The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-09-28
WHAT KINGS CAN'T DO.
In Good Many Respects They
Have No Freedom OF Action
WhateVer-SOme Instances

nave NO freedom Or ACt1Cn
Whaterer-Some Instances.
1t may sound little curious, but
there are quite a number of things
which, despite his aXalted position
as sovereign of the realm, King
George V. Cannot do. These disa-
bilities range over all sorts of mat
ters, and concern etiquette, politics,
religion and law. To begin with
etiquette, 1t is an established prac-
tice that his Majesty must never
call upon or grant an audience to
foreign monarch except in the
presence of a responsible minister.
Etiquette also precludes him from
accepting a gift which a loyal sub
ject may wish to make him. Should
however, the gift be joint offer
ing the prohibition does not ap-
ply. This enables King George to
subscribed by a number of people
together
The King never writes a letter to
anybody outside OF his family cir
Gle ALI other correspondence has
to be conducted through one of
lis secretaries. Nor does King
George accept invitations to dine
or stop with a subject. What he
does when he wishes to pay such
a visit is to invite himself. An
other strictly observed point of
etiquette is that on ascending the
throne a King shall withdraw from
any clubs to which he has hitherto
belonged Similarly, he cannot
become a Free Mason, and if he
happens to be one at the of his
accession he must resign from the
craft. King George, however, has
not been initiated
Even in affairs of the heart, a
sovereign must bow to the will of
others. Although King Cophetua
might have loved and shared his
throne with a beggar-maid. the roy
al marriage act would render the
occurrance of any such romantic
union impossible in England. Mem
bers of the blood royal must have
the sanction of Parliament before
they can marry; and this would GER
tainly not be accorded unless the
birth and position of the lady were
beyond reproach.
An English Kings position to-
ward the law is somewhat peculiar.
Theoretically he is above the law.
in practice, however, he has to
obey it, just as have his subjects.
He must observe the established
legal system of the country. Any
royal proclamation which he issues
is only binding in so far as it is
founded upon an existing law. 1t
cannot alter the common law, or
create a new offence. Nor can
King set UP private tribunals, such
as the Star Chamber, or add to the
Jurisdiction of a Court. By a spe-
cial act of Parliament it has also
been decided that if his Majesty
were to lose an action brought
against him by the revenue authori-
ties he would be liable for the pay
ment of costs.
By the law of the land the King
cannot possibly commit an offense.
Any injury or wrong must be at
tributed to the mistake of the ad
visers." Hence, it happens that
King George is the only person in
Great Britain who cannot arrest
a suspected felon, even if such
one were to be seen by him en-
tering Buckingham Palace or Wind
sor Castle. The reason for this is
because no action for wrongful ar
rest could lie against him; and
therefore, if the person arrested by
him were proved innocent, there
would then be a wrong without a
remedy. Another legal disability
of the King is that he is barred of
all right in matters relating to land
after a lapse of sixty years. He is