The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-07-29
THE QUEENS POWER.

power, Or is she, ss we often hear it
asserted. a mere figure head aud orna.
ment of the State. whose :oyal Office
has long ago been stripped Of the su-
thority that the English kings and
queens Of old were wont to sway.
We know that things have greatly
changed in this respect. since Henry
VIII. ruled the realm with an iroD hand.
aud even since Charles l. tried TO reign
without his Parliament. Certsinly,
the power Of governing England has
passed, in a very large measure. into
the House Of Commons. the body that
represents the will of the people; aud
the ministers, who are the servants Of
the House Of Commons, WELD. under
its dictation, most Of the authority and
perogatives Of "the Crown.
They are responsible for all its execu-
tive acts. the carrying out OF the laws.
the making of appointments, the c'n
cluding Of treaties, and the declaring
Of war All these acts used TO be done
in the olden time, by the monarchs.
who. after taking the advice Of their
counsellors, followed their own royal
pleasure.
But. slthough the Queen carnpt
make treaties. wars, or even appoint
ments, Independent If the advice If the
ministers. it would be an error to sup
pose that she has no power left.
She has certain preogatives which.
indeed. she never uses. For instance.
she still retains the "veto" power; that
il, she may refuse her assent to any
measure passed by Parliament. aud
may thus prevent it from becoming q
law. But no English sovereign has
really dared to use this veto power for
nearly two hundred years; aud if Queen
Victoria should do 50. she wonld proba-
bly, incitc a revolution, and put her
throne in peril.
Another authority she has. but never
uses. is that of dismissing ministers.
She has right to do this; but if she
shonld dismiss a minister who bad the
confidence of the House of Commons.
she would do an act dangerous to the
stability of her throne Her predeces
sor. King William ". once dismissed
ministry supported by the House !;
but he raised such comWo,ion by do
ing SO, that he WAS vary soon forced 10
retrSct and To take it back again.
But Queen Victori, las what may be
called Q power OF adSice and influence.
She is entitled to be informed by her
ministers Of every measure they propose
to take, every appointment Of import
ance they intend to make. aud to dis
cuss these with them.
She has a right to argue with them.
and il she can, to influence their action.
II may be easily seen that the ministers
always listen to the sovereign with def
erence. and are always inclined 70 yield
to her wishes, If they can DO so consis-
tently with their responsibility to Par
liament.
Thus. the Qnesn has no power to act
over the heads of. or against the min
listers; but she has the moral power of
persuading them and iuclining them to
her lviews.
OF course, this influence Of the SOW
ereign 10 all the greater if she or be has
experience in public affairs, political
talent or tact. and solidity OF character.
A weak minded monarch would he lis-
tened to with respect, but the ministers
would pay less heed to him than to a
wise one.
Aside from this. the Queen has q very
great Influence. both upon the morals
Of the people and upon the current Of
public opinion. by reason Of her posi-
tion at the very top of society. A pop
ular aud revered sovereign In England
finds the people inclined to yield to
what is known to be that sovereign's
wish. This is a persuasive power. act
ing upon the masses.
A pure and moral court, such as that
Of Queen Victoria. made 50 by her per
sonsl example, has profound influence
upon the tone of society throughout
the country. Her domestic and home
like virtue, have done . grea. deal to
make British society lar more elevated
one, morally. than it was before she
ascended the throne.
Thus we see that the Queen. though
no longer q potenta,s welding the
great important powers of the State, is
much more than a mere ..hgure-hesd; !;
aud that she has her far from con-
temptibls part TO play both in govern
ing the country and in leading society
to higher plane.