It was not very long before the viceroy provided his watchful opponents with food for criticism. In January, 1907, he actually visited Rome without taking the trouble to obtain the consent of the Orangemen, who were horrified to hear that the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland had been received in audience by the Pope. In this atrocious act they discovered all the evidence of the intention of the Government to consign the lives and property of Protestants to the inquisitorial mercies of the Catholics. The ministry was going to pass Home Rule at once, and in order to make it complete sent the Viceroy of Ireland to interview the Pope, and obtain his views on the matter. This was the opinion of the easily terrified Opposition. These excitable religionists were well aware of the fact that Lord Aberdeen is a Presbyterian, and an office-bearer in that Church. Ready themselves to sacrifice every shred of religion in the cause of politics, they doubted the sincerity of others, and the Lord-Lieutenant was accused of selling his soul to Rome to further the ends of the Government he represented. Religious extremists, whether they be Protestants or Catholics, always present an unedifying caricature of human nature and human sense. English Protestants made themselves just as ridiculous over the visit of the late King Edward paid to the Pope a few years ago. We know that, in the phrase of a great Irishman, the Catholics in England are a sect, while in Ireland they are a nation; but the brass-tongued minority in Ireland seem to dominate the country when they have any opportunity to bring charges against their Catholic fellow-countrymen. Lord Aberdeen passed from the Vatican to the presence of the king of Rome, but this act did not serve to mitigate the heinousness of his first offence.
The year of 1907 was a full and exciting one for all concerned in the viceregal administration of Ireland. On January 24 Mr. Augustine Birrell became Chief Secretary, as Mr. James Bryce was appointed to the embassy at Washington—or, at any rate, was induced to think so—and the new broom came with the intention of sweeping out many abuses. There was to be a superb Irish University; there were whispers of a new Land Act that would bring peace to all concerned; the reform of Trinity College would be accomplished on the advice of the Royal Commission appointed the previous June; and, finally, there was a promise of Home Rule. Apart from these more or less political topics, quieter folk discussed the forthcoming visit of the king and queen, who were venerated by their Irish subjects.
King Edward conversing with Lord Aberdeen at the Irish International Exhibition, 1907
The Dublin Castle jewels
The royal visitors were expected to arrive during the second week of July, and a few days before—on the 6th—it was announced that the famous collection of jewellery, known as the Dublin Castle jewels, had disappeared. The pecuniary value of the jewels was about £40,000, but their intrinsic worth was considerably more than this. The public amazement was nothing compared with the official consternation. These jewels were to have been used during the installation of Lord Pirrie as a Knight of St. Patrick, and King Edward was to have presided at the ceremony. Strange rumours flooded Dublin and travelled on to London. No name was too high or too sacred to be associated with the theft, and every bar-loafer could pose as a persona grata in Court circles by slyly mentioning the mystery and declaring that 'everybody' knew So-and-so was the thief, and that his family were paying ransom for him. It seemed as though the police confined their investigations to Debrett, ignoring those whose lack of rank and title disqualified them for suspicion. The circumstances of this official tragedy were well in keeping with the romantic result. Dublin Castle is the headquarters of the police force and the detective staff, and on ordinary days presents the appearance of a German fort. Those acquainted with Dublin Castle declined to believe for a moment that professional thieves had entered this glorified police-station and stolen the most rigorously-guarded collection of jewels in the country.
King Edward and Queen Alexandra entered Ireland to the accompaniment of ringing cheers, the people being independent of Crown jewels or any other baubles to symbolize their loyalty. The Irish love a sportsman, and if he should happen to be a king as well they love him all the better for that. The magnetic personality of Edward VII. and the infectious charm of Queen Alexandra triumphed in Ireland, and everybody forgot for the time being that there was a Home Rule Government in power, and that a Liberal peer was their Majesties' host. Dublin was favoured greatly by the royal visitors, who daily performed some public act and received the salutations of the people. Those who expected that the absence of the Crown jewels would tend to depreciate the importance and effect of the visit were disappointed agreeably.
It is scarcely necessary to record that throughout the memorable visit of the king and queen Lord and Lady Aberdeen displayed to the best advantage those perfect social qualities for which they are renowned in two continents. Such a period is necessarily one of hard and often anxious work, and the thousand and one questions to be settled offhand, the numberless applications for invitations to be studied and settled, and the natural anxiety for the safety and comfort of their royal guests, are matters that would place the average person at a disadvantage. Lord and Lady Aberdeen, however, have the happy quality of rising to the great heights great occasions demand, and so, if their Majesties' reception was tumultuous and their welcome regal, that accorded day after day to the Lord-Lieutenant and his wife can be described as viceregal. Second only in popularity to their illustrious guests, they proved to the thousands of strangers who visit Ireland in the wake of royalty that it is by no means certain that a Liberal viceroy cannot earn the affection of the country. Common courtesy might account for the respect royalty and royalty's representatives meet with in Ireland, but only genuine affection could inspire the enthusiastic welcomes accorded to King Edward and his son and their viceroy, the Earl of Aberdeen.
The report of the Viceregal Commission appointed to inquire into the circumstances of the theft of the Crown jewels appeared on February 1, 1908. It stated that Sir Arthur Vicars, the Ulster King of Arms, who was the official custodian of the jewels, did not exercise due vigilance or proper care. His resignation followed as a matter of course, though it must be recorded that there was a general impression that Sir Arthur Vicars had been made the official scapegoat. The decision of the Commission by no means satisfied public opinion, and rumour raged furiously again, inspired by all sorts and conditions of statements said to have been omitted from the report, although stated in evidence before the Commissioners. One of these days the secret history of the disappearance of the Dublin Castle jewellery may be revealed. Until that time, it must be classed among the unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.