The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-18
SUCCESSION TO THE THRONE.
THE THREE SYSTEMS THAT RULE
IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.

RUSSIAN system.
Ex-Attache in the y. Y. Tribune.
SO much doubt and ignorance appear to
prevail with regard to the laws governing
the succession to the throne OF Great
Britain, people being at loss to under
stand why, if Queen Victoria succeeded TO
the crown in preference to her fathers
youngest brother Ernest, her own eldest
daughter the widowed Empress Freder-
lex, should not possess rights superior to
those of the Prince of Wales. who is
year younger than her German majesty.
that few words of explanation upon the
subject may possibly be of interest to the
readers of the Tribune
There are three systems of succession
that are in force among the civilized pow
ers OF Europe, namely. the Sale, the Rus
sian, and what is known as the Cognate
or CASTLE system. 1t is the latter that
prevails in Spain, Portugal, and above ALL
in Great Britain. According to it's terms
male heirs in the same degree of relation
TO the sovereign exclude females without
any regard to priority Of birth. Thus,
though the son Of sovereign may be
younger than the daughter, the son sue
ceeds one instance in point being that
furnished by Spain, where the little boy
king has two sisters older than himself,
one Of them, indeed, having actually
reigned 0hough, of course, not governed)
as queen during the six months that inter
vened between his fathers death and his
own birth. And in England, when Queen
Victoria is gathered to her fathers, it will
be the Prince of Wales who will succeed
to the crown in lieu Of his eldest sister.
the widowed Empress Frederick. But if
the sovereign leaves a daughter. and a
brother or a nephew. then, according to
the Cognat to system, 1t is the daughter
who succeeds, as being in a closer degree
OF relationship.
Thus when King George ~, his brother.
King William ~ and his other brother, the
Duke of York, died without leaving any
surviving issue (King Georges daughter
Charlotte having died before him, dying
in Childbirth, and her infant being still
born) the next in line of succession TO
the throne was their younger brother,
fourth son OF King George III, who bore
the title of Duke of Kent The latter died
before either King George " or King
William ", but he left a daughter, Alex
andrina Victoria, the present Queen of
England and Empress of India, whose
rights to the crown under the Cognate or
CASTLE system of succession were superior
TO those of either her fathers younger
brothers, the Dukes of Cumberland and of
Sussex. Inasmuch, however, as the Cog
nate system was restricted to Great Brit
ain, whereas the Salic law prevailed in
Hanover, which until the present seign was
dynastically united to England, Victoria
was debarred from the succession to the
German kingdom of her uncle and prede-
cessor, King William w, and the crown
of Hanover fell. in consequence. to her
fathers younger brother, Duke Ernest of
Cumberland.
But had Queen Victoria by any chance
had younger brother. 1t is the iatetr in
stead of herself who would have succeed
ed 20 the throne of England, and to the
crown of Hanover as well. in lieu of his I'M
Gle the Duke of Cumberland. According
to this Cognate system the little daughter
Of the Duke Of York, who was born few
weeks ago, would in case of the death of
| her two elder brothers, have rights to
| the throne prior to those of her fathers
| three sisters, the Duchess of Fife, Princess
! Victoria of Wales and Princess Charles OF
! Denmark, and the latter, in turn, stands
| nearer in the line of succession to the
| throne than do Queen Victoria's second or
third sons, the Duke of Edinburgh-Coburg,
or the Duke of Connaught.
| The question has frequently been asked
| whether the priority of the Prince of
| Wales to his eldest sister, the widowed
Empress Frederick. was not due 20 some
| act of reconciliation that she had made of
| her rights Of succession at the time when
| she married the Prussian Prince who died
| as Emperor Frederick Of Germany. In
! reply thereto IL should be said that acts
| OF remuneration OF this kind are unknown
| in the reigning house of Great Britain,
and that there is only one single circum-
| stance that can invalidate the claims of
/ an English prince or princess of the blood
| to the throne Of England, namely, mar
| rage with a Roman Catholic. There is
| but one of Queen Nictorias descendants
who has done this. her granddaughter, the
| Crown Princess OF Roumania, eldest
| daughter of Queen Victoria 5
second and sailor son, Duke
Alfred of Saxe-Coburg-G otha and
of Edinburgh. OF all her Britannia
majestys family, the only ones who are
| therefore debarred from the succession TO
the throne are the pretty and piquante
| Crown Princess Ferdinand Of Roumania
and her little boys. Curiously enough.
! the English Constitution manifests no
J such hostility to any other creed, and an
! English prince or princess of the blood
| may marry member of the Greek
church, Of the Hebrew faith. a Mahome-
! tan, Confucian or a Buddhist without
forfelting any rights of succession to the
| British crown.
This will serve to dispose OF the stories
| that have been so widely circulated both
in this country as well as in Europe TO
! the effect that Emperor william consid-
I ers his claim to the throne OF England
| stronger than those OF his uncle. the
| Prince OF Wales, and that he proposes TO
| push them for all that they are worth
when his grandmother. Queen Victoria, Is
laid to rest beside her husband In the SUI
pcrb mausoleum at Frogmore, beneath the
| walls OF Windsor Castle.
What Is known as the Russian system
| OF succession, which prevails not only in
the Muscovite empire, but also In Holland.
| Greece Bavaria and Wurtemburg, merits.
| just at the present moment. as much ex-
/ PLANTATION as the English laws Of success
/ sion, since the recent birth OF a second
| daughter IN lieu OF the son so ardently
/ awaited by the young car and czarina has
served 20 revive the discussion concern
ing what would occur az st. Petersburg
were anything untoward TO happen 10
| Car Nicholas. The so-called Russian
system" provides that all possible male
| heirs 10 the throne should take prece-
dence over the princesses OF the reignlng
| house and that no grandduchess should
come to the throne until the complete ex-
90 Ia aaH fNssa