The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-06-24
WANT AN AMERICAN KING,
What the JacObites of Boston Are
Plotting to Do


gra, mme arranged by the British-Amer-
leap society of this city. They are the
jag ebites, admirers and upholders OF
the royal house of Stuart and conserva-
tors of its fame For them, in common
with the Jacobite league and Order of
the White Rose of England, the line OF
Stuart still exists as fact in European
politics, and its visible head as is well
known, is Princess Mary, wife of Louis,
prince of Bavaria, son Of Luitpold.
prince regent of Bavaria. She is to-
day, in the language of the Boston peo-
pie and their fellows in England, Mary
". and Ill, by the grace of God, OF
England, Scotland, France and ireland.
Queen. defender of the faith, etc.
To the ordinary Bostonian the fact
that there is in his city a cult of this
nature comes somewhat in the nature
OF a surprise. To be sure. services have
been held in several of the very high
churches of the city, notably that of st
John the Evangelist, on January 30. &c
commemorate the taking off of him
wh9@ the Jacobites have canonized un-
der the name of St. Charles the Martyr.
The name of this particular saint does
not appear in the list of those recog-
nized by the established church, but
he exists, Just the same, TO the Jacob,
ties and their friends.
There are not many of these historical
waits in Boston. Perhaps - all told.
would cover the number. but they are
increasing. and the honorary secretary
of the organization, Alfred John Rod.
way, of RoXbury, says that every day
letters from not alone all parts of New
England, but also the entire United
States, are pouring into the office in.
quiring about the Jacobites and the
aims they hope TO attain.
Among the more prominent members
of the Boston branch of the Legitimist
society are Ralph Adams Cram. Robert
Babson. William Forsyth and Alfred
John Roadway. the secretary. Mr.. Rod
way is an Englishman 10y birth. and a
descendant Of a good old Gloucester-
shire family. who took the side of the
king during the civil war with the par
lament. One of these gentlemen said
TO the Sun correspondent:
Il know that the American public in
general take Us to be all sorts of crauks.
and lose no opportunity of making slur-
ring remarks about us but that doesn't
hurt us any, and amuses them; so LET
them go On; we don't mind it. But I'll
tell you Just what we mean when we
call ourselves Jacobites. We all know
and everybody knows who is at all ac-
Tuainted with English history, that the
Stuart family and their descendants are
excluded from the English throne by
the act of settlement, passed in 1901 by
the commons of England. but what
everybody does not know is this, that
t1is very act was passed by the bare
majority of one. and then only after
long and bitter struggles between those
in secret sympathy with the fallen
house of Stuart and the adherents Of
the HanOverians.
The sympathy with the legitimate
and hereditary sovereigns Of England
and Scotland evidenced by the closeness
OF this vote found vent in the disas-
trous risings of I7l5 and 1745. But these
are matters of history. The significant
fact of il ali is this-that. although
more than 200 years have elapsed since
the house of Stuart occupied the triple
throne, the sentiment in their favor has
never really died out. and exists to-day
perhaps as strongly in England, and es-
pecially in Scotland and Ireland, as it
ever did, and even in America, as you
see, has it found support.
But it was not altogether in behalf
of the Stuarts that we became interest
ed in the Jacobite movement. To us
this simply means return to the prin-
ciples represented by the Stuarts, and
on account Of which they were over
thrown, namely, the prerogatiyes of
the throne, or. as YOU would call it.
the divine right OF kings We uphold
the idea that there is such a thing
as granting too much liberty to the
common people. The commons of Eng
land are to-day the real rulers o. the
Countrywide throne but a shaC.w.
We also believe that the time is com
ing in the future when there mast of
necessity be a fixed, visible head in
these United StateS-a something or
some one in whom the idea of country
or the nation can be incarnated and
idealizcd, which to-day we vainly
strive TO keep alive under the name of
the flag or the stars and stripes.
In other words. we believe in a CON
stitutional monarchy fol Ibis country,
not so constitutional, however, as to de-
prive the monarch of all power of what
ever nature. Society must be made over
and renovated. There must be fixed
grades and classes, and the line must
be drawn somewhere"
The most curious thing regarding
the man who comes out so boldly with
these amazing sentiments is the fact
that his family have been for more
than five generations citizens of New
England. In fact. with the exception
OF Mr.. Roadway the members of the So
ciety in Boston come from old New
England anccstry.-BOston Cor. n. Y.
Sun.
StiIs Valuable.