The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1908-05-09

Using stamp Upside Down IL Pun,
ishable.
Many people blissfully imagine that
lese majeste-that is, insulting royalty
lis crime peculiar to foreign coun-
tries and unknown in free and happy
Britain. That, however, is where they
make a mistake, says Parsons Week
~.
There are all sorts of pains and pen
alties on the statute book relative to
peculiar British forms Of lese majestic.
Many of them have fallen into oblivion
or allegiance owing to one cause or an
other, but they could still be enforced
If those in high places claimed all they
are strictly entitled to do.
It Is, for instance, technically a pun
ishable offense to stick penny stamp
on letter upside down. Doing so is
to insult the King through his effigy,
and few centuries ago-supposing
penny stamps to have been then in
vented-might easily have landed the
offender in prison on charge of seek
Ing to bring ridicule on the sovereign,
or to express contempt for is author
ity by causing his picture to stand on
its head.
Also it is punishable offense to de-
face coin of the realm bearing the
royal image and then deliberately put
1t into circulation again.
Any private individual who auda.
ciously hoisted the royal standard over
his dwelling would get into serious
trouble. He would be peremptorily or
dered to take it down and abjectly apol-
ogize, and If he escaped a heavy fine
would have to thank his majesty's for
bearance for his good luck. The royal
standard is the emblem of the Kings
regal authority, to be displayed only
where he is personally present, and for
a subject to hoist it is nominally equiv
alent to high treason. The union jack,
as the flag Of the nation, is different
thing altogether, and can be displayed
by anybody.
1t is popularity supposed that in this
country man can get up and say
whatever he likes about the sovereign
with impunity. This is true only with
in strictly defined limits. A Socialist
orator can publicly denounce the theo-
retical evils of monarchial institutions
and announce decided preference for
a republic, and nobody can touch him.
But if he once began to speak in
sultingly or slightingly Of the King per-
sonally he would be at once run in"
or at least effectually suppressed by
the nearest policeman.
To strike the King would, according
to the strict letter of the law, render
the assailant liable to the death penalty
no matter how trifiing the blow was in
reality.
Lieut.. Pape, who is usually reckoned
among those who attempted the life of
the late Queen Victoria, could not have
actually contemplated murder. He
had no lethal weapon in his possession
at the time of the outrage, but he
struck her majesty across the face with
his walking stick. This was sufficient
to bring him within the shadow of the
scaffold. He was condemned to death
and would have been hanged had his
sentence not been committed.
Apart from direct methods of COM
hitting lese majestic in England-and
the foregoing does not by any means
exhaust the list-the unwary subjects
can be guilty of the offense in more
roundabout way.
1t is lese majestic to bring the Kings
uniform into contempt. Members Of
theatrical companies who have appear
ed on the stage as comic characters at
tired in discarded military OF naval
uniforms have occasionally been un-
pleasantly reminded Of this fact. Care
full stage managers put themselves on
the safe side by seeing that no uni
form, whether to be worn by the hero,
villain or low comedian Of the piece, Is
an exact copy Of the real uniform Of
any branch of his majesty's forces.