Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1891-01-02
HOLLAND AND HER RULERS
How They Got the Foreign Title Of
Orange Which They so Jealously
Preserve.
The Name is Worn by Two Royal
Houses and by Very Many Cities.
The Original Province of Orange Has
Been Possessed by France for 200
Years.

So thev have q new monarch IN Holland.
| If any people outside of Holland and
| the Dutch colonies has right to Ue inter
/ ested in what concerns the kingdom Of the
! Netherlands that people Is the people of
/ New York. The directory Of the town
! bristles with the names of men whose
! ancestors helped on the historic events
! leading up to the formation Of the Duteh
! kingdom. and dozens Of Dutch towns have
! their namesakes within the borders of the
| state. Above all however, that persistent
| and recurrent name Orange, jealousy pre-
! served by the Dutch royal family, Is in
! eradicabIy fixed upon the face of this land.
! They have il in Jersey. We have il in
| New York county. 1t crops our ehr0mahc-
/ aitv, so to speak. in the OFange-COlOred
yeaI book of the Holland society and in
! The orange coored club book of st.
! Nj holas club. The same name appears
| in Che Orangc-tree state of South Africa,
| and doubtless in the Dutch possessions on
! tke Island of Java. 1t i just possible
! that the brief Dutch tenure in Brazil Is
/ marked by the lingering of this name in
| some obscure corner Of that newest repub-
| lie The Dutch seem curiously proud of
/ this name vet their right to ii is at least
! doubtful, for it comes from a province far
! distand from Holland, and long since been
! taken from beneath the SWAY of Dutch
! stad holders and princes, while at least
| one other Royal parsonage, the king Of
] Pru> sia and young emperor OF Germany
I wears the same title, 'PrlnZ Won Oranlen.
/ Eighteen miles from Ayingnon, far
| down in the south Of France on the rail
WHY between Lyons and Marsailles, is the
! little old city Of Orange, place Of 1000
| inhabitants It is chiefly interesting for
a few ancient churches and the remains Of
| stuDcndOus Roman structures. This town
Is IN the midst of the province from
which the Dutch get the proudly cherished
name of Orange Here, In little, is the
| history of the province and OF the way in
which It's name came to be tangled up
with that Of the Dutch royal family.
/ Many centuries ago the Latin name of a
| Roman province in the south of Gaul
| came to be corrupted upon the slippery
lips of the conquered Gauls into the pretty
and suggestive name Orange. In the
eleventh century this province rose to such
importance that 1t was erected into an in
dependent principality under Count Ber-
trand de BauX, whose title was the Prince
| of Orange.
In due course. and after varying for
tunes, the province fell under the rule of
Philbert of Chalons, and when he died,
about the year 1880, the inheritance went
to his sisters SON Rene, which name,
being interpreted, is born king Now
Rene was the Stakeholder of the Neither
lands, and Prince of Nassau-Dllenberg. a
principally north of this pleasa t land of
! Orange Rene died chiidlesS after having
chosen in 1914 as his successor his cousin,
| William of Nassau. Meanwhile Francis l.
of France had proclaimed the Province of
Orange as part of his domlnions. Henry
H.. however. confirmed the title and do
miniOn 10 William, and Prince of Orange
remained as the title of the Dutch Stadt
holders from Maurice to William Ill, the
great prince who became also William
Ill of England. In 1872, however, Louis
NV of France, seized the principaIity of
Orange and handed ii over to the Count of
Auvergnc, a gentleman who had ben rob-
bed of some petty title along with Its
appurtenances and who took Orange ae a
balm to his wounds However, the per-
sistent Dutchman still loved their foreign
name and managed by the treaty of Rvs
wick to have the title confirmed to them,
though possession of the principality re-
manned with the Contis. King Louis vas
sails On the death of William Ill, two
claimants to the title Prince of Orange
arose. one being John William F. Riso, a
more or less honest Dntchman of Nassau
Dietz. who was designated heir by Will
Jams will, and the other Frederick l.,
king of Prussia, who held that he was
nearer of kin.
While the row went on over the title,
however, King Louis NV. of France
seized the material appmtenance-that is.
the principality of Orange-and made it a
part of France. which to this day it re-
mains The peace of Utrecht confirmed
the Contis in possession of the province as
vassals Of France, and left the title and
the coat of aims with the king of Prussia,
and his successors upon the throne still
call themselves 'Prinz Won Oranien." But
! all the same, the Dutch rulers went on call
ing themselves Princes of Orange-Nassau.
I Thus it happens that two royal houses
wear an empty title and Dutchmen the
world over proudly name states. counties
/ and cities for province these 200 years
! merged into French territory.
| Now as to the dead king and his success
! sOr. The history Of the Dutch republic
/ and its wars with England, Spain, Portu-
! gal and France could not be set down
! here. 1t is enough to say that when Ma
/ pOleOn fell after Waterloo, there was
/ Prince OF Orange exiled in England, but
| ready to take the Dutch throne. whether
as Stakeholder or King. as William l..
/ and in 1910 abdicated in favor of his son,
/ William H. This son died in lS49, and
| then came in William H., the gay. love-
! making monarch whose death has Just
/ ended the male line of Orange-Nassau.
! The immediate represent ative of the line
/ Is the Princess Henrietta, aged ten years.
/ and her mother, Queen Wilhelmina, Is
/ queen regent The little queen will wed,
! in due time. Prince William of Nassau,
and thus the name of William will again
/ figure in the royal house.
The monarchy that the little Princess
/ inherits Is of a mild constitutional type.
! The real power rests with the lower House
/ of Parliament. The lower house. Tweede
I kamer. or second chamber, as the Dutch
! call it. consists of members elected bv
males Of twenty-three years. that pay per
annum from s. 10 S24 in taxes. The up
/ per house lEerste kamer) Is chosen BY
/ provincial assemblies. as our senators are
( chosen by the state legislature. There
| are thlrty-nlne members in the upper
| house and their term Is nine years. One
| third retires eyAry three years. The pro-
! vincial assemblies are elected by the pe0-
HFt, anu bLtSE dSSEl1lbilCS nave IL uEIl tic
same functions Of local government as our
state legislatures. The king or queen is
advised by council Of ministers These
ministers may sit and speak in either
house of parliament, but may not vote
In charity he Is munifCent. Only the
other day he gave a sum equal TO 500. 900
from his private pur.e tor the relief of the
sufferers from the recent inundations His
many trials have made him quiet, re-
served, intensely lsborious. manly man.
He has a tender heart. and breads the in
fiction Of the least pain on any of his sub
| jects.
The emperor Is strongly opposed to
capital punishment. He was called upon
the other day to sign a death warrant.
and began signing his name, but a tear
falling ON the ink blotted the letters. and
he turned to the minister In attendance,
saying; See. my tears obliterate nv
name. I can not sign it. And he tore
it up
When he went TO meet Emperor William
at Rohnstoek the other day he was the
observed of all observers Dressed In a
splendid Prussian uniform he looked a
grand seigneur in the highest sense OF the
term.
| The two emperors are very fond OF all
modern inventions, and have filed their
palaces with electric lights. telephones
{ and ether fr1vantinuS