Reviews
| Published date | 01 January 1928 |
| Date | 01 January 1928 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1928.tb02325.x |
Reviews
[It
will be the object
of
the Reviews of
Books
in the
JOURNAL
to cover the
whole
ground
of
the literature produced
in
the preceding quarter
which
may have
a
bearing upon public administration.
By
this
means,
it
is
hoped, some assistance
wfi
be given
to
the student and
some
direction
to
the general reader.
A
judgment
of
the
value
of
the
books
will
be attempted,
as
a
portion
of
the ordinary duty
of
criticism, but the particular value
of
the book in
its
relation to
the
advance
of
the science
of
public administration will be regarded
as
the paramount criterion.]
BIOGRAPHY-POLITICS
I
King
Edward
VII
:
A
Biography
By
SIR
SIDNEY
LEE.
Vol.
11.
The Reign,
22nd
January. 1901, to
6th
hIay,
Iris
much to be regretted that Sir Sidney Lee died before he had brought
to
a
complete conclusion his
Life
of
King
Edward
VII,
but,
as
the intro-
duction to this volume tells
us,
he had collected
“
almost
all
the material
necessary for the compilation of the second volume. He had sorted and
classified this material
;
he had planned
all
the chapters and sections
;
and he had written considerable portions of his final narrative.” In
addition to this he had embodied the conclusions he had arrived
at
in
memoranda and had personally communicated to those to whom he
bequeathed it, his opinions and desires. This volume therefore
is
in
effect to
a
great extent his work. Recognition
of
this must not prevent
us
from recognizing the admirable manner in which
Mr.
Markham and
his
assistants have done what is always
a
very difficult task, that of
completing
a
book
begun by some one else. In many ways indeed this
volume
is
a
great improvement on its predecessor
;
it
is more tightly
knit
together; the style
is
less cumbersome; there are fewer
of
the
unnecessary dissertations
on
matters
of
common knowledge. Something
indeed
of
this we still have, especially in the first chapter
;
it was surely
unnecessary in introducing the subject
of
the relations between the King
and
Mr.
Chamberlain, to give
a
formal character sketch
of
the latter
ending with the remarkable sentence
:
“
The King
was
attracted
by
this
scintillating product
of
the Midlands.” But we have comparatively
little of
this
sort
of
thing.
To
a
large extent this is obviously accounted for
by
the great mass of
material which has
to
be dealt with, and the interest and the importance
of the narrative. Naturally enough
in
this volume political and public
affairs
take the
first
place.
Of
special importance are the several chapters
1910.
(Macmillan
&
Co.,
Ltd., London.) Price
31s.
6d.
74
Reviews
dealing with foreign affairs. We have now
an
authoritative and well-
documented statement as to
this
much debated matter
;
there are, for
instance, many private letters exchanged between the King and the
German Emperor. The whole tone of these chapters
is,
moreover, much
better than in the first volume
;
there, as we pointed out,l Sir Sidney Lee
seemed to be running into the danger of making the estrangement between
England and Germany a personal matter between the Prince
of
Wales
and
his
nephew
;
in this volume he makes it quite clear that though there
was on many occasions irritation and annoyance, the personal aspect was
always subordinated to the public interests of the country. The volume
enables us
also
to appreciate justly the value and importance of the
King’s
contribution to the conduct of foreign affairs. In this connection there
stands out the very interesting account of his historic visit to Pans in
I903
;
from this we can see how his personal qualities, his courage and
bonhommie
were
a
real contribution to the settlement of political
differences. Equally important, though of
a
different nature,
is
the
memorandum by
M.
Isvolslry, now published, of conversations which
he had with the King at Copenhagen, which was
a
very important
step towards the eventual settlement of the differences with ‘Russia,
carried through by Sir Edward Grey and the Foreign Office. The authors
rightly protest against the misleading conception, which became common
in Germany, that the King was deliberately carrying out
a
policy of what
they called
‘‘
encirclement.”
Of great interest also is the account of the King’s relations with his
ministers. From the beginning he showed that he had
no
intention of
becoming a mere signing machine
;
he continued in his mother’s foot-
steps; he insisted on having
a
full explanation given
to
him of the
measures which were introduced and the policy which was being pursued,
and in some matters, especially in all concerning the army and the navy,
he
formed
a
clear and definite judgment which he pressed strongly upon
his advisers. While he never went outside the strict limits
of
a
con-
stitutional monarch, he made
his
views heard and his will felt even when,
as
often happened, he was unable to attain
all
that he desired. This
is
especially true in regard to
all
personal matters. Again and again the
King showed a sense of values and proportion and
a
just discrimination,
where the Ministers failed. How curious it is to hd that
Mr.
Balfour
proposed to appoint an American, Admiral Mahan, as Regius Professor
of History
at
Cambridge! the King rightly refused the suggestion,
which as it appears to us had nothing to recommend
it.
Again,
his
common sense and straightforwardness
is
admirably illustrated by the
objection he raised to the declaration against transubstantiation which
was included in the coronation oath
;
all the efforts of the King to get
rid of this were, however, frustrated during
his
reign by the
bungling
of
the
75
1
See
The
Journal
of
Public
Administrafion,
Apd,
1925.
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