The national forum., 1910-06-04

fore hs Death Of Ed,Dard VII N.
1t used to be the fashion to lool
On the man who will reign over tho
British Empire as George v, as 6
good natured but rather stupid man
:. but recent developments
have given reason to believe that this
is not so. No doubt Georges court
will be a very different ole from Ed.
wards, but there are many English
men who think this will not be bad
thing. IN
To begin with, George ". will be
the first English monarch since the
Stuart dass of whom it will be possi-
Bile to say that he is wholly and in
disputably English. Even his grand
mother, Queen Victoria, spoke Eng
Ish with a. German accent, although
she was intensely English in senti-
mlent. The pro-German inclinations
of the first four Georges were notorri-
GUS, and most Of them could hardly
understand the language Of the coun-
try over which they had been called
to rule. S.g II George speaks no
language .sbpt, English. He had the
usual drilling at school in the Euro
pean tongues, of COURSE but so soon
as his formal education was finished
he promptly forgot all about them,
declaring emphatically that English
was quite good enough for all his
wants, He doesn't like foreigners,
and In fact one of his fathers chief
trials lies in persuading him to be
ordinarily civil to diplomats and dis
tinguished visitors whom it is his
duty as heir apparent to the throne
to meet. why should see the
brutes?" he is reported to have asked
recently when a number of distin-
guished European statesmen were
visiting London and he was called
on to receive them. The King ex-
planned that it was necessary for him
to be civil, and he acquiesced and
was formally polite, but he hurried
through the ceremony as. quickly as
possible. erf f.t..
This doessnot mean, however, that
the Prince is shy or stupid or that
he is not keenly conscious Of the du-
ties connected with his high position.
When he Is called on to take part in
any English or colonial function he
responds gladly, and there is no man
in the country who is better informed
on home and imperial problems. His
choice Of friends is significant in it.
self. They are all selected either from
the old English nobility or from men
who have made their mark in the de-
velopment of the empire. Lord
Strathcona, who began life as Donald
Smith, trapper for the Hudson's
Bay company in Canada, is one of his
most trusted friends and advisers,
and another rs Lord Mount Stephen,
wbese eareeE has been Identified with
the developma0t o. the great Cam
adiaa Pscsttc railway swtala, Ha has
psa.ss. fer ee ee ffssa ffssassst nobility of wesitIl
which has pgung up in regent Years
il Englan3 hana the International
ananciegs, Ts3y of them OF Eastevn
origin, who swarm about his father,
will find theqcourt very cold place
indeed when he succeeds to the
throne. Nt
The Prince, detests cards and hard
Iy can be persuaded to take hand
when he Is b staying at country
house. He cares nothing for racing,
for which his father had a passion,
and he cares even less for entertain
ing, while his fathers love for sur
rounding himself with clever people
has made his court the most brilliant
in Europe. There is no better evil
dence of this than the difference be-
tween the life at Marlborough House
now and when the King was Prince
of Wales. In the old days a success
sion of brilliant balls, garden parties
and other entertainments followed
each other Throughout the London
season. Now the Prince gives one
bail and one garden party every year
and grumbles at. having to do this.
At these functions he contents him
self with a formal appearance and
then settles down in a quiet corner
with some colonial or some man who
Is doing things at home and forgets
all about his more frivolous guests
in a discussion OF some problem OF
empizA.
The King likes foreign politics and
high diplomacy, and the Prince de-
tests them and only. is too glad that
his father does not ask him to take
any OF this work on his shoulders.
The King is bored with home and
colonial affairs, which he considers
dull and unexciting, and is delighted
that his son Is willing to take all this
work off his hands,
There was typical case Of this
agreement to disagree when the
South African Generals visited Lon
don after the war. The King, 1t was
known. could. not forget that these
men had been In rebellion against
him. and Wilde his exquisite tact en-
abled him to be polite to thcsa he
had no desire to lionize them. The
Prince stepped into the breach and
surprised thegynen from the veldt by
his intimate knowledge a ali that
had happened9in South Africa since
the white man first settled there and
of all the problems that lrad to be
settled, | am told that there can be
no doubt that the Princes genuine
affability to the former enemies OF
his country had a lot to do with the
speedy reconciliation of the Beers to