The record-union., 1898-01-25

politics, there is every evidence to show
that the Prince is profoundly interested
therein, quite as much as any other cul-
i tured Engiishnan of the higher class,
since otherwise he would not devote so
much of his time to listening to debates
in the House of Lords, and more partic-
ularly in the House of Commons
Yet in spite of this, as We'll as of the
| fact that almost his entire existence is
passed in the fierce and powerful glare
CT publicity, he has never yet betrayed
the slightest indication of any political
preference, and is just as cordial and as
friendly to Mr.. Gladstone as he is to
Lord Salisbury. and to Mr.. Chamber
lain as he.is to Henry Labouchere. who
during his recent stay at Marienbad
was, in spite of his anti monarchical ut
terances, a constant associate of the
Prince and frequent guest at the table
of his royal highness.
NEUTRAL IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
Smaller tact has been displayed by
the Prince with regard TO foreign coun-
tries and while he manifests a natural
fondness for Paris, a fondness which is
shared by most foreign princes, and es-
pecially by those of Germany Emperor
William first and foremost, yet no one
i knows precisely whether in the event of
a war between the two nations his sym
pathies would incline more to France
than toward Germany. He kept the true
state of his feelings carefully concealed
during the war of 1870, and is certain
to do SO again should the occasion arise
for the exercise of similar discretion.
Indeed, the remarkable tact which this
warm hearted, generous minded and
somewhat impulsive Prince has dis
played in connection with his attitude
toward both domestic and foreign poli-
ties constitutes the strongest possible
assurance that when the time comes
for him to take the place of his vener-
able mother as the ruler of the British
Empire he will worthily continue the
traditions of impartiality which she has
impaired to constitutional monarchy in
England. Let me add here that the
! Prince is quite as much interested in
foreign affairs as he is in those domestic,
| and that whenever an important dis
patch reaches the Foreign Office from
abroad copy of it is at once forwarded
by wire, not only to the Queen, but also
to the Prince of Wales, who is thus able
to keep himself quite as well posted upon
J
| herself.
1t may be timely to point here that,
although all monarchies in Europe save
| those of Russia and Turkey are what
is known as constitutional, yet there is
not one sovereign of them all who can
boast of similar strict regard for po-
litical impartiality to that preserved
by Queen Victoria and her eldest son. In
Belgium we find King Leopold in open
conflict with his Ministers and with the
parliamentary majority on the subject
of the increase of the army, and of the
foreign relations, the King inclining to-
ward Germany, While the administers
! ton and the nation at large prefer
| France. In Spain the Queen Regent
has just turned out of office a Cabinet
which possessed a parliamentary ma
jority, and has called to power an ad-
ministration which merely represents a
small minority of the National Legis-
lature. In Italy the King is so much at
variance with his Prime Minister with
regard to the increase Of the army,
the situation in Africa and the rela-
tions with France and with Germany
] that crisis is looked for as soon as
the Chambers reassemble, his majesty S
avowed preferences being for the po-
litical opponents of Rudini. In Den
mark it is the Kings favor and infiu-
ence unconstitutionally exercised that
keep his Conservative friends in power,
| in spite of the fact that they represent
not the majority, but the minority, in
the Legislature, and the same thing is
the case in Norway, while Emperor
William has to such an extent shelved
constitutional doctrines in Germany
that the only basis of official power and
ground for office is the favor of the
crown.
A PEACEMAKER AMONG HIS
FRIENDS.
In conclusion it may be stated that.
while the Prince has invariably re-
Trained from interfering either as an
arbiter or as a mediator in any polit-
| ical or public controversies, he mas
throughout his married life shown not
only a great readiness, but likewise
remarkable skill, in reconciling differ
| ences between families and between
| friends. No one living has contributed
more to the disappearance of unkindly
| feeling between husbands and wives,
between children and their parents, and
between friends temporarily parted. He
| is peculiarly qualified for this sort OF
work by his tact, his kind-heartedness,
and. above all, by his unrivaled knowi-
! edge of the ins and outs of society, both
at home and abroad, as well as the
antecedents, the tastes, the shortcom-
ings and the aspirations of the various
members thereof 1t was he who per-
suaded the Princesse de Sagan to come
to the rescue of her eldest son, with
whom she had quarreled,. when the
young man was locked up in prison on
a charge of forging the name of young
Lebaudy. both his liberation from jail
and the withdrawal of the criminal
charge being mainly due to the Princes
Influence. 1t is the British heir-ap-
parent, too, who is credited with bring
| ing together the Prince and Princess
de Sagan in the eventide of their life,
after q separation of thirty years. And
| it was to him, also, that the widowed
Countess of Dudley appealed 10 help
| her TO save her eldest son from ruin
previous to his marriage, when he was
wild. Not merely scores, but hundreds
and even thousands of analogous Incl
| dents both in England and on the Con-
tinent. could be cited. and, indeed, mat
ters have reached such a pass that
whenever anybody in the great world in
England, or even on the continent, gets
into domestic trouble of one kind or an
other he or she instinctively turns for
advice and assistance to the Prince of
Wales. the arbiter of society, not only
in England. but also in Paris, where in
royalist circles he is accorded an hom-
| .l,;-- VII ri, heiOn Or