The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-12
THE JUBILEE OF VICTORIA.
| Her Fiftieth Year the British Sovereign
| To BE Celebrated in 1886.
London Globe, june 26.

| RfeC FAtletn IeaF AS tne sovereign
| To BE Celebrated in 1886.
London Globe. june 26.
The Queen having, on Saturday last, entered
upon the forty ninth year of her reign, the
thoughts of many of her subjects will turn TO the
next 10th of June, when her Majesty will com
mence her year of Jubilee" To some it will
seem surprising that the suspicious date is so
near, for there appears to have been inn
preston upon many minds that the celebration
would take place in 1887, when the half century
| OF reign will have been completed But the
precedents clearly in favor of being held at
the fftieth year. The most direct is that
| of 1909 upon the 18th of October
when rejocings were held throughout the empire
| because of the entrance Of George III upon the
jubilee year and this the original institution of
| the jubilee itself was obviously followed. Thou
shalt number says the Mosaic law, seven Sab
| baths of years unto thee, seven times seven
| years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths of
| years shalt be unto thee forty and nine years
| Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of jubilee to
sound throughout all your land. And
| We shall hallow the ffteth year. and proclaim
liberty throughout all the land unto all the lnhab
itants thereof; it shall be jubilee unto to you"
| Only three SOvereigns in the whole tale of our
| history have been suffered to the opening of
such year. Henry III, Edward III, and George
| Ill, All Englishnen will sincerely trust that
! before another twelvemonth has quite run its
| course a fourth will have heen added to the list
The occurrence, therefore. is SO unusual that it
! Will be of interest to compare in however brief
| way, the circumstances under which the three
| sOveregns named entered their jubilee year, and
those under which it is likely to be the lot of cur
| present monarch to join their company in this
| particular. The comparison if it does nothing
more will serve to show that the Queen. despite
| the many sorrows which have afflicted her middle
| life will see the sun shine upon the fifteth year
| of her reign in far more brightness than did
either of the three to be considered Henry IL
| had assembled the throne in October, 1916, at the
Of &l,n,l = e V@l,~
little more than year after the Great Charter
| had been forced from his reluctant hands. The
! reign was as troubled as it was long the barons
| had tasted of power, and were not inclined to
foreCo 1t; and, IN the midst of internecine strug
| giles Englands first regular Parliament sprang
| into beng. AS the King was nearing the fiftieth
| year the strife became more acute; Simon de
| Mcntfort was i'll the thick of the fight, and the
| national deadlock came to such a pass that the
dispute between King and barons was referred
| to the French monarch for arbitration
At the beginning of 1865 lat the end Of which
| Henry's jubilee began) De Montford, once more
IN the ascendant. summoned the first real Parlia-
| 1nent, but IN the early autumn his power
| broken he himself was slain. and the baronage
| was again placed under royal subsection. And
| Henry, who had only few months before been
| a prisoner in the hands of his mobiles, com
menced his year of jubilee with the embers of
! civil war still warm around him, and with
| speedy revival of thenntO a fame possibility
| steadily staring him in the face
An almost equal gloom attended the entrance
of Edward Ill upon the hftieth year The
greatness of the King who had Cressy and
Poitiers. and who had added Calais to the En-
| glish dominions had become sadly dimmed by the
weakness or his later life. Much OF the popu
| lar hatred which had been the portion of the
elder and younger Dispenser, hanged by the
| barons at the beginning of the reign, was show
cred upon Alice Perrers at the end: and the
earlier victories in France, by which general
enthusiasm had been fired, had been almost for
in tho national shame which folIOUad
upon the later humations in Spain. The teach
ings of Wycf, directed though they were to a
reform in religion. 6eepened the discomfort and
| when the 'seven Sabbaths of years of Edwards
reign had passed, the opening of the jubilee
found miserable King and mutinous people.
Before the year was out the Black Prince, once
the nations and fathers pride passed to his
rest. and Edward himself the next year went
almost unwept to his grave.
Not far from four centuries and half rolled
away before another kings jubilee could be
celebrated i'll England and then for the third
time the circumstances could not be considered
other than sad. at was melancholy season
for jubilee, this close of the year 1890" says
historian of the period; yet jubilee there was.
The old man himself was nearly blind. and his
wits were wavering; he was at variance with his
heir; his favorite was just disgraced, AMI he
was in dispeasure with others of them.
In the midst of the depression abroad and the
quarrels at home, in defiance of the gloom which
WAS settling down upon the world. the jubilee
loyal on the 18th OF October at least whatever
had gone before should come after" But,
despite the surrounding gloom, the occasion was
celebrated with much enthusiasm and fervent
loyalty. Through the livelong day services
were held, cannon roared, poor and rich
toasted, and all deserters from army and navy
received pardon There were grand dolngS in
the far corners Of the earth, by appointment, in
sympathy with home; meetings in Canada. balls
at Bombay and Calcutta and some remission of
toll, some faint revival Of the sensation of citi
zenship among the convictS at BOTANY Bay.
Balls and hanQuets. fireworks and feasts were
soon forgotten but lnementoes of the occasion
fingered for long. In some remote towns are yet
to be seen Jubilee Inn" and at the South
kensington Museum, not many years ago, could
be inspected. carefully covered by glass shade,
a crumbling biscuit the impression upon which
showed that il baked in celebration of the
jubilee Of George Ill
The jubilee went off well is the summing
up of the historian before quoted. ''and those
who were most proud OF IL were most eager TO
point out how unlikely it was that there should
ever be another" And yet within little more
than three quarters of century, the question of
how most fittngly to celebrate so rare an occa-
! sion is once moro fair topic for talk. But tho
| jubilee of Victoria will be far more legitimate
! cause for national rejoicing than was that of
| Henry or Edward, or George. 1t is not necessary
| to attempt to contrast the great and solid ad-
! vauces made during the present reign with the
state of affairs in the three other reigns which
have been named 1t is as little necessary to try
| at this date to forecast the manner in which the
| day will be made one TO be long remembered.
| There is great good fortune in the fact that the
| blessings which have befallen the nation since
| the accession Of tho Queen are not matters of
| argument, but of common consent. AS the day
| draws nearer the language of praise will be
! strained to tell Of what has been, and the day
| itself will be marked with white stone IN the
/ memory OF Young ard old OF every Dartv of