Part 23 (1/2)
There was always the vast amount of detailed study of current doc.u.ments--all of which he looked into before signing as had Queen Victoria before him; there was the strenuous and incessant round of State functions including the reception of visiting Sovereigns and amba.s.sadors, and special deputations, visits to cities and towns and the private houses of his greater subjects, State dinners to men and women of every school of thought and life in its higher branches, frequent trips to the Continent and continuous conferences with public men. In this connection it is interesting to note that just before the General Elections--towards the close of 1909--he did what no Sovereign had done for many a long year and did it not only without criticism but with public approval when he called Lord Lansdowne, Lord Rosebery and Mr.
Balfour into quiet conference regarding the political situation. How many others of all parties he may have invited to similar discussions in the privacy of Buckingham or Windsor only such a personage as his faithful and old-time Secretary, Lord Knollys, really knows. Military and Naval reviews were amongst the more important general functions of these years coupled with gracious and conciliatory visits to Ireland in 1904 and 1907. In this latter year he reviewed a magnificent fleet of wars.h.i.+ps at Portsmouth eleven miles long, headed by the first of the Dreadnaughts, and manned by 35,000 officers and men. Upon another occasion in 1909, the greatest fleet ever gathered together in any waters in the history of the world was also reviewed by His Majesty as, perhaps, a comment on the recently revealed crisis caused by German Naval construction. As to this the King was intensely concerned and we can safely a.s.sume that if one cause of his latter ill-health was political worry another cause may well have been the Naval rivalry of a Power which boasted 4,000,000 of a trained Army to Britain's 250,000 men.
With all these varied home duties and his many diplomatic efforts King Edward never forgot his own external Empire, never overlooked his vast interests overseas. To India in 1908 had gone a vivid and statesmanlike Royal Message, on November 2d, which recalled to the minds of its Princes and peoples their fifty years of progress under the Crown, the obligations which they were under to the liberty-loving rule of Britain, and the pride of their Emperor in governing so vast a congeries of races and interests. To them also in 1906 he had sent the Prince and Princess of Wales in a tour which repeated his own triumphs of 1876. To South Africa, upon frequent and appropriate occasions, came expressions of the King's interest in the people's welfare, in their strivings for unity, in their efforts to retrieve the misfortunes of war. It was King Edward's Imperial policy that dictated the sending of the Prince of Wales to open the first Parliament of the Union of South Africa--a policy which his own death rendered impossible--as curiously enough, it had been Queen Victoria's last public duty to send the Duke of Cornwall--as he then was--to open the first Parliament of the Australian Commonwealth. It was the King who sent the Duke of Connaught to visit East Africa in 1906 and Prince Arthur of Connaught to return from j.a.pan _via_ Canada in the same year. To the people of Australia Lord Northcote, the new Governor-General, on January 28, 1904, conveyed a Royal Message of greeting and then proceeded to say that: ”Every const.i.tutional process having for its object the linking together of the different component parts of this great Empire is sure to be sympathetically regarded by our Sovereign and I know his hope is that his people who live outside the narrow seas of Great Britain may believe that His Majesty regards them primarily, not as inhabitants of colonies or dependencies of the Mother-country, but as equally valued component parts of one mighty nation.”
As to Canada and King Edward much might be said. On July 22, 1905, His Majesty was at Bisley and presented the Kolapore Cup to the proud Canadian team which had won it and to whose Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. Hesslein, a few kind and tactful words were addressed. About the same time it was announced that the London Hospital Fund in which the King had for many years taken a deep personal interest, and in the maintenance of which he was really the chief power, had received a gift of $1,000,000 from Lord Mount Stephen of Canadian Pacific Railway fame. In 1906 His Majesty showed special interest in Canadian affairs. A cablegram through Lord Elgin, on January 2d, expressed the King's regret at the sudden death of the Honorable R.
Prefontaine; he received Canadian delegates to the Empire Commercial Congress at Windsor on July 13th, when Sir D. H. McMillan, Sir Sandford Fleming, Messrs. R. Wilson-Smith, G. E. Drummond, F. H. Mathewson, J. F.
Ellis and W. F. c.o.c.kshutt were presented; a deputation of Indian chiefs from British Columbia was received by him on August 13th and submitted an address and a pet.i.tion; a number of s.h.i.+re-horses were lent by His Majesty in the autumn for exhibition at Toronto and as a proof of his interest in that branch of Canadian development. But the chief event of the year in this respect was Canada's invitation to the King, and Queen Alexandra, to pay the country and its people a visit. In the House of Commons on April 18th, the Hon. N. A. Belcourt, seconded by Mr. W. B.
Northrup, moved a Resolution expressive of Canadian loyalty and devotion to the King's person and of the hope that His Majesty and the Queen would be pleased to visit Canada at such time as might be found possible and convenient.
In his short speech the Prime Minister laid stress upon the King's personal qualities and his work in the cause of peace. Sir Wilfrid Laurier then made a reference which was probably of more consequence in the final decision than was supposed at the time, ”I believe it is the opinion of all who sit in this House that if the King were to visit Canada--and he could not visit Canada without visiting the United States also--the effect would be to bring more closely together than they are at the present time--and they are more so than ever before--the two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race on both sides of the Atlantic.”
This additional suggestion involved tremendous considerations of travel, functions, ceremonial, time, and responsibility. After being spoken to by men of such opposite opinions as Colonel S. Hughes and Mr. H.
Boura.s.sa, as well as warmly endorsed by the Opposition Leader, the Resolution was pa.s.sed unanimously, as it was later in the Senate. All the Provincial Legislatures, then in session, joined in this invitation, while centres such as Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Quebec, Three Rivers, St. Hyacinthe, Valleyfield, Hamilton, London, Guelph, Woodstock, Halifax, Sydney, St. John, Fredericton, Regina, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria and about forty others warmly endorsed the request; as did every newspaper of standing in Canada. In reply Lord Elgin, Colonial Secretary, under date of July 7th wrote a long despatch to the Governor-General in which he expressed the King's appreciation of the invitation, his pleasant memories of the Royal visit to Canada in 1860, and his comprehension of the wonderful growth of the country since that time, and continued:
”I need scarcely remind Your Lords.h.i.+p of two circ.u.mstances which must not be overlooked in the consideration of these proposals. In the first place the current business of the Empire, which is continuous and incessant, imposes a heavy tax on the time and strength of its Sovereign and it is well known that the absence of His Majesty from this country for any length of time is difficult, if not impossible except under very definite limitations and restrictions; even when considerations of health and the need for comparative rest can render it expedient. In the second place it must be remembered that there can be practically no limits within the habitable globe of the distance which must be traveled to reach all parts of the British Empire and that it would be very difficult to visit one important part and decline to visit the other. In spite of the many and strong inducements which prompt him to gratify the loyal wishes of his Canadian subjects, I am to say that the King feels unable at present to entertain the idea of a journey to Canada.”
It would be quite impossible to indicate here the great regret expressed by the Canadian press, and the people generally, at this result of the invitation. Many reasons were adduced, other than those given in the despatch, and including diplomatic requirements in Europe, Royal visits and delicate negotiations then pending, Eastern troubles and complications, Australian jealousy if omitted from such a tour, as well as the difficulties involved in any possible visit to the United States.
During the year a full-length portrait of the King was received at Government House, Ottawa, painted by Luke Fildes, R.A., and the portraits of the King and Queen, specially painted by J. Colin Forbes, the Canadian artist, were also received and hung in the Parliament Houses. In 1907 King Edward visited the Canadian pavilion at the Dublin Exhibition of that year and inspected its exhibits while Queen Alexandra accepted from one of the Departments the gift of a rug made by French-Canadian women. In the next year much practical appreciation was shown in Canada of His Majesty's special arrangement under which the ”Life and Letters of Queen Victoria” was offered for sale at a low popular price; a Royal cablegram of sympathy was sent to the sufferers by the Fernie (B. C.) fire; the Edward Medal, established by the King for the recognition of courage in saving or trying to save life in quarries or mines, was extended to Canada and all parts of the Empire.
In the last year of his reign the King's third Derby victory was a popular one in Canada and throughout the Empire and his establishment of a Police Medal for the recognition of ”exceptional service, heroism or devotion to duty” was also applied to Canada and all the British Dominions. During the year His Majesty presented a gift of money to T.
L. Wood, a blacksmith at Port Elgin, N. S., and accepted a horse-shoe of exquisite workmans.h.i.+p which had been wrought by him while lying on a sick-bed; visited and praised the exhibition of British Columbia fruit at Islington on December 6th.
On October 21, 1909, a Tuberculosis Inst.i.tute, established at Montreal by Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Burland, was opened by the King through special electric communication between the Library of West Dean Park, Colchester, where he was staying, and the Inst.i.tute at Montreal, with a cablegram which read as follows: ”I have much pleasure in declaring the Royal Edward Inst.i.tute at Montreal now open. The means by which I make this declaration testifies to the power of modern science and I am confident that the future history of the Inst.i.tute will afford equally striking testimony to the beneficent results of that power when applied to the conquest of disease and the relief of human suffering. I shall always take a lively interest in the Inst.i.tute and I pray that the blessing of the Almighty may rest upon all those who work in and for it and also upon those for whom it works. Edward R. & I.” On November 20th His Majesty sent a personal despatch to Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the following terms: ”Let me express my hearty congratulations to you on the anniversary of your birthday. I hope you will be spared for many years to come to serve the Crown and Empire, Edward.” The Premier replied with an expression of ”humble duty and deep grat.i.tude.”
CHAPTER XXV.
The King as a Diplomatist and Peace-Maker.
In the olden days Kings used to very often be their own Generals; in these modern times King Edward has set an example by means of which they may well be their own Amba.s.sadors. He had every qualification of capacity, intellect and trained experience to serve him in such conditions. If Queen Victoria, remaining very largely at home, could wield an immense and undoubted personal influence in Europe, partly because of an ability which made the late Lord Tennyson describe her as ”the greatest statesman in Europe” and the Earl of Rosebery say that in matters of foreign policy she advised her Minister of Foreign Affairs more then he advised her,[7] how much more was King Edward ent.i.tled to personal _prestige_ in Europe and fitted for diplomatic work amongst its rulers. His Royal Mother had known many Sovereigns and seen many Kings and statesmen come and go; he had also met and known many of them more intimately than she could possibly do in the semi-seclusion of her quiet Court. He was uncle to the German Emperor, the mother of the Russian Czar was Queen Alexandra's sister, the King of Norway was a son of Queen Alexandra's brother the King of Denmark, the King of Spain was married to his niece and King George of Greece was his wife's brother. Even more important were the friends.h.i.+ps which, as Prince of Wales, the King had made in all the Courts of Europe, the statesmen whom he knew like a book, the policies of which he understood the origin and every detail of development.
In 1902 King Edward had received the German Emperor in England and had entertained other visiting monarchs and statesmen and diplomats. Early in 1903 he visited Rome, was received by His Holiness, the Pope, and by the King of Italy, and managed the difficult situation of the moment with a delicacy and tact which prevented even a hint of unpleasantness; and served to greatly increase the traditional friends.h.i.+p of Italy and Britain while sending a glow of appreciation throughout the Roman Catholic world which lives under the British flag, and helping to settle troubles which had arisen in Malta between the Government and the Italian residents. A little later he was in Portugal and proved a prime factor in promoting an understanding in Lisbon which substantially facilitated arrangements at far-away Delagoa Bay which, in turn, were of great advantage to South Africa. Then, on May 1st, came his famous visit to Paris and the commencement of an era of new and better feeling. It was not an easy task or one entirely without risk. French sentiment had been greatly excited during the South African war, the Parisian populace had not been friendly to Britain, the press had, at times, been grossly abusive and relations were undoubtedly strained. Through all the formal ceremonies of this visit, however, the King showed his usual tact and powers of conciliation. A difficult situation was successfully met; ill-feeling engendered by the misrepresentations of the War period were greatly ameliorated; the friendly settlement of controversial questions rendered probable. In his speech to the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, on May 1st, His Majesty touched the key-note of the visit:
”A Divine Providence has designed that France should be our near neighbour and I hope always a dear friend. There are no two countries in the world whose mutual prosperity is more dependent upon each other. There may have been misunderstandings and causes of dissension in the past but all such differences are, I believe, happily removed and forgotten, and I trust that the friends.h.i.+p and admiration which we all feel for the French nation and their glorious traditions may in the near future develop into a sentiment of the warmest affection and attachments between the peoples of the two countries. The achievement of this aim is my constant desire.”
Such an incident, followed by the cordial expressions of the French press and by a visible _rapprochement_ between the two countries, could not but be of special interest to the French-Canadians of Quebec.
Naturally monarchists at heart, the incident seemed to increase the personal loyalty already existing there. The Toronto _Globe_ of April 20, 1903, voiced a strong feeling in Canada when it hoped for a future Royal visit to the Dominion and declared that ”it would be a mistake to suppose that Edward VII. is merely an urbane gentleman, not to say a lover of the common people; he is a statesman and diplomat of breadth of view, depth of insight, and quickness of intuition. He knows how to time his visits in the interest of the peace of the world for which he humanely and seriously labours.” From July 6th to 9th President Loubet of France was the guest of the King and his reception in London tended to still further promote good feeling. On October 14th came the signature of an Arbitration Treaty between England and France. In this connection much praise was accorded to the King as one of the chief factors in its evolution. Mr. W. R. Cremer, M.P., the well-known Radical, made the following comment in the _Daily News_ as to this victory for Arbitration: ”It has been the privilege and joy of others to do the spade work in this beneficent movement, but to King Edward the opportunity was, at the psychological moment, presented to complete the work of thirty years. How well and how n.o.bly His Majesty performed his part the history of the past nine months clearly shows. Indeed, the King seems likely to distinguish himself by efforts of a character not recorded in the reigns of any other English or Foreign monarch.”
Addressing a British Parliamentary Delegation to Paris on November 26th, the Premier, M. Combes, eulogized King Edward and toasted him as the sovereign to whom they owed the treaty. At the annual banquet of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris on December 3d, its president, Mr.
O. E. Bodington, made a similar reference to the King. To the Montreal _Witness_ on December 7th, Senator Dandurand, who had just returned from England, paid the following French-Canadian tribute to His Majesty: ”The King is the most popular crowned head in Europe to-day. He is beloved at home, he is admired and praised in France, he is respected by every Power on the Continent.”
But the Continental tour of 1903 by King Edward did more than effect great results in France. The signing of a Treaty of Arbitration with Italy in January, 1904, with Spain in March, and with Germany on July 12th--following upon the King's visit to Berlin in June--were supposed to be largely due to His Majesty's personal influence with the rulers of those countries and to a popularity with the ma.s.ses which, in two cases at least, helped greatly in soothing current animosities. On April 8th of this year a Treaty was signed with France, in addition to the Arbitration Treaty already mentioned, which disposed of all outstanding and long-standing subjects of dispute and as to which, while Lord Lansdowne was the negotiator, King Edward was a most potent factor.
Under this arrangement Egypt was freed from foreign control and practically admitted to be British territory, while Newfoundland was finally relieved of its coast troubles and conflicts of a century. On November 9th, preceding, Sir W. McGregor, Governor of Newfoundland, had, during a banquet at St. John's, conveyed a personal message from the King which a.s.sured the people of that colony of his earnest endeavours to promote a settlement of the French Sh.o.r.e question. To Canada this matter was also one of the most vital importance, because of its large French population. In the controversy with Russia over the Hull fis.h.i.+ng fleet outrage of October 23, 1904, which so nearly plunged the Empire into a great war, it may be said that the King's influence, coupled with the statecraft of Lord Lansdowne, as exhibited in the latter's historic speech of November 9th, alone held the dogs of war in leash. The remark of a member of the Trades' Union Congress at Leeds on September 7th of this year that in his opinion ”King Edward was about the only statesman that England possessed” was significant in this connection even if it was unfair. Still more significant was the description of His Majesty in the Radical _News_ of London, on November 10th, as ”the first citizen of the world and the chief Minister of Peace.”
During 1905 King Edward continued his public services along these lines of international statecraft. On April 30th he paid an unofficial visit to Paris, accompanied by the Marquess of Salisbury as Minister in attendance. A great banquet was given at the Elysee by President Loubet and there followed a general press discussion of the _entente_ between England and France. In June the King of Spain visited England and at a state banquet given by King Edward at Buckingham Palace, on June 6th, the latter said: ”Spain and England have often been allies; may they always remain so; and above all march together for the benefit of peace, progress and the civilization of mankind.” On August 7th a French fleet arrived in the Solent and its men fraternized with those of the British cruiser squadron while the King gave a banquet on board the Royal yacht to the chief French officers. On the following day His Majesty reviewed two fleets which together made a splendid aggregation of seventy wars.h.i.+ps; while the press of the civilized world commented upon the new friends.h.i.+p of the two nations and very largely credited King Edward with the achievement.
Early in 1907 the King's visit of two months' duration in Europe did more service in the cause of international friendliness; later on the German Emperor visited England, as did the King and Queen of Denmark, and the King and Queen of Portugal. In June a triple agreement was concluded between Great Britain, France and Spain for the joint protection of their mutual interests in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic. This arrangement and the improved relations with Germany were credited largely to the efforts of King Edward, just as the _entente cordiale_ with France had previously been conceded to be greatly due to his tact and popularity. In October he was able to crown his work by accepting a Convention with Russia which dealt primarily with the affairs of Persia, Afghanistan and Thibet, but really made future war between the two Powers a matter of difficulty. The year 1908 saw state visits to Copenhagen, Stockholm and Christiana in April; the King's opening of the Franco-British Exhibition in London on May 26th and reception of President Fallieres of France; his visit, with Queen Alexandra and a large suite, to Russia--the first of the kind in British history--and a meeting with the Czar at Revel on June 8th; his conference with the German Emperor at Cronberg on August 11th and with the Austrian Emperor at Ischl on the 12th. During the last year of his reign, King Edward's personal intercourse and diplomatic meetings with other rulers were undoubtedly conducive to continued peace and to better mutual understandings. His Majesty met the German Emperor at Berlin on February 8, 1909, the French President at Paris on March 6th, the King of Spain at Biarritz on March 31st, the King of Italy on April 29th, the Emperor of Russia at Cowes on August 2d. Just as Britain was an American Power at this time because of Canada, an Asiatic Power because of India and an African Power because of many possessions, so Canada was an European Power because of its connection with Great Britain, and Australia an Eastern Power because of its proximity to China and j.a.pan, and a European Power because of the nearness of Germany in New Guinea and of France in New Caledonia. Hence, to all these countries and for obvious reasons of common interest, the importance in an Empire sense of the King's personality and diplomacy during these years.
King Edward's training was of a nature which fitted into his personal characteristics in this respect. His Royal mother had cultivated his boyhood memory for faces and names most carefully; from the days of his youth he was thoroughly conversant with many foreign languages; from his coming of age he was in constant touch with the best of British and European leaders. He had not reached maturity before experiencing the difficulties of a tour of Canada and the United States in days when there was no royal road mapped out by precedent for the management of the tour and at a time when Orange and Green were in frequent conflict in the British-American provinces and feelings of international kindliness were not quite so strong in the United States as they were at the close of his reign. In 1876 he had toured India amidst gorgeous ceremonial and amid an infinite variety of racial and religious occasions, or incidents, which only rare tact could successfully meet.