Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-10
1EsE MAJEsTE IN ENGLAND.
Using Stamp Upside Down Punish
able in Britain.
From Pcarson's Weekly.


Many people blissfully imagine that lesc
majeste-that is. insulting royalty-is a
crime peculiar to foreign countries and
unknown in free and happy Britain. That
however. is where they make mistake
There are all sorts of pains and penal
ties on the statute book relative to pc
culiar British forms Of lese majestic. Many
of them have fallen into oblivion or abey-
ance owing to one cause or another. 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 punish
able offense to stick a penny stamp on a
letter upside down. Doing so is to insult
the king through his eff1gy. and few
centuries ago-supposing penny stamps to
have been then invented-might easily
have landed the offender In prison on a
charge Of seeking to bring ridicule on the
sovereign or to express contempt for his
authority by causing his picture to stand
on it's head.
Also it is a punishable offense to deface
coin of the realm bearing the royal
image and then deliberately put it into
circulation again.
Any private individual who audaciously
hoisted the royal standard over his dwell
ing would get into serious trouble He
would be peremptorily ordered to take II
UOWn anu dDleCtly dpOlOSlZe anu III lie
escaped q heavy fine would have to thank
his majesty's forbearance for his good
luck. The royal standard is the emblem
of the kings regal authority, to be dis
played only where he is personally pres
ent. and for subject to hoist 1t Is NOM
inally equivalent to high treason. The
union jack, as the flag of the nation. is a
different thing altogether, and can be dis
played by anybody.
1t is popularity supposed that in this
country man can get up and say what
ever he likes about the sovereign with
impunity. This is true only within
strictly defined limits. A socialist orator
can publicly denounce the theoretical evils
of monarchical institutions and announce
decided preference for a republic, and
nobody can touch him.
But If he once began to speak insulting
ly or slightingly of the king personally
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 trifing 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
ma jesty across the face with his walking
stick This was sufficient to bring him
within the shadow OF the scanoid. re
was condemned to death and would have
been hanged had his sentence not been
committed.
Apart from direct methods Of commit
ting 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 a more roundabout way.
It is lese majestic to bring the king
uniform into contempt. Members OF
theatrical companies who have appeared
on the steee as comic characters attfred
in discarded military or naval uniforms
have occasionally been unpleasantly re-
minded of this fact Careful stage man.
ayers put themselves on the safe side by
seeing that no uniform. 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.