The St. Louis Republic., 1902-01-05
THINGS KING
EDWARD VII
CAN DO.

| King Edward may be called the figure
head of the Constitution; but his powers
generally known as the royal prerogativey
| are far wider than most persons supposeS1f
| he chose to exert all the rights which are his
| in the letter of the law, he could create
such a revolution IN his realms as would
tax Parliaments utmost powers to cope
with.
| Suppose that King Edward VII made up
| his mind that the Boer war must be stopped
! at any sacrifice. He might make peace by
royal proclamation. and hand over Corn
/ wall to the Beers as the price of their lay
| ing down their arms On the other hand II
! he wera. like his ancestor Edward Ill,
| never content unless fighting. he might pro-
claim war against France, with the object
! of forcing the return of Brittany to the
| British realm.
! The law of England lays down that tho
] crown may not keep up an army Of more
| than certain size; but 1t does not mako 1t
! obligatory to maintain any soldiers at all.
Consequently. our King might disband the
entire army disnissng every one. from the
Commander-in-Chief down to the smallest
drummer boy. He could do the same thing
| with the navy. discharging Admfrals an(
A. BIS alike; and then might render the<
country quite helpless by selling OF all the
ships of war. all cannon. dockyard proper
ties, and the millions of pounds worth OF
coal. food and stores which they and the
military arsenals contain
With regard to royal prerogative over the
services. it may be remembered that less
than thirty years ago Queen Victoria did
exercise her powers in very decided fash.
ion. In 1872 there was bill brought be-
fore Parliament to put an end to the pur.
chase Of commissions in the army. The
House of Lords threw 1t out but the power
of the Crown overruled the decision of the
upper house and purchase became a thing
of the past.
When a criminal confined in jail IL re-
leased before the end Of his term it Is by
royal pardon. If the King pleased. he could
Immediately pardon all criminals. and so
at once empty every Jail in the Kingdom.
AS for the Cabinet. which British sub
jects look upon as the actual governing
power of the realm. 1t is not once men,
toned in the British Constitution. 1t 10
perfectly within royal prerogative to turn
the Cabinet out Of Office and for the King
to appoint his own ministers. choosing such
as he pleases out of the Privy Council.
George III actually did this Lord Butte
was his own choice as Prime Minister. Most
of the civil servants rank in law menial
servants to the Crown. and could also be
summarily dismissed
oxford, Cambridge and other great uni
versities owe their foundation and tho
many special privileges they enjoy-such as
returning members to Parliament and free
dom from certain taxes-to the Crown. Tns
King, II he SO desired. might tomorrow, by
roval warrant. elevate each parish In tho
whole Of these islands into a university.
with the full privileges such institutions
enjoy.
Or he might make a wider change still.
He has the power Immediately to elevate
every single man. woman and child among
his subjects to the peerage. and make ev-
cry crossingsweeper an Earl and every
tramp a Duke
Ry the old statute known as me exeat
regno" the King may, of his own authority.
forbid any or certain of his subjects from 4
leaving the country without permission.
and, at the same time. he may commandf
any subject who Is residing abroad to
once return home. BY way of enforcing
the latter command. he is entitled to seize
the property of the person who refuses to
obey, and to enjoy the revenues arising
from such property until the recaicitrane
one returns
All the realms OF Britain. and the seas
it, are supposed to he vested
in the crown. Consequently. If any subject
die without heirs and without leaving
will. all his property reverts to the Crown
In the same way all treasure trove belongs
to the Crown
Just as the King may grant charter to
a university, SO he may make a port. and.
In doing SO. trample on other ports pet
privileges without let or hindrance- An
Instance in point is Poole in DorsetShire.
which was made a Port at the expense OF
Melcombc which was at the time a place
II some importance. but has since greatlyA
diminished.
None but the king or some one to whom u
.e has delegated authority, may erect U
,eacop or seamark: and another curious \
privilege of the crown is that its agents
nay enter any mans land to erect fortif-
,ation. If such are deemed necessary. AZ
present a number of most powerful forts
ie hidden in the beautiful coverts Of tho
Earl of Mourt-Edgeumbe, along the Cor
lish coast, just beyond Davenport