THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 9, 1910. OUR LATE KING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10039, 9 May 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 9, 1910. OUR LATE KING.

I "The King died at midnight." Such was the brief message received on Saturday last that conveyed with painful suddenness to this far distant part of the British Empire the sad intelligence that his august Majesty King Edward VII. had passed away. ;vln the death of our late King the Empire has not only suffered a serious gloss, but the whole world; is the fpoorer by the untoward 'event that |has come to pass. It is traditional Ithat the King of England should be

"the first gentleman of Europe," (but of no English King has the title |beeu truer than of the late King. |But he possessed not only personal Equalities of a very high and lovable [character, but he was, also, a diplloxiatist, a statesman, and a humanitarian of wide breadth of thought rand great kindliness of disposition, jjfclo was a King not merely officially, but in actual fact—a kingly man. In the Old Country the sad event is probably more keenly Realised than in some the remote parts oi the Empire, but there is no cummunit? that does not feel that a benefactor! to his race, a protector and a humHi>| ist has gone. There have been King 1

in the history of England, who were| scarcely more than figureheads, but® King Edward was endowed with the] ■qualities of a statesman. Apart, howlever, from natural ability the secret [of the fame that he achieved lay in fhis devotion to duty. No "Nelson" [has been more devoted to the sacredfness ot duty, been no King, |who has thought more or worked har|der for the welfare of his people. A *>ery vivid example of these facts is 'given in the cable message relating i Ithat though the doctors urged the® iKing to Keep his room, His Majesty® linsisted on going to his business® Broom on Thursday last, and giving anl iaudience to Lord Islington, New! SZealand'a new Governor, and to Mr IT. D. Robinson, who brought a IQueensland Jubilee Souvenir. Littrlaliy a dying man, His Majesty conitinued to transact affairs of State — ratruly a most noble example of de||votion to duty, and one tuat every Baubjict in the Empire should enndeavGur to emulate. Although good Hdeeds and notable actions cluster Bround the name of the late King Hjhe will be known in future history® las "Edward—The Peacemaker" —a|| gjnuble title that he earned as a diplo H S natist of the highest capacity. With® Knonsummate abilitv —and due to HomelS Pextent ip the tact that he |iii a marvellous degree—his late!® H Majesty was largely instrumental® I with others in averting from his be-g| H loved Empire, the awful carnage 1 misery, inseparable from a greatffl j| European war. Although the late a King was an Imperialist in the trur 1 est sense ot the word, his humane | and Christian disposition impelled | him to fight strenuously for the I nause of -peace, knowing as he did, J and as, also, did his illustrious

I father before him, that "peace hath her victories no less renowned than war." The view that he took was clearly expressed in March last when his late Majesty, in receiving an ecclesiastical deputation, said that the Christian influence led increa-| creasingly to an inculcation of a lovei of peace. "Upon peace, ' said King! Edward, "the health, happiness and! material progress of all nations de-| pend," and Hia Majesty added, "It! is my constant prayer that tbiss country may be tpared the perils and| miseries ot war, which in this sxod-| jam age must involve the ruin off [millions." The removal by death! [from the arena of European politics Lf so remarkable and astute a diploImatist v?ill certainly add to the unleasiness in the minds of m?ny in regard to British and German relationships. It is, perhaps, in this direction that the great severity of the blow that has befallen the Empire Lay be felt. But Death enters the palace and the; cottage alike, none can say him nay; and though w,e may not always be able to detect the guiding hand in the scheme of things as they are yet it is our duty to go forward doing our utmost while hoping for the best. The memory that the late King has left behind is one of cheerful steadfastness and devotion to every cause that makes for the welfare of the people. His acts of charity and benevolence in regard to the domestic affairs of the innumerable, but as a home ruler the name of the deceased monarch will, perhaps, be most chiefly associated with the encouragement and liberal assistance that he gave to those engaged in endeavouring to subdue those two great scourges of the human race—cancer and consumption. Of his acts in these alone much could be written, but 'Kings are like stars—they rise and set —they have The worship £of the world, but no repose."