Returning home, on April 20th, the Prince of Wales was given a pleasant surprise at Altona where, as his train stopped on German soil, he found the Emperor William and Prince Henry of Prussia waiting with their suites to welcome him to Germany and, at the same time, to offer personal congratulations upon his escape. This occurrence created wide comment in Europe generally, and was taken to mean a desire by the German Emperor to express friendly national as well as friendly personal feelings. When His Royal Highness arrived at Dover, the welcome was immense in numbers and enthusiastic in character. The same thing occurred at Charing-Cross Station, London, where he was met by the Duke of York and the King of Sweden and Norway and wildly cheered by thousands of people on his way to Marlborough House. As the Standard put it next day: "No address of congratulation, presented by dignitaries in scarlet and gold, could have been nearly as eloquent as that sea of friendly faces and the ringing cheers of loyal men." In response to the innumerable congratulations received, as well as to this reception, the Prince of Wales issued a personal and public note of thanks in the following terms:

"I have been deeply touched by the numerous expressions of sympathy and goodwill addressed to me on the occasion of the providential escape of the Princess of Wales and myself from the danger we have lately passed through. From every quarter of the globe, from the Queen's subjects throughout the world, as well as from the representatives and inhabitants of foreign countries, have these manifestations of sympathy proceeded, and on my return to this country I received a welcome so spontaneous and hearty that I felt I was the recipient of a most gratifying tribute of genuine good-will. Such proofs of kind and generous feeling are naturally most highly prized by me, and will forever be cherished in my memory."



CHAPTER XVII.

Accession to the Throne

The death of Queen Victoria and the accession of King Edward were the first and perhaps the greatest events in the opening year of the new century. Before the formal announcement on January 18th, 1901, which stated that the Queen was not in her usual health and that "the great strain upon her powers" during the past year had told upon Her Majesty's nervous system, the people in Great Britain, in Canada, in Australia, in all the Isles of the Sea and on the shores of a vast and scattered Empire, had become so accustomed to her presence at the head of the State and to her personality in their hearts and lives that the possibility of her death was regarded with a feeling of shocked surprise.

During the days which immediately followed and while the shadow of death lay over the towers of Windsor, its influence was everywhere perceptible throughout the press, the pulpit and amongst the peoples of the Empire—in Montreal as in Winnipeg, in busy Melbourne and in trouble-tossed Cape Town, in Calcutta and in Singapore. When the Prince of Wales, on Thursday evening, the 22nd of January, telegraphed the Lord Mayor of London that "My beloved mother, the Queen, has just passed away," the announcement awakened a feeling of sorrow, of sympathy and of Imperial sentiment such as the world had never seen before in such wide-spread character and spontaneous expression.

Yet there was no expression of uneasiness as to the future; no question or doubt as to the new influence and power that must come into existence with the change of rulers; no fear that the Prince of Wales, as King and Emperor, would not be fully equal to the immense responsibilities of his new and great position. Perhaps no Prince, or statesman, or even world-conqueror, has ever received so marked a compliment; so universal a token of respect and regard as was exhibited in this expression of confidence throughout the British Empire.

THE EMPIRE'S CONFIDENCE IN THE NEW KING

Public bodies of every description in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and other British countries rivalled each other in their tributes of loyalty to the new Sovereign as well as of respect for the great one who had gone. The press of the Empire was practically a unit in its expression of confidence, while the pulpit, which had during past years, expressed itself occasionally in terms of criticism, was now almost unanimous in approval of the experienced, moderate and tried character of the King. The death which it was once thought by feeble-minded, or easily misled individuals, would shake the Empire to its foundations was now seen to simply prove the stability of its Throne, and the firmness of its institutions in the heart of the people. The accession of the Prince of Wales actually strengthened that Monarchy which the life and reign of his mother had brought so near to the feelings and affections of her subjects everywhere.

On the day following the Queen's death the new Sovereign drove from Marlborough House to St. James's Palace; accompanied by Lord Suffield and an escort of the Horse Guards. He had previously arrived in London from Windsor at an early hour accompanied by the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of York, the Duke of Argyll, Mr. Balfour and others. The streets were densely crowded with silent throngs of people; crape and mourning being visible everywhere, and the raised hat the respectful recognition accorded to His Majesty. Later in the day the people found their voices and seemed to think that they could cheer again. At St. James's Palace the members of the Privy Council had gathered to the number of 150 and were representative of the greatest names and loftiest positions in British public life.

THE KING ADDRESSES THE PRIVY COUNCIL

Members of the Royal family, the members of the Government, prominent Peers, leading members of the House of Commons, the principal Judges and the Lord Mayor of London—by virtue of his office—were in attendance. Lord Salisbury, Lord Rosebery, Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Balfour; the Dukes of Norfolk, Devonshire, Portland, Northumberland, Fife and Argyll; the Earls of Clarendon, Pembroke, Chesterfield, Cork and Orrery and Kintore; Lord Halsbury, Lord Ashbourne, Lord Knutsford, Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach, Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Lord George Hamilton, Mr. St. John Brodrick, the Marquess of Lansdowne, Mr. W. H. Long, M.P., Lord Ridley, Sir. H. Campbell-Bannerman, Sir J. E. Gorst, the Marquess of Ripon, Lord Goschen, Mr. H. H. Asquith, Lord Pirbright, Lord Selborne, Sir R. Temple, Mr. W. E. H. Lecky, Sir Drummond Wolff, Sir Charles Dilke, Lord Stalbridge, Sir M. E. Grant-Duff, Mr. John Morley, Earl Spencer and Earl Carrington were amongst those present. After the Council had been officially informed by its President of the Queen's death and of the accession of the Prince of Wales, the new Sovereign entered, clad in a Field Marshal's uniform, and delivered, without manuscript or notes, a speech which was a model of dignity and simplicity. Its terms showed most clearly both tact and a profound perception of his position and its importance was everywhere recognized:

"Your Royal Highnesses, My Lords and Gentlemen: This is the most painful occasion on which I shall ever be called upon to address you. My first melancholy duty is to announce to you the death of my beloved mother, the Queen, and I know how deeply you and the whole nation, and, I think I may say, the whole world, sympathize with me in the irreparable loss we have all sustained. I need hardly say that my constant endeavour will be always to walk in her footsteps. In undertaking the heavy load which now devolves upon me I am fully determined to be a constitutional Sovereign in the strictest sense of the word, and, so long as there is breath in my body, to work for the good and amelioration of my people.

I have resolved to be known by the name of Edward, which has been borne by six of my ancestors. In doing so I do not undervalue the name of Albert, which I inherit from my ever to-be-lamented, great and wise father, who by universal consent is I think, and deservedly, known by the name of Albert the Good, and I desire that his name should stand alone. In conclusion, I trust to Parliament and the nation to support me in the arduous duties which now devolve upon me by inheritance, and to which I am determined to devote my whole strength during the remainder of my life."

After the oath of allegiance had been taken by those present, the proclamation announcing the accession of the new Monarch was signed by the Duke of York—now also Duke of Cornwall,—the Duke of Connaught, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Christian, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Mayor of London, and the other Privy Councillors present. The Houses of Parliament met shortly afterwards and the members took the oath of allegiance, while all around the Empire the same ceremony was being gone through in varied tongues and many forms and strangely differing surroundings. There was wide-spread interest in His Majesty's choice of a name, and the designation of Edward VII. was almost universally approved—the exceptions being in certain Scotch contentions that the numeral could not properly apply to Scotland as a part of Great Britain. The name itself reads well in English history. Edward the Confessor, though not included in the Norman chronology, was a Saxon ruler of high attainments, admirable character and wise laws. Edward I, was not only a successful soldier and the conqueror of wild and warlike Wales, but a statesman who did much to establish unity and peace amongst his people. Edward II. was remarkable chiefly for the thrashing which the Scots gave him at Bannockburn while Edward III. was the hero of Crecy, the winner of half of France, and a brave and able ruler. Edward IV. was a masterful, hard and not over-scrupulous monarch, and Edward V. was one of the unfortunate boys who were murdered in the Tower of London. Edward VI. was a mild-natured and honest youth who did not live long enough to impress himself upon a strenuous period, or upon interests with which his character little fitted him to deal. The last of the name had reigned, therefore, before the Kingdom of England got out of its national and religious swaddling clothes; before the reign of Henry VIII. had freed it from connection with Rome, or that of Elizabeth had founded the maritime and commercial empire which, in time, was to create the mighty realm over which the new Edward now assumed sway.

INCIDENTS SURROUNDING THE ACCESSION

The Proclamation of the King in the cities of the United Kingdom and at the capitals of countries and provinces and islands all around the globe was a more or less stately and ceremonious function, and the Proclamation itself was couched in phraseology almost as old as the Monarchy. "We, therefore, do now with consent of tongue and heart, publish and proclaim that the high and mighty Prince, Albert Edward, is now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord, Edward the Seventh." At the ceremony in London, Dublin, Liverpool, Derby and other cities, immense crowds assembled and "God save the King" was sung with unusual heartiness. Meanwhile, following his address to the Privy Council, the King had returned to Osborne with the Duke of Cornwall and York, and there he found the German Emperor awaiting him. The latter had come post-haste from Berlin and been in time to see the Queen before she passed away. He had now decided to stay until after the funeral and thus to tender every respect in his power to the memory of his august grandmother. Parliament had been called immediately upon the King's Proclamation, and it met hurriedly and briefly on January 24th to enable the members to take the oath of allegiance while, all around the Empire, similar proceedings were taking place in Courts and Legislatures and Government buildings.

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 assured 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 constitutional 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 institutions 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 Constitution is not a diminishing 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 assiduous 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 constitutional 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 noble 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 friendship 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 compass 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 documents 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 passed across the Solent to Portsmouth, through a long and continuous avenue of saluting warships, 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 warships. On Saturday 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 Ambassadors 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—passed off with a smoothness of procedure which, under the circumstances 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 passed along the purple-draped streets of London, funeral services were being held and sermons of sorrow preached in an uncounted multitude 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 passed 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 noble 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 gratitude 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 God, 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 assemblies throughout my vast Colonial dominions. With such loyal support, I will, with God'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 documents 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 illustrious predecessor as having first taken upon herself the direct administration of Indian affairs and assumed the title of Empress in token of her closer association 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 passage through London to Marlborough House on February 27th. From this time on, during weeks of crowded work and the assumption 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 Duchess 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.



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 passed, and then a letter was read from Sir Francis Knollys, saying that the King felt it necessary to resign the Grand-Mastership, 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 Devonshire; of the General Assembly 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 membership, 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, institutions 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. General replies were given to each address and to only a few separately. Amongst the latter were the Freemasons, to whom the King said: "I have felt much regret at relinquishing the high and honourable post of Grand Master which I have held since 1874, and I shall not cease to retain the same interest that I have felt in Freemasonry." He also expressed great satisfaction at being succeeded by the Duke of Connaught.

Further addresses were presented in similar state on May 3d. The Roman Catholic deputation was headed by Cardinal Vaughan and the Duke of Norfolk and included Lord Llandaff and fourteen Bishops—a brilliant picture in red and purple and black. Their address was of peculiar interest and contained the following paragraph: "Your Majesty's life has been spent in the midst of your people, sharing in their happiness and prosperity, actively engaged in ameliorating the condition of the lowly and in promoting their comfort in sickness and suffering. All classes of the population—the leisured, the professional, the industrial and the poor—have been the object of your sympathy and interest." A deputation from the Jews of Great Britain included Lord Rothschild, the Hon. L. W. Rothschild, M.P., the Chief Rabbi, Sir G. Faudel-Phillips, Sir Edward Sassoon, M.P., Mr. B. L. Cohen, M.P., and Sir J. Sebag-Montefiore. Addresses were also presented by the Presbyterian Church of England, and on behalf of a large number of cities and towns.

Meanwhile, King Edward had been conferring honours or positions upon some of his old friends and faithful servants, re-organizing his Household generally for the still more onerous and important work now before them, and not forgetting to conspicuously reward the best and oldest servants of the late Sovereign. In this delicate task he showed his usual tact and consideration. First in this respect, as she had been for so many years wherever he could properly place her in the front, was his wife—and to Queen Alexandra was given the first honour of the new reign in her creation, under special statute, on February 12th, as Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter—the greatest order of Knighthood in the world. Three days later the Royal Victorian Order in its highest form—G.C.V.O.—was given to the Duke of Argyll and the Duke of Fife. Lord Edward Pelham-Clinton, Major-General Sir John Carstairs McNeill, V.C., Sir Fleetwood Edwards and Sir Arthur J. Bigge, for many years important members of Queen Victoria's Household, received the same honour, as did the King's own devoted Secretary, Sir Francis Knollys.

On February 18th, a number of appointments were made to the Household including Lord Suffield as Lord-in-Waiting with General the Right Hon. Sir D. M. Probyn, Sir John McNeill, Lord Wantage, V.C., Sir Fleetwood Edwards and Sir Arthur Bigge as Extra Equerries to His Majesty. General, Viscount Bridport and General the Duke of Grafton were appointed Honorary Equerries and Major-Generals Sir Henry P. Ewart and Sir Stanley Clarke to other positions at Court. Queen Alexandra appointed the members of her Household under date of March 8th and they included the Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry as Mistress of the Robes, the Countesses of Antrim, Macclesfield, Gosford and Lytton and the Lady Suffield and Dowager Countess of Morton as Ladies of the Bedchamber, Lord Colville of Culross as Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Gosford as Vice-Chamberlain, the Earl de Grey as Treasurer, and the Hon. S. R. Greville as Private Secretary. Numerous appointments of an honorary kind in connection with the Army and Navy followed and on July 24th the Earl of Pembroke was announced as Lord Steward of His Majesty's Household, the Hon. V. C. W. Cavendish M.P. as Treasurer, Viscount Valentia M.P. as Comptroller, Lord Farquhar as Master of the Household, the Earl of Clarendon as Lord Chamberlain, Major-General Sir Arthur Ellis as Comptroller of Accounts, the Duke of Portland as Master of the Horse, the Duke of Argyll as Governor of Windsor Castle and the following as Lords-in-Waiting: the Earl of Denbigh, the Earl of Kintore, Earl Howe, Lord Suffield, Lord Kenyon, Lord Churchill and Lord Lawrence.

Many of these names may be recognized as amongst the friends or officials of the King, in his later years as the Heir Apparent, or as companions in some of his travels. On March 24th, following the custom of British Sovereigns, several special Embassies were appointed and announced to carry to European Courts the official intimation of His Majesty's accession. That to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Russia, Germany and Saxony, included the Duke of Abercorn, the Earl of Kintore, Major-General Sir Archibald Hunter and the Marquess of Hamilton, M.P. and that to Belgium, Bavaria, Italy, Wurtemberg and the Netherlands, included the Earl of Mount Edgecombe, Viscount Downe and Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour. Earl Carrington, the Earl of Harewood and others were appointed to France, Spain and Portugal and Field Marshal Lord Wolseley, Viscount Castlereagh and others to Austro-Hungary, Roumania, Servia and Turkey.



CHAPTER XVIII.

The First Year of the New Reign

The first year's reign of a Sovereign must always be important, and when that Sovereign rules over a third of the earth's surface and a quarter of its population, it is more than usually so. King Edward VII., when he came to the Throne, found himself the first of Mohammedan rulers, with more Moslem subjects than the Sultan of Turkey; the first of Brahmin and Parsee Sovereigns; the head of various Confucian colonies and the possessor of the most sacred of Buddhist shrines; the ruler of Christian sects and idolatries of every conceivable kind and variety. Almost every race in the world was included in his Empire—English, Scotch and Irish everywhere, French in the Channel Islands and in Canada, Italians and Greeks in Malta, Arab, Coptic and Turkish subjects in Egypt, Negroes of all descriptions in the Soudan and elsewhere, subjects of infinitely varied Asiatic types in India, Chinese in Hong-Kong and Wei-Hai-Wei, Malays in Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, Polynesians in the Pacific, Red Indians in Canada and Maoris in New Zealand, Dutch, Zulus, Basutos and French Huguenots in South Africa, Eskimos in Northern Canada. The complicated issues involved in such a Government as that of the British Empire, with its curiously non-centralized system, were certainly sufficient to make a Sovereign inheriting the position, the opportunities, and much of the capacity of Queen Victoria, feel that he had, indeed, assumed heavy responsibilities.

His first step had been a most wise one, and in direct line with a policy carried out as Heir Apparent—the cementing of close and cordial relations with the German Emperor during his long and much-discussed visit to the dying Queen and mourning family. To this friendship and the enthusiastic and popular reception given William II. when leaving London on February 5th, 1901, was undoubtedly due the restraining influence held over a part of the press of Germany during the succeeding period of vile abuse of England regarding the South African War. Following this, on February 24th, was the departure of King Edward on a visit to his sister, the Empress Frederick, at Frederichshof, near Cronberg, where he was joined by the Emperor William. The King was accompanied by Sir Frank Lascelles, Ambassador at Berlin, and by his physician, Sir Francis Laking. The Empress was found to be very ill, but not dying, and after a few days her Royal brother and son returned to their respective capitals.

THE KING'S FIRST PARLIAMENT AND DECLARATION

The first Parliament of the new reign was opened by the King in brilliant state and with much dignified ceremonial on February 14th. The pageantry of the occasion was picturesque and splendid. The staircase in Parliament House, up which the Royal pair passed in their progress, was lined with a living hedge of men in blue and silver uniforms, topped with red plumes and shining with the burnished steel accoutrements of the Horse Guards. Before them were stately, robed officials, such as Lord Salisbury and the Duke of Devonshire and some of the brilliant colours of the Court. The King wore a short ermine cape over his Field Marshal's uniform, and beneath the cape a sweeping cloak and train of Royal purple. Queen Alexandra, beautiful always, was more than usually sweet and dignified in her garb of mingled black and purple. In the House of Lords the evidences of mourning for the late Queen were very apparent. The ladies were dressed in black though they were permitted to blaze with jewels. The Peers' robes of red and ermine, gave a little colour to the scene, helped by those of the judges in black and gold, or red and white, and the bright uniforms of the Ambassadors in a distant corner. Hand-in-hand the King and Queen entered the Chamber and took their places upon the chairs of state. The Commons were called in, and their the Lord Chancellor presented and the King repeated and signed the somewhat famous Declaration against the Mass and other Roman doctrines, or observances, as provided by the Bill of Rights. It was as follows:

"I do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I do believe that in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever; and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint and the sacrifice of the mass as they are now used in the Church of Rome are superstitious and idolatrous, and I do solemnly in the presence of God, profess, testify and declare that I do make this Declaration and every part thereof in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever and without any dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope or any other authority or person whatsoever, or without any hope of any such dispensation from any person or authority whatsoever, or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this Declaration or any part thereof, although the Pope or any other person or persons or power whatsoever should dispense with or annull the same, or declare that it was null and void from the beginning."

The next proceeding was the reading of the King's speech to his Parliament in strong, full tones which impressively and clearly filled the Chamber. This part of the ceremony was rendered unusually interesting, in view of the fact that the King was understood to have had more to do with the wording of his speech than had been customary, and to have changed the conditions by which it had become usual to give an advance summary of its contents to the press. Reference was made to the death of the Queen and to his own accession, to the progress of the South African War, the Chinese troubles, the establishment of the Australian Commonwealth, the sending of additional Contingents from the Colonies to the front, the famine in India, the relief of the Coomassie garrison, and to his intention to carry out the late Sovereign's wish regarding the Imperial tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. The whole function was of a solemn and impressive and splendid character, in keeping with the traditions of the Crown and in harmony with the known intentions of the King to assume the full ceremonial and dignity of his position. The Times, on the following morning, referred to the enthusiastic reception of the King and Queen as they drove to Westminster and to the inspiring and exhilarating character of the scene in the House of Lords. "The present generation has seen hardly anything, not even excepting the processions of 1887 and 1897, at all comparable in splendour and solemnity with the pageant yesterday at Westminster."

The session of Parliament which followed was closely and continuously associated with subjects arising out of the King's accession. An early and prominent topic was the Declaration taken against Roman Catholicism. Under date of February 20th, Cardinal Vaughan issued a letter to his Diocese declaring that "patriotism and loyalty to the Sovereign are characteristic of the Catholics of this country and are to be counted on, quite independently of passing emotions of pain or pleasure, because they are rooted in a permanent dictate and principle of religion;" that Catholics had, however, been made unhappy by the "recent renewal of the national act of apostacy" in the Sovereign's branding by solemn Declaration their religious doctrines as superstitious and idolatrous; that the Catholic Peers had done well in protesting to the Lord Chancellor against the continued use of this Declaration; that British legislators in all parts of the Empire and the twelve million Catholic subjects of the Crown throughout the world should take further measures of constitutional protest; that the evil so greatly deplored was the result of an anachronism and of a barbaric law which had remained accidentally unrepealed; and that there was reason to hope that "this remnant of a hateful fanaticism" would soon be removed from the statute-book.

In Canada and Australia protests were prepared and presented through the Cardinal—that from the Dominion being signed by all the members of the Hierarchy. In the House of Lords a Committee was appointed, on motion of Lord Salisbury, to deal with the matter although no Catholic Peers would serve upon it. They reported early in July that a modification of the Declaration might be made so as to omit the adjectives and objectionable phraseology without affecting the strength of the pledge itself. A Government measure was prepared along these lines and submitted to the House. It was opposed by Lord Rosebery on August 1st, on the ground that nothing could really bind conscientious convictions, that the King might change his views and not be bound by this Declaration in future, and, that it did not repudiate the temporal or spiritual supremacy of the Pope. The Archbishop of Canterbury did not like the changes, the Duke of Norfolk did not care for the new form and the Roman Catholics generally, in and out of the House, objected to the compromise as useless. The result was that Lord Salisbury eventually withdrew his measure and the matter dropped out of public discussion for the time—although the Canadian House of Commons and other public bodies in the Empire had meanwhile protested against the continued maintenance of the Declaration.

THE KING'S INCOME AND REVENUES

Another duty which faced the early consideration of Parliament was the Civil List. Queen Victoria's Civil List had been L385,000, given as a permanent yearly income for her reign, and in return for the formal surrender of the revenues of the Crown Lands for the same period. In this connection, the Daily News of February 14th, pointed out that the late Sovereign had received during her long reign L24,000,000 from the people while the revenues of the surrendered Crown Lands had totalled L20,000,000. Speaking for the Liberals and Radicals this paper declared that there was "no disposition to deal grudgingly with a Monarch who has fully borne the share that belongs to him in the country's affairs," that it might be well to adhere closely to the late Queen's Civil List, and that the example of "a moderate and sober Court" would be of the highest value to the nation. On March 11th Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach moved the appointment of a House of Commons' Committee to deal with the question, composed of Mr. Balfour, Sir W. Hart Dyke, Sir F. Dixon-Hartland, Sir S. Hoare, Mr. W. L. Jackson, with seven other members and himself, as representatives of the Government party and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Sir William Harcourt, Sir Henry Fowler, Sir James Kitson, Mr. H. Labouchere, and three others, as representing the Opposition. The Times of the following day said that there were two reasons for somewhat increasing the sum to be voted—the fact of the King having a Consort of whom the nation was proud, while Queen Victoria was unmarried at the time of the former vote, and the fact, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer put it to the House, that the King was now the head of a world-wide Empire.

As finally decided in the Report of the Select Committee the new Civil List was placed at L470,000 for the Sovereign—of which L110,000 was to go to the Privy Purse in place of L60,000 received by Queen Victoria; the Duke of Cornwall and York was to receive L20,000 annually, and the Duchess L10,000—in addition, of course, to the L60,000 coming to the Heir Apparent from the Duchy of Lancaster; the King's children, the Duchess of Fife, Princess Victoria and Princess Charles of Denmark, were each to have L6,000 a year for life; while the contingent annuity of L30,000 provided in the event of Queen Alexandra surviving her husband, was to be increased to L70,000 and a similar contingent grant of L30,000 arranged for the Duchess of Cornwall and York. The only apparent opposition in the Committee to these proposals was from Mr. Labouchere, who suggested certain variations and reductions. There was little influential criticism of the changes proposed—the Daily News, from which opposition might, perhaps have come, speaking of one special increase of L50,000, as follows: "The Queen must have a separate Household if the Monarchy is to be maintained, as most people wish that it should be maintained, in its ancient splendour; and the gracious kindness of Queen Alexandra, who has endeared herself to all the subjects of her husband, will make the tax-payer in her case a cheerful giver."

On May 9th Resolutions based upon these recommendations were presented to the Commons by Sir M. E. Hicks-Beach and eventually carried by three hundred and seven to fifty-eight—the latter being composed of Irish members and Mr. Labouchere. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his introductory speech, referred to the Monarchy as "the most popular of all our great institutions" and then proceeded to enlarge upon the situation as follows: "Throughout the Empire there has grown up a feeling, and I think a very right and proper feeling, of the enormous importance of the Crown as the main link of the relations with all the people of which the Empire is composed. Therefore, I think it happened that, in the brief debate in which this subject was dealt with at the commencement of the present Session, there was no sign of any difference of opinion as to the necessity of making a sufficient and adequate provision for the maintenance of the honour and dignity of the Crown." He mentioned the fact that the late Sovereign had bequeathed Balmoral and Osborne House to her successor and that he had to maintain these residences as well as his old-time home at Sandringham; that King Edward had no personal fortune and that the late Queen's savings had been willed to her younger children. He concluded by expressing approval of the proposals as moderate and fair. Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, on behalf of the Opposition, declared them to be reasonable and added: "I do not doubt at all that the prevailing desire in this House and in the country is to see that a provision should be made for maintaining that state and dignity of the British Crown which shall fittingly represent the loyal attachment of the people." Mr. J. E. Redmond followed and declared that not only had the Irish members refused to act upon the Committee but they would now vote against the Resolutions because of the unrepealed statute and Declaration regarding Roman Catholicism. Mr. Labouchere spoke against them at length and was joined in speech and vote by two Labour members—Messrs. Keir Hardie and Cremer—who, amidst laughter and interruptions, declared themselves to be republicans and expressed regret that the working classes liked Royalty.

The next subject discussed in Parliament, as it was also being discussed throughout British countries generally, was that of the Royal titles. As they stood when the King ascended the throne the only countries of the Empire recognized were Great Britain, Ireland and India. It was pointed out that Queen Mary in the days of Spanish marriage relations and power possessed, with King Philip, titles which included England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, Ireland, Spain, Sicily, Austria, Milan &c; that Emperor Francis Joseph was not only Emperor of Austria but King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Sclavonia, Gallicia, Illyria and Jerusalem; that the three principal countries of the Empire were now strong enough and prominent enough to be properly and permanently represented in this way; that it would enhance the dignity of Great Britain while placing Canada and Australia in a more equal and national position within the Empire; that some such recognition had been supported in 1876 by Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli in the House of Commons; and that it had been proposed by the Colonial Conference of 1887.

ADDITION TO THE KING'S TITLES

Within a short time of the King's accession—on January 29th—a dispatch was sent by Mr. Chamberlain to the Governors-General of Canada and Australia saying that the moment was opportune to consider the matter of the Monarch's titles, so as to recognize the "separate and greatly increased importance of the Colonies" and suggesting, personally, the phrase: "King of Great Britain and Ireland and of Greater Britain beyond the Seas." Mr. Chamberlain also expressed the belief that there were considerable difficulties in the way of such designations as King of Canada and King of Australia, owing to the smaller Colonies which would desire to be also specially mentioned. Lord Minto, in his reply, expressed his Government's doubt as to the use of the word "Greater Britain," their preference for the title "King of Canada" and their willingness, in case of jealousies elsewhere, to propose that of "Sovereign of all British Dominions beyond the Seas." Lord Hopetoun stated that his Government preferred the designation of "Sovereign Lord of the British Realms beyond the Seas." The Colonial Secretary then communicated with Cape Colony, Newfoundland and New Zealand where the Governments all favoured some general designation.

On July 27th, Lord Salisbury introduced a measure in the House of Lords authorizing the Sovereign "to make such addition to the style and title at present appertaining to the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom and its Dependencies as to His Majesty may seem fit." Speaking unofficially, the Premier intimated that the Royal title would probably be "Edward VII., by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of all the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India." During a short discussion in the House, two days later, Lord Rosebery suggested the title of "King of all the Britains" Lord Salisbury did not consider this admissible, however, and the measure passed its second reason without opposition. Eventually the bill became law and was the subject of general approval at home and in the Colonies. The title was then officially proclaimed in the terms mentioned by Lord Salisbury. Speaking of this action, Sir Horace Tozer of Queensland told the Daily News of July 31st that the Commonwealth Act declared the desire of the Australian people, in its first words, to unite in one indissoluble Commonwealth "under the Crown" and he expressed the opinion that this action would "ratify and give expression" to that deliberate decision.

On May 10th, a Dublin newspaper called The Irish People published an article about the King which was not only seditious in language but abominable in its allegations and statements—they could hardly be dignified with the name of charges. The paper was at once seized, and on the following day the Irish members precipitated a debate in Parliament upon the action thus taken. Mr. John Dillon pointed out that this paper was the recognized organ of the Nationalist movement, claimed that the action of the Government was grossly illegal, and declared that it was a blow struck at the freedom of the press. Mr. W. Redmond took much the same ground. Mr. George Wyndham, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, spoke of the article as containing "outrageous, scurrilous, gross and coarse remarks," and as using language more foul than that of certain foreign papers which had been so complained of during the year. He had ordered it to be seized because it was guilty of "seditious libel," because it was his duty to prevent such a nuisance from being inflicted upon the public, and because similar action had been taken in the past year upon an article attacking the late Queen Victoria. Mr. John Redmond declared that the action was taken too late, anyway, and that plenty of copies had gone through the mail to America and the Continent. Mr. Balfour supported Mr. Wyndham and asked, if "obscene libel" and "a foul and poisoned weapon" were necessary aids to Irish agitation. He pointed out that the Sovereign was incapable of replying to this sort of statement, and declared that the publication was "a gross offense against public decency and public law and loyalty." Mr. H. H. Asquith, on behalf of the Opposition, took the ground that those concerned could appeal to the Courts, if injured, and that he could not but accept the Government's description of the article and support them in their action. Messrs. Bryn-Roberts, Labouchere and John Burns criticised the Government, and the vote stood two hundred and fifty-two to sixty-four in approval of their action.

The debate in the Imperial Parliament was, however, not the end of the matter. A newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, called The Tocsin, republished the article in question, and its proprietor, Mr. E. Findley, M.L.A., was at once expelled from the Victorian Legislature. The discussion and vote took place on June 25th, when Mr. Findley disclaimed responsibility as being publisher and not Editor, but defended the newspaper's statement that suppression of the Dublin paper was an illegal act. He expressed regret, however, that the article had appeared in his journal, in view of its having given offence to the House. The Premier of Victoria, Mr. A. J. Peacock, at once declared that no apology was sufficient unless it included unqualified disavowal and disapproval of the article in question, and moved the following Resolution: "That the Honourable member for Melbourne, Mr. Edward Findley, being the printer and publisher of a newspaper known as The Tocsin, in the issue of which, on the 20th instant, there is published a seditious libel regarding His Majesty the King, is guilty of disloyalty to His Majesty and has committed an act discreditable to the honour of Parliament, and that he, therefore, be expelled from this House."

Mr. Irvine, Leader of the Opposition, endorsed the action of the Government, and declared that the republication—even to the appearance of a second edition of the paper—was a deliberate attempt to give currency to this "foul and scandalous libel" as being a fact. Many others spoke, and Mr. Findley in another speech said he had no sympathy whatever with the article, and was extremely sorry that it had appeared. Orders had come from outside for thousands of copies of the paper and had not been filled. The House, however, was determined to take action, and he was expelled by a vote of sixty-four to seventeen. Mr. Findley ran again as a Labour candidate in East Melbourne and was opposed by Mr. J. F. Deegan—a man of no particular politics, but known for his loyalty, and supported on the platform by both party Leaders. The latter candidate was elected by a substantial majority. A very few other Australian papers had, meanwhile, republished the article, and perhaps half a dozen Canadian ones.

The first Parliament of the reign closed on August 17th shortly after the King had suffered the loss of his distinguished sister, the Empress Frederick. With this event, which occurred on August 8th, there passed away what the Times well termed "a life of brilliant promise, of splendid hopes, of exalted ideals"—overruled with relentless rigour by a hard fate which brought her liberal principles into conflict with the iron will of Bismarck, nullified her capacity by the opposition of the Court of Berlin, and removed her husband by death at the very moment when the opportunity of power and position seemed to have come. The King, accompanied by Queen Alexandra and Princess Victoria, at once left for Frederickshof. They were received at Homburg by the Emperor William and conducted to the Castle. The funeral took place amid scenes of stately solemnity on August 13th and the Emperor and the King were present as chief mourners. While the obsequies were proceeding memorial services were held in England at the Chapel Royal, St. James's, in St. Giles's Cathedral, Edinburgh and in various other churches throughout the country.

PUBLIC INCIDENTS AND FUNCTIONS

Meanwhile, various incidents illustrative of the King's tact and influence upon public affairs had occurred. His well-known interest in American affairs was shown on June 1st by an official reception given at Windsor Castle to the members of the New York Chamber of Commerce who were visiting England as guests of the London Chamber of Commerce. Accompanied by Lord Brassey and the Earl of Kintore, some twenty-five gentlemen were presented to His Majesty and Queen Alexandra. They included General Horace Porter, Mr. Morris K. Jessup, the Hon. Levi P. Morton, the Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss and Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. Some of the American expressions of opinion upon this not unusual courtesy to distinguished foreigners were extremely amusing. Others, such as that of the N. Y. Tribune were dignified and appreciative. Immediately upon hearing of the attempt on President McKinley's life on September 6th, the King sent a despatch of deepest sympathy and instructed the Foreign Office to keep him informed as to the President's condition. He was at the time spending a week with the King of Denmark at Copenhagen and to that place the bulletins were duly cabled from Washington.

On September 11th His Majesty telegraphed to the American Ambassador at London: "I rejoice to hear the favourable accounts of the President's health. God grant that his life may be spared." After Mr. McKinley's death, three days later, the King immediately cabled the Ambassador: "Most truly do I sympathize with you and the whole American nation in the loss of your distinguished and ever-to-be-regretted President." In his reply Mr. Choate declared that "Your Majesty's constant solicitude and interest in these trying days have deeply touched the hearts of my countrymen." The King ordered a week's mourning at Court and soon afterwards received a message from Mr. Choate voicing Mrs. McKinley's personal gratitude for the sympathy expressed. In replying, the King declared that the Queen and himself "feel most deeply for her in the hour of her great affliction and pray that God may give her strength to bear her heavy cross." On September 27th the American Ambassador was granted a special audience by His Majesty in London and presented the formal thanks of Mrs. McKinley and of the people of the United States for "the constant sympathy which you have manifested through the darkest hours of their distress and bereavement."

During these months the King had not forgotten to show his continued appreciation of many of the interests to which, as Heir Apparent, he had given so much aid. At a General Council meeting of the Prince of Wales' Hospital Fund on May 11th, presided over by the Duke of Fife and attended by Lord Rothschild, Lord Farquhar, Lord Iveagh, Lord Reay, Mr. Sydney Buxton and others the chairman stated that it was held by His Majesty's wish in order to announce his resignation of the Presidency and consent to take the position of Patron. The King's place was to be taken by the Duke of Cornwall and York. Lord Rothschild spoke at some length upon the importance of the work initiated in this connection by the King and of the valuable aid which they had consequently been able to give the hospitals and suffering poor of London. On June 10th a letter was made public, written by Sir Dighton Probyn on behalf of the King, expressing to the Royal Agricultural Society of England his earnest hope that it would succeed in raising the L30,000 which was needed for building purposes, subscribing two hundred and fifty guineas toward this end, and expressing not only His Majesty's interest in its future welfare but his pleasure at having been associated with it during twenty two years of progress. On July 3rd the King and Queen Alexandra, accompanied by Princess Victoria and the Duchess of Argyll, received at Marlborough House some eight hundred nurses belonging to the Training Institute inaugurated by the late Queen. Badges were presented by Her Majesty to a couple of hundred and an address read and graciously answered. An incident typical of the King's courtesy and thoughtfulness was seen in his intimation to the Marquess of Dufferin, who, during the early part of the proceedings was standing bare-headed in the sun, to put on his hat—the King resuming his in order to create the opportunity.

His Majesty took great interest during the year in the proposed National Memorial to his Royal mother. He had early appointed a special Committee of representatives to deal with the preliminaries and, on March 6th, a Report was submitted by Lord Esher, as Hon. Secretary, recommending that a statue of Queen Victoria should be the central feature of such a Memorial, and the location be either the vicinity of Westminster Abbey or that of Buckingham Palace. Accompanied by Mr. Balfour, Mr. Akers-Douglas and Lord Esher, the King visited the suggested sites that afternoon and finally approved a general position near Westminster Abbey. Large amounts were subscribed toward the project during the succeeding months. An interesting incident occurred on July 28th when a small deputation of ladies, including the Countess of Aberdeen, Lady Taylor and others connected with the National Council of Women in Canada, were received at Marlborough House by Queen Alexandra and tendered an address signed by twenty-five thousand women of the Dominion expressive of their earnest loyalty to the King and affection for his Consort. In replying, Her Majesty referred with special pleasure to the tribute paid the late Queen and spoke of the beauty of the volumes in which the address was incorporated.

ROYAL CHARITIES AND VISITS

Toward the end of the year it was announced in the British Medical Journal that a gentleman who did not at present wish his name disclosed—afterwards understood to be Sir Ernest Cassel—had presented the King with a donation of L200,000 for some philanthropic purpose to be selected, and that His Majesty had decided to devote the money to the erection of a Sanatorium in England for Consumptive patients. On January 22nd, 1902, the first Anniversary of Queen Victoria's death, the Times paid the following well-deserved tribute to the new Sovereign: "During the year that has gone by he has sedulously and successfully set himself to fulfill all the duties of a constitutional Sovereign. He has spared no pains to make himself familiar with his people, to study their needs, to discover their wishes, to express their instincts and their ideals. He has been able, in many ways, to promote national objects to a greater extent than, perhaps, would have been possible even with Queen Victoria. It is no secret that he is in cordial sympathy with the feelings of the immense majority of his subjects on the supreme issues which now dominate international politics. He has a high and keen perception of the honour of the nation, so closely bound up with that of the Royal House and with his own."

The succeeding six months were very largely devoted to preparations for the Coronation, but the King, nevertheless, found time to do some travelling and visiting in the country and to carry out some very brilliant Court functions. As an illustration of the way in which he sought to do every possible honour to his Queen-Consort, there may be instanced a letter written, by command, in reply to an inquiry from the Lord Mayor of London as to whether in drinking the second of the loyal toasts at public gatherings the company should stand or not. Sir Dighton Probyn observed in his letter that the King had no doubt as to what was right, and that in his opinion the toast of "Her Majesty, Queen Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal family" should be received standing, with a few bars of the National Anthem and "God bless the Prince of Wales." On February 11th King Edward held the first Levee since his accession, and it was made the occasion for a revival of much old-time splendour. The Prince of Wales who had since his return home from the Colonies merged his title of Duke of Cornwall and York in the more historic and familiar designation, was present together with a great and representative gathering. Bishops in lawn sleeves and scarlet hoods attended by chaplains in long black gowns and white bands, great lawyers in wigs and flowing robes, foreign officers and diplomatists in gorgeous and varied uniforms, British generals and admirals, and the picturesque Windsor uniforms of the Privy Councillors, lent a brilliant appearance to a function at which most of the eminent men of the Kingdom were to be seen.

Ten days afterwards His Majesty visited Lord and Lady Burton at Rangemore, and while there inspected the famous Bass and Company brewery and started a special brew to be called "the King's Ale"—only to be used on special occasions. Early in the year it had been decided by the King to pay what might be termed a Coronation visit to Ireland, accompanied by his wife. Unfortunately, unpleasant conditions of local agitation developed, and then came the outburst of Nationalist sympathy for the Boers, in the House of Commons, when Lord Methuen's defeat was announced. The result was that his Ministers advised the King not to undertake the trip at the time proposed, and its postponement was announced on March 12th, greatly to the regret of many in Ireland and out of it. Commencing on March 7th the King and Queen Alexandra paid a brief visit to the West of England and were loyally welcomed at Dartmouth, Plymouth, Stonehouse and Davenport, where certain official functions were performed.

On March 14th, King Edward and Queen Alexandra held their first Court, and it was expected that the occasion would be the most stately and splendid in the modern social history of the nation. It fully equalled these anticipations, and the scene in the ball-room of Buckingham Palace eclipsed even the traditions of the French Imperial Court in the days of Napoleon III. It was well managed, it was attended by the greatest and best representatives of English public and social life, it was unusually brilliant in jewelry, in dresses and in uniforms, it was stately in its setting and more animated and brighter in character than any similar function of the late Sovereign's reign—since its early years at least. The same success attended succeeding and similar occasions, and it might be distinctly appropriate to quote here views expressed by the Daily News of February 15th, 1901, when it spoke of the new reign as opening with splendid promise for the highest interests of the country and with component elements in its Court for a period of extraordinary social brilliancy. "King Edward," observed this Radical organ, "is one of the most popular of Sovereigns, and his beautiful Queen sheds a lustre upon his Court for which it would be difficult to find a parallel. Amiable, tender-hearted, actively philanthropic, and possessing exquisite taste, the Queen Consort is eminently qualified to be the bright particular star in the shining galaxy of our Court. The Royal Princesses are most highly accomplished and amiable ladies, each one of whom has achieved for herself a high place in the affections of the nation."



CHAPTER XIX.

The Empire Tour of the New Heir to the Throne

If Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, had been enabled at different times in his career to visit various portions of his future realms and to create influences and receive impulses which have told for good in the upbuilding of the British Empire, his son and heir was destined to make a tour in 1901 which was still more impressive in character and influential in import. The single visits of the Prince of Wales to India and Canada were made in days when they partook of an almost pioneer character, and they were chiefly important in moulding crude opinions into a more matured and organized form. The tour of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York was, on the other hand, a result of clearly developed conditions of Colonial power; an embodiment of existing aspirations toward Empire unity; an expression of the loyalty existing between Mother Country and the Colonies and toward the Crown and British institutions.

ORIGIN OF THE TOUR

It was on September 17th, 1900, that the Colonial Office first announced the assent of Her Majesty the Queen to the request presented by the combined Australian Colonies that H. R. H. the Duke of York should open their newly-established Parliament in the spring of 1901. It was stated in this announcement that "Her Majesty at the same time wishes to signify her sense of the loyalty and devotion which have prompted the spontaneous aid so liberally offered by all the Colonies in the South African war and of the splendid gallantry of her Colonial troops." After the death of the Queen it was feared that the time might not be considered opportune for so distant a journey by the Heir to the Throne, but on February 14th, 1901, the King announced in his speech to Parliament that the proposed Australian trip would not be abandoned, and that it would be extended to the Dominion of Canada. "I still desire to give effect to her late Majesty's wishes * * * as an evidence of her interest, as well as my own, in all that concerns the welfare of my subjects beyond the seas."

FROM PORTSMOUTH TO MELBOURNE

As finally constituted the Royal suite consisted of H. S. H. Prince Alexander of Teck, brother of the Duchess; Lord Wenlock, a former Governor of Madras; Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Bigge, so well known as the Private Secretary for many years of the late Queen Victoria; Sir John Anderson, a prominent official of the Colonial Office; Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, the eminent journalist and author; Captain, the Viscount Crichton, and Lieutenant, the Duke of Roxburghe, who acted as Military Aides; the Hon. Derek Keppel and Commander Sir Charles Cust, R.N., who acted as Equerries; the Rev. Canon Dalton as Chaplain; Commander Godfrey-Tansell, R.N., A.D.C., and Major J. H. Bor, A.D.C.; Lady Mary Lygon, Lady Catharine Coke and Mrs. Derek Keppel as Ladies-in-Waiting to the Duchess. Chevalier de Martino, a marine artist; Mr. Sidney Hall and Dr. A. R. Manby were also attached to the staff. On March 7th the Duke of York—who had now become also Duke of Cornwall—left Portsmouth accompanied by his wife and his large suite to make a nine-months' tour of the Empire; to cover a distance of 50,000 miles by sea and shore under the British flag; and to meet with varied experiences and an enthusiasm of popular welcome which stamped the whole journey as the most remarkable Royal progress on record.

Three days after leaving Portsmouth the Ophir, which was commanded by Commander A. L. Winslow, most luxuriously fitted up and accompanied by H. M. S. Juno and the St. George, sighted the coast of Portugal, sailed into sunny waters off the shores at Lisbon and reached Gibraltar on March 13th, where the Royal visitors were welcomed by General Sir George White, of Ladysmith fame, and who had been Governor for about a year. From the Rock the Ophir was escorted by two other ships of the Royal Navy to Malta, where Admiral Sir John Fisher and the Mediterranean fleet helped to render the welcome interesting and imposing, and from thence to Port Said and through the Suez Canal to Aden. Here a picturesque reception was given to the Duke and Duchess in a pavilion festooned with lights and filled with Indian and Arab ladies in robes of silks, officers in white uniforms, the Sultans of two tributary States and their dusky retinues. Surrounded by a guard of honour from the West Kent Regiment, with towering mountains of brown lava in the distance, and with groups of Somalis, Arabs, Hindoos and Seedees gazing at "the great lord of the seas," the Prince received an address of welcome. From here, through sweltering days and heated nights, the Royal yacht traversed the Indian Ocean until Ceylon—"the pearl set in sapphires and crowned with emeralds"—was reached on April 12th.

At Colombo, amidst a revel of Oriental colour and a luxurious waste of Eastern vegetation; with guards composed of planters in kharki, Bombay Lancers in turbans, and Lascoreen troops in crimson and gold; surrounded by dense crowds of dancing and shouting natives, His Royal Highness received the official welcome of the Legislature and Municipal Councils and the Chamber of Commerce. Thence the Royal party proceeded inland to Kandy, winding their way upward through an exquisite mountain region where the fantastic shapes and eternal green of the mountain sides and the valleys and the gorges gleamed and radiated with colour from a myriad tropical trees, gorgeous orchids, climbing lilies and enormous ferns. The town itself was a bower of beauty, and here the visitors saw the Temple of the Tooth, which is an object of adoration to hundreds of millions in Burmah, China and India; the procession of the Elephants—a weird portion of the Buddhist ritual; the devil dancers, who excel the Dervishes of the Soudan in the fantastic nature of their antics. On the succeeding day the Duke received an address from the planters of the Island, enclosed in a beautiful coffer of ivory; presented colours to the Ceylon Mounted Infantry, and medals to men who had returned from South Africa; and in the evening held a Durbar, at which the native Chiefs were presented.

A WILD SEA OF EASTERN COLOR

From Kandy back to Colombo went the Royal visitors, and at the capital they found "the white streets and blood-red earth were rivers of light and colour," as one picturesque correspondent described the scene. The British flag was there, and British merchants and the British Governor in the person of Sir J. West Ridgeway were there; but all else was a wild sea of Eastern colour; a myriad-voiced tribute of the torrid and brilliant tropics to the power of Western civilization. After a night on board the Ophir, with the war-ships in the harbour a blaze of colour and festooned with fire, the visitors left for Singapore on April 16th and arrived there five days later. Through the Straits of Malacca an experience was had of the most intense heat and keen tropical discomfort. The Duke and Duchess were received at Singapore in a pavilion hung with flags and flowers, by the Governor, Sir Frank Swettenham, and by the Sultans of Pahang, Perak and Selangor. This interesting trading centre, with its four hundred and fifty million dollars' worth of commerce and its population of mingled Chinese, Dutch and Germans, was ablaze with decorations and filled with holiday-makers. A Royal reception was held in the Town-Hall on April 22nd attended by Chinese, Arabs, Malays, Tamils and representatives of all the medley of blood which makes up the East. There were a dozen deputations bringing addresses and adding to the steadily accumulating caskets of gold and silver and ivory and precious stones which the Duke was destined to possess in a measure only excelled by his Royal father's collection in the past.

The Malays contributed an elephant's tusk set in gold, the men of Penang a great bamboo set in gold, and the Chinese of Malaya a fire-screen worked with Oriental skill and beauty. After this ceremony, and including dinner, the Duke and Duchess drove through the Chinese quarters and in the evening witnessed the strange procession of figured reptiles and demons, dragons and monsters of distorted fancy, which marked Chinese pleasure and indicated the loyalty of the coolies as their costly decorations and caskets and the presence at functions of richly-dressed men and women had already illustrated the loyalty of the merchant class. An incident of the afternoon was the singing by five thousand school-children of mixed Eastern races and the presentation of a bouquet to the Duchess. The effect of "God Save the King" in their quaint, native accents was described as being strangely pathetic. On the following morning the Ophir steamed out of the harbour bound for Australia and left eastern civilization behind for the forms and customs of England transplanted upon Australian soil. The shores of Sumatra were coasted, the Straits of Banka, the Sea of Java and the beautiful Straits of Sunda were traversed; the Equator was crossed and His Royal Highness willingly subjected to the quaint and immemorial usages of the occasion; the Indian Ocean traversed and two thousand five hundred miles of this part of the journey experienced before the shores of the island-continent were sighted on May 1st.

The formal landing at Melbourne, for which all Australia was looking, took place on May 6th and the splendour of the reception far exceeded all expectations. For many weeks the people of the Commonwealth had been legislating, planning decorating and preparing for the visit of the Heir to the British Throne and his wife; the dormant loyalty of years, aroused and developed by the events of the war and the despatch of thousands of troops to the front, had grown to a white-heat of interest and excitement; the completion of confederation and the union of the Colonies in one great Commonwealth, which was now to be marked by the opening of the first Federal Parliament and stamped through this visit with Royal approval and British sympathy, enhanced the public interest. There was a great and stately setting at Melbourne for the functions which graced the occasion and, as the Ophir rested in the waters of the bay, surrounded by British and foreign warships, with roaring salutes and a myriad of fluttering flags, there were excellent scenic preliminaries to the impressive landing ceremonies. From the St. Kilda Pier, through miles of beautiful, decorated streets, great arches and hundreds of thousands of cheering people, the Royal couple passed to Government House, welcomed also on the way by a gathering of thirty-five thousand school children singing "God Save the King."

The whole spectacle was an extraordinary one. Mr. E. F. Knight, correspondent of the London Morning Post said that "it was a day of splendid pageants, stirring and impressive, and the extraordinary enthusiasm of the ovation given to the Duke and Duchess by the hundreds of thousands of Australians who packed the streets along the entire eight miles of route must ever stand out vivid in the memory of all who witnessed it." Mr. W. Maxwell, the correspondent of the Standard, declared that: "I have seen many Royal progresses but never have I seen one more hearty and spontaneous than that of the multitude of well-dressed men, women and children who thronged the streets daily for nearly two weeks." The scheme of decorations was splendid, the triumphal arches were authoritatively stated to be better and more numerous than anything yet seen in London itself, the gathering of Australian troops lining the streets was representative and effective, the spectators were almost everywhere dressed in black or dark clothing as a tribute to the late Queen, the evening illuminations were on a magnificent scale—buildings and arches and decorations being a flashing, gleaming mass of light and fire and varied brightness. A state dinner was given at Government House by Lord Hopetoun in the evening and, on the succeeding day, a great Levee was held and addresses received. All the leaders of Australian life and society were presented and every form or phase of loyalty was embodied in the addresses presented from public institutions. Another state dinner followed at Government House and on May 8th the University of Melbourne was visited and an honorary degree conferred upon His Royal Highness. A great procession of various trade and labour associations was then witnessed and the third day of the visit concluded with a well-managed and stately Royal reception at Government House.

OPENING OF THE COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENT

On May 9th the central ceremony of the tour was performed and a new British Commonwealth started upon its national course. The streets through which the Royal progress was made were packed with enthusiastic masses of people; the great Exhibition Building in which the Parliament of Australia was to be formally inaugurated was filled with twelve thousand persons, representative of every form of Australian life and character and achievement; the scheme of decoration—blue and golden yellow and chocolate—was effective and bright, the black and white and purple of the universal mourning was brightened here and there amongst the people by scattering bits of uniform in blue and scarlet and gold. At noon, the distant sound of cheers and the blare of trumpets announced the approach of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. Amidst the strains of the National Anthem, and accompanied by the Governor-General and Countess of Hopetoun, they took their places upon the dais. Around the King's son and his wife were all the leaders of Australia; in front of them, the Parliament, the classes and a substantial section of the masses. The Earl of Hopetoun read some formal prayers and then gave place to His Royal Highness who, in clear and distinct tones read his speech to Parliament and the people. In it he spoke of himself as fulfilling the wish of the late Queen Victoria and his father, the King, and as representing their deep interest in Australia and warm appreciation of Australian help in the war and loyalty to the Crown. Of the future, His Majesty felt assured.

"The King is satisfied that the wisdom and patriotism which have characterized the exercise of the wide powers of self-government hitherto enjoyed by the Colonies will continue to be displayed in the exercise of the still wider powers with which the United Commonwealth has been endowed. His Majesty feels assured that the enjoyment of these powers will, if possible, enhance that loyalty and devotion to his Throne and Empire of which the people of Australia have already given such signal proofs. It is His Majesty's earnest prayer that this union, so happily achieved, may, under God's blessing, prove an instrument for still further promoting the welfare and advancement of his subjects in Australia, and for the strengthening and consolidation of his Empire."

The Duke then declared the Parliament open in the name and on behalf of his Majesty. He also read a cablegram just received from the King: "My thoughts are with you on the day of the important ceremony. Most fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and happiness." The members of Parliament then took the oath of allegiance administered by Lord Hopetoun. Meanwhile, as His Royal Highness declared the Houses of Parliament open, and while the immense standing audience was making the building echo with a mighty cheer, the Duchess touched an electric button, and from every school-house in the Commonwealth there waved the Union Jack as a sign that the great function was completed. Amidst cheering multitudes the Royal couple then drove back to Government House. In the evening a brilliant concert was given under the auspices of the Commonwealth Government. On the following day fifteen thousand Australian troops were reviewed in the presence of one hundred and forty thousand people—infantry, mounted men, engineers, army service corps, army medical corps, ambulance corps and cadets—representative of all the States and of all branches of the system together with blue-jackets and marines from the Royal Navy.

Then came a state dinner at Government House. On May 11th an afternoon reception was given by the Victorian Government and Parliament at the same place, and on Monday May 13th, His Royal Highness and the Duchess visited the famous golden city of Ballarat, inspected one of its great mines and laid the foundation-stone of a monument to Australian soldiers who had fallen in South Africa. Tuesday saw an interesting school-children's fete and a reception by the Mayor and Corporation of Melbourne. On May 14th, Their Royal Highnesses presented prizes to the scholars of the united Grammar Schools of Victoria, and the Prince spoke to the boys of the stately and historical events of the past few days. "Keep up your traditions and think with pride of those educated in your schools who have become distinguished public servants of the state, or who have fought, or are still fighting, for the Empire in South Africa." To another great gathering of twenty thousand children the Duke was both eloquent and impressive. "May your lives be happy and prosperous, but do not forget that the youngest of us have responsibilities which increase as time goes on. If I may offer you advice I should say: Be thorough, do your level best in whatever work you may be called upon to perform. Remember that we are all fellow-subjects of the British Crown. Be loyal, yes, to your parents, your country, your King and your God."

After a rousing farewell from the people of Melbourne, a special train was taken on May 18th by the Royal couple for the capital of Queensland.

AT BRISBANE AND SYDNEY

Every town, or settlement, or mining camp on the way contributed its cheers and shouts from crowds of sturdy Australians, and on May 20th, Brisbane was reached and an enthusiastic welcome received in the drive through crowded and beautifully decorated streets. At Government House, where the Royal guests were received by Lord Lamington, Lieutenant-Governor of the State, twenty-two deputations attended to present addresses—as compared with forty-eight at Melbourne. In the evening, a brilliant illumination of the city marked the event. On the following day a review of troops took place, and the Duke and Duchess enjoyed the patriotic singing and happy sports of some five thousand children. The evening saw an aboriginal Corrobberee performed for their benefit, and on the 23rd of May, the foundation-stone of a new Anglican Cathedral, which was being erected as a memorial to the late Queen Victoria, was laid by His Royal Highness amid appropriate and dignified ceremonial. In the afternoon the Agricultural Exhibition was visited and a splendid demonstration of welcome received from over thirty thousand people. The following and last day at Brisbane included a Levee, an afternoon reception and a concert. Each evening had seen a formal state banquet.