies. Included in the list of deputations presenting addresses were those from the Universities of Edinburgh, Dublin, Victoria and Wales, the Dutch Reformed Church, the Baptist Union, the Congregational Union of England and Wales, the National Council of the Evangelical Free Churches, the Cities of York, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Belfast, Cardiff, Exeter, Chester and Doncaster, the Bank of England, the Royal Asiatic Society, the Incorporated Law Society of the United Kingdom, the Coal Exchange, the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons and the Ancient Order of Foresters.