THE news of the passing away of King George was announced to the nation as we went to press and we were thus prevented from making mention of an event of such importance to British subjects throughout the Empire. The departed Monarch, as lately as May, celebrated the completion of twenty-five years reign on the British throne. It was one of the stormiest periods in British history and it is to the credit of the King that through all the storms he conducted himself with rare wisdom and in strict accordance with all that was required of him as a constitutional ruler. His patience in the face of much to cause irritation; his calmness at critical moments in the nation’s history and his sympathy with his people in their sorrows did much to win the loyalty of his people so that he died universally regretted. He will not probably be accorded such an honoured place as that given to his father, King Edward VII., and his distinguished grandmother, Queen Victoria, but he possessed qualities of mind that carried him through difficulties where their stronger wills and more aggressive methods might have set the fires of revolution burning as fiercely as they did in continental countries. This is not the place to heap honours upon the departed Monarch but an event of so much importance to those over whom he ruled cannot be overlooked. The Georgian period will go down to history as one of the most critical in our long history. Were it nothing but the Great War itself when blood was poured forth like water the period from 1910 to 1936 will have an ever memorable, if sad place, in the annals of Britain. The General Strike also was big with disaster for there can be no doubt the nation was on the verge of revolution—a revolution from which God in His mercy saved us. Then came the economic crisis so far reaching and so crushing in its incidence. Dynasties centuries old came tumbling down and occupants of thrones found themselves forced to flee to foreign countries for refuge. While paying tribute to the many fine qualities of King George, we would, above all, seek to give the chief glory to God for His kindness to us as a people in the midst of deserved wrath. Kings, like ordinary mortals, have to go when the inevitable hour comes and King George, like the beggar that passed his palace gates, had to obey God’s summons. There is something very impressive in the press accounts of the death-bed scene—distinguished physicians standing around the royal bed but utterly helpless to save Britain’s King from the hands of death. It is true of kings as of others that it is appointed to all men to die. While many things have been reported in the press to the late King’s credit, such as his daily reading of the Bible, yet one regrets his association with horse-racing (though it was reported that he objected to gambling and betting in connection with the same); his manner of observing the Lord’s Day also was not all that could be wished for. It is not to be forgotten that it was during his reign that the Accession Declaration was changed—a change which weakened its Protestant testimony.
The sympathy of the whole Nation was extended to Queen Mary and the Royal Family in their sorrow.