DEATH OF THE DUKE OF CLARENCE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2307, 19 January 1892, Page 4

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF CLARENCE.

London, Jan. 14. The official account of the death of the D ll.e of Clarence and Avondalo states t lat after a marked improvement in the e »rly part of the night, the prince's s rengih .suddenly failed about 2 a.m.. an I that he gradually sank and died at 9.15 a.m. He died while unconscious, in t le presence of his father and mother, who hid never left his bedside, his brother, Prince' George, and his sisters, Princess L >aiae (Duchess of Fife), Victoria, and Maud, the Duke of Fife, and Princess Mary of Teck, hiß betrothed. He was nursed thrpxighout his illneis by his mother and the Princess Mary, to whom h 9 was betrothed, assisted by two nursing Bisters. There was general consternation when the news of the death became known. Hundreds of people are signing the callers' book at Marlborough House. The bells in London are muffled and all fligs are at half-mast. Profound grief is ■ universally expressed in the city at the untimely death of the young prince. The L>rd Mayor ? upon hearing the news, i umediately directed the belte of St. Paul's to be tolled, and summoned a meeting of the corporation. All social gatheri igs are cancelled and the theatres closed. Tiie Lord Mayor, replying to the Prince of Wales' official telegram announcing tiie sad event, expressed the sympathy of tie citizens of London with the Royal family. Cablegrams are already arriving from ail parts of the world. The Queen is prostrated and the Prince of Wales a >pears terribly crushed by the blow. The Princess of Wales is overwhelmed. The judges in the law courts took occasion t > express their sympathy. To-day the ■huttera are closed and the blinds down in all public buildings. The whole country is deeply moved by the sudden death of the young Duke under such circumstances. His Eminence Cardinal Manning, when dying, hearing that the Duke of Clarence and Avondale was a little better, thanked God for the improvement in the young, Priuce's health; His Eminence was deeply interested in his illness. All European royalties have sent message* of condolence to the bereaved family. The Viceroy of India and His Holiness the Pope sent messages of condolence, an< similar telegrams are being received from ail parts of the world. Canada will proclaim a funeral day to go into mourning. ;I Jan. 16. The remains of the Duke of Clarence an.i Avondale will arrive at Windsor on Tuesday, and the funeral will take place on Wednesday with full military honors The precedent of the death of the Duke of Albany (fourth son of the Queeti) in 1384 is being followed. The order of the procession iu London has not yet been decided on. Masonic emblems have beei. placed on the coffin. Demonstrations oi Bympathy and mourning are universal throughout the Empire. The comment* of.the French press note the national loyalty displayed. Princess Victoria deceased's sister, has decorated his room with white flowers. The Princess Mary, who was to have married the Duke oi Clarence, clings to his body wringing her bauds and calling " Oh, Eddie, Eddie.. speak to me." Her condition is causing s inie anxiety, and all the efforts of the family to calm her have so far proved unavailing. The Princess of Wales if very ill, requiring the services of physicians. Colonel Cornwallis West suggests that the money intended to be spent on wedding presents should be devoted to a national dower to deceased's betrothed.

Ten thousand people called at Marlborough House on Thursday, expressing sympathy with the Prince and Princess of Wales. A number of foreign Princes, including Prince Henry of Prussia, with a detachment of the Blucher Hussars, and the Grand Duke George (second son of 'the Czar) will afcttond the funeral. A memorial service will be held in St. Paul's Cathedral simultaneously with the funeral.

i'lie Agents-General of Canada, Australasia, and Africa, have forwarded to the Prince and Princess of Wales a mes--8 ige expressing sympathy, also a wreath suitably ■' inscribed, to be placed on the coffin.

The Court will go into full mourning until the sth February, and into half mourning from then until the 26th February, The public mourning will be for three weeks, and the army and navy six weeks, and foreign courts for a fortnight. The Queen warmly acknowledges the sympathetic messages from the President of France and the foreign courts. Her Majesty proceeds to Windsor on Tuesday. Mr Gladstone, who is absent in the Riviera, sent to the Prince and Princess of Wales a long telegram expressing sympathy. The shops are full of articles of mourning. Public engagements of all kinds have been cancelled, and the Prince and Princess of Wales have cancelled theirs for six months. The theatres and public buildings will bs closed on the day of the funeral, which day will be one of national mourning. The Princess Mary announces that she is deeply touched at the tender sympathy expressed. Her Majesty the Queen will attend the funeral if permitted by her medical Advisers. Sydney, J, n. 17. Special services have been held in the churches as a mark of respect to the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, and the majority of the buildings were draped in black. The military will wear a badge of mo'irning for three months. The news of the death of the Duke of Clarence vi as received with marked regret throughout Australia. The New South Wales Parliament have adjourned on account of the sad event. Muffled peals were rung in Adelaide. Melbourne, Jan, 16. The day fixed for the funeral of the Duke of Clarence will be declared a day of general mourning. Wellington, Jan. 16. : A district order has been issued by Lieutenant-Colonel Newall announcing t> colonial forces, with deep regret, the death of the I uka of Clarence, and calling upon all volunteers to -,vear mourning when in uniform, for a period of two months. The Government do not intend to proclaim a day of mourning for the Duke of Clarence, but minute guns will be fired on the day of the funeral,

Christchuch, Jan. 17. The mayor of Christchurch cabled to ' he Prince of Wales re the death of the Duke of Clarence :—" Citizens deplore ;reat loss to Empire. General grief and ympathy manifest." The Right Worshirful District Grand Master of Canterbury, E.C., Bro. P. Cunningham, has cabled to the Prince of Wales an expression of sympathy and regret from the Masons of Canterbury, under the English Constitution, at the death of their late Bro. the Duke of Clarence, P.W.G.M. for Oxfordshire. The Masonic Lodges in Otago go into mourning foi three months.

The Cathedral wa< draped in mounnvu for the Duke of Clarence to-day. The fun-Tal march was played in the afternoon and special anthems were sung. The services at other churches bore reference to the Duke's death. Dunemn, Jan. 16. Replying to an address presented by the Borough Council of Queenstown Lord Onslow said that the sympathy which all felt for those suffering from bereavement was intensified when the blow fell on an aged Sovereign Lady, who who was in the full hope of contemplating in a few weeks the happy marriage of her heir to one of the most amiable and gifted of English princesses. Though Her Majesty was blessed with a large family the loss of a dearly loved grand child in the full promise of early manhood and on the threshold of married happiness would bring a thrill of sympathetic sorrow to every maternal breast. ST. SAVIOUR'S CHURCH, TEMUKA. On Sunday last special prayers were offered in St. Saviour's Church on behalf of the Queen and Royal Family in their bereavement by the death of the Duke of Clarence. The sanctuary was draped in black, relieved only by a few white flowers on the Communion table. Funeral hymns were sung, and a the close of the service the " Dead March in Saul " was played. A brief but touching address was given by the incumbent from the words "My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest." Exodus xxxiii., 14. The day, he said, was one of national mourning and weeping for the <ad deatli of the Duke of Clarence. Throughout Christendom prayers would oe ottered up on that day tor the Queen uid Royal Family that God's presence would be with them in their sorrow, and that the divine comfort would bring peace and give resignation to their hearts. Death was the common lot of humanity, and visited alike the palace and tiie cottage. The Queen herself felt for the sorrows of her subjects irrespective of class distinction. When her great sorrow fell upon her she said " I nave after all mly to suffer what many a poor woman to-night must endure." The preacher chen applied the text personally. The sympathy of friends was a great deal, but when we realised our Saviour's sympathy and the reality of the divine presence iii sorrow and temptation, what strength, what solace there was in the thought, rle would give "rest "to the forgiven aoul, not merely to dream of heaven and to pass the time singing "'Tis weary waiting here," but to engage in active work for Christ. So long as there was sickness, and sin, and poverty, and misery in the world, Christian men and womejn might enjoy His presence here in working unselfishly for others and to make His world happier and better, going about among men with faces shining as Moses' did when he came out from the Mount and from speaking to his God. The best part of Heaven is the presence of God, end if we serve Him truly we have it already here. That God's presence would guide and protect them through life, and bring them safely through the " valley of the shadow of death" was his earnest prayer. A special service was also held in St. John's, Winchester, in the evening, when the same sermon was preached.