New-York tribune., 1902-05-11
THE NEW SPANISH KING.
TO TAKE OATH OF OFFICE
THIS WEEK AT MADRID.
DELAY IN BEGINNING CELEBRATION OF
HIS ASSUMPTION OF THRONE
FEELING IN CATALONIA.
Copyright: lao2: By The tribune AssociatIau)

Ing religious form for designating the boy King
VINO VIII take next week, In the presence of ths
Cortes. the oath a constitutional monarch
They describe him reverentIy as the only child
born a king since the birth of the Christ child
at Bethlehem The unique circumstances at
tending his birth after the death OF his father
nave endeared him TO his subjects as a romantic
figure. appealing strongly to the Imagination.
The Spaniards. with all their faults are tender
In the treatment of children and VeIasquez in
the great collection in the PradO. has made the
children Of the palace. notably Don Baltasar
and the little princess in the famous Las
Meninas," interesting for all time.
They have taken pleasure in thinking OF the
pale faced boy growing up under the watchful
care of the Queen Regent. and receiving special
training for career constitutional ruler.
There have been few public glimpses OF the boy.
for he has been kept out OF sight with his gov
ernesses and military tutors. and nothing
has been heard Of him than the report that he
fnched when he saw his first bullhght
The time has now come when the King must
appear. on his sixteenth birthday. and take the
oath to respect and maintain the constitution.
which was enacted when the Bourbon dynasty
was restored quarter of century ago. Tho
event will be celebrated by series Of fates.
which have been anticipated with pleasure by
the volatile populace OF Madrid
While these rejoicings will be general through
out Spain. with the possible exception Of Cata-
lonia. they can hardly be described correctly as
coronation fetes There will be no pageant cor
responding in any degree with the splendid
ritual at Westminster Abbey. The chief cere-
mony is analogous 10 that which occurred at
Amsterdam when Queen WiIhelmina took the
oath in the church adjoining the palace. The
young King, in the presence of his royal rela-
tives. the special ambassadors, and the naenn-
bers OF the Cortes. will perform a similar func-
tion and relieve the Queen Regent of the cares
and responsibilities Of state.
The scenic setting provided by the prosaic
halls of Congress. with their limited accommo-
dation for spectators. is likely to be less impress
sive than the medley of artistic beauty stately
splendor and republican simplicity with which
the Amsterdam ceremony enriched. The
personality Of the boy King is less interesting
than that OF the Dutch Queen. who had lived
among her subjects and was regarded by them
with personal affection.
There will be Characteristic public fetes here
as there were In the Dutch capital The north
east provinces are not Joining these festal scenes
The Catalans, like the Irish. have home rule
cause. and sullenly abstain from displaying the
Spanish flag and ordering local celebrations
while CASTLE and Andalusia rejoicing. The
four Catalan provinces. unlike Ireland. are the
richest portion of the kingdom. Barcelona is
the Spanish Manchester. where cotton goods are
the Spanish Birmingham. where thousands OF
steel workers employed II is the centre OF
a strong movement In favor Of local autonomy,
which is justified by the fact that the four prov
inces. being industrious. thrifty and rich. are
more heavily taxed than the other parts OF
Spain.
What irritates the Catalans is the system OF
centralized government. over which they COM
plain they have control. They complain that
officials are sent out from Madrid to put on the
screws and squeeze taxes out OF them. and that
they are treated as the Cubans and the Fill
pnos were during the colonial period They
cherish a deep rooted prejudice against the Cas-
tilian ruling class. and regard Spain almost as
a foreign country, whose yoke oppresses them
What they are openly demanding is the restora-
ton of the ancient privileges. by which they will
be released from military CONSUMPTION and al
lowed to conduct the financial administration
Of their own provinces The extremists go fur
ther and clamor for complete independence; but
this is clearly impracticable. since these manu-
featuring sections il separated from. Spain.
would lose their only market for the sale OF
goods
Meanwhile, the Catalan in Barcelona protests
against the Castilian official order OF the
government. and is always in a state bordering
upon revolt. The political agitation formed the
background for the mysterious February riots.
In which a general labor strike and anarchist
intrigue played a subordinate part The arti-
sans have returned to work. and the city is
quiet and orderly; the home rule movement
is still in progress. but money has been with
held for the local celebration Of the Kings COM
ing of age and this week there has been
striking protest by the military officials over
the absence Of Spanish flags and royal enblems
at a representative gathering in Barcelona
The programme of ceremonies here has been
revised at the last moment. and the dates
of several functions set back in keeping with
the Spanish manana spirit The ceremonies. in
stead of opening tomorrow. as was originally
planned. all begin on Thursday with a reception
to the special ambassadors and a banquet at
the palace There will he a series of investt-
ture functions on the following day for confer
ring the Order of the Garter and other decOra-
tions followed by another banquet in honor OF
the foreign representatives. There will be a
musical function on Saturday. followed by the
administration of the oath to the King in the
House of Congress and the singing of the Te
Deum in San Francisco Church
The festivities VIII be continued for a week.
and will include a gala opera night, military
review Of twenty thousand troops; the opening
of the exhibition of arts md industries battle
of flowers buThght of exceptional magnitude.
a festival in the palace gardens and various
minor functions. The two military professions
and the bulIhght. with the battle of flowers in
the parks offer the best promise OF entertain
ment for the masses.
The buIlfght is a concession by the Queen
Regent to Spanish feeling. She has not con-
ceaIed during her regency her abhOrrence OF this
form of public recreation. taste for which IS IN
grained in the Spanish character The Kings
subjects would regard the opening Of the reign
,3sc STR Ort<fxr