News of the Week
THE emotions of the people of this country regarding the tragic death of King Albert of Belgium were adequately expressed in the tributes paid in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday—especially in the admirably sincere and simple little speech by Major Attlee. It is inevitable that War memories should almost fill the field at such a moment. Yet, as an article on a later page shows, it was through the wisdom of his leadership in peace no less than by the courage of his leadership in war that King Albert earned the love of his own people and the respect of all the world. It was characteristic of the simplicity of his habits that he should have gone off to climb alone when death befell him. His son takes up the burden of kingship in the face of exceptional difficulties at home and abroad, but he has already given evidence—notably in •the speech he made before the African Society in London last year—that he has inherited both character and capacity. King Albert, it is not unfitting to mention, was a regular reader of this journal, and had recently renewed his subscription for a period of three years.
