Evening star., 1928-12-06
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

lied by the Constitution, has adopted
line of succeSSorShip in such an emer-
gency-Vice President, Secretary of
State, Secretary of the Treasury, etc
but no action has been taken to cover
such situation as that which existed
for weeks while President Garfield and
President Mckinley and-later. Presi-
dent Wilson-hovered between life and
death, yet remaining the sole holder OF
presidential authority. So the Repub-
lican United States remains tied to
one-man power much more perilouSly
than does the Kingdom of Great
Britain.
In England the law already provided
for relieving the King of his duties
and powers when he ceased to be able
to function The English constitution
is made of precedents. not of writ
ten inflexible words adopted by compli-
Gated legislative machinery.
The first precedent for appointing
council to take over power of the
throne dates back to Henry VIII. when
the King, foreseeing the possibility OF
his death before his son became of age,
and fearing to risk the fate of the
prince, heir apparent, with a regency
of one man lest the regent should steal
the permanent power for himself, Gre
ated law providing for council of
state, which held the power until the
prince gained his majority and was
crowned Edward vi.
Individual regencies had existed prior
to that, and mostly they held power
faithfully in trust but not always, either
in England or Europe.
william Rufus, son of William the
Conqueror was on the continent when
his royal father died, in London, and
in those days it took longer to cross
Europe and reach England than 1t IS
now taking the Prince of Wales to
escape from the jungles of Africa TO
hurry to his fathers deathbed. Today
not an hour passes without verbal COM
munication between the Prince of Wales
upon the high seas and Buckingham
Palace, where the King lies fighting for
life. The radio thus changes all things
in such an emergency.
While William Rufus was hurrying
as fast as horses could carry him to his
imperiled crown, Lanfranc held the sub
jectS in order until the arrival of the
royal successor. Today while the
Prince of Wales is speeding by
steamship toward England, and pre-
pairing to fly by plane over the final
stretches across Europe, the regularity
Of administration is maintained by
council duly authorized by law and con-
firmed over the trembling signature of
the suffering King. The council in
cludes Queen Mary, the Prince OF Wales.
his brother land next in line of sue
cession), the Duke of York; the Arch
bishop of Canterbury, the lord chan
cellor Gord Haldane) and the prime
minister, Stanley Baldwin.
It Was a solemn moment when the
new council of state held its first con-
| ference, just outside the open doorway
of the sick King, and then sent in the
bill for the signature of the hand so
I dangerously near the end of all human
| power.
X X u X
| This is. the second time King George
| has authorized such transfer of his
| power. The other time was when he
went on a cruise of the Mediterranean
during the period of his convalescence
after an attack of illness only a little
! less severe than the present crisis.
! 1t is also the second time that there
has been a regency to hold the power
pending the accession of the present
Prince of Wales. At the time George
v took the throne, after the death Of
| Edward VII, the present Prince OF
| Wales, his son. was a minor. So the
! mother, queen Mary. was appointed
regent for the prince. but as George V
continued to live and reign, there was
no occasion for calling that regency
into power. If King George should now
recover his strength and health, the
present council of state will automati-
cally cease to exist, and the King will
resume his power.
|
In this connection it Is interesting to
| recall the mad dream" in which
| American Tories and "Loyalists" in
| dulged while our Constitution was in
| the making, after the near anarchy OF
the Confederation They started the
report that it was planned to reunite
| with the mother country by sending TO