purpose by the Pope or any other authority or person whatsoever; and without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man of any part thereof, although the Pope or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, should dispense with or annul the same or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.

The antiquated phraseology and vehement assertion of this utterance still had many friends in Canada, however. Mr. S. H. Blake, K.C., the enthusiastic Toronto opponent of Higher Criticism and ritualism in any form, wrote vigorously against a change. He quoted alleged oaths denouncing Protestants and Protestantism and claiming for the Pope supremacy over Kings and Peoples which were said to be taken by the Jesuit Order and by Roman Catholic Bishops in Quebec and asked that, if the King's Oath were altered, these others should also be changed. This contention the Orange Sentinel strongly urged. Denials of the accuracy of the alleged Oaths were prompt and authoritative but they found a permanent place, none-the-less, in the controversy of the time. Dr. T. S. Sproule, M.P., Grand Master of the Orange Order in British America claimed, officially, (Sentinel, May 19) that "as this Declaration or Oath was the product of the wisdom and best judgment of the ablest statesmen of the age in which it was devised and intended for a definite and well understood purpose, which the experience of history proved was necessary, I see no justifiable reason why it should be amended in any particular and I think the Imperial Parliament would be well advised to leave it alone. By this Confession of Faith which every King must take, it was not, I assume, and is not intended as an insult to any religion, or religious denomination, but a declaration of the religious belief of the individual taking it, and, therefore, only concerned himself, and the evidence which he was bound to give to the nation that his religious faith complied with the obligations of the constitution he was bound to maintain as its head." He also made the singular statement that "the British Empire is a Protestant nation "-an Empire of 12,000,000 Roman Catholics, 50,000,000 Mohammedans, 200,000,000 of mixed Eastern faiths and many millions of varied religions!

This general position was endorsed by petitions, initiated by Mr. H. C. Hocken, Editor of the Orange Sentinel, and addressed to the King, which totalled 28,000 in number. They asked for the retention of the present form of Declaration as safe-guarding the Protestant Succession and preserving the religious independence of the Empire. The Toronto Globe replied to these and other contentions (May 13) as follows: "The fear of the prosecution of Protestants by a Roman Catholic King, or of the prosecution of Roman Catholics by a Protestant King, is a thing of the past. No Protestant possessed of a gentlemanly respect for fellowcitizens of another faith thinks it necessary to require a Coronation Oath in terms offensive to Roman Catholics as a means of pre

venting concealed leanings toward Roman Catholicism on the part of the Sovereign."

To the London Tablet on May 19 Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada, said: "No man who has the cause of Imperial Federation really at heart, no man who ever dreams of drawing closer the ties binding the scattered units of the Empire, can possibly wish to hear King George at the beginning of his reign repeat the words of the Royal Declaration." In Montreal the Catholic teachers of the City asked by Resolution for the removal of all offensive words from the Declaration; at Sydney, N.S., on Aug. 15, the Ancient Order of Hibernians of the Maritime Provinces passed a Resolution declaring that "this Convention highly approves and commends the action of His most Gracious Majesty King George V. in his effective endeavours for the modification of the obnoxious Coronation Oath."

The settlement of the issue came when Mr. Premier Asquith in the House of Commons, on June 28, presented a new Declaration to be substituted for the old one which, by the way, both Peers and Commoners had to take for many years as well as the Sovereign. It was in the following terms and passed the first stage by 383 to 42 votes; the second reading by 400 to 84; the third reading by 245 to 52: "I do solemnly and sincerely, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare that I am a faithful member of the Protestant Reformed Church by law established in England, and I will, according to the true intent of the enactments to secure the Protestant succession to the Throne of this realm, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my powers according to law." The measure passed the Lords without opposition and the Archbishop of Canterbury admitted that he had shared in drafting the new Declaration, while the Earl of Crewe spoke of Lord Grey's interest in the change on behalf of 2,250,000 Catholics in Canada and referred to another million in Australia as welcoming the alteration.

and Early Policy of

King George

In assuming the burden of his high position and Accession, manifold duties King George V. had the disadvanCharacteristics tage of succeeding to a great monarch; he had the advantage of having been trained in statecraft, diplomacy, and the science and practice of government, by a 'master in the art. He was young in years-only 45-strong, so far as was known, in body and health, equipped with a vigorous intelligence and wide experience of home and European politics and, what was of special importance at the time of his accession, instinct with Imperial sentiment and acquainted, practically and personally, with the politics and leaders of every country in the British Empire-notably India, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. He was not known to the public as a man of genial temperament but rather as a strong, reserved, quiet thinker and student of men and conditions.

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Great patience and considerable tact, common-sense and natural ability, eloquence in speech and fondness for home life and outdoor sports, he had shown as Prince of Wales or Duke of Cornwall. He had seen much service in the Royal Navy and was understood to be devotedly attached to the wide spaces of the boundless seas while his Consort, Queen Mary, was beautiful, kindly, and graceful in bearing, with a profound sense of the importance of her place and duties and a sincere belief in the beneficence and splendid mission of British power.

The Prince of Wales became, of course, King at the moment of his Father's death; on May 7, His Majesty's first speech to his Privy Council, when he signed the proclamation relating to the Accession and accepted an oath of fealty from the Lords and Gentlemen assembled, was sympathetic in spirit and indicative of a genuine sense of his new and onerous responsibilities: "In this irreparable loss, which has so suddenly fallen upon me and the whole Empire, I am comforted by the feeling that I have the sympathy of my future subjects, who will mourn with me for their beloved Sovereign, whose own happiness was found in sharing and promoting theirs. I have lost not only a Father's love, but the affectionate and intimate relations of a dear friend and adviser. Standing here, a little more than nine years ago, our beloved King declared that so long as there was breath in his body he would work for the good and amelioration of his subjects. I am sure that the opinion of the whole nation will be that this declaration has been fully carried out. To endeavour

to follow in his footsteps, and at the same time uphold the constitutional government of these realms, will be the earnest object of my life." To the British Army and the Royal Navy, to Parliament and the Princes and Peoples of India, other addresses were issued permeated with a sense of high responsibility and instinct with determination to carry on the work of his Father. "To my People beyond the Seas," King George on May 24, issued a characteristic Message:

The innumerable messages of kindness from my loyal subjects beyond the Seas have deeply touched my heart, and have assured me that I have in full measure their sympathy in the great trial which has befallen me and them, that my sorrow is their sorrow, that we share a common loss. The happiness of all his peoples throughout his Dominions was dear to the heart of my beloved Father. For them he lived and worked, in their service he died, and I cannot doubt that they will hold his name in grateful remembrance. I am now called to follow in his footsteps and carry on the work which has prospered in his hands. As a sailor I have been brought into constant touch with the Overseas Dominions of the Crown and I have personally realized the affectionate loyalty which holds together many lands and diverse peoples in one glorious fellowship. Nine years ago I travelled through the Empire, accompanied by my dear wife, and had the late King lived we should together, at his expressed wish, have visited South Africa in the coming Autumn to open the first Parliament of the South African Union, the latest and greatest evidence of that peace and harmony which my Father ever loved to promote. It will be

my earnest endeavour to uphold constitutional government and to safeguard in their fulness the liberties which are enjoyed throughout my dominions, and under the good guidance of the Ruler of all men, I will maintain upon the foundation of freedom, justice and peace the great heritage of the United British Empire.

Meanwhile, and everywhere in Canada, the career and characteristics of the new King were discussed with a freedom typical of the country. Here and there in the press were quoted malicious rumours and gossip coming overseas via the United States newspapers but, with practically no exception, the editorial opinion of Canada was not only loyal in a general sense but kindly and sympathetic in a personal one. To those who, in all countries, delight in gossip and insinuations, the published eulogies of a Radical such as W. T. Stead were significant; to most Canadians the words used by the Rev. Father Vaughan in addressing the Empire Club, Toronto, on Sept. 15, were conclusive: "In King George and Queen Mary we have good rulers of the people, fine leaders of society. They are devoted to their home, true to one another, interested in every part of the Empire over which they rule. The King knows his Empire better than any Sovereign before him. He comes to us as fresh as a sea breeze." In the House of Lords on May 11, Lord Crewe, as Government Leader, moved the Address of condolence and loyalty and in doing so said: "His Majesty is well known to many of us. We know that he was brought up plainly and simply in an ideal English home. He has enjoyed, what by common consent I think we all regard as, the best early education and training that a man can have in the British nation. He has enjoyed the incalculable benefit of continued close association with his illustrious Father and I do not think that the paternal and filial relation has ever been more happily exemplified than in the case of His late Majesty and the present King. By his side he has in his gracious Consort one whom we know will help him to bear the glorious burden of the British Monarchy."

Meantime, on the 9th, King George had been proclaimed King, for the first time in British history, of not only the United Kingdom but of British Dominions beyond the Seas. The Imperial idea was widely discussed in this connection. Lord Curzon anticipated a time when the new Emperor of India would visit his Dominions in the East; The Times expressed the hope that King George would be able to visit his greater Dominions overseas. This wish found wide expression in Canada and many editorials were published urging one prospective event or another as worthy of a State visit from the Sovereign-including the final ceremonies of the National Transcontinental Railway, the celebration of Winnipeg's Centennial, the marking of 100 years of peace between the United States Republic and the British Empire. More varied in tone, though not more numerous, were

the articles written upon the King's possible intervention in, and his assumed opinions of, the political crisis in Great Britain. Very largely these comments were along the party lines of the Old Country, though, in the main, expressing confidence in the King's personal and constitutional sense; occasionally, they were influenced by the extraordinary or sensational rumours cabled to certain United States newspapers.

Incidents developed rapidly after King Edward's Funeral. The Queen Mother's pathetic letter of thanks to the Nation for its sympathy; the retention of Lord Knollys, with Sir Arthur Bigge, as one of the new King's Private Secretaries; the Parliamentary arrangement of a Civil List under similar conditions and reaching almost identical figures to that granted King Edward in 1901$3,170,000 per annum as compared with $3,105,000; the introduction and approval of a Regency Bill in Parliament making Queen Mary Regent should the demise of the Crown occur while the Prince of Wales was a minor; were incidents of the time. In Canada King George early showed a pronounced interest. Shortly before his Accession he had contributed $2,500 to the Archbishop of Canterbury's Fund for Western Missions; on July 14 he sent a kindly message of sympathy in connection with the Campbellton fire sufferers; on Sept. 5, His Majesty expressed much pleasure and satisfaction in reply to the cablegram of loyalty from the Eucharistic Congress at Montreal; a week later he was receiving Sir Henry Pellatt and a detachment of the Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto at Balmoral and sending a cable to the Governor-General which described the British visit of these troops as "a good augury of the future of the Imperial Army." Similarly the King welcomed, by a special despatch, the arrival in England of the Winnipeg contestants for Henley honours.

The personal feelings and convictions of the King himself were well put at this time in reply to various public Addresses. To one of these from the Church of England His Majesty said: "The foundations of national glory are set in the homes of the people and will remain unshaken only while the family life of our race and nation is strong, simple and pure." To another he said: "I desire to promote the peace and unity of nations, to second all efforts for the alleviation of sickness and suffering and to support every wise and well-considered scheme for the public good. I am encouraged in all this by your good wishes and prayers for God's blessing on all my endeavours and am fortified by the belief that the ends we pursue in harmony with the teachings of the Church, will be achieved only while we seek in faith and humility that perfect standard of conduct and sacrifice revealed to Christian

men.

In connection with the coming Coronation changes were early suggested in the King's titles with a view to still more closely