KING'S VISIT TO SENATE

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 117, 20 May 1939, Page 9

KING'S VISIT TO SENATE

ASSENT GIVEN TO BILLS

SYMBOLIC CEREMONY

<By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright,! (Received May 20,10.20 a.m.)' OTTAWA, May 19.

The superb Gothic buildings of the Canadian Parliament, so like those of Westminster, provided, a fitting setting for a ceremony which was rich in symbolism for the Dominions.

The Senate chamber was ablaze with scarlet and gold. In place of the Speaker's chair stood a regal canopy, and under it two high-backed thrones of carved wood. Seven scarlet-gowned members of the Supreme Court, four of whom speak English and three French, sat in front of it on the woolsack. Flanking the chamber were members of the diplomatic corps and Senators. The galleries were splashed with the rich warmth of uniforms, gowns, flashing jewels, and orders. Lady Tweedsmuir, wife of the Governor-General, sat in the Government House gallery with the Governor-General's staff. Lor«j Tweedsmuir, of course, was absent.

Their Majesties made slow and| dignified progress into the chamber preceded by two Lords in Waiting and royal equerries. The King wore the full-dress uniform of a FieldMarshal, and the Queen a small diamond tiara with a regal off-the-shoulder crinolined gown of white taffeta and lace, the pattern being carried out in gold and the satin bodice crossed with the blue sash of the Order of the Garter. Two small , pages held the Court train, and her Majesty was attended by two Ladies in L Waiting. The procession was brought up. by their,,_]\laj.e|£ie^," and;. 23 Canadian military, naval,' and air force aides. ; THE KING'S SPEECH. The address given by the King was made first in English and then in French. "I thank you sincerely for your addresses received on my arrival at Quebec," said his Majesty. 'The Queen and I deeply appreciate your loyal and affectionate messages. I am very happy that my visit to Canada affords me the opportunity of meeting in Parliament the assembled members of both Houses. No ceremony, could more completely symbolise the free and equal association of the nations of our Commonwealth. As my father said on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee, the unity of the British Empire is no longer expressed by the- supremacy of the j time-honoured Parliament that sits at Westminster; it finds expression today in the free association of nations which enjoy common principles of government and a common attachment to the j ideals of peace and freedom, and are I bound together by common allegiance j to the Crown. ' "The Queen and I have been deeply touched by the warmth of the welcome accorded us since our arrival in Canada. "We. are greatly looking forward to Nour visit to each of the provinces, and, before our return, to paying a brief visit to the United States. It is my earnest hope that my present visit may give my Canadian people a deeper conception of their unity as a nation. I hope also that my visit to the United States will help to maintain the very friendly relations existing between that great country and the nations of the Commonwealth. These visits, like the one recently made by the Queen and myself to the Continent of Europe, will, we trust, be viewed as an expression of the spirit of our peoples, which seeks ardently for closer friendship and better relations not only with our kith and kin but with the peoples of all nations and races. "Honourable members of the Senate and members of the House of Commons, may the blessing of Divine providence rest upon your labours and upon j my realm of Canada." j ASSENT GIVEN TO BILLS. Summoned by his Majesty through the Gentleman Usher of the Black^Rod, the members of the House of Commons appeared at the Bar of the Senate with their Speaker and Mace. • The Speaker, addressing the Throne in English, and then in French, presented a Supply Bill, under which the expenses of the Public Service are met, and humbly requested his Majesty's consent. The Clerk Assistant j of the Senate received the Bill, re- j turned to the foot of the Throne, andj read the title in" English and French, j whereupon the Clerk of Parliaments announced, also in English and French: i "His Majesty thanks his loyal subjects, accepts their benevolence, and assents' to this Bill." The Clerk Assistant then addressed the Throne in English and French: "May. it please your Majesty, the Senate and the House of Commons have passed the following Bills, to which they, humbly request your Majesty's assent." He read the titles of all the Bills passed during the session, starting with the important trade agreement between the United States and Canada, whereupon the Clerk ofJ Parliaments announced: "His Majesty doth assent to these Bills." Their Majesties and those in waiting then left the Chamber. Seventy-five thousand people massed outside the Parliamept Buildings gave them a tumultuous welcome. Two hundred thousand more lined the route to Government House.

The King summoned the Prime Mmv Ister (Mr. Mackenzie King) to Government House tonight, when he endorsed the trade treaty and other measures

The King made history today when, with the Queen, he entered the Senate o^ his Canadian Parliament and addressed both Houses from the Throne, and gave the Royal assent to the Bills passed during the session. It was the first time^ that a British Sovereign has ever appeared in the Dominion, and it was a striking illustration of the significance of the Statute of Westminster, under which his Majesty is equally King of Great Britain, of Canada and of the other realms in the British Commonwealth of nations. Moreover, it was a unique occasion in that it was the first time since Queen Victoria attended the House of Lords on August 12,1854, that the Crown itself has personally assented to Bills. Since 1854 the Royal assent has been given by commissions of the House of Lords.

with the words: "I assent to this Bill." He gave Mr. Mackenzie King a leather volume containing the Bills and also the pen with which he had endorsed them.