LEVIN AND THE LATE KING.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 May 1910, Page 3

LEVIN AND THE LATE KING.

MEMORIAL SKRYICE IX THIS •SQI'ARK IMI'RKSSIYH SI'I'XTACIiK. ADDRICSSKS I!V Til 10 .MAYOR AM) TUH VICAR. LOYALTY OF THIO .MAORIS. A CHIKK'S ADDRESS. A memorial service in connection , w.i:th the death of His Majesty Ivinp; lOdiward VII. was held in Levin yesterday. and t.li(« proceedings were marked by jrreab solemnity. The day was observed as one of uiournin 14 itihroii.nliout the dominion, the colonies and the world at hir<ie, and i,b is safe to say that in no community was the mourning more sincere than in Levin. All places of business wore closed, and the hell of the Anglican Church and that of the h'ire Brigade tolled out mournfully from time to time, while crepe was exhibited in many of the business premises, The joined in the sad proceed,inys with the same fervour as the whites, and their distinctive dress and the screen garlands plaited in their hair, imparted even to a sad event a picturesque appearance. I'uucltually at 2 o'clock a procession was formed near the station at Weraroa. and was mustered in order by the

niitrslial-in-eliief of <;lte (lav's proceedings (Mr P. W. Goldsmith), tin' town clerk, as follows:- Band cf the Hcys' Training Warm, under tin* vr.mimand ol Major But'linson : veterans anil members {)l tlr.< South African contingents, under the command of Major Kiddle (Scots Greys), cadeits (Training Warm and tlio High, School); ministers of religion ; members of >tlm local bodies; representatives of the native races, Salvation Army l!and: Reohabites; Druids: Foresters; Oddfellows; iand the general public. The progress of the procession, which was witnessed by a large gathering of people, wended its way along Oxtord street <to the Square, whore a platform, draped in black and purple, had been erected immediately under a. gas standard, which was swathed in mourning, the 1 n.inn .lack surmounting. Suspended trom the telegraph wires a lew yard.s away I'liion .Jack from the Maoris, which bine tin* word Huia. to which relVren.ce is made in our local nt.ites. On arriving a't the Squire. the various sections of the procession toak their places as previously arranged by the Mayer and tin.' Town Clerk. The ministers of religion, the members of the local authorities, ehi»"'t residents, and a ol the Maoris (Mi Hero Nicholson) took their seats on the platform. the votenuis flnd members of the South African contingent occupied seats in frou-t, the school children were nmsed in the flii-fl on o'U'li siflt>. in and military uniform, were THK CADETS of t.lie Training l'';inii and the High School. At the rear lay the members of the Druids, who turned out strongly, the Foresters, whoso numerical strength was "ity, Ree.lia bites a,nd OddfelliMVS, while the I'iro II"<T.do massed at the back, and during the progress of the po'oces.smn I;■ ai Weraroa to Kevin, mainta-int-t c-rder in toe Square. .v.-ar l W ""'is the Salvation Army, conspicuous by t'mO - u:;rl;!-\vide kiK;-tv.n costume. The service opened with the Sl| iK" iug of one ol the htte King u":i V. f '.v.'.irite hymns, "0, God our help in Ages Past. and this .tv- ! 1.-vii i;f.|.re. .'iv:> prayer by the Rev. .1. Whit? (Pre.sbytoriau), who thanked God ior itiie ucfllv, i and sober lilt* of the dcceas'-H ir .'i'arch, and who invoked diviiH 1 biis.sing upon tiio Queen mother, King George the V., Que >n. Mary, all thy members of t!;j i;:,val family, and those who guide the destinies of the Empire in the Mouses

of Parliament. His Worship the Mayor (.Mr 15. R. Gfl-rdoner) t,!ven nfl' 1 *lu> audience. 'I hey h:ul, he said, iii'.vt to hi,-IK,ur the lute King. There were, ho obs-i'ved, some who wondered why tlKiit cere'iionv wain taking place. There w«is mo occasion for this. They had rat ei'ily the t'ftwncny of our c-w.ti Rns:-lis.h-speakiny; race, hut the testimony of the whole world a.s ■affection i;n which the lite Kino; was lu'ld. The.v had the testimony of every eonntry in the world. CV.'les iiau been reined from «1l peoples expressing the very deep .sympathy and .regret they felt flit f.Ve death of tV> Kino;; and when !'i'>(>v reer'znised iha.t at t!« prtwni time all the Kings and iiotabi.litic\s of Euf'r.p", Asia, Africa and America, were in Loudon for a common } If , thoiifhfc tliev would not say Ithey had been incorrect in Levin in paying tribute to a great monarch. His tact, his sagacity, his conciliatory methods liad preserved the poaco of the world <luri,nec the nine years he reicrned as King. He had saved tlio Old Country—ho had saved the world—from a terrible war; misery and sorrow

had been averted. He had gone to every Court in Europe wheal almost every Count had shown open Ivstil'itv to the British flag, and result of his visits, had been

. :: ■• it the most blessed things in !'.;uopeau politics; it .had been Itihe peace of tho world. To-day thousands, yes, millions, of people were gathered in procession in. sorrow, mourning the loss of .tho. King. Kings like His Majesty could not bo spared. King Ed<ward had .promoted peace all the world over, and, so far as the colonies were concerned he had given them a protection which no other EUROPEAN POWER. would dream of giving. Ho had been a wise and tolerant monarch, and all he hoped was that King George the V. would follow in the noble steps of his illustrious and never-to-be-forgotten father. His Worship concluded by reading the last words of a. hymn that is oftom repeated at the burial of a moiraireih 101 Hymns Ancient and Modern) "Earth to earth, and dust to dust," Calmly now the words we say: Leaving him to sleep in peace, Till the resurrection day; Father in Thy gracious keeping, Leave we now thy servant sleeping." Captain Simpson (of the Salvation Army) then read in an impressive manner the lesson from the Ist G. Coinpton, M.A.) then addressed the lesson in the Anglican Burial Service, and which embraces St. Paul's magnificent argument in support of the doctrine of tho resurrection of the dead. Tho vicar of Levin (the Rev. S. G. Compton. A.'M.) then addressed the gathering as follows:—We are met together this afternoon to mourn the loss of our late King Edward VIT., and on comparing the superscription on the coins of our late Queen Victoria, and of our late Sovereign King Edward, we note this difference that, on the former, the words are, "Britanniarinn Regina," but on Ithe latter "Brifanniarum Omnium Rex" (king of all Hie Britains). That little word "all" seems to mark the distinction between the two last rulers of Great Britain. Queen Victoria was famed for her queenly virtues. She was a mother of Britens. But King Edward, in the linst nine years eclipsed his mother's fame tenfold by the personal magnetism of his humanity. As the clock strikes the hour, so the heart of King Edward beat in unison with the hearts of his people. Their sorrows were .his sorrows; their joys were his joys; tlie.ir problems were his aI«o. The King kept pace with the times. As the colonies advanced, so he advanced in interest and sympathy, until ho bound them together into one mighty realm, over which ho reigned supreme as their Emperor King. No autocrat like the James's ; no profligate like Charles the Second: no man of bias like Cromwell ; he has set his own sign manual upon the British Constitution which history will perpetuate. He Ins passed to .his eternal rest but his memory remains, unit like the transient flash of a meteor, but as a fixed star in the firmament of God. The mother Queen Alexandra, in her hour of bereavement, finds time to send a message to the miners' widows of Whitehaven that "amid her crushing srirrnw she is not insensible to the griefs of others." Supported by Divine Providence, and sustained by the sympathy and prayers of her people, may she be enabled to say in the words of'the Psalmist David:

"Milt now he is dead. wherefore should I fast? ('an 1 bring him hack again? I shall go to liini. hut he shall not rot urn to me.' .May this mournful event mark an epoch in the lives of the children present. First, let it .engender respect. nut only to the dead, but also to the living. When passing a funeral procession, lot the boys doff their raps out of rospocit) to the dead. And when passing the mayor, master or minister, let them raise their caps again out of respect to the living. As the Scripture records : "Honour all men: Love the brotherhood: Fear God: Honour the King." Second. Let them make the most of their time. Cecil "Rhodes, the Empire builder, uttered during his last illness ithese words: "So little done; so much to do." King Edward, shortly before his death said as follows: "T .shall never give in : T shall <ro on to the end." Tn conclusion. King Edward was essentially i religious man. Of his coronation, md the conseouont pomp and pagenntrv displayed, the newspapers added this comment: —"Yeit the predominant feature to all ohs<>rvers was the devotional and religious character of the ceremony.'' "Sunset and evening bell, and after that the (Lark, And may there be no sadness ol farewell When I em hark: For though from out our bourne ot time 4ind place The flood may hear mo l.ar, 1 hope to see my pilot face to face When 1 have cros' the bar." The hymn (ancient and modern 289) "Days and .Moments Quickly Flying," was then sung, iund subsequently .Mr Here Nicholson delivered an .address on helm If of TIT 13 .MAORIS. Dressed in the native costumo of a chief with, koroai and paepaeroa, with feathered head surmounted with a green garland, and waving aloft. <i taiaha, Mr Nicholson in elo-

quetufc phases which diiinmecl many eyes, spoke ot the loyalty ol the Maoris to the British constitution. King Kdward w,as (load. "He is gone," exclaimed the chief, "gome Fo join the kings and queens \v-Im> have fj;ono heforo him." Maoris .'•liriMiiihout all the dominion mourn--1 the late King. They were very much grieved, and they very, much l-niented the Kind's death. because ,'v lived limltM' tho British flag, •■'li'ch gave liberty and justice to M peoples. But Maoris would "icld the same loyalty 'to King r ',[;rg( l as they Intl rendered to his ' Majesty. ' "You have left," lie " claimed, pointing to the assomhl •1 Maoris, "vou have left your ••ibes in sorrow to show your friends M 'at vou do lament with Itliem in 'h. death of a great King mid ;''iHior." . The assembled Maoris then sang j "Lament," aiul the dolofid dirge ■"■uncled strnngp and dramatic, in— t- -rspersed as it was among the needles and plaintive hymns of the -'nrcli. Tho chief's speech was in- '■ ''prated with emotional effect by Vr .T. T?. Maedrtunld. After the address tho popular '-TOi, " Abide With Mo." -wns *• 'ii)o* nnd tlia T?ev. T. F. •Tone l ' "'•'inounced the T? oil edict inn with 'f >ct. The hand then pave.am imrenderinn: the " T)r>nd .v"h " from Raul. tli« cadets ' ' nldpi-pd pi-nis. tho "last oost" •.? cinndprl, niii'l the pa therm rr lted away.