The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-31

Prussian to the core, and, as such. is re-
garded as among the main pillars of the
German empire.
Indeed, none of the petty sovereIgns
who form the federation known as the
German empire possesses a more COM
handing and predominant influence on the
national affairs of Germany than does the
Grand Duke of Saxe-NNeimar. II naturally
follows that Holland, under her would be-
come, de facto. II not de jure, part and
parcel of the North German empire. At
any rate, it would be brought within what
is known as the sphere of Berlin influence,
with all that that implies in a military, a
political and commercial sense.
Rather than have this happen. the peo-
pie of Holland are anxious for Wilhelmina
TO wed; and yet they are as Jealous of her
suitors as though each one of her sub
jects felt personal responsibility in the
matter. Indeed, It is no stretch of the i'm
agination to say that each one does have
just that feeling.
The little queen will celebrate her BIRTH
day with her mother in the royal palace at
The Hague.
The new Queen and her mother will pro-
coed to- Amsterdam Sept. 8, and will be
met by all the dignitaries of the Dutch
government, with an imposing military
escort.
on Sept. all the chimes will ring out
from all the church steeples in Amsterdam
Z o'clock in the morning, and there are
lots of church steeples in Hollands staid
capital and each one has It's chimes. At
II o'clock the coronation proper viii take
place in the Nieuwe Kerk. There are no
great cathedrals in Amsterdam, although
there are lots of churches, but the Nieuwe
Kerk is the nearest approach to one pro-
vided by the Colonist Dutch Church.
Unfortunately the building is scarcely
larger than the chapel in the Kremlin at
Moscow, in which the Car was crowned,
so that The number of spectators must
be quite limited. The members of the
two chambers must attend to take the
oath of fealty to the Queens person and
throne, and the other dignitaries of state,
with the diplomatic body, will monopoliZe
all the remaining space. to the exclusion
of any members of the general public.
The coronation ceremonies themselves
will be extremely simple, so as not to
needlessly prolong the tension. The fol-
lowing is the oath which the Queen viii
take: II swear to the Dutch people that
1 will observe and always maintain the
constitution. I swear that 1 will defend
and guard with all my power the indie
pendence and the territory of the empire;
that 1 will protect public and private
liberty and the rights of all my subjects,
and that 1 will use every means contided
to me by the law to foster and uphold
the national and individual well being as
a good Queen should do. And may God
help me-" Then comes the enthronza-
ton at the hands of the states general,
whose oath, taken first by the president
and then by each member individually,
closes the ceremony.
Then the great public will have its
turn. There will be imposing pageants
and merrymakng. The 5000 carrier pig
cons will be released, and viii fiutter off
to their various homes, proclaiming that
Holland has a new Queen.
The next day will be given over to fes-
| tival and merrymaking. The Queen will
be serenaded by the united choral socie-
ties of which Holland boasts many and
which should be a fine spectacle, both for
the eye and the ear. Then she will lend
| her presence to great popular demon
stration in the Ryx museum.
After that she will witness an allegori-
cal and historical procession illustrating
the history of Holland from the great war
of independence down to the nineteenth
century. The day will close with a grand
wafer carnival on the harbor and canals
particularly intended to please the chill
dren.
Just at present, Immediately preceding
the coronation Of Wihelmina, three wo-
men reign in Europe. Without dwelling
upon the prosperous reign of Victoria, or
attempting to belittle the rule of Chris
tina, Queen Regent of Spain, the best we
can wish for Holland is that the girl
Queen will prove as successful as her
mother, who relinquishes the crown to her
daughter, has been before her.
comparison between Wilhelmina and
| Queen Victoria is almost unavoidable
| Great Brltain's Queen was also crowned
at the age of 49, and, like Hollands little
| Queen, she was the idol of the people.
| The reign of George " had been marked
| by excuses of every sort, and the Britons
| had become sickened of the inanity of
| William Tvs misrule. Consequently, the
| coming of Victoria was hailed with de-
| light.
| Then, too, Victoria at the age of IS was
| very much the same sort of girl as Will
| helmina, although not quite so pretty. She
| also had decided views of her own on
| the question of marriage, and when. not
| long after her ascension to the throne, it
was suggested that she should take unto
! herself husband, she said she was in no
| hurry. And she chose her own mate. Of
| course, it would have been quite out of
the question for even a Prince to propose
! marriage to a Queen. But, as delicately
as possible, Victoria sued for the hand of
| Prince Albert and, as all the world knows
| the union was a happy one.
| Another similarity lies in the fact that
| Victoria and Wnhelmina are the only wo-
men rulers in Europe with absolute power
I Christina of Spain is Queen Regent, but
I even as regent her power is limited. VIII
| helmna has a great admiration for Queen
| Victoria, and has often expressed the hope
| that her rule will be equally wise and
prosperous.
/
WOrI<fUR the Rig Gums