The Portland daily press., 1873-07-25
The SDanish Carlists.

That there should be Carlist insurrection-
airy party in Spain appears to be a chronic
condition of that country. Ferdinand VII,
king of Spain, ascended the throne in 1908 by
the resignation Of his father, Charles w., and
descended it in less than year, by the win
of Napoleon l., who placed his own elder
brother Joseph Count Survilliers of Bord n
town, n. j., upon the throne. Ferdinand
was restored to his throne by the fall of Ma
poleon in 1914, and continued in power for
nineteen years, Heabolished the Cortes, but
was compelled by an insurrecti N. in 1920, TO
recede somewhat, in promise If not in fact.
from the dospotic ground which Re had as
sumed. Another insurrection took place in
1928, which was suppressed by the aid of the
French. In the matter of numerous
marriages, Ferdinand's career was similal
to that OF Henry VIII of England, though,
unlike this latter prince, he did not incur, in
respect to his wives, the obloquy of cutting of
their heads when he got tired of them. he
married five wives. four of whom died child.
less, and the fifth, Maria Christina, survived
him. She gave birth in 1880, to Isabella
whose dismissal from the Spanish throne by
revolution few years ago, gave opportunity
for then short reig of Amadeus, to be follow
ed by his resignation and the present repub-
lie. The Ca1lists, who are now in rebellion,
are, perhaps, the supporters of the only avail
able claimant of the Spanish throne under the
laws OF regal succession. The exiled queen
has five children, but the party who deposed
her have no affection for her offspring, and
the monarchcal sentiment goes beyond her
and supports the Carlists. An elective mon
archy has been tried and failed, Probably in
the present age of the world no monarchy or
empire can be founded without the prestige
of birth land tradition, The two Napoeons
in France, each in his way, tested the ques-
tion to its utmost, and both failed. As to the
aEiable young Amadeus in Spain, he scarce
ly received the respect due to an elective po-
lice officer.
And now for the Carlist claim. But for the
abrogation of the Salic law (excluding fe-
males) by Ferdinand VII, his younger BROTH
er, Carlos, would have succeeded him. Tha
widow of Ferdinand, Queen Christina, a sis
ter of Ferdinand l., OF Naples (''Bomba") J,
had prepared the way tor confusion before the
death of her husband, by fiercely quarrellins
with the heir apparent, Don Carlos. She had
this much in her favor that the Salic law in
Spain was only tradition-and compara-
lively recent one Phillip ", French
Bourbon, king of Spain by the will of Charles
l, in 100, the ancestor Of Ferdinand and Car
los, was said, by the Carlists, to have brought
the French law with him; while the adher-
cuts of Christina and Isabella fell back on old
er Spanish history to show that no such Gus
tom as the exclusion of females from the
throne was adhered to.
Don Carlos, brother of Ferdinand, kept
Spain in ferment for about seven wears,
when, wearied out, he retired to France, never,
however, relnquishiDg his claim to the Span
ish throne. In 1910 Spain was relieved of
Christina, and Espartero became regent. In
1S43 Isabella, aged thirteen, was declared to
have attained her majority, and maintained
herself OH the throne until 1868, when she
fled the country, with her husband and five
children, before an insurrecton.
Meanwhile Don Carlos No. succeeded b,
his fathers abdication in 1S45, and for sever
wears made Intellectual attempts to inyad,
| Spain. He died in 1861, and was succeeded
| in his shadowy reign by his younger brother
| Don Juan. This ''pretender" is said TO have
| been too ''fond of his ease' to make dis
turbabce. Perhaps be was only ''too wise
In 1868, Queen Isabella being expelled, Dor
] Juan abdcated in favor of his son, ION Car
I los No, 3, born in 1S49. this young man, th'
| fourth ''pretender,' and third of the name 0
| Charles, or Carlos, is now the SUBJECT OF th'
'sCarlist rebellion.
educated in all The antiquated absolute no
t;nnS If tine Bourbons, and therefore has
large claims upon the party of such princi-
nIeS. and. if only the party were larger, he
miobt become to-day Charles VII, of Spain.
| G4DpIeton's s journal says Charles V. but the
writer forgets that all the 'monarchs' OF the
..legitimafe' house count, since they keep up
| the shadow of court. Even Louis Napoleon
| called himself Napoleon III, though Nspo ~
} leon III, never had claim to that nunieia' 90