The times., 1897-06-22

Victoria Nictrix.
When on tie night OF June twentieth, in
the year of grace 1897, the old Duke oi
Wellington went post haste 10 Kensing
ton Palace and routed out of bed a little
lady who lived there: when that little
lady hurIiedly poked her shapely small
feet into pair of slippers, threw shawl
over her robe de mutt" and came oui
In the han TO see what the venerable
Hero OF Waterloo might want with her
she hardly could have been aware thai
she was stantiing-in her nightgown on
the threshold of new and great era in
the history OF the British Empire and OF
civilization. Yet so it was. When her
ancient friend, who for years had been
kind and even patronizing TO one whom
he was wont 10 speak OF as 1.-The little
girl bent his stiff old soldier knee and
kissed Eictoriss IS hand, hailing her for the
first true as England's Queen, that era
opened.
British history, and the worlds history,
Curing the sixty years that Victoria OF
Guelph has occupied the throne OF the
United Kingdom, have heea full of thrilling
interest The six decades of tie reign,
completed last Sunday. have witnessed
material developments, exceeding in i'm
poTtanoe the sum Of all that had gone
before since the Norman conquest. When
HE little gin'' had the seepter placed
IN her hand, the railway was a novelty,
Rnd the electric telegraph a theory, If
even that The steam engine was crude,
and the Bessemer process for making steel,
pne Of the chief factors in her country g
Of
Stage coaches still survived, and gas
4ghted London was looked upon as
marvel Of human progress The proud
landed aristocracy OF the island were still
IN the saddle. The common people feared
GUd, honored the Queen, trembled before
lord, and curtsied deeply to a red-nosed
reuntry squire. Rural England stin took
beer instead of tea or coffee with its
breakfast, and the vice of going to bed
sober had not yet invaded the circle of
the British gentry TO any painful extent. A
court of unspeakable corruption and i'm
morality presided over by George w, the
worst demirep and first gentleman OF
Europe" had but just dissolved Vic
soTia's accession was TO mark a rapid
change in all these conditions, and in
many respects vastly for the better.
but not in all respects The landed
aristocracy, proud and pigheaded. was 10
lose its power and be overw ffelmed by the
oyerInastering force of a new arisiocracy
of finance and trade. That transition has
not been advantageous. The old landed
Interest. with ali its faults, was patriotic
and brave, and cared more for national
honor, and sometimes even for such alb
stractions as justice and humanity, than it
did for money. It's successor knows no god
but Mainrnon, TO whose sordid service every
consideration of right, equity and Chris
hanity are cruelty sacrificed
In 1887 hair the people of Ireland had
not been driven into exile, and the Emerald
Isle still enjoyed a measure of the pros
perity OF which British greed and political
oppression since have robbed her Canada
was a weak dependency, Australia penal
colony. india still enriching great English
corporation. and not for years to come
under the Imperial crown. and South Africa
nowhere. The Suez Canal was thirty years
distant, and the greatness of the United
States Ia population and resources, as
they since have developed, quite be yond the
prophetic vision of Europe
In any consideration of yictoria's reign
the personality of the woman should be
sreatcd separately from the political phe-
noiuena of the government in which she
has had some, perhaps at times important,
Influence. but never any tangible political
power. TWO years before his death
George ~ exercised the constitutional
prerogative OF the crown, and dismissed
a ministry which was strongly intrenched
behind 3 large majority in the House OF
Conlinons That was the last effort OF
the sovereign to exercise the unquestioned
right TO name ministers without reference
to the prepopderanoe or otherwise OF a
given party ia Parliament Nor has the
equally certain constitutional prerogative
of the crown TO exercise the veto power
been used by the present sovereign, ex.
cept il q single Instance wherein the
government of the day. the opposition con-
senting. invoked 1t to get rid of bin
which Inadvertently had been passed while