Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-01-25
RULE OF VICTORIA.
Her Reign Spans Period of Near
ly 81 Years.
was CALLED TO THE THRONE IN 1887.
She Soon Shows n Wonderful Cnpacitx
1or Governmental brief Sketch
of Her Cnreer-Notnble
LegislatiOn.

. p r,tes. Victoria. queen of Great
at i'aiil ana ireland and empress of In
Ma, was born at Kensngton palace ON
; 10y 81, IslS. She was the daughter of the
IN -. VI hent, fourth son of George III.
So, .ile Frlncess Victoria Mary Louisa of
aa;te Soours -Saalfeld, relict of the her
eai.ary prince of Leningen. Her father
aied few months after the birth of H..
laughter, who was brought IN under the
care or his widow. Her education was
h UNUSED to the duchess of Northum-
no tia..ou anu her training was better edu-
c am and otherwise than usually
Iaiis TO the lot of princes and nrincessas
siuaehce and economy were esneciai
teatures OF her education and She was
tematical. ana sys-
She succeeded to the throne on III.
qeatn OF William w., third son of Georee
IL, June 20, 1897, when the crowns of
Snsiand and Hanover, which had been
4 worn py the same person since the ac
ssioh OF George 1. in 1714 were separ
young princess and the latter. Nv vrtme
.. tne Salic law. falling to the duke of
SumDerland. the late kings Younger
orother; She was crowned in WestmIn-
s.er appey June Is, 1885, Some interest
was taken in the fact that from the first
the queen subscribed herself simnlv Vic
torla and not. as had been exnected
Alexandrina Victoria,
Inc early years of Victorias reign were
, ,u.. o. interest and excitement. There
were the rebellion in Canada, the anti
corn league, the chartist agitation the
| Jamaica question, the never-endinr irish
| question' the Afghan war and the war
WIN emma. Along with these events
cane .ne introduction Of many of the
great discoveries in science. industry and
commerce which are now considered sne-
cially representative of modern ciyiliza-
| tt9n, reign, says one of its clearest
historians, which saw in Its earliest wears
.ne aPphcation of the electric current to
the task OF transmitting messages, the
first successful attempts to make use Of ,,
steam Tor the business of transatlantic
navigation, the general development of
me inc railway system and in the introduce
.iol OF the penny post must be consid-
cred to have obtained for itself. had #
secured no other memorials. an ahidinE
| place in history
peprnary TO- 1910, Queen Victoria was
married to her cousin, Prince Albert of
saxe,Coburg-Gotha. This was a love
laa.cn, pure and simple. but the young
sovereign, owing to her position. had to |
conduct the negotiations mainly nv her,
ser. During the previous month she had |
!arlnaily notified parliament of her inten
uon TO marry her cousin-a step which
she trusted would be Conducive to the /!
n1,,s s ss VI my people as well as to my
own domestic happiness" The announce. |
ihent was not received with universal sat |
!s1action, but cordial reception was ac |
corded Prince Albert on his landing in |
England several days before the marriage
seieliohy. "A squabble arose in parlia-
.nsnt as TO the allowance to be made the
prince pr The proposed annuity was $780, |
wv, put after a bitter debate this was
cut down to $4,000.
II was some years before the people
thoroughly understood Prince Albert. An
his actions We're closely watched ~ was
imagined that he would endeayor IN ovsrs
step his limitations as the consent of the
queen and try to influence political az
AIRS But this feeling wore off as the
excellent personal uualitias-af-.I..S.--.-. n
No man, It was admitted. had ever de-
voted himself more faithfully to high and
difficult duties and words of commenda-
ton We're heard on all Sides
For many years after this bereaVe- I
ment the queen led a life of strict seclu-
sion. She avoided all public and court
ceremonies, though her duties as SOW.
ereign were never neglected. In 1876 she
opened parliament in person for the first
time since the death of Prince Albert,
Nine children were born as result of
the union, Their names and date of
birth are;
The Princess Victoria, princess Roy
all" now empress dowager of Germany,
born November 81, 1910; married January
g. 1858, Frederick William, then crown |
prince of Prussia, who died in 1888, as |
Emperor William II. of Germany, after |
reign of only SO days. Her son is now
emperor, and he has had six sons and |
one daughter. The empress dowager has |
had four sons and 10 grandchildren.
Albert Edward, prince of Wales, who |
now becomes regent, born November 8. |
1S41; married March 10, 1863, Princess !
| Alexandra of Denmark. He has had three |
| sons and three daughters and has three |
| grandchildren His eldest son died in !
1892, and his second son, the duke of
| York, married Princess Mary of Teck
| and has two children.
| Princess Alice, born April rs. 1s4S; mar.
| ried in 1862 to Prince Frederick of Hesse;
| died December IA, 1878. She had two sons
| and five daughters, of whom the young
| est living Is married to the car of Rus
| sia. There are six grandchildren in this
| family.
Prince Alfred, duke of Edinburgh, born
| 1874: married 1874 Marie Alexandrovna
only daughter of the car of Russia; late
duke of SaXe-Gotha and Coburg. They
| had one son and four daughters, of
| whom has two children. =
Princess Helena. born 1876; married 1866
| to Prince Christian of Schleswig. Holsteiri
They have five children, all unmarried.
Princess Louise. born 1S4S: married 1871
the marquis of Lorne, the only one of the
children marrying outside of royalty.
They have no children.
Prince Arthur. duke of Connaught,
born 1850; married 1879 to Princess Louise
of Prussia, daughter of Frederick Charles,
the famous red prince. Three children
have come to this union,
Prince Leopold, duke of Albany, born
1885, married Princess Helen of Waldeck
1882: died 1884. Two children, one postum.
NOUS form this household.
. Princess Beatrice, born 1857; married
1885 to Prince Henry of Battenburg The
prince died in 1885, leaving four children.
Death OF all the prior heirs to the num-
Der of % would make the German en-
peror king of England. If As heirs failed
!, England would have to take the empress
j of Russia, provided the people did not
S decide otherwise. and Sc heirs would have
. to die before the queens youngest child
Princess Beatrice would succeed to J, the
throne. Il
), During Queen victoria's reign there
i. were many notable acts of legislation.
a Several reforms demanded by the chart
lists. then considered revolutionary in the
extreme. were quietly and peaceably eff
] fected The corn laws were repealed and
. England entered upon her marvellous pros
:. perity under a free-trade policy. The
y Irish church was disestablshed and the
y odious system of purchase abolished In
: The army There was sensational feat
q ture' connected with the last-named meas
ure. 1t was opposed by the house Of
o lords and defeated by a trick. An amend
n ment was carried to the effect that the
lords were unwilling to agree to the pas,
! sage of the bill until some comprehea.
e sive and complete scheme OF army reor
q ganization should have been laid before
y 1t. Mr.. Gladstone thereupon took a step
{. which is variously criticised to this day.
Purchase was permitted only by royal
warrant. and in order to checkmate the
q lords Gladstone advised the queen to can