CHAPTER XXI

THE KING AND STATE POLICY

The King has on several occasions, notably in his Message to his People, published on his accession, expressed his resolve to follow in the footsteps of his late deeply-lamented mother in fulfilling the great and sacred responsibilities which at her death he was summoned to undertake. The chief of these responsibilities is that which relates to high State policy, and especially to the intricate and delicate problems arising out of our relations with foreign Powers.

Now, not the least service which Queen Victoria rendered to her people, as Lord Salisbury said in the eloquent tribute which he paid to her memory in the House of Lords, was her constant and rigorous supervision over public affairs. The people saw only the result, the finished policy, associated in their minds with the personality of some popular Minister. What they did not know was how far that policy had been modified, perhaps even completely recast, by the sagacious counsels of their Sovereign, or what pitfalls had been avoided by her warnings, frankly offered, yet never obstinately pressed upon the chosen representatives of her beloved subjects. “Let us have the Queen’s opinion,” said Lord Clarendon, one of the shrewdest of her Foreign Ministers. “It is always worth hearing, even if you do not agree with it.” And Lord Kimberley confessed that when he was at the Foreign Office he had a difference of opinion with Queen Victoria in regard to an important matter. After discussion Her Majesty, though unconvinced, yielded to her Minister; but the event proved that she was right and the Minister wrong.

Such glimpses of the inner working of the great machine of Government illustrate for us the path which King Edward has marked out for himself. Our polity has been called a crowned Republic--a phrase which, in spite of its exaggeration, expresses tersely the fact that the constitutional Sovereign of this realm has constantly to reconcile duties which seem far apart, and even sometimes inconsistent. King Edward succeeds to a Monarchy possessing great theoretical powers, which, however, have been by the slow growth of custom practically restricted to the exercise of an indirect, advisory influence on State affairs, though, as Mr. Balfour said in the House of Commons, this influence shows a tendency to increase rather than to diminish. Queen Victoria was once compared to a Permanent Under-Secretary of State, who sees Ministers come and go, succeed and fail, but himself remains. The comparison is not a bad one, except that the work of a permanent Under-Secretary is confined to one department, whereas the Sovereign is concerned, not only with every branch of the public service, but also with many matters of importance which cannot pass through the hands of any State department.

It is easy to see the great responsibilities, as well as the great opportunities, which are inseparable from the British Crown, and perhaps it is not impertinent to point out how well King Edward VII. is fitted to meet them. The extraordinary tact which characterises His Majesty is most clearly illustrated when we consider his relations towards the policy of the State. There was a time in the history of England when the Prince of Wales allied himself with one of the political parties in the country, and that not the one in which his father had confidence. The tradition of constitutional monarchy established by our late beloved Queen necessarily inaugurated a different _régime_. No political party was ever able honestly to claim the Prince of Wales as an adherent, or even as a platonic sympathiser. On the other hand, not his severest critics ever accused him of apathy to British interests. In that higher sphere of patriotism which rises superior to the din of party politics he thoroughly earned the title of the typical Englishman.

All through the years which succeeded the death of the Prince Consort the Prince of Wales discharged the duties of his position in such a way as to win the confidence of every section of the nation. He included among his friends the principal men of both the great political parties, and with such delicacy of feeling was this done that no one could justly say which he really preferred. Indeed, so nice was his feeling that he was accustomed to distinguish--if he made any distinction at all--those statesmen who happened to be in Opposition at the moment, rather than those who were enjoying the sweets of office.

The King did not escape the penalty of irresponsible gossip. He undoubtedly displayed a great liking for Ireland, and for the Irish people, but it would be absurd to call him on that account a Home Ruler. Similarly, it is an interesting fact that both His Majesty and Queen Alexandra distinguished Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone by some special tokens of friendship, but it is not justifiable on that account to assert that their Majesties are Liberals. The truth is that throughout his career His Majesty has succeeded, while deeply interesting himself in politics, in steering steadily clear of party politics.

It would be wearisome to enumerate all the statesmen and politicians on whom His Majesty has conferred various marks of his favour. Mention may, however, be made of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, for whom he entertains a strong admiration which he has never cared to conceal. Indeed, he removed his own name from the Travellers’ Club when Mr. Rhodes was blackballed--a course which he has never seen fit to take in any other instance.

The political emancipation of the Jews in England evidently had the King’s warm sympathy. It now seems a long time ago since his presence at the marriage of Mr. Leopold de Rothschild caused much satisfaction and some sensation in Jewish circles, for no British prince had visited a synagogue since 1809, when three of the Royal dukes were present at a Jewish service. The Rothschild family have long been among His Majesty’s personal friends, both in England and on the Continent, and among his intimates was the late Baron Hirsch, with whom he stayed in Austria, notwithstanding the intense anti-Semitic prejudices of the Austrian Court. The King has thoroughly studied the question of the Russian Jews, and has interested himself on their behalf in such a way as should earn for him the gratitude of every Jew in Europe and America. Nevertheless His Majesty’s liking for the Chosen People has been sometimes misinterpreted, and ascribed to not very creditable motives. People were at one time fond of saying that the King was up to the neck in debt, but, when the question was directly asked, Sir Francis Knollys replied that the King had no debts worth speaking of, and that he could pay any moment every farthing he owed; also, that there was not a word of truth in the oft-repeated tales of the mortgage on Sandringham, and that the whole story was a fabrication and was on a par with similar tales representing the King as being assisted by financiers of more or less doubtful honesty.

In the sphere of foreign relations His Majesty’s indirect influence has undoubtedly been considerable, though, of course, the time has gone by when dynastic considerations used to dictate the policy of empires. It is well known that his nephew, the Tsar, entertains for him a strong personal regard; while of the feelings which subsist between His Majesty and the Kaiser, the son of his favourite sister, the country has had the most significant illustrations. There can be no doubt, too, about the feelings of esteem which are entertained for His Majesty by the French nation as a whole. Furthermore, the King has always shown his desire to become personally acquainted with the principal statesmen of Europe; and it is probable that few of the men who now control international relations have not at one time or another fallen under the influence of His Majesty’s gracious and winning personality. The sum of all this must count for a good deal in facilitating the conduct of our foreign relations.

For Americans the King has shown a strong liking, but it is absurd to assert that his favour has been confined to those American men and women whose social position has been entirely purchased by their wealth. He has frequently gone out of his way to show special courtesy to distinguished American visitors, whether rich or poor; and the diplomatic representative of the United States in London has always found a specially cordial welcome at Marlborough House. This was particularly the case with James Russell Lowell and with T. F. Bayard. Indeed, it will be remembered that on Mr. Bayard’s giving up the post of American Ambassador, the King broke his rule and accepted Mr. Bayard’s invitation to dinner, thereby paying a signal compliment to the whole American people. The King’s telegram to the _New York World_, during the war-scare which followed President Cleveland’s Venezuelan Message, will be remembered as having done much to calm the public anxiety in both countries.

American women who have married Englishmen can rely on receiving from the King and Queen Alexandra the most tactful consideration and courtesy. This was conspicuously shown in the cases of Lady Harcourt, the daughter of Motley, the great American historian; of Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain; and of the young Duchess of Marlborough.

It is no slight testimony to His Majesty’s political insight that at a time when the Colonies were not fashionable, and when they were actually regarded as a source of weakness rather than of strength to the Mother Country, he did all that he could--so far as the traditional restrictions of his position would allow--to foster a different view of Britain’s relations with her daughter-States. Since those days he exerted himself to promote the success of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition; and his interest in the Empire was yet more strikingly demonstrated in the foundation of the Imperial Institute. His Majesty’s gracious Message to his People Beyond the Seas further illustrates his interest in his Colonial dominions, but assuredly the crowning testimony is his consent to part with his son and his daughter-in-law for many months that they might inaugurate the Australian Federal Parliament and visit the other important States of the Empire.

His Majesty’s interest in India, too, is strong, and his knowledge of Indian affairs is very wide. Every new book of any importance which is published on any Indian subject is added to His Majesty’s library, which is by this time extremely rich in works relating to the vast Eastern territories over which he is now Emperor. His Majesty’s visit to these great kingdoms and provinces, to which he made graceful allusion in his Message “to the Princes and Peoples of India,” was paid at the express wish of his mother, who saw with characteristic foresight how valuable it would be in promoting peace and conciliation among the various creeds and races of Hindustan.