Oxford Students Style Mrs. Simpson Chicken a la King; Oppose Marriage

Oxford England, December 4: In the House of Commons at 4 o'clock this afternon Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin made an eagerly awaited statement on the crisis arising out of the King's determination to marry Mrs. Simpson.

Replying to Major Clement R. Attlee, leader of the Labor opposition, Baldwin said: "There can be no morganatic marriage. The lady who marries the king becomes queen, and her children would be in the direct line of succession. The only possible way to put the matter right would be by legislation. His Majesty's government is not prepared to introduce such legislation. It would need the assent of all the dominions, and I am satisfied that this assent would not be forthcoming."

Since the marriage seems certain, either the Baldwin government will fall or the King will abdicate. But this situation is complicated by the rumor that Mrs. Simpson will not marry if the King abdicates.

Aside from the Oxonian reference to Mrs. Simpson as "chicken a la king" and to her residence, as the King's Arms, undergraduates seriously oppose her, not because she is an American or a commoner but because they refuse to have a "King's favorite" as queen. This is the core of the opposition.

James Brown, president of the Oxford Union, tells me that the objections to the marriage are not legal at all and cannot be met by amendment of the law. The dignity of the Crown and the powers of its example throughout the Empire alone must decide the King's choice of a queen. In a debate at the Union last week cashier divorce laws were advocated.

Yesterday Mrs. Simpson traveled to Versailles in the King's car and stayed with her American friend Lady Mendl. Oxford, always conservative, thinks the whole affair is a bad show but does not reproach the King. The general comment is "Ship Mrs. Simpson back home."