26 JANUARY 1901, Page 2

We have dealt elsewhere with the King's accession, the position

in which the Constitution places him, and his qualifi- cations for fulfilling his great trust. We will only say here that nothing could be of better omen than his speech. It breathes both sincerity and manliness, and if the King maintains the high resolves there expressed, as we trust and believe he will, he will find the nation ready to give him its loyalty and confidence in unstinted measure. The nation as well as the King must remember that with his accession the King starts on a new career, and that the past is buried and done with. The King must be judged justly and fairly, but solely on his life and actions as King.