Evening star., 1914-08-16

man of letters and avowed friend of the
proletariat doing in so strange a galley
and how did he get there? The answer
is simple. This experimentation, who
in spite of spas1nodic efforts in thai
direction, has not Yet succeeded in In
ducing either party in a constituency to
adopt him as its candidate. is engaged in
writing an Official life of King Edward
at the behest. of course, Of the roya
family.
The members of the latter were furious
over the account of the late monarch
which Sidney Lee contributed to the Die
tionary of National Biography, in which
Edward VII was shorn Of most of the
godlike qualities and superhuman mental
attainments with which he had been SO
persistently credited by sycophantic
writers. and represented as a person of
very ordinary abilities. Edward Legge' 8
the other direction, was also unsatisfac-
tory to the late kings descendants, who
thought 1t was f1ippant. and SO Cox.
whose literary gifts are nowhere ques-
toned, was called in some time ago to
prepare the usual official life in which
the subjects good qualities are magni-
fled to the limits of human credulity and
his less pleasing characteristics as per-
sistently ignored.
To this end Cox. of course. has had
access to all kinds of state papers. and
been brought closely in touch with both
the king and queen, into the good graces
of the latter of whom he is credited with
having insinuated himself in remark
able fashion. Presumably. however. this
was the more easy, as Cox's ideas for the
improvement of the lot of the working
classes chime in sympathetically with
those which the queen herself holds.
Queen Mary, as a fact, is quite remark
ably democratic. always provided that the
royal ascendancy is faithfully and 10y
ally" maintained. Her majesty's creed.
in fact, seems to be, Bolster up our
prerogatives and guarantee our contnu-
ance at the head of things and We will
do good,'' and with this reservation she
is in sympathy with any scheme for i'm
proving the lot Of her poorer subjects.
Cox. on his side, is a genuinely we'll
meaning, if somewhat impractical friend
of the masses. Fifty-five today. he is
the son of a former county court judge,
and, after graduating from Jesus Col
lege, Cambridge. was identified with uni
versity extension work, and later spent
in Surrey and Kent in order to gain an
insight into the life of English laborers.
He himself has written on land taxation
and land naturalization. in which direc-
sition to those of David Lloyd George.
whose policy he attacked repeatedly IN
the house of commons in spite of the
fact that he himself was nominally one
of the chancellor's party.
Hence the community Of feeling be-
tween the queen and Harold Cox, reel
procity whcih it would be strange, in
deed, il SO astute politician failed TO
turn to party ends. Today more tory
than the tories with whom he is now
able to agree since they have dropped
tariff reform overheard. Cox hates the
very mention Of home rule, and is as will
ing a henchman of the Londonderrys in
their fight to prevent its coming to pass
as, sturdy son of the established church
that he is, he Is a willing follower of the
i rchhlshop Of Canterbury In the per
sistent but all unavailing struggle that,
the latter has made against the disestab--
lishment of the Welsh branch of it.
Strong as the Warehouses Of London
derry's influence over the queen has be-
come Of late, however, It is PROBABLY .