In the House of Lords on Monday Lord Salisbury moved
the second reading of the Bill which confers on the King the right to change his style and title, but does not specify in what particular terms. This was done, said Lord Salisbury, to make the passage of the Bill easier, but it did not mean that the King would arbitrarily select a new title; he would be guided by his responsible Ministers. Lord Rosebery, who followed, stated what has been published in the Press, namely, that the new title was in fact to be "of the British Dominions beyond the seas, King." He would prefer "or the Britains beyond the seas." "It would be in consonance with the ancient form of the title Britanniarum.' " Lord Salisbury, however, was not inclined to accept the suggestion, and, we think, rightly, for it smacks a little of pedantry. "The Britalns " were, of course, "Great Britain" and "Lesser Britain," i.e., Ireland, for while this island was called Magna Britannia Ireland was styled Parva Britannia. That, however, is a fact almost forgotten, except when we say, "Britain is proud of her sons:. and mean, or ought to mean, the United Kingdom. In the end the Bill was read a second time. In our opinion, the great argument in favour of the Government's proposed form is that it appears to be generally liked and accepted in the Colonies.
Previous page
