CRISIS BETWEEN KING AND CABINET

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 301, 4 December 1936, Page 5

CRISIS BETWEEN KING AND CABINET

SUGGESTION Of MARRIAGE WITH MRS. SIMPSON. •• GOVERNMENT'S COUNSEL REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN REFUSED. ■ EVIDENCE OF GREAT EXCITEMENT IN ENGLAND. i""''Following suggestions that King Edward wishes to marry Mri? Ernest Simpson, a Cabinet crisis of unprecedented character has arisen in England. * Last night’s cables went so far as to suggest that the King might abdicate, but to-day’s news, while indicating a state of great excitement in England, is calmer in tone. It is believed that the real crisis is still to come, but there are hopes of a happy solution. Last night it was reported that Mr. Baldwin, with the support of both sides of the House, offered the King certain advice which King Edward is said to have refused to accept, j Mr. Baldwin, according to this morning’s cables, was reticent in the House at question-time, but will make a statement as soon as possible.

NEWSPAPER VIEWS.

' it . ■■ Comments By The English , , f Press. i - At a late hour last night, little definit«4nformation concerning the King’s marriage plans were contained in the cables. Most of the news were editorial comment by the leading English papers. Although rumour and gossip have, for some time, been rife both in England and America, there has up till now been little comment in the English Press. That is due neither to lack of public, anxiety nor to. any. form of pressure upon the newspapers, but simply to common self-restraint inspired by the hope that some authoritative act or statement would,,enable him to end it once and for all. As The Times says:— “Thia ,18 plainly necessary now, for otherwise the, cumulative effect of this campaign. of, scandal will be serious damage to the monarchy.” ,--A summary of the most important newspaper, comment is as follows:

A Constitutional Crisis. "Nothing will be gained by minimising the'friagnltude of the constitutional crisis that has arisen over the King's alleged desire to marry Mrs. Ernest Simpson, an American who has

been twice married, and matters affecting his private life on which the Cabinet felt It necessary to tender advice which the King regarded as an intrusion into his private affairs,” saya'the. .Daily Mail in a leading article. “The matter was not perhaps handled with all the delicacy and tact called for, but the whole Empire is looking anxiously to the King and the Government to solvo a problem unprecedented in our history, for a solution must be found.” “It can no longer be concealed that a constitutional crisis confronts the Cabinet,” says the Manchester Guardian.

j . Position of Cabinet. The Political correspondent of the Daily Telegraph says:—‘The Cabinet has been- compelled to face .the most delicate arid most difficult situation in connection with the-King’s private life. It may be assumed that the sub'lept ;ol •Mr. Baldwin’s iptepview with the King this evening advice which the Cabinet felt it necessary to tehder His Majesty.” It- is understood Mr. Baldwin informed the King that unless he accepted the Cabinet’s advice the Cabinet ;would resign, says the Dally Mail. The Prime Minister was also in a position to inform the King that should His Majesty call on the Socialist Opposition to form a Government that party would not accept the mandate. According to the Daily Mail, the King refused to accept the Cabinet’s guidance.

Respect for the Queen. “The personality of the Queen of England is obviously a matter of great importance to both Britain and to the Empire, for if the monarchy is to persist as a symbol of the unity of the British people’s loyalty to the Throne they must maintain a great element of personal respect for those sitting on the Throne,” says the News Chronicle in a leading article. “The public would wish to see the King marry, and if possible marry an Englishwoman. There are many who would not desire to see as Queen of England a woman who had previously been married. There are also some who would object to an American citizen occupying that high rank. The Cabinet must take the responsibility for expressing to the King the public opinion on these points, but if the decision is adverse, and if the King is sufficiently in love to persist in his intention, the public would, we think, wish he should marry’ the woman of his choice; but in his capacity of Duke of Cornwall his wife’s position would then be that of the King’s Consort and not the Queen of England. Who Shall Be Queen?

The News-Chronicle comments that the issue raised is whether the lady in question is a suitable person to be Queen of England and whether this is a matter to be decided iby the King himself or by the Government as the mouthpiece of public opinion. “The answer to this question should not ibe difficult. It is for the King to say, like every other man, who shall be his life partner. ■ It is for Parliament to say who shall be Queen of England, and to regulate the succession to the Throne. If the King has the right to make his own decision on the first point, it is indisputable that he must fall in with the advice of his Ministers on a constitutional issue such as that involved in the second.” “The King may marry whom he pleases,” says the Daily Mail, “but it is Parliament’s duty to decide who shall be Queen and who shall succeed to the Throne. Thus the King would obtain the consort of his choice, but any issue of the marriage would be excluded from succession.

“Imperial Call.” “An act of abdication at such a time would fill the hearts of millions of the King’s loyal subjects with the deepest sorrow,” says the Daily Mail. “No such calamitous step need or should be taken. IMuch depends on the King, for by the effect of the Statute of Westminster he is the lynchpin of the Empire and the sole link between the Mother Country and the Dominions. When such is the position there is every confidence among his wide and varied peoples that he will answer the Imperial call in the same splendid manner as he has so often in the past. Certainly in this supreme moment the whole nation will unite in prayer that His Majesty and his Ministers may reach a solution of the grave problem with which they are confronted and thus avert a catastrophe.” The political correspondent of the Daily Mail says it is understood Mr. Baldwin during his audience with His Majesty stressed the gravity of tiie situation of the Crown as affecting national and Imperial interests at a critical moment in international affairs. It is reported that the Ministers had had to pay particular attention to reports from some Dominion Governments stating frankly their attitude to His Majesty’s rumoured projects.

Mr. Baldwin declared that in the Cabinet’s opinion the King's wisest course now was to announce publicly that he does not propose to marry. Responsibility of King. The Daily Telegraph in a leadingarticle says the King “will not choose for himself alone, but also for the monarchj’ and the Empire. For the (Continued on Page 6.)