The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1912. THE ROYAL POWER.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1340, 18 January 1912, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1912. THE ROYAL POWER.

Those who have intelligently followed Imperial affairs during recent years' will not be disposed to dismiss as unfounded the statement of the Sydney Daily Telegraph's London correspondent that it is generally believed that his Majesty the King, in visiting India, was acting against the strongly-expressed wishes 01 his Ministers. The correspondent understands that the King pressed upon his advisers the view that the Empire would be much strengthened by occasional- visits of the reigning Monarch to all its greater parts. It must bo assumed that the Ministers recognised the force of his Majesty's arguments, and the great success of his visit to India will no doubt dispose them favourably towards the further'consideration of his desire to revisit Australia, Canada, and South Africa at an early_ date. There is no doubt that their Majesties would be received in every part of,the Empire with loyal enthusiasm, and if their tour could be extended so far as New Zealand the people of this. country would gladly show that they appreciated the privilege of welcoming their Sovereign and his consort. It is, however, very doubtful whether, even in_ these days of rapid communication, the exigencies of State would permit a King of England to travel so far from the British Isles. It may be that the political and diplomatic needs of the day could be postponed for a season in favour of those longer views which his Majesty has often expressed. "If wo hold hands across the sea," he said in one of his speeches, "we shall preserve for future generations a noble heritage_ founded upon the highest patriotism and knit together by ties of race, mutual sympathy and regard." ' King's George's settled intention of showing, so far as opportunitj permits, that he belongs equally to every part of his Empire, will stimulate the loyalty of his subjects, and it will show that the change in the position of the English Monarchy, which was noticeable during the two picceding reigns, is still going on. There has, of course, been no formal extension of the powers of our Sovereigns, but there has been a great growth of their prestige. The Monarchy has played a more important part in great affairs of State. The influence upon foreign politics which earned for Edward VII the name of "the Peacemaker," was but one instance. The settlement which closed the South African war soon after his accession was also attributed largely to his expressed desire. It is now pretty well known that Queen Victoria and King Edward, by their tact, experience and practical wisdom, exercised an increasing influence upon the iuncr counsels of the Empire. King George's visit to India and his unknown, but possibly leading, share in the determination of the great constitutional reconstruction which lu announced at Delhi arc striking evidence of the continued evolution of the Throne. And this enhancement of authority and prestige has been accompanied by an increase in material splendour. Each of the last three Coronations—Queen Victoria's, King Edward's, and King George's—has been more magnificent than the preceding one. King George and Queen Mary went further in holding ceremonies immediately after the Coronation at Edinburgh and Dublin, and the King took an even more interesting step in reviving the long-disused custom of the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Carnarvon. This increase of ceremonial pomp has evoked very little adverse criticism. It is generally acceptable to the people. It is in line with the same tendency which has produced the local pageants that have been so popular in all parte of the United Kingdom. Splendour is the natural expression of a great and powerful Monarchy, and perhaps not less so when the subjects are a free people. The growing influence of the Crown is just as natural as its greater magnificence. It is based upon the character and actions of our Sovereigns.- It is no idle sentimentalism to say that they are great because they are good. Walter Bagf.hot observed that Queen Victoria was England's first really satisfactory constitutional Sovereign and he did not think it probable that wo should barn three good conl stitutional Monarch: in unbroken

succession. Yet such has been Ihn fact, and the natural results have l?i;cu a warmer loyalty in the subjects and a greater influence mi the pari, of the Crown. These, two results are so closely interdependent thai., even from the point of view of (he sternest democrat, the power of the Crown affords no real cause for uneasiness. A power depending on the goodwill of the people could not, under any circumstances, be used for any great length of. time against, their interests. The present Kino, a.; his actions show, is putting his great, prestige to noble and popular uses, which will undoubtedly enhance it. His policy of meeting his subjects in as many of his oversea Dominions as possible is an endeavour to fulfil in the highest, degree, the ideal of the Crown as a unifying force that helps to keep the Empire, with all its local differences, one in sentiment. Meanwhile, his inauguration, whilst in India, of a more autonomous system of government which will allow freer play to and local patriotism is a recognition of the special function of the Crown as the guarantor of constitutional liberty. He is proving anew the inestimable value of his great hereditary office as a bond of Empire and a pledge of freedom. He is keeping the Crown in its true place as the permanent and splendid symbol of that "spirit of the English Constitution" which, in the words of Buhke, "infused through the mighty mass, pervades, feeds, uuites, _ invigorates, vivifies every part of the Empire, even down to itt minutest member."