NO ABBEY BURIAL

Evening Star, Issue 19793, 17 February 1928, Page 7

NO ABBEY BURIAL

LORD OXFORD’S WRITTEN WISH FURTHER TRIBUTES TO DEAD STATESMAN Tra«s Association— By Telegraph— Copyright .LONDON, February 15. In accordance .with the Earl of Oxford apd Asquith’s expressed wish, the burial will be private, A memorial service will be held in the Abbey on February 21. Among the condolences are messages Vqm the King of Belgium, the French /resident and M. Briand, and the Canadian Premier. M. Hymans, the Belgian Foreign Minister, is instructing the Ambassador in London to represent the King and Government at the funeral, and to lay a wreath. He says: “ Belgium will never forget the Earl’s loyalty in defending her independence.” He also sent this message to the widow: “His loyalty and character and his immutable determination in 1914 make him one of the noblest,figures in contemporary history.” THE FINAL MOMENTS FULL OF DRAMATIC INTENSITY -LONDON, February 16. The public was taken aback at the decision that the Earl of Oxford and Asquith is not to be buried at Westminster. It is also understood that the Countess and the other members of the family are deeply disappointed; but the Earl left a precise written statement that the funeral should be private, which was only known to-day, when the Dean, upon the Government’s suggestion, proposed an Abbey funeral in recognition of the ex-Prime Minister’s leadership in the great crisis of national history. Sir Maurice Bonham-Carter, the Earl’s son-in-law, consulted the family, who decided that deceased’s wishes must be carried out. The body will lie in state for two days in. All Saints’ Church, Sutton Courtney, where for many years the Earl read the lessons on Sunday evening. ■ The place of burial has not yet been decided. The final moments of the Earl’s life were full of dramatic intensity. The family was grouped around the bedside, eagerly watching for even the faintest whisper from the dying statesman, but in vain, for he slipped out of life silently and gently, with that dignity which he had displayed throughout his whole life. His heir is his grandson, Viscount Julian Asquith, son of Raymond Asquith, who was killed near Amiens, in 1916, the year the boy was born. “ AH ENGLISH GENTLEMAN " *» ONE OF OUR GREATEST MEN " KING’S MOVING MESSAGE. LONDON, February 15.

(Received February 17, at 9 a.m.)

The Speaker (Mr J. H. Whitley), prodding at the dinner to Mr Amery, said that the first thoughts and words of the members of the House of Commons must refer to the loss of the Earl of Oxford and Asquith, When the history of our time came to be written he would be classed as one of our greatest men. It was unforgettable how he represented Britain in the dark days of 1914, and it was no small factor in the ultimate victory of the Allies. Mr J. H. Thomas joined in the tribute, and said that the Earl was the personification of the term "English gentleman.”

Mr Amery associated himself with the previous speakers. The King sent a message to Lady Oxford: —

The Queen and myself hasten to assure you of our grief in the death of your beloved husband. To us both he was an old and dear friend, and to me a faithful and wise counsellor. Your sorrow will be shared by the country to whose service his pre-emindnt powers were unsparingly and devotedly given. THE HEW EARL A SCHOOLBOY OF ELEVEN. LONDON, February 15. The new Earl of Oxford and Asquith, a schoolboy of eleven, is descended on his mother’s side from ‘ Little Jack Horner,’ of the nursery rhyme. He eventually inherits Melis Manor, Somerset, where, according to legend, the pie incittent happened. His mother was contorted to Roman Catholicism, and the tew peer is being educated at Catholic tchools. There are now thirty minors in the peerage, their ages ranging from four to sixteen years.—Sydney ‘ Sun ’ Cable. GERMAN PRESS COMMENT BLAMED FOR CAUSING THE WAR. BERLIN, February 15. The newspapers mostly stress the Earl of Oxford and Asquith’s career as a parliamentarian, scholar, and domestic statesman. Some of them allude to the part he played in the war, and blame him for cansing it, desiring to destroy the German Empire.

PARLIAMENTARY TRIBUTES

BOTH HOUSES ADJOURN (British Official News.), £rew Association—By \V ireless—Copyright RUGBY, February 16. (Received February 17, at 12.10 p.m.) Mr Baldwin, in the House of Commons, referring ta th® late Lord Oxford, said that his was a nature large and magnanimous, which never harbored a mean thought. He was always

ready to let others have credit, while being always ready to take on Ins shoulders the blame belonging to others. Referring to the bitter controversies in the years immediately preceding the war, Mr Baldwin declared that he could remember no instance in which the dead statesman spoke words that were false, or words that could Wound, Throughout his life' ho conferred distinction on the public life of this country. Mr Baldwin, concluding, said: ‘‘May it be our lot to leave behind as fragrant a memory as that of Lord Oxford.”

Mr Lloyd George said that, while Lord Oxford during the last three years had been a member of the Upper House, he would always be remembered as “Mr Asquith.” He was essentially a House of Commons man. It was generally recognised that no more perfect or finished debater had ever takem part in the discussions of the House of Commons. He always gave the impression, not of an advocate pleading a cause with earnestness and passion, but of a judge summing up the facts and delivering judgment. Temperamentally, and as far as mental equipment was concerned, he was essentially judicial. Mr Lloyd George concluded; “He died on the banks of the Thames. His spirit was akin to the river—placid, calm, moving with steady flow, never boisterous or turbulent even in the very worst weather. He has passed into history, and will fill his place there with impressive distinction.”

In the House of Lords, the Marquess of Salisbury, the Conservative Leader, said that Lord Oxford was a great party leader, statesman, and administrator, and would hold a tremendous position in English history. As Prime Minister in 1914 he had the moral courage to accept the arbitrament of war, though no man was more opposed to war. Lord Haldane, for the Labor Party, and Lord Grey, for the Liberal, joined in the tributes. Lord Grey, who was Foreign Secretary at the outbreak'of the war in 1914, declared that the fact that this country came into the war as it did with practical unanimity was due, he, believed, to the effect of the qualities displayed by Lord Asquith. Both Houses, after these speeches, adjourned as a mark of respect to the deceased.

BURIAL AT SUTTON COURTNEY

RUGBY, February 16, (Received February 17, at 12.10 p.m.) It is announced that the' late Lord Oxford and Asquith will be buried in the churchyard of the All Saints at Sutton Courtney, the village on the Thames which was his country home for many years.