The "aport that HM, King Edward VELT will perform the ancient Jeeremony of distributing gifts many deserving old people as the of his age on Maundy Thur day In Westminster Abbey reco the quaint old service when the Kings of England washed the feot of Jas many poor men as the number of their years, and then gave them meat, money and clothes. 'The ceremony Is, of course, from the washing of the aiselples' feet by Christ, and the name of the particular Thursday 1s derived from the Latin mandatum, through the old French mande, an allusion to Christ's words new commandment give T unto you."
was not only kings who "per formed this ceremony. At Po borough Abbey in 1690, Wolsey made "his maund in Our Lady's Chapel, having Afty-nine poor whose and Kissed; and after he had wiped them he gave every the said poor men twelve pence money, three all to make them shoes, 2° cast of red hree white herrings" Queen Ellzabeth performed the ceremony, the Jpaupers' feet, however, being "frat washed. by yeomen of the laundry with warm water and sweet herbs, James LI was the last English monarch actually to do the washing, William 1K delegated the func~ tion to his almoner, and thie customary thereafter until 1754 when the practice was abolished, The to prepare the necessary data andj a cosy atmosphere of "friend of parliamentary procedure should material for putting forward the pidgin." In fact there is a tendency have been devised to give the case for amendment when the apto adopt the time-honoured motto Ratepayers, who took the trouble propriate moment occurs, and to, jot the amateur stage: "it will to display an interest in the Settle-consider for immediate adoption jo all right on the night" The ment's affairs, coherent and effective within the framework of the, exist-Counelt cannot afford to tolerate answers to their questions. Especling Regulations such measures as iny failure to remove these ally too should the agenda have may remove some of the more apprehensions. 'The fault—it fault been arranged—as in other de-glaring anachronisms which hamper there were—which permitted the Uberative assemblies—to comply as Its handling of modern problems of last Ratepayers' Meeting to' far as possible with considerations administration, Whatever may be terminate so _unsatistactorily—in-Jef public time and convenience. said for the refusal to embark on. cidentally to the eventual cost of 'The time is past when these gather-the presently academic purpose of 4 large sum from the Settlement's ings can, be treated as "Mothers' devising amendments to the Regulapocke!—did not lie with the unof-'Meetings. But has. the Council tions, the neglect to provide formal-! cial Chairman. It lay with the taken action to achieve that result? ly for reform within the Regulations Members of the Council themselves If it had at Its disposal the special cannot be defended. The Feetham in falling to grasp. the fact that organization advocated, the answer jseremony now consists of the pre sentation of Maundy pennies, which jcsr¢ straight from the Mint with their edges unmilled. The service which was originally conducted in the Chapel Royal is now held in [Westminster Abbey, "A procession lis formed in the nave, consisting of the lord high almoner, whos it in anticipated will this taken by the King, th yeomen of the guard, the latter Jeerrying red and white purses con-faining the pence in baskets. 'The }full ceremony is gone through England. by. the Roman Catholic JArchblshop of Westminster, It 1s on this day "in the Roman' Catholic [Church that the sacred all Is bless-led, and the chrism prepared aceordalso to falco into new account the! Report indicated coriain steps which quasi-parliamentary. conditions hed! migh: be readily forthcoming. ing. to a very elaborate ritual.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.