Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-07

he condition of crisis n which the nation
finds Itself today. r ght.y or arongI.,
the public believes that the crown and
the influence of the crown should be sui
hcient to ward off the perils tnreatene@
by the violent conflicts of contend rg par
ties
THE kings first duty is to see that
the kings government can be carri
IN. 1t clearly cannot be carried on If
the two houses OF pariIa llent are "a
iogSerheads. If the ers refuse to vote
tie supplies granted ny The commons
and 4, as consequ~ nee. tie whoie CO =
stitutional machine as broug..t to sand
STILL
Confidence in the crown as an hon
est broker betw en- the pa eS recei e
rude shock when it VA made eriGS
that the king Was unable 20 pre- eat me
rejection OF the budget. 1t vas open y
,, said that ii the lat queen Vet a Dad
still been on the throne the cat surophe
would not have oveItaken US. he IS
perhaps some justice la TINS ell ton
although even Gu en- Victoria night "a u
found her counsel less potent than of cd
when 1t had to be addressed TO p.o.ec-
tiCnistS hungry for prey.
Failed to Grasp Situation.
"This brings us to the considera,io on
Of the question as to how 1t was that
he king failed. wher the people be
lieve that his mother would have sue
ceeded In aveit-ng a collision. the inev.-
table consequences of whicl are on.
now teSinning 10 be pei ceiyed- 1t Is po7-
sibie tat tue king, Ike MS advisers
lacked the nigh qualify o. lnlaainatio-
necessary 10 ENABLE ann to grass, all that
was implied III The be ginning .f tie re-
actionry revolution.
Most of his contemporaries suffered
from Inc same deiect. Things had gone
smoothly with us Tor so long that lew
really perceived, least of all ST me OF tie
leading actors. to what dread ami lrag.c
consequences the action OF tie peers must
inevitably lead. That the king did per-
ceiye the dan,er in a DIN sort of way is
admitted. and he used what influence he
had in his own fashion to induce the cad
els of the opposition to deSist, ere 1t was
too late, from challenging so serious a
&C mbat
But at this point we lay our finger
upon the most serious element of weak
ness in the whole case. The king has
many good qualities. No one is more
tactful; no one is more kind hearted: he
is a capital sportsman, and in foreign af-
fairs he possesses a fine instinct which
seldom leads him wrong. Yet his very
geniality and good fellowship deprive hum
of much of the awe with which the late
queen was regarded.
Criticism of His Encourage.
"The divinity that doth hedge king
wears somewhat thin in the atmosphere
Of the dinner party and the race courses.
His majesty is a man of the world, soing
freely into society. but not even the MT st
servile courtier could say that either as
pr nee or king he surrounded himself
with men who We're mi ~e.ItIal in elller
house of parliament. Those who shared
his valuable councils may be the Wisest
pleasantest, but to the sreat political
world they have been unknown.
." itn ne doubtful eA-~.JtIon Of Loru
Esher, who has one OF the SaneSt heads
in Europe, none OF those who constitut.
the encourage of the king count for
anything in politics. Of the chiefs OF
our old nobility it is comparatively rare
to find any among those whom his
majesty delights to honor. nor is il
libelouS to assert that his ministers
whether iiebral tory. have never found
in him that garnered store OF rich ex-
perience reaped by 4 lifetime of unre-
hitting industry, which made the late
queen the adviser of all her councillors, The
visilant critic of her ministers, most in
huential OF all servants OF the realm.
Lacking in Needed Qualities.
THE king. in short, has neither the
strong character. firm, resolute deter
ilination nor the keen interest in PC
.itical men and political measures whici
would have added to the influence al
ways appertainng to the throne tht
immense undefnable weight of a COM
handing personality.
1.-The essential feature CT the constitl-
tional monarchy as it was evolved durin
the late reign was that everything IL
lost in authority il gained in influence.
1t underwent an evolution which some
what later awaits the house of lords
Its right to the veto has gone forever
but its opportunities OF influence espe-
cially influence il the beginning CT things.
have Tar more than made up for the
sacrifice of the trappings of authority.
But il follows from that evolution that
the authority Of the crown i'll the future
will depend more upon the persona
character of the man or woman who
wears il.
"A wise king, judicious. far-seeing. alb
solute and energetic, might easily, with
out violating any constitutional limita-
tons, be the most powerful man in the
realm. but a king, indolent, Indifferent
and given to se'f-induigence. would soon
be a mere pher in the state over Which
he continued to reign. but which he no
longer tried to .ule.