Further, there exists the admitted prerogative, openly exercised, of choice of ministers. This was the main arena of party cleavage under the greater portion of the sway of George III. It was this which, as Mr. Gladstone also mentions, was unsuccessfully, but neither unwholesomely nor unfairly, pressed into popular service in 1834. And, among many others remaining, there is that to appoint bishops--a stalking-ground of contention during the reign of Anne, and, in the Victorian era, signalised by Dr. Hampden’s appointment against a remonstrant primate. There is the prerogative of the Royal Warrant utilised by Mr. Gladstone himself in the repeal of the Purchase Act. There is the prerogative of disapproving the choice of Speaker, which will probably cease. There is that for proposing grants of public money, and there is the salutary initiative of Royal Commission which paves the way for social reform. On these personal rights I need not dwell. But on the prerogative of peace and war a word must be said. Had it been withheld for hostilities in the Crimea, a needless complication of Europe need never have occurred.[111] We may conjecture that its influence was not absent from our recent peace in South Africa. Mr. Gladstone has instanced the Chinese war, some fifty years ago, as an example of carrying on a conflict believed to be necessary despite its condemnation by “the stewards of the public purse.” The Sovereign has also the undoubted right to consult with his ministers, and to attend the deliberations of his Cabinet. Queen Anne did this habitually, and the fatal movement of her fan decided great issues on more than one occasion. The first two Georges used on occasion, but with indifference where money was not concerned, to do the same. Since then it has fallen into disuse, and perhaps the end is better served by the premier’s audiences with his King. But I may here be permitted to hope that when the great intercolonial council which is in the air has taken shape, the Sovereign may deign to be its President. Such a decision would be in complete accord with the policy of Disraeli, who affirmed in 1876, “No one regrets more than I do that favourable opportunities have been lost of identifying the colonies with the royal race of England.” The prerogatives are the royal faculties for independent expression. But it is obviously not by prerogative mainly or alone that the Crown rivets and can mould a nation. The Crown is a many-sided emblem. It is the centre of English unity, a focus of consolidation and compactness; while it also represents Great and Greater Britain abroad. As a source of home sympathy, as the embodiment of the might and mercy of a great Empire, as the durable impersonation of the individual character that out of many welded races creates a united Empire, it is manifestly operative. I may add that it may also set an example of simplicity, for the Crown is able to bring choice virtues into vulgar fashion.