Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-06-23
PRIVILEGES OF THE KING.
Some Things That Would Not be Rec
oanized In This Land of Liberty.

Some Things That Would Not be Rec
ognizsd In This Land Of Liberty.
There are many curious matters of
law, Of rule and regulation and Of eti-
auette, which constitute the divinity
which doth hedge a king" For
some there are historical reasons In
their origin, for others such reasons
still exist, others are mere matters OF
admitted propriety, others simply the
crystallization of long custom and OBJ
servance. In some matters the king
of England is governed by statute, In
others he and his mere wishes are
supreme.
The constitutional position Of the
sovereign accounts for one-and TO
many of us groaning under the bud
get a most mportant-differenc The
sovereign pays no rates or taxes. The
reason Tor this Is that theoretically
Ali taxes are levied in the kings name
for the purpose Of carrying on the
government, and that-as In fact II
would have been before the days OF
the civil list-to tax the income OF
the king for the purpose OF defray1ng
the kings expenditures was simply
,aking money from one OF his pock-
ets 10 put Il In another. So stringent
ly is this theory adhered to that the
exemption from taxation extends no
further than the person OF the SOW
ereign, and all other members OF the
royal family, are subject to the same
taxation as the rest OF US.
II the king proposes to visit the,
ater, notice Is sent before hand, ana
the royal box, in those theaters Which
possess one, Is sold subject TO the
condition that II must be given up II
intimation Is received that lts use Is
required by his majesty.
1t is the accepted etiquette that the
king never writes a letter. Those who
need to correspond with his majecty
who are aware Of the right procedure
usually write to the kings secretary,
or a member Of the household, ask
ing that the matter in question should
be placed before the king, but petit
tions for the exercise Of the preroga-
tive In any form on matters OF state
are required to be submitted through
the home Office.
The king does not accept invita-
tations, and visit Of any form Is not
preceded thereby, but by his intima-
ton that he will pay 1t. In other
words, he always invites himself, and
in matters of social intercourse the
same etiquette extends to other men,
bers of the royal family.
II the king proposes to visit any
house, a list Of the proposed guests
has to be submitted to him before
hand, and this list the king revises,
striking out and adding names at his
pleasure.
The king never accepts a present
from a private person, except OF
course, his own relatives, and never
permits the dedication Of book to
himself IL there Is the smallest like
lihood Of the exploitation Of this dedi-
cation for commercial purposes. The
rule, however, is relaxed to the extent
Of the frequent acceptance Of copies
of books from the authors, but In
such cases the book Is required to be
bound according to specified pat
tern.
whether 1t was established eti-
uuette or only personal inclination, 1t
Is difficult definitely to state, but at
the time of his accession King Ed
ward resigned his membership OF all
the clubs to which he belonged, and
he was a member of number.
The only clubs to which King
George belonged were the United Ser
vice and the Marlborough. King Ed
ward resigned all his offices as
Freemason on his accession, but King
George has never been initiated into
the craft.
The queen consort, although a
subject, has always had unique po-
sition in the eyes Of the law, as she
has always been regarded as free
from the disabilities Of married wo-
man, and in all matters Of property.
contract, and procedure she ranks as
a femme sole.
The use of the royal I'VE" though
still preserved in formal documents
Of any kind, like the old-time touch
ing for the kings evil" Is gradually
lapsing into disuse. King Edward
having followed the example Of Queen
Victoria in his three messages, ITO
NV People" ITO My People Beyond
the Seas" and ITO the Princes and
People of India" in which were writ
ten in the first person singular
The king has no surname, and
though undoubtedly he Is peer-the
first among his peers-as sovereign he
never now sits in the house Of peers,
but the cap Of maintenance Is still
carried before him as a sign or MS
right Of peerage.
The kings motor cars carry no
number, and his chauffeurs are not
amenable for exceeding the speed
limit.
The king can not bind his success
sors in the exercise of the royal pre-
rogative, for the simple reason that
there Is no way of enforcing the OBJ
legation, inasmuch as the king can not
be sued in his own courts, and until
the advent Of King George on the
throne the king had not hitherto
found II expedient to take any action
In a court Of law to clear his good
name or that of any member of his
family.