The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1911. THE CORONATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1160, 22 June 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 1911. THE CORONATION.

* The crowning of George V, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the_ sea, which takes place in Westminster Abbey to-day, is much more than a magnificent national pageant intended to impress upon the public mincl tho might and majesty of Britain's King. The pomp and ceremony and spectacular splendour are but outward and visible signs _ of deep and abiding inner realities. The Coronation service holds up before Sovereign, and people a very noble ideal of kingship, and of the relations that should exist between a high-minded constitutional monarch and a free nation. It is a great symbolic ceremonial, and no man who realises the wonderfully important part which ritual and symbolism have played in the world from the very beginnings of human society will be inclined to belittle the moral value of to-day's doings in London. Words arc often quite inadequate'to express the deeper feelings of humanity, whereas symbolism ■goes to the heart. of things, breaking down the barriers of race and language, and appealing alike to learned and unlearned, rich and poor. Ifc gets down beneath the things that separate, and unites all by virtue of their common humanity. Modern philosophy has done much to humble the intellectual faculties, once regarded as the final Court of Appeal, and to exalt the fundamental instincts of our race, and it is because they appeal so strongly to the primary feelings of mankind that rites and symbols have exercised such an enormous influence on religious and national life in all ages. M. Boutroux, the Professor of Modern Philosophy in the University of Paris, tells us that "to act, to feel, to vibrate together during the accomplishment of a common task is, according to reason itself, _ the secret of union." Great national festivals give feeling an opportunity to "expand and display its creative property" and to become that "active mysticism so incomparably efficacious which we find at the heart of all the great religious, moral, political, and social movements _ of humanity." Viewed in this light the Coronation becomes an event of great Imperial significance. The Coronation service does not hold up the King as an irresponsible autocrat, but rather as the most responsible man in' the Kingdom. Though he is anointed "King of this realm," no authority is given to do his own unfettered will and pleasure, but he is reminded that there is only one way to make his throne "stand fast for evermore," and that is by cstab?hing it in righteousness. He ie regarded as. the representative man, the 'father .of 'the (national family, the centre of the nation's unity, and as one whose authority ultimately rests upon the grace of God and the goodwill and consent of his people. It is a significant fact that English Kings do not crown themselves after the manner of Napoleon, and of Russian Tsars and German Kaisers. Only last year the Kaiser reminded the world that his grandfather, by his own right, placed the . crown of the Kings of Prussia upon his head to emphasise the theory that it was conferred upon him by the grace of God alone, and not by Parliament or people. The Tsar, at his coronation, acting upon similar autocratic principles, takes the crown from the Metropolitan and puts it on with' his own hands, and then crowns the Empress. The English Coronation service expresses a different theory of kingship, for the King is crowned by a representative of the people in the person of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who on this occasion acts both as Churchman, and as State's man; In anointing he expresses the will of the Deity, in crowning the' will of the State. The act of coronation originally, as far as the Roman Emperors were concerned, had no ecclesiastical significance, but it was performed, as Professor Bury tells us, by the representative of those who conferred the Sovereign authority ■ which it symbolised. The Emperors, however, felt some hesitation at receiving the diadem from the hands of a subject, and the choice of any civil magnate for this office was also likely to cause enmity and jealousy. Therefore the duty was eventually assigned to the Patriarch of Constantinople who was not envied by the sccular officials because he could not be their rival, and his ecclesiastical position relieved the Emperor from embarrassment in receiving the crown from a subject. In our Coronation service tho crowning by the Archbishop and tho "Eecognition" by the people . bear witness to the fact that English kingship, like the Roman monarchy, was in origin elective. Tho ceremony of Recognition, which forms the opening part of the service, is most interesting, the directions for it being as follow: The King and Queen being so placed, the Archbishop turneth to tho east of tho Theatre, and after, together with tho Lord Chancellor, Lord Great Chamberlain, Lord High Constable, and tho I'larl Marshal (Garter King of Arms preceding them), shall go to tho other three sides of tho Theatre in this order—south, west, and north, and at every of tho four sides, shall, with a iond voice, speak to tho people; and tho King, in tho meantime, standing up by liis chair, shall turn and show himself unto the people at every of the four sides of tho Theatre as the Archbishop is at every of them, the Archbishop saying: "Sirs, I here present unto you King George, tho undoubted King of this ] realm. AVhoreforo all you who are cotne this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same." The people signify their willingness and joy by loud and repeated acclamations, all with one voico crying out; "GOD SAVE KING GEORGE." Then the trumpets sound. There have been occasions in our nation's story when the "Recognition" was a very real factor in tho making of Kings. This was so in the troublous times of the Wars of the Roses, and we are fold that before Henry VI was crowned the Archbishop made a proclamation saying: "Here cometh Henry, King Henrv's son the Fifth, on whose soul God have.mercy. Amen. He humbleth him to .God and Holy

Churcli, asking the crown of this realm by right and defcnce of heritage; if ye hold your pcacc with him say 'Yea', and hold up your hands." And then all the people cried with one voice:, "Yea, yea." Another step would take us back to 1 the time when the "Recognition" was still more important, though never the absolutely decisive factor. Bishop Studbs tells us in his constitutional history that in the beginning of our history the formal election preparatory to the act of coronation, and tho actual selection when the necessity for a free choice occurred, belonged to the Witan; they included among them the national magistrates to whom the power appertained; the Bishops, whose recognition by the act of'anointing and coronation was religiously viewed as conveying the divine sanction, and as a requisite for t'lie enforcement of the moral duty of the subject; and the personal retainers of the crown, whose adhesion, expressed in their particular oath of fealty, was in the highest degree necessary for the safety and pcacc of the new reign. The recognition by the assembled people was a complementary security, but implied no more real right of admission or rejection than belonged to tho persons actually present'; for the crowd that' surrounded tho Coronation Chair was no organised or authorised representation of tho nation. Elements which bear witness _to this ancient process of election still survive in our Coronation service which also bears evidence of the developments through which our British ideas of kinship have passed. Our rulers have always been llings, and around that ancient and honoured name our national story centres. Ifc is the title that connects King George the Fifth with Alfred the Great, Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, the Plantagenets, the Tudors, the Stuarts, and his own House, the House of Hanover. At another time, in another place, and in ' other circumstances, King George will be crowned _ Emperor; but our ancient Coronation service knows nothing of that. In Westminster Abbey to-day he _ will be crowned, and anointed King, and for people of British birth and British blood throughout his wide Dominions that must ever remain his highest, his noblest, and his most sacred title. God Save the King.