His Majesty was clad in Royal crimson robes of state and wore the Order of the Garter. His train was borne by the Earl of Portarlington, the Duke of Leinster, the Marquess Conyngham, the Earl of Caledon and Lord Somers, with Viscount Torrington and Hon. P. A. Spencer, as Pages of Honour and Lord Suffield, Master of the Robes. On either side of the King walked the Bishop of Bath and Wells and the Bishop of Durham and beside them again ten gentlemen-at-arms. Following the bearers of the Royal train came Admiral Sir Michael Culme-Seymour, the Duke of Portland, General Lord Chelmsford, the Duke of Buccleuch, Earl Waldgrave, Lord Belper, various Lords-in-Waiting, Lord Knollys, Sir D. M. Probyn and Major-General Sir Arthur Ellis.

The services and ceremonies in the Abbey were beautiful and impressive in the extreme. Enriched with a thousand years' traditions, moulded upon ancient forms of a sacred and essentially religious character, symbolizing and expressing a solemn compact between the Sovereign and his subjects, registering by forms of popular acceptance, homage and ecclesiastical ritual the final consecration of the King to the government of his nation, it was a ceremony of exceeding solemnity as well as of impressive splendour. The great Abbey had been transformed by tier above tier of seats, covered with blue and yellow velvet, and so arranged as to form one dazzling mass of brightness and colour when filled with the peers in their gorgeous robes and peeresses in their crimson velvet mantles, ermine capes and beautiful gowns. As the King and Queen entered the Abbey on this eventful day and moved toward their chairs the choir of trained voices sang with exquisite feeling and sound the anthem: "I was glad when they said unto me, we will go into the house of the Lord." The King at different times during the ceremonies was clad in vestments combining an ecclessiastical character with Royal magnificence. The dalmatic was a robe of cloth of gold, the stole was lined with crimson cloth and richly embroidered, the alb, or sleeveless tunic of fine cambric, was trimmed with beautiful lace. The whole effect was one of harmonized colour and splendour.

After brief prayer, kneeling on faldstools in front of their chairs, the King and Queen took their seats and then the Archbishop of Canterbury turned north, south, east and west and, while the King stood, he said to the people: "Sirs, I here present unto you King Edward, the undoubted King of this Realm; wherefore all you who have come this day to do your homage, are you willing to do the same?" Ringing acclamations of "God save the King," to the sound of trumpets strongly blown, greeted this part of the ceremony. The Bible, Patina, Chalice and Regalia were then borne to the Altar, and the Communion service of the Church of England proceeded with. Then followed the taking of the Coronation Oath, the Archbishop of Canterbury first asking His Majesty if he was willing to do so and receiving an affirmative reply. The questions and answers were as follows, the King holding a Bible in his hands:

Archbishop. Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on and the respective laws and customs of the same?

The King. I solemnly promise to do so.

Archbishop. Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?

The King. I will.

Archbishop. Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed religion established by law? And will you maintain and preserve inviolably the Settlement of the Church of England and the doctrine, worship, discipline and government thereof as by law established in England? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England and to the Church therein committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do, or shall appertain to them or any of them?

The King. All this I promise to do.

His Majesty, when he had said these words passed to the Altar, knelt down and with his hand on the Bible said: "The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me God." After signing the Oath the King returned to his chair. A hymn, a prayer by the Archbishop and an anthem followed. Meanwhile His Majesty, after being relieved of his crimson robes by the Lord Great Chamberlain and of his cap of state, proceeded to King Edward's Chair, near the Altar and, and while four Knights of the Garter in their magnificent robes and insignia—the Earl of Rosebery, Earl of Derby, Earl of Cadogan and Earl Spencer—held over him a Pall of golden Silk, the Archbishop, assisted by the Dean of Westminster, anointed him with holy oil on the crown of the head, on his breast and on his hands. His Grace of Canterbury concluded this part of the ceremony with the words: "And as Solomon was anointed King by Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet, so be you anointed, blessed and consecrated King over this People whom the Lord your God hath given you to rule and govern. In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost, Amen." The King, after a brief prayer by the Archbishop then resumed his place in King Edward's Chair and was robed by the Dean of Westminster with cloth of gold and symbolic girdle.

INCIDENTS OF THE CEREMONY

Various typical or symbolic functions were then performed. The Lord Great Chamberlain touched the King's feet with a pair of golden spurs as constituting the ancient emblems of Knighthood; a Sword of State, with scabbard of purple velvet, was then handed with elaborate ceremony to the Archbishop who, after placing it upon the Altar and delivering a short prayer proffered it to His Majesty about whom it was girt by the Lord Great Chamberlain, His Grace of Canterbury giving the following injunction: "With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the Holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are going to decay, maintain the things that are restored, furnish and reform what is amiss and confirm what is in good order; that by doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life that you may reign for ever with him in the life that is to come." The King then placed the Sword upon the Altar from which it was presently taken and held drawn from the scabbard before him during the rest of the ceremony. The Dean of Westminster then invested His Majesty with the Armilla, or gold bracelets, and with the Imperial mantle of cloth of gold, while the Archbishop presented the Orb of Empire—a golden ball, made originally for Charles II. with a band covered with gems and a cross set in brilliants. As he did so His Grace said: "Receive this Imperial Robe and Orb; and the Lord your God endow you with knowledge and wisdom, with majesty and with power from on high; the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness and with the garments of salvation."

The next incident was the placing of a gold ring—carried off by James II. in his flight, and afterwards recovered in Rome by George IV.—upon the fourth finger of the King's right hand with an Episcopal injunction to receive the ring as "the ensign of kingly dignity and of defence of the Catholic faith." Then came the presentation of the Sceptre by the Archbishop as the ensign of kingly power and justice, and the rod of equity and mercy, while the Duke of Newcastle as Hereditary Lord of the Manor of Worksop, had the privilege or right of placing a glove upon the King's hand. Following this came the central and most dramatic feature of the ceremonies—the placing of the Crown upon His Majesty's head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. As the action was performed the venerable Abbey shook with the acclamation of "God Save the King" while the trumpets blared and the scene, already brilliant with varied splendours, flashed in added beauty when the Peers and Peeresses put on their glittering coronets. A brief prayer and the presentation of a copy of the Bible by the Archbishop followed with a benediction ending in the words: "The Lord give you a fruitful country and healthful seasons; victorious fleets and armies and a quiet Empire; a faithful Senate, wise and upright Counsellors and magistrates, a loyal nobility and dutiful gentry; a pious and learned and useful Clergy; an honest, industrious and obedient community."

After the Te Deum was sung by the choir, His Majesty for the first time took his place upon the Throne surrounded by the leading officials, nobles and clergy, and listened to a brief exordium from the Archbishop, ending with the hope that God would "establish your Throne in righteousness that it may stand fast for evermore." Then came the impressive ceremony of Homage. First the Archbishop of Canterbury, kneeling in front of His Majesty with all the Bishops in their places, repeated an oath of allegiance. Then the Prince of Wales, taking off his coronet, knelt in front of the King and the other Princes of the blood royal knelt in their places and repeated the quaint mediaeval formula in which they swore "to become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto you, to live and die against all manner of Folks." At this point occurred an abbreviation of the ceremony as well as an impromptu change in the proceedings. As the Prince rose from his knees touched the Crown on his father's head and kissed his left cheek in the the formal manner prescribed, the King rose, threw his arms round his son's neck for a moment and then took his hand and shook it warmly. After the homage of the Heir Apparent each Peer of the realm should have followed the traditionary form in the order of his rank and touched the Crown and kissed the King's cheek. This was modified, however, so as to enable each grade of the nobility to perform the function through its representative of oldest patent—the Duke of Norfolk, the Marquess of Winchester, the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Viscount Hereford and the Baron de Ros. After this had been done the trumpets once more sounded their acclaims and the audience joined in shouting "God save King Edward."

A short but stately ceremony of crowning the Queen then followed. The Archbishop of York officiated and four Peeresses upheld the Cloth of Gold over Her Majesty as she was anointed upon the head. A ring was placed upon her finger with a brief prayer, and a sceptre in her hand with the following words: "Grant unto this thy servant Alexandra, our Queen, that by the powerful and mild influence of her piety and virtue, she may adorn the high dignity which she hath obtained, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Her Majesty was then escorted from the Altar to her own Throne, bowing reverently to the King as she passed him to take her place.

The King and Queen then passed to the Altar together, taking off their Crowns and kneeling on faldstools and His Majesty formally offered the Sacrament of Communion to the Archbishop. After thus indicating his headship of the National Church, the King returned with his Consort to their chairs and listened to some brief prayers. Thence they returned to the Altar, received Communion from the Archbishop of Canterbury and then passed into the Chapel of Edward the Confessor accompanied by a stately procession. There they were arrayed in Royal robes of purple and velvet, in place of the mantels previously worn, and passed with slow and stately dignity down the nave, out to their carriage and thence through masses of cheering people to Buckingham Palace.

There were several incidents in connection with the Coronation ceremonies which deeply impressed the onlookers. One was the spontaneous and obvious sincerity of the King's affectionate greeting to his son. Another was the enfeebled condition of the aged Archbishop of Canterbury. With his massive frame, brilliant intellect, and piercing eyes Dr. Temple had lived a life of intense mental activity and religious zeal, but in these declining days the massive form had become bent and trembling, the memory and the eyes found difficulties in the solemn words of the service, and his shaking hands could hardly place the Crown upon the head of his King. But the latter's solicitude and anxious care to save the Primate any exertion, not absolutely essential, were marked and noticed by all that vast assemblage. The Royal patient was transformed, by kindly sympathy, into a guardian of the Archbishop's weakness. When tendering his homage as first of all the subjects of the King, the aged Primate almost fainted and was unable to rise from his knees until His Majesty assisted him. Prior to the actual Coronation, Mr. Edwin A. Abbey, R.A., who had been commissioned by the King to paint a picture of the historic scene, was allowed to take note of the surroundings. Another incident of the event was the presence of the Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz—placed by desire of Queen Alexandra in a seat at the exact spot which she had held during the Coronation of Queen Victoria.

On the day following the great event a final bulletin was issued by Sir F. Laking and Sir F. Treves, which stated that "His Majesty bore the strain of the Coronation ceremony perfectly well, and experienced but little fatigue. The King has had a good night, and his condition is in every way satisfactory." Being Sunday, special services were held in the St. James's Chapel Royal, at St. Paul's Cathedral, in Marlborough House Chapel, and at St. Margaret's, Westminster. On Monday, a Royal message to the nation was made public through Mr. Balfour, the Prime Minister. Dated on Coronation Day, it described the Osborne House estate, on the Isle of Wight, as being the private property of the Sovereign, and expressed his wish to establish this once favourite residence of the late Queen as a National Convalescent Home for Officers of the Army and Navy—maintaining intact, however, the rooms which were in her late Majesty's personal occupation. "Having to spend a considerable part of the year in the capital of this Kingdom and in its neighbourhood, at Windsor, and having also strong home ties in the County of Norfolk, which have existed now for nearly forty years, the King feels he will be unable to make adequate use of Osborne House as a Royal residence, and he accordingly has determined to offer the property in the Isle of Wight as a gift to the nation." Following the Coronation came multitudes of editorial comments upon the event, and one of the most concise and expressive was that of the London Times: "The significance of the Coronation ceremony on Saturday lay in its profound sincerity, as a solemn compact between the Sovereign and his subjects, ratified by oath, and blessed by the highest dignitaries of the National Church. It was a covenant between a free people, accustomed for long centuries to be governed according to statutes in Parliament agreed on, and their hereditary King, and a supplication from both to God that the King may be endowed with all princely virtues in the exercise of his great office. Though the details of the ceremony do not mean to us all they meant to our forefathers, the ceremony itself is a no less strong and enduring bond between the King and subjects. The most striking feature of the Coronation was that it was the first to be attended by the statesmen of self-governing Colonies, and by the feudatory Princes of India."

With the event also came an Ode from Mr. Alfred Austin, entitled "The Crowning of Kingship." On August 11th the King held a Council at Buckingham Palace, attended by the retiring and new members of the Cabinet; invested many distinguished personages with their Coronation honours; and gave an audience to Sir Joseph Dimsdale, Lord Mayor of London, who presented the City's Coronation gift of $575,000 toward the King Edward Hospital Fund, in which His Majesty had so long taken so deep an interest and to which, on this occasion, there was contributed 20,000 penny donations from the poorest quarters of London.

Various functions of a Coronation character or connection ensued. On August 12th some 2000 Colonial troops who were present at the event, in a representative capacity, from British dominions beyond the seas, were received by the King on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Under the Royal canopy were the Queen and the children of the Prince of Wales, and in attendance were Earl Roberts, Lord Kitchener, Mr. Chamberlain and various Colonial Premiers, including Sir Wilfrid and Lady Laurier. After the march past, the King pinned a Victoria Cross on the breast of Sergeant Lawrence, and the Prince of Wales conferred Coronation medals upon the officers and men. His Majesty then addressed the troops as follows: "It has afforded me great pleasure to see you here to-day and to have the opportunity of expressing my high appreciation of your patriotism and the way you distinguished yourselves in South Africa. The services you have rendered the Mother-Country will never be forgotten by me, and they will, I am sure, cement more firmly than ever the union of our distant Colonies with the other parts of my great Empire."

On the following day the Indian troops sent from the great Eastern realm to honour the Coronation of its Emperor were reviewed at the same place. His Majesty wore a jewelled sword which cost some $50,000, and had been presented to him on the previous day by the Maharajah of Jaipur. The scene was a most brilliant and picturesque one. The British notables present wore military or Levee dress; the great lawn of the Palace was a splendid spectacle in red, yellow, green and blue; the Eastern Princes were gorgeous in jewels and many-coloured raiment, and the little Princes Edward and Albert of Wales constituted themselves Aides of the King and brought several general officers up to have an audience. After the march past and the distribution of medals at the hands of the Prince of Wales, His Majesty addressed the troops in the following words: "I wish to convey to all ranks the high satisfaction it has given me to see this splendid contingent from India. I almost feared, owing to my serious illness, that I would be prevented from having the advantage of seeing you, but I am glad to say that by God's mercy I am well again. I recognize among you many of the regiments I had the advantage of seeing at Delhi during my tour of India." During the next few days various minor functions took place, and the Colonial leaders especially were feasted and entertained in every possible way.

On August 17th the final event occurred in connection with the Coronation. It was the mighty greeting of a great fleet to the Sovereign of a wide-flung realm. It was the inspection of a naval force which a generation before could have dominated the seas of the world and put all civilized nations under tribute. Gathered together from the Home Station, the Channel squadron and the Cruising squadron; without the detachment of a ship from foreign waters or Colonial stations, it included 20 battleships, 24 cruisers and 47 torpedo crafts, with an outer fringe of foreign vessels contributed in complimentary fashion to honour the occasion. From Spithead to the Isle of Wight the horizon was black with great grim vessels of war decked out with flags, and as the King's yacht approached the first line of ships, a hundred Royal salutes made a tremendous burst of sound such as probably the greatest battle-fields of history had never heard. As the King, in Admiral's uniform, stood upon the deck of his vessel and passed slowly down the lines, a signal given at a certain moment evoked one of the most impressive incidents which even he had ever encountered—a simultaneous roar of cheers from the powerful throats of 50,000 enthusiastic sailors. The sound rolled from shore to shore, and ship to ship, was echoed from 100,000 spectators on land and sea, and repeated again from the battleships. The King was deeply moved by this crowning tribute of loyalty, and at once signaled his gratification to the fleet and an invitation to its flag officers to come aboard his yacht and receive a personal expression of his feelings. In the evening electric and coloured lights of every kind and in countless number combined with flashing searchlights to illuminate the great fleet and to cast a glamour of fairy land over the splendid scene.

Meanwhile, in the morning, His Majesty had received on board his yacht the celebrated Boer Generals, Botha, De Wet and De la Rey. Afterwards, in company with Lord Kitchener and Earl Roberts they had returned to London greatly pleased with the cordiality of their reception and especially gratified at the kind manner of Queen Alexandra. Following the official Naval Review, the King on the next day visited the fleet in a stormy sea and watched it go through certain manoeuvres of a practical kind before being dispersed to its different local stations. On his return to London he found the Shah of Persia a guest of the nation and awaiting formal reception at the hands of its Monarch. And thus King Edward took up again his unceasing round of duty and ceremonial and high responsibility. In the past year or two he had gone through every variety of emotional experience and official work and brilliant ceremony—his mother's death and the consequent mourning of a nation and empire; his own assumption of new and heavy duties; the special labours of an expectant period; the time of serious illness and the anxieties of complex responsibility to a world-wide public; the realization of his Coronation hopes; the change from an old to a new period stamped by the change in his national advisers and the presence of his Colonial Premiers. He now entered upon his further lifework, with chastened feelings in a personal sense but, it is safe to say, with high and brilliant hopes for the future of his own home country and its far-flung Empire.



CHAPTER XXIV.

The Reign of King Edward

The history of this reign—not long in years—is yet crowded with events, rich in national and Imperial developments, conspicuous in the importance of its discussions and international controversies. The first brief months, which have been already reviewed, saw the completion of the memorable Empire tour of the new Prince of Wales and the settling down of Australia to a life of national unity and progress; the conclusion of the South African War and the beginning of an extraordinary process of unification which was in a few years to evolve the Union of South Africa; the almost spectacular incidents of the Coronation and the important proceedings of the Colonial Conference of 1902. In July of this latter year the Marquess of Salisbury retired and was succeeded in the Premiership by his nephew, Arthur J. Balfour. To the King this meant the removal of a strong arm and powerful intellect and respected personality from his side and increased the importance of his own experience and prestige as a statesman.

Something has already been said of the qualities with which King Edward entered upon his task and with which it was conducted to the moment when in passing to his rest he said: "It is all over, but I think I have done my duty." The unique feature of his career in a personal sense was his amazing popularity, the real affection with which every class in the great community of the British Isles regarded him. In the days of his unofficial labours as Prince of Wales, Lord Beaconsfield greatly esteemed him and Mr. Gladstone was "devotedly attached" to him. At the latter's funeral the Prince went up to Mrs. Gladstone and in a spirit of spontaneous courtesy bent over her hand and kissed it with an air of sympathy so great as to be beyond the expression of words. It was little acts such as this that won unstinted liking for the man as well as loyalty to the King. It was this magnetism of the kindly heart, this instinctive courtesy of character, coupled with a remarkable dignity of bearing at the right moment and in the right place, and a rare memory for faces and incidents and peoples and places, that made King Edward so truly the Sovereign of his people. In this connection a religious orator of the Radical type in London—Rev. R. J. Campbell—told an audience in Toronto, Canada, on July 22, 1903, that "Queen Victoria is gone but her son remains and I would not exchange King Edward, with all the criticism that has been directed against him, for any Sovereign ruler on the face of the earth or any President of any Republic on either side of the water."

Following the visit to Paris of this year, which paved the way for better relations in the future between Britain and France, the King made a successful tour of a part of Ireland—July 21st to August 1st—and impressed himself upon the mercurial temperament of the sons of Erin. In September came the memorable retirement of Mr. Chamberlain from the Balfour Government; his declaration of devotion to the new-old ideal of limited protective tariffs for the United Kingdom plus preferential duties in favour of the external Empire; the split in the Conservative party and the presentation of a great issue to the people which, however, was clouded over by other policies in either party and had not, up to the time of the King's death, won a clear presentation to the people as a whole. Mr. Chamberlain's letter to Mr. Balfour dated September 8th expressed regret that the all-important question of fiscal reform had been made a party issue by its opponents; recognised the present political force of the cry against taxing food and the impossibility of immediately carrying his Preferential policy; suggested that the Government should limit their immediate advocacy to the assertion of greater fiscal freedom in foreign negotiations with a power of tariff retaliation, when necessary, as a weapon; and declared his own intention to stand aside, with absolute loyalty to the Government in their general policy but in an independent position, and with the intention of "devoting myself to the work of explaining and popularizing those principles of Imperial union which my experience has convinced me are essential to our future welfare and prosperity." In his reply the Premier paid high tribute to Mr. Chamberlain's services to the Empire, sympathized personally with his Imperial ideals and agreed with him that the time was not ripe for the Government or the country to go to the extreme length of his Preferential policy.

Mr. Chamberlain's action and policy gave a thrill of pleasant hopefulness to Imperialists everywhere; it stirred up innumerable comments in the British, Colonial and Foreign press; it made Germany pause in a system of fiscal retaliation and tariff war into which she had intended to enter with Canada—and with Australia and South Africa if they presumed to grant a tariff preference to Britain. Meanwhile, the King had suffered the loss, a personal as well as national one, of Lord Salisbury's retirement from office and his death not long afterwards; the Balfour-Chamberlain Government had struggled along until the Tariff Reform movement, as above described, broke in upon and dissipated the party's unanimity of opinion and uniformity of action; a long series of Liberal victories at bye-elections reduced the Conservative majority from 134 as it was in 1900 to 69 in November, 1905; Mr. Balfour, in his Newcastle speech of November 14th, defined his fiscal policy as (1) Retaliation with a view to compelling the removal of some of the restrictions in Foreign markets and (2) the calling of a Conference of Empire leaders to arrange, if possible, a closer commercial union of the Empire. As to himself he had never been and was not now "a protectionist." In December he resigned and the King called on Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, the Liberal Leader in the Commons, to form a Government.

A general election followed in which the Liberals swept the great towns of the country—excluding London and Birmingham—and came back with the largest majority in modern English history; the total of the Labour, Home Rule, Liberal and Radical majority being 376 over the supporters of Tariff Reform. The result, however, evoked on February 14, 1906, a declaration from Mr. Balfour in favour of "a moderate general tariff on manufactured goods and the imposition of a small duty on Foreign corn," and this united the Conservative or Unionist party with the exception of about sixteen Free-trade members who still followed the Duke of Devonshire. The rise of the Labour Party began at this election; the serious illness of Mr. Chamberlain followed and hampered Conservative work and progress; the retirement of the Premier took place early in 1908 and, on April of that year, the King called on Mr. Asquith to form the Ministry which carried its election in 1910 by so small a Liberal majority. The reconstruction of 1908 was notable for the rise or promotion of the fighting, aggressive, youthful elements in the new Liberalism—men like David Lloyd-George, Winston Churchill and Reginald McKenna. There followed the establishment of Old-Age Pensions at an initial expenditure of $40,000,000 a year; the prolonged and ultimately successful struggle to increase the taxation upon landed interests, property, and invested income by means of the much-discussed Budget of 1909; the natural resentment of the Lords, the Conservatives, and many who were neither—as illustrated in the subsequent wiping out of the Liberal majority in England itself; the constitutional issue which the Liberals so cleverly forced to the front with the House of Lords as their chief antagonists and which relegated Tariff Reform temporarily to the background; the prolonged period in which King Edward took minute and anxious and personal interest in the question.

There can be no doubt as to this interest or as to the natural and valid reasons for it. A House of Lords, either abolished or existing without power in the constitution, would leave no check upon the Commons except the King and this might be bad for both the Commons and the Sovereign. Over and over again in English history the people have reversed the action or vote of the Commons but if this was ever to be done in future it could only be through the interjection of the King's veto, and the bringing of the Crown into the hurly-burly of party struggle. This would be the very thing which all parties had hitherto endeavoured to prevent and for at least seventy years had been successful in preventing. Then came the general elections of 1909-10, with their continual query as to what the King would do if the Liberals did win. Would he accept the Government's policy and the proposed Commons legislation as to the Lords and thus take an active part in the destruction of one portion of the constitution which he was pledged to guard—through and by means of the creation of hundreds of peers to swamp the Conservative vote in that House? Or would he take the situation boldly in hand and insist on another election with this question of practical abolition of the Lords as the distinct issue before the people? It was little wonder that His Majesty's physicians should declare after his death that the political situation had been one of its causes! It must be remembered that in all countries the Upper House and the aristocracy are natural and inevitable, if not necessary, adjuncts to and supporters of a Throne. Where, as in Britain, that House and that aristocracy have upon the whole much to be proud of in personal achievement, much to be credited with in social legislation and still more to be approved of in the individual public work of its Salisburys, Roseberys, Devonshires, and a multitude of other historic personalities with, also, a close and vital interest in the country through large landed responsibilities, the situation can readily be appreciated. Not that the Monarchy was an issue in itself; but there can be no doubt, despite such speeches as the following quotation from Mr. Winston Churchill's address at Southport on December 8, 1909, that King Edward felt the danger of weakening his immediate, natural and fitting environment of (with certain exceptions) an energetic and patriotic aristocracy surrounding a popular Throne:

"There is no difficulty in vindicating the principle of a hereditary monarchy. The experience of every country and of all the ages show the profound wisdom which places the supreme leadership of the state beyond the reach of private ambition and above the shocks and changes of party strife. And, further, let it not be forgotten that we live under a limited and constitutional monarch. The Sovereign reigns but does not govern; that is a maxim we were all taught out of our school-books. The British monarchy has no interests divergent from those of the British people. It enshrines only those ideas and causes upon which the whole British people are united. It is based upon the abiding and prevailing interests of the nation and thus, through all the swift changes of the last hundred years, through all the wide developments of a democratic state, the English monarchy has become the most secure, as it is the most ancient and the most glorious monarchy in the whole of Christendom."

While all this political change and controversy was going on the King was performing a multitude of personal and social and State duties. There was always the vast amount of detailed study of current documents—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 ambassadors, 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 warships 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 assume 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 Japan 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 constitutional 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. Cockshutt were presented; a deputation of Indian chiefs from British Columbia was received by him on August 13th and submitted an address and a petition; a number of shire-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. Bourassa, as well as warmly endorsed by the Opposition Leader, the Resolution was passed 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 Lordship of two circumstances 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 workmanship 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 Institute, 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 Institute at Montreal, with a cablegram which read as follows: "I have much pleasure in declaring the Royal Edward Institute 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 Institute 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 Institute 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 gratitude."



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 Ambassadors. 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 entitled 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 friendships 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 friendship 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 friendship 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 nobly 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 masses 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 assured the people of that colony of his earnest endeavours to promote a settlement of the French Shore 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 fishing 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 warships; while the press of the civilized world commented upon the new friendship 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 Japan, 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. How much exercise there was of this Royal statecraft behind the scenes during his nine years of sovereignty only the distant future can reveal and then but partially. His Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, Lord Salisbury, Lord Lansdowne and Sir Edward Grey, were all men of exceptional capacity and rare experience.

It is probable, in view of the broad statecraft and high standing of these Ministers and the uniformity of policy which they pursued, that advice was frequently given by the King and consultations continuously held. They were only too glad, as was Lord Rosebery during the late Queen's reign, to benefit personally by his knowledge and experience; they were only too happy that the Nation and other nations should benefit by his tactful conduct of delicate negotiations with monarchs and rulers abroad. The alliance with Japan may or may not stand to his credit; the probabilities are that it does, in part at least. It safeguarded British interests in the East, checkmated the, at that time, dangerous ambitions of Russia, put up a barrier against certain efforts of Germany. The French entente cordiale and subsequent treaties gave British interests in the Mediterranean and Northern Africa an ally against German plans and settled the Newfoundland troubles while solidifying Britain's position in Egypt. Italy was partially separated from its German alliance; Spain was brought close to Britain by the young King's marriage with the Princess Ena; Russia was swung into the circle of a friendship which not even the Japanese alliance has broken; Norway made King Edward's son-in-law its King. If Germany did not become one of this circle of friendly nations it was not due to any lack of diplomacy, or effort, or desire on the part of the British Sovereign; it was because of national ambitions and an aggressive personal leadership by the Kaiser which had other ends in view. Nominally, at any rate, the friendly relations existed, and it is safe to say that there was no greater admirer of King Edward's character and statecraft in Europe than the Emperor William.

FOOTNOTES:

[7] Personal statements made to the writer of these pages.



CHAPTER XXVI.

The Death of King Edward

There had been rumours flying around London early in 1910 as to the King's health, but it would seem that only a limited circle understood that, while there was no serious disease involved, there was a general weakness of the system which rendered great care necessary and made it easy to see danger in any otherwise trifling illness. Occasional cablegrams to this Continent were largely disregarded and looked upon as more or less sensational and little was thought of the attack of bronchitis at Biarritz in March. There seems small reason to doubt that the political situation hastened the end though it did not actually cause the sad event. The conditions of weakness were there; the worry of a great and urgent responsibility was added to the King's normal work and subjects of thought. Though the constitutional crisis was probably not as serious as the press and politicians made out, it must undoubtedly have had its effect upon a ruler conscientiously devoted to his duty. On May 5th, it was announced that the King was again ill with bronchitis and that his condition caused "some anxiety;" a few hours afterwards it was officially stated that "grave anxiety" was felt; on May 6th, near midnight, there came the sorrowful announcement of his physicians that the King had passed away in the presence of Queen Alexandra, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal [Duchess of Fife], Princess Victoria and the Princess Louise [Duchess of Argyll].

So unexpected was any serious or immediate issue of His Majesty's condition that the Queen was still on the Continent when he was taken ill and the King himself was transacting state business in an arm-chair the day before he died. A pathetic incident of the latter date was the bearing of the well-known purple and gold colours to victory at Kempton Park Races by "The Witch of the Air." When the news came it was hard to believe. People throughout the Empire were entirely unprepared. In Britain, Canada, Australia, etc., public functions and social arrangements were at once cancelled; black and purple drapings rapidly covered the important buildings—and many that were even more important as representing individual and spontaneous feeling—of the British world; mourning was seen everywhere in the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent in the other countries; papers appeared universally draped in black. In Canada, H. E. the Governor-General cabled to Lord Crewe an official expression of regret—one which was real as well as official: "The announcement of the death of King Edward VII, which has just reached Canada, has created universal sorrow. His Majesty's Canadian Ministers desire that you will convey to His Majesty, King George, and the members of the Royal family, an assurance that the people of Canada share in the great grief that has visited them. In discharge of the duties of his exalted station His late Majesty not only won the respect and devotion of all British subjects, but by his efforts on behalf of international harmony and good-will he became universally esteemed as a great Peacemaker. Nowhere was this gracious attribute of Royal character more deeply appreciated than in His Majesty's Dominion of Canada."

Every kind of loyal tribute was paid to the late King by the Press and in the pulpit of all the countries concerned, while from the United States came expressions of admiration and respect very little short of those dictated by the natural loyalty and knowledge of his own subjects. In Canada the Premiers of the Provinces were amongst the first to express their feelings. At Quebec Sir Lomer Gouin, supported by the Opposition Leader, moved the adjournment of the Legislature on May 6th: "Those who love in a Chief of State the greatest qualities, peace, goodness, nobility and entente cordiale, all feel his loss. It is for that reason that we cannot do otherwise than suspend our sittings, and I am convinced that all the Members of this House will endorse this proposal for adjournment."

In Toronto Sir James Whitney, the Provincial Premier, declared that "it would be difficult to express the feeling of love, respect, and admiration entertained by British peoples for their late sovereign, who in his comparatively short reign, has so borne himself and has so done his part, that the whole human race has participated in the benefit resulting from the wisdom shown by him. Probably no wiser monarch ever reigned over a nation." To the New Brunswick press the local Premier, Hon. Douglas Hazen, said: "King Edward's reign was a comparatively short one, but the verdict of history will undoubtedly be that he was one of the wisest and greatest rulers that ever sat upon a throne. He took a most keen and active interest in all his country's institutions, endeavouring at all times to promote the well-being of his subjects and to show his appreciation of the British Dominions beyond the Seas." The Hon. A. K. Maclean, Acting-Premier of Nova Scotia, stated that "to his pacific tendencies and his powerful mediation is due the existence of friendly relations between Great Britain and other nations and the removal of many long-standing differences and historic prejudices." The Conservative leader at Ottawa, Mr. R. L. Borden, gave eloquent expression to his feelings:

"The tidings of sorrow which have just been flashed across the ocean come to the people of Canada with startling suddenness. Words of foreboding had hardly reached us before the last message came; 'God's finger touched him and he slept.' To the people of the overseas Dominions the Crown personifies the dignity and majesty of the whole Empire; and through the Throne each great Dominion is linked to the others and to the Motherland. Thus the Sovereign's death must always thrill the Empire. But to-day's untimely tidings bring to the people of Canada the sense of a still deeper and more personal bereavement. They gloried in their King's title of Peacemaker, and they believed him to be the greatest living force for right within the Empire. In him died the greatest statesman and diplomat of Europe."

The Hon. R. Lemieux, Postmaster-General and a Liberal leader in Quebec, added this succinct description: "As a peacemaker and as a constitutional king he had no equal in the history of modern times." He expressed the hope that "in the common sorrow of his subjects at the death of an exemplary Sovereign the ties making for unity and common interest throughout the Empire may be strengthened and his influence for good find continued fruition." The Hon. G. P. Graham, Minister of Railways, also touched on the Empire thought: "His part in the growth and increasing solidarity of the Empire in matters of defense, of trade, of common effort for the common interest, must bulk large in history. Since his assumption of the throne there has been a steady growth in Canada's loyalty to the Sovereign based on esteem for his personal character, confidence in his judgment and statesmanship, and pride in his commanding position among the world's sovereigns." From Mr. Richard McBride, Premier of far-away British Columbia, came the declaration that King Edward was infinitely tactful and always patient, the first gentleman and best beloved monarch of his time; that he was "an unusually gifted ruler who performed unostentatiously and with inspired ability his part in the making of British history." To Archbishop Bruchesi of Montreal he was "a great and good King;" to the Rev. Dr. Carman, Canada's Methodist leader, he was "royally born and ruled royally over a free, loyal and loving people;" to Archbishop McEvay (Roman Catholic) of Toronto he was a ruler "trusted and loved by all his subjects;" to President R. A. Falconer, of Toronto University, there was a special appeal in his "experience, sympathy and broad humanity."

There is no need to largely quote the tributes of Britain, Australia or South Africa. Their people thought and felt and acted as Canada's did. Great Britain felt the loss, of course, in a more strictly personal sense than the Dominions beyond the Seas. The reverent crowds with bared heads, and every sign of severe personal grief, standing outside Buckingham Palace grounds could hardly be exactly duplicated abroad, though the scenes in countless churches, as memorial sermons were delivered and memorial services held amidst tokens of obvious and sincere sorrow, came very near to it. In particular, was the open-air service in Toronto facing the Parliament Buildings and attended by silent masses of people, with respectful and sympathetic addresses, with drapings and evidences of mourning on every hand, with the solemn strains of muffled music from many bands, and the presence of thousands of loyal troops, an indication of the popular feeling shown throughout the Dominion on May 20th, which was appointed to be a day of mourning, a holiday of sorrow for the people. But this is anticipating. Perhaps, in England, the tribute of Mr. Premier Asquith, at the special meeting of Parliament on May 11th, was most significant of the innumerable tributes of earnest loyalty and appreciation expressed at the passing of one who was not only a great King but a much-loved personality.

After pointing out the nature of events in recent years, the growth of international friendships and new understandings and stronger safeguards for peace, together with the ever-tightening bonds of corporate unity within the British realms, Mr. Asquith went on to say that: "In all these multiform manifestations of national and Imperial life, the history of the world will assign a part of singular dignity to the great ruler Great Britain has lost. In external affairs King Edward's powerful influence was directed not only to the avoidance of war, but to the causes of and pretexts of war, and he well earned the title by which he will always be remembered, the Peace-maker of the World." Continuing, the Premier said, that within the boundaries of the Empire his late Majesty, by his broad and elastic sympathies, had won a degree of loyalty and affectionate confidence which few Sovereigns had ever enjoyed. "Here at home," he added, "all recognized that above the din and dust of their hard-fought controversies, detached from party, and attached only to the common interest, they had in the late King an arbiter ripe in experience, judicial in temper, and at once a reverent worshipper of their traditions, and a watchful guardian of their constitutional liberties." King Edward's life as a devotee of duty, as a sportsman in the best sense of the word, as an ardent and discriminating patron of the arts, as a good business man at the head of a great business community, possessed of intuitive shrewdness in the management of men and difficult situations, as a keen social reformer with "no self apart from his people," was then dwelt upon. It would be impossible in any limited space to analyze the views of the British press. The Times declared that "his people loved him for his honesty and kindly courtesy. To all he was not merely every inch a King but every inch an English King and an English gentleman. His influence was not the same as that of Queen Victoria, but in some respects it was almost stronger." The Daily Mail considered that "to his initiative his subjects and the Empire owe the pacification of South Africa and the final reconciliation with the Boers. The system of understandings with foreign powers which is our security to-day was in a great part his handiwork." To the Radical Daily News he was "the supreme example of a people's King by common consent" and this the Liberal Morning Leader echoed with a further tribute to "the sheer instinctive deference paid to his proved wisdom, his large-minded statesmanship, his unequaled knowledge of the world, and the tact that never failed him in the greatest or the least occasion."

A notable incident of this first week of mourning, during which the people were waiting to pay their final tribute of loyal sympathy on the day of the Royal interment, was the unanimous Resolution of the Legislature of Quebec. Coming from a French-Canadian people, amongst whom special interest had been aroused by King Edward's creation of the entente cordiale with France, something earnest and sympathetic as well as loyal in expression might have been expected and, if so, the hope was certainly realized. The Legislature in its address to King George V. (May 10th) put the feelings of the people of the Province in the following expressive words:

"We mourn the loss in him of a monarch whose chief aim was to draw all the nations closer together and to promote universal peace. Ever mindful of the great principles of the British constitution, through his broad-mindedness, his tolerance, and the exquisite charm of his personality, he succeeded in creating a potent bond of union between the various parts of our common country, and in closely consolidating the different branches of the greatest Empire that ever existed. Representing as we do the Province of Quebec it gives us pleasure to recall that the development of the idea of a powerful Canadian nation, devoted to the interest of the Mother-Country, was favoured by that great King. Imbued with the grandeur and nobility of his mission he won our admiration and our love through his solicitude in respecting our laws and our dearest traditions, aspirations and liberties."

The individual utterances of the Ministers were equally patriotic in terms. Sir Lomer Gouin spoke along the lines of his earlier tribute and declared that King Edward's reign had been "a glory to his people and a blessing to humanity." Mr. J. M. Tellier, the Opposition leader, joined the Premier in expressing the "confidence and sincere affection" of his people for this "the most powerful King of the most powerful of Empires" and in presenting to the new King "the allegiance, the faith and the heartfelt wishes of Canadians." Mr. H. Bourassa, the Nationalist representative, Hon. P. S. G. Mackenzie, the English-speaking member of the Cabinet, and Hon. J. C. Kaine and Hon. C. R. Devlin, the Irish Ministers, joined in these tributes.

The view of Foreign countries was unique in its friendliness, in its expressions of admiration for the great qualities of heart and head in the late Sovereign, for appreciation of his broad sympathies and international statecraft. One of the earliest official telegrams of sympathy to King George was from President Fallieres of France: "I learnt with emotion of the death of your beloved Father. The French Government and the French people will regret profoundly the demise of the august Sovereign who upon so many occasions has given them evidence of his sincere friendship; and associate themselves fully in the great grief which his unexpected loss brings to you, the Royal family, and the entire British Empire. It is with a heart full of sadness that I ask Your Royal Highness to accept my personal condolences, those of the French Government and of all France." From the President of the United States came a prompt message of condolence to Queen Alexandra, and from the American Congress a unanimous Resolution of adjournment and expressive words of sympathy with the British people "in the loss of a wise and upright ruler whose great purpose was the cultivation of friendly relations with all nations and the preservation of peace"; from ex-President Roosevelt, speaking at Stockholm on May 8th, came words of regret and of regard for the people "who mourn the loss of a wise ruler whose sole thought was for their welfare and for the good of mankind, and the citizens of other nations can join with them in mourning for a man who showed throughout his term of Kingship that his voice was always raised for justice and peace among the nations."

From United States newspapers, the exponents of public opinion in a great kindred nation, came a wonderfully unanimous and kindly expression of real feeling. To the New York Herald the late King appeared as blessed with "a genial personality, a kind heart and a strong common sense, together with that highest quality of supreme importance in a ruler and statesman—tact"; to the Buffalo News King Edward was "the ablest Royal ruler England has known in centuries;" to the Baltimore American "he was, and the world to-day generously accords him the distinction, the first diplomatist of his time, the man who beyond all others shaped the policies of the world." To the Indianapolis News he had "served his country and the world wisely and well, and will go into history as one of the most successful monarchs that England has ever had." The New York Journal of Commerce paid special and high tribute to King Edward's diplomacy and, after dealing with the French entente cordiale went on as follows: "Even more marvelous than the closing of the secular feud with France was the termination of that with Russia, which seemed more bitter and more hopeless of adjustment. The seemingly impossible was, nevertheless, accomplished, and the power which but a few short years before had been the chief menace to the safety of British India became one of the guarantors of its immunity from attack. It will be reckoned one of the miracles of history that Russia could have been induced to abandon a policy which she had steadfastly supported and been ready to concede that the affairs of Afghanistan were purely a British interest and those of Korea exclusively Japanese."

In most of these tributes of regard and respect—British, Imperial or Foreign—there was a reference of affectionate admiration for the Queen Consort who, at this moment, allowed it to be understood that she would like in future to be known as the Queen Mother. The far-famed beauty of person, the charm and graciousness of manner, and nobility of mind and character, which had won a way so quickly and permanently into the hearts of the British people and had been such potent forces in the life of King Edward and of her own family, brought to Queen Alexandra at this time a world-tribute of sympathy and regard. British subjects all over the Empire, multitudes outside of its bounds, were ready to echo those famous words of Lord Tennyson, applied to the similar sorrow of Queen Victoria:

May all love, His love, unseen but felt, o'ershadow Thee, The love of all Thy sons encompass Thee The Love of all Thy Daughters cherish Thee The Love of all Thy people comfort Thee Till God's love set Thee at his side again.

Few more touching words have been written than the Queen's Message to the Nation which was made public on May 10th: "From the depth of my poor broken heart," she wrote, "I wish to express to the whole Nation and our own kind people we love so well, my deep-felt thanks for all their touching sympathy in my overwhelming sorrow and unspeakable anguish. Not alone have I lost everything in him, my beloved husband, but the nation, too, has suffered an irreparable loss in their best friend, father, and Sovereign thus suddenly called away. May God give us all his Divine help to bear this heaviest of crosses which He has seen fit to lay upon us. His will be done. Give to me a thought in your prayers which will comfort and sustain me in all that I have to go through. Let me take this opportunity of expressing my heartfelt thanks for all the touching letters and tokens of sympathy I have received from all classes, high and low, rich and poor, which are so numerous that I fear it would be impossible for me ever to thank everybody individually. I confide my dear Son to your care, who I know, will follow in his dear Father's footsteps, begging you to show him the same loyalty and devotion you showed his dear Father. I know that both my dear son and daughter-in-law will do their utmost to merit and keep it."

It may be added that the surviving children of King Edward and Queen Alexandra at the time of the King's death were his successor—George Frederick Ernest Albert, Prince of Wales; Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, who was born in 1867 and married in 1889; Princess Victoria, who was born in 1868 and was unmarried; Princess Maud, Queen of Norway, who was born in 1869 and married in 1896 to Charles, then Crown Prince of Denmark. King Edward's only surviving brother was H. R. H., the Duke of Connaught, who was born in 1850. His surviving sisters were Princess Helena, married to Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein; Princess Louise, married to the Duke of Argyll; and Princess Beatrice, widow of the late Prince Henry of Battenberg.



CHAPTER XXVII.

The Solemn Funeral of the King

The death of King Edward was an event of more than British importance, of more than Imperial significance. His funeral was a stately, solemn and splendid ceremony preceded by two weeks of real mourning throughout his Empire, of obvious and sincere regret throughout the world. In London and Cape Town, in Melbourne and Toronto, in Wellington and Dawson City, in Ottawa and Khartoum, in Calcutta and in Cairo; wherever the British flag flies, efforts were made to mark the funeral as one of individual and local and national sorrow. All the great cities of the Empire, the smaller towns, and even the hamlets, had their drapings of purple and black. In every church and chapel and Sunday meeting-house during the two weeks of mourning at least one service was given up to the memory of the late King. In all foreign countries preparations were made for the formal expression of the general admiration which the qualities and reign of the dead monarch had aroused. Formal resolutions, public meetings, the appointment of national representatives to the coming funeral were world-wide incidents.

At home in London the casket to contain the Royal remains was fashioned of British oak from the Forest of Windsor and on May 14th, the body of King Edward was removed from the room in which he died to the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, and there placed on a catafalque in front of a temporary altar where it was guarded night and day by four Royal Grenadiers. On May 16th, amidst a solemn and imposing but preliminary pageant the late King was carried from the Palace where he died to Westminster Hall, where the remains were to lie in solemn state. A farewell family service had been held by the Bishop of London and then the body at 11.30 in the morning was transported to its new resting-place between double lines of red-coated soldiers, flanked by dense and silent masses of mourning people, with buildings on every hand heavily draped.

Preceded by the booming of minute guns, the slow pealing of bells and the roll of muffled drums the procession passed to its destination. It included the Headquarters Staff of the Army with Lord Roberts leading, the Admiralty Board, the great officers of Army and Navy, dismounted troops, Indian officers. These preceded the plain gun-carriage on which rested the Royal remains, the coffin covered with a white satin pall and the Royal Standard, on which rested the Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre. Drawn by eight magnificent black horses and flanked by the King's Company of the Royal Grenadiers the bier was followed by King George on foot with his two eldest sons and behind them were the Kings of Denmark and Norway, the Duke of Connaught, various visiting royalties, or representatives, and the household of the late King. A mounted escort succeeded and then came a carriage containing the Queen-Mother, her sister the Dowager Empress of Russia, the Princess Royal and Princess Victoria, another with Queen Mary, and others with the Queen of Norway and various members of the royal family. Last of all came a body of mounted troops. All along the route, which was scarcely half a mile in length, the attitude of the uncounted multitude was one of deep personal grief. No word was spoken and after heads had been uncovered, the masses of people were described as looking like an assembly of graven images. At the noble Hall, famous in British history for more than 800 years, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Norfolk received the coffin and preceded it to the catafalque. No attempt at funeral decoration marred the noble simplicity of the grand interior. The spacious floor was laid with dull grey felt. In the centre, on a slightly elevated dais spread with a purple carpet stood the lofty purple draped catafalque. No flowing draperies softened its outlines and it appeared like smoothly chiselled blocks of purple granite.



Slowly and quietly a great company assembled and then the Westminster Abbey choir of men and boys clad in white surplices and scarlet cassocks, took its position. On the left, preceded by the mace-bearer with his glittering mace, came the Speaker of the House of Commons in his flowing robes of black and gold, followed by 400 members of the same House led by the Prime Minister. All the members of the Cabinet were there while Radical, Labour and Unionist members mingled behind the low purple barrier. A little later the Lord Chancellor, wearing his full-bottomed wig and black and gold gown and preceded by the mace-bearer, led the Peers down the staircase in front of the choir to an enclosure on the right side of the catafalque. On bars immediately opposite each other rested the masses of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Behind each there was arranged a nearly equal number of Commoners and Peers. Between them stood the catafalque. Presently, amid a deep hush, great military and naval officers led the procession into the hall. Proceeded by the Garter King-at-Arms, and Heralds they marched slowly and ranged themselves in a glittering array over the steps below the choir while the coffin was borne in by soldiers. Behind it was carried by other soldiers the covering of the coffin on which rested the crown, sceptre and orb. Very gently the heavy coffin was raised to the catafalque and the glittering emblems of royalty replaced on its top. Then, leaning on either side of the catafalque, and resting on the ground, were placed two plain wreaths of cypress. Behind the coffin followed the Queen Alexandra, King George and the Dowager Empress Marie of Russia, each holding one of her arms. The purple carpeted dais was occupied by the dead King's family and royal visitors. A short service followed and the first part of the royal funeral was over while from the heart and pen of the great poet of the Empire—Rudyard Kipling—came verses addressed to and representing the people of which a few lines may be quoted: