The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-10-01


1t is no longer to be denied that crisis has
arrived in the long and prosperous reign Of
Queen Victoria. For thirty-four years the
British people have rejoiced and been glad
under the reign of woman of whom history
will speak with high respect, if not with great
praise. All the world has been compelled to
admit-and the admission has never been
grudgingly given in these columns-that in the
character of Victoria was to be found the
model of good Queen, good wife and
good mother. Since the death Of the Prince
Consort, in December of 1861, the Queen
has evidently been great sufferer. Her ex-
cess of love has been followed by great sor-
row; and If in the agony of her sorrow, inten-
siied by solitude, she has ceased to be an active
or potent force in the world, we ought not
greatly either to wonder or to blame. At best
a Queen, even the greatest, is but woman;
and if, in consequence Of her sorrow or her
solitude, Victoria is no longer physically or
Intellectually what she once was, 1t ought not
to be source Of qualification to any, but
cause of sorrow to all her people.
Still, her sickness and consequent unftness
for public duty must be regarded as facts;
and it is not possible for any one to refuse to
admit that as the result the British people
have been brought to the verge Of great
constitutional crisis. According to our latest
news, Premier Gladstone and the Prince Of
Wales were both in attendance on Her Majesty
at her Highland home at Balmoral, Scotland.
~ xusC &c kA Drsn 81
Wales, returned to Great Britain yesterday
from brief visit to the Continent. She landed
at Aberdeen and fastened to visit her mother
in-law after the reception of very cordial well
come from the inhabitants of the ancient city.
Balmoral, since it became the property of the
Prince Consort, has been favorite retreat
of the Queen, as her own published works
testify. Since the death of the Prince her
liking for the place has been revealed by her
more frequent visits and her more prolonged
residence. At Balmoral it almost seems as if
she wished to die. If it should turn out that
the Queen is sick unto death, or that, intellect
ually, she is untitled for the discharge of her
onerous public duties, the Prince of Wales
will succeed as King, or come into power as
Regent. He is the heir to the crown, and
nothing but revolution can deprive him Of
his rights. This is the great fact of the hour.
The Prince of Wales is the prospective mon
arch of Great Britain. As King or as Re-
gent, in the circumstances we have supposed,
he must come into power. How will be be
received?
1t is not for us to forecast the future with
too much confidence. In the event of the i'm
mediate death of the Queen, the accession Of
the Prince Of Wales to the throne will be
simple and easy. Much has been spoken and
written regarding his character. 1t must be
admitted that his praise is not on every lip.
But youth has its privileges; and men in high
places are sometimes too much seen. We are
willing to be generous to youth, and to recog-
nize the influence of the fault-fnder. The
Prince of Wales may, after all, not make a
bad ruler. In the event of Regency, the
difficulties of the Princes position are likely
to be greatly aggravated. A regency may be
opposed by the Queen. In that case it will
revive all the unpleasant memories connected
with the sickness of George the Third and
the regency of George the Fourth. It will
divide the sentiments of the British people,
all of whom love the Queen. George the
Fourth got over this trouble; but times are
changed since then. The known opposition
of the Queen, no matter what the necessities
for regency, would make the position Of
the Prince Regent uncomfortable in the ex-
treme. The result might be revolution
which would prove destructive of the mon
archy. Monarchs are not so necessary as
they once were even in England; and If the
Prince of Wales is wise he will attend to that
fact Another George the Fourth on the
British throne is an impossibility.