SLANDERS ON KING GEORGE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 888, 6 August 1910, Page 9

SLANDERS ON KING GEORGE.

; $ . ; AUTHORITATIVE DENIALS. STATEMENT BY THE BISHOP OP DURHAM. The Bishop of Durham, speaking at th« reunion of past and present students of St. Hilda's College for . Schoolmistressss at Durham, disposed of two slanders .. against King George,' who, ho said, was" a tremendously conscientious doer of daily work. Very often one heard the 1 breath -or slander against people whooccupied prominent positions, and there were two respects in which King George had been slandered. One was that liewas not always temperate in his drinking, and tho other" was that he was. •secretly married to a lady not of.Eoyiil rank, and thai: his marriage with Queen' Jlary was therefore not legal. Ho wished, to say with absolute confidence, from absolute knowledge, that both - these.slanders were absolute fictions. King tiimrge _was severely and strictly temperate in. his habits. To say otherwiso was a lie, and a lie that ought to be nuiled to the counter. The slander oi his supposed marriage was also unrounded. The Archbishop of Yoric. The Archbishop of York, preaching ,at. the church parade of tho Yorkshire Bus-.; sars Yeomanry, spoke of the loyalty which every man owed to his country,'and went on to say'that loyalty, to our country was enormously strengthened when centred 111 loyalty to the liing. : "Wo may he thankful," continued his Grace, "that King George is worthy of our personal loyalty.. It is a great thing to know that the lung is a man of regular, disciplined, and abstemious life. It ts u, great thing to know ho i 3 a man who cares about his country, and has studied its problems in every part of th«' world. We owe Sum our personal loyally, You have to do that, not only by wearing his uniform, but by speaking'up fur tho King when you have the. chance and when you hear those backbiters who urn not ashamed to say anything 'about their King. It belongs to your. loyalty, to stand up and defend him. You, may iliank God that your lung George is 'aii example to every man; of tho kind and' dutiful life which everyono of his citizens ought to live." Another Testimony. • The Bishop of Worcester: writes to hia diocese how the late King Edward ap-. predated Worcester Cathedral, and ados, "It was my. fortune also, when . I".was Bishop of Southwark, .to 1 come into' relationship, from time to' time, with tho then Duke and Duchess of York, and I was''greatly impressed with their.-, capa-. bility and sincerity, as well as' with, their earnestness hi religion. 1 venture ■ to believe that there are in our "present. King and Queen, qualities which ; will cause them to stand as high in our re-, spect and affection as King Edward,and. Quoou Vi'toriK, and that ■we shall find in them personages who will spend'their lives wisely and strenpoiisly. for the good of the people and in tho: fear, of God." ''• "Undoubted Authority." ' :-i

In'the,course of ;an address to; a ; con«, gregatioo' ol Friendly Society members . " is&mbled in a church near Aoru'icli.'UiG Dean of Nonvicli said:. "Wo r liave noff r -V ; upon the TJirone a, King who, to my per-: sohal knowledge, is a. man of intense /, coif-sacrifice and' high character. Against . him one lias heard brouglit two uccusa- ; tions, brought, as I think, by that,part - j iif society winch is no society at all,; but these things -percolate down, and it, is' : - just as: well. that when speaking before a mass of . people one should , give the . lie . to those hvo accusations. ,ln.the first place, the King is sometimes accused 01., . insobriety. You may take it from, mo . . , oil', undoubted authority that that', is a<'■, libel. As far as his' close friends, have ~, p noticed him ho has nevec. been intemperate throughout his life, but, on'thoicoh-.' ' . trary, is. more • a man who, even from the point of view of health, has to be , abstemious, and who has no desire,, to, ; ; bo anything else: I want you, generous-'.! hearted men, when you hear some light, stupid talk with regard to this irreverence to our King, to_ say-with, absolute , confidence that there is not a move sober, ; ■> temperate, quiet-living man in this conn-' ' try than King George. The other accnsa-' ' tion is still more unworthy. It is that prior to his marriage he had what is - called a secret or morganatic marriage, . with children' by it. That ,is absolutely . root'and branch an untruth. He has now undertaken the greatest' responsibilities which, any man can undertake, >and - I. ask for him justice, fair dealing,' 'confidence, loyalty, and love in his task." : .