“ OUR RICHARD.”
“ GREATER THAN PRINCES.” j The Auckland Herald’s London correspondent .writes under date August 28 ‘•Many New Zealanders have long been in the habit ol calling their Premier ‘ King Dick.’ These .will perhaps be surprised" to learn that ■they have apparently been, taken seriously by .the London press ; at least I can only, account in this way, for a somewhat singular phenomenon that lias come under my, notice. Last week,; when our late lamented Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, lay, at the point of death, the customary, courteous and kindly and sympathetic inquiries .were duly made as to li s condition. They were recorded in certain ol the daily papers in the following order of precedence (1) His Majesty King Edward VII., (2) the Right Hon, R, J* Seddon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, (3) I-lis Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, (4) His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, Then followed the names of other members of the' Royal Family and various archbishops. dukes, bishops, the Lord Chancellor, and numerous- judges. No, 1 am not joking ; the facts are simply as I have stated them. This week, on the melancholy news of Lord Salisbury’s death being announced, many, illustrious persons transmitted to the sorrowing family messages of regret and respectful sympathy. Once more His Majesty the King and Emperor Edward VII. came first, and Richard I, o£ New Zealand—otherwise Mr Seddon—immediately followed, a good second. Third came I-ler Majesty the Queen of Portugal, and then such mere common folk as the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught, and other members of the Royal Family brought up the rear as a rather -inferior kind of “tail'” to the “team.” Now, of course, I am not so unjust or so unreasonable as to attribute this most remarkable “ order of precedence ” to Mr Seddon himself. lam quite sure that he neither suggested nor dreamed of such an order of precedence being adopted, and I am equally certain that his message was everything that it should have been, alike in good feeling and in good taste. I merely record the order in which some of the leading journals of London deemed it right and proper to place the illustrious personages whose names or titles I have mentioned,”
Our readers will remember vididly that the present fiscal agitation now pervading British politics sprang •from Mr Chamberlain’s denouncement of Germany’s attack upon Canada and his advocacy of-fiscal independence for the United Kingdom so that she might defend her colonics against foreign commercial attack. Mr Balfour has adopted the policy of retaliation, and will stake upon it the existence of his Cabinet. When the question is foright out, the Conservative-Unionist Government empowered by the British electors will only hold office if Parliament is “to negotiate with other nations upon an equality.” This may seem to those of our colonists who arc not acquainted with the ‘ tenacious adherence of the United Kingdom to the dogmas of free trade to he but a small .thing .and', to. mark hut an insignificant step towards preferential trade. But those British politicians, friendly and antagonistic, who see in such a departure from “tariff for revenue only” the undermining of the entire fiscal policy of the United Kingdom are well within the probabilities. For when once the Government of the United Kingdom enters into international commercial questions with a free hand, able to give blow for blow, concession for concession, ioodstufis alone excluded, ft must draw nearer and nearer, commercially, with the colonies whose fiscal preferences will soon be in operation all along the line. And in the meantime, Mr Chamberlain is hard at work, the Colonial Office—which lie vacated—prophetically declared by Mr Balfour to he one which “ another might occupy, but none coiuld fi11..--N.Z,- Herald,
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Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 1017, 9 October 1903, Page 1
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625“ OUR RICHARD.” Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 1017, 9 October 1903, Page 1
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