Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-14
FOREIGN CHAT.
-
Edward VII. Asks Alfonso of
Spain to Visit Him.
A German Discussion on the Granting
Of Titles.
The Danger at constantnople.-last
Of the Burgoynes.

TINS 1all, ana me I'iltISh Hiii'fi''h'oi
at Madrid Travelled from the Spanish
caDitaI to San Sebastian the other day
for the purpose Of delivering ms
sovnrcign's missive to the young mon
arch, whose stay in England Will prob
Ably follow that of KING Victor
Emanuel. Don Alfonso has until now
never LEFT spain, and the question is
being discussed as 10 whether, when
he goes to England, and to visit the
courts OF Vienna, Berlin, st. Peters
burg and Paris, it will be necessary to
appoint Il regent to fulfil the duties Of
Chief Executive during his absence.
Of course, the person best qualified
for the post by past experiences would
be the Queen mother, who, during the
nearly seventeen years that inter
vened between her husbands death and
her boys majority. administered the
government with so much judgment
and sagacity. Put according to the
terms OF the Spanish Constitution she
could no longer be invested with the
necessary powers, which now, in the
event OF a regency becoming rcccS-
sary, would fall to the share of her cid
est daughter. the Kings sister and
heir apparent, the Princess of the As
turias, who, as a little girl, reigned
over Spain under the name of Queen
Mercedes; during the six months that
intcrvencd between the death of Don
Alfonso II. and the posthumous bfrth
Of his son, the present King. N E#L
- The princess is devoted to sNr hus-
band, one Of the Neapolitan Bourbons,
4 land who, rightly or wrongly, is qgAlited
WITH most reactionary kp1ftical
opinions. SO 1t is possible iemay be de-
cided to dispense with ssecy and
that when Don Alfonso lbaFes his
don,inions he may follow The example
of King Edward, of Emperor William,
and OF the Car, and continue to ad-
minister the government of his king
dom from wherever he may happen to
be- no matter whether it is Paris, Lon
don or st. Petersburg.
The young King has developed very
marked taste for the sea, and during
the last summer has spent good deal
of his time at san Sebastian, either on
his fast steam yacht Giralda, or else on
the sailing yacht of his brothcr-in-law.
the, Prince of the Asturias, while his
fayGrite costume seems 10 be the ur-
dress uniform of an admiral, which
suit; him very We'll. fie is the first, pf
the long list of Spanish kings to mani
fest any pronounced fondncSS Tor
things maritime and it, seems to, be q
SORT of irony of fate that. he should
have come to The throne ut n. very time
when Spain had ceased TO be either a
naval or n colonial power. ... ,uf
The ,cordia terms of King Edward
letter to the young King have, given
much qualification at the Court of
Spain. and have gone far to smooth
away the irritation which. had been
caused ny the English monarchS visit
last spring, not only to Lisbon but.
what was more difficult to bear, to
Gibraltar. that is 10 say, to an English
fortress on the Spanish Peninsula,
without calling at Madrid.
old King Christian has Just dis
patched Il letter to President Roosevelt
an official communication notifying him
of the birth of his ne west grandchild -
namely, the little boy of Prince and
Princess Charles of Denmark. The
latter spend so much of their time in
England. and are to such an cXtCnt re-
garfled there as members of the Eng
lsh reigning family, rather than as
foreign royalties. that it seems SurrriS-
ing at first that the notification should
!; come from ghsSSKing Of Denmark rath-
ser than froNSASine Edward, Princess
Charles being the lattcrs favorite
child.
No little discussion has ncrn excited in
Germany by the action of he Grand Duke
Of IIesse in eonferring the ttIc Of prince
upon TINT Count Gnsfave Erilach S'ho"n-
borg, who is m;trrioyi to Princess Ma'ir
iAlttenhsrg sister ofnthat Prince Henry
ofaJattenl,erg who married the Youngest
SistAFsof King Edwards, and of Prince
Alexander of lsattenlers who was IN"
tiiHt sovereign OF Asnlgaria ike them,
4 wHa child of the lat" Prince Alien
lFtler 81 EIesses hrpthcr of the lat"
Ekarina by Ais laef gana tic marriage with
ltile Haukc. wheA was created Princess of
43attenbery in hsf own right
The controversy which is RACING Is as
t0Whether the stirand Duke of H"ssc as
nBf afs tho petty 4sov"reGns of GcrmaHN.
hakatlie sright TO create princes. and ta"rc
secfns ftuTxbe an impression among some
neople that this is Il prcroSativc which
should be restricted to soVcreiE1S Of til"
rink sof lImperors William and Francis
Joseph. and at the utmost to the Kings of
Bavaria. Wurtenberg and SaXouY.
ABut this an altogether wrong contention.
VWslaSt Eector of iioSSe created several
princes, the patents OF Princes and
I'rincesses of Itanau. conferred upon his
moI'ganatic children. being among the
number. In fact. there is no reason what
soever why even the Count Ernest Of
1.ippe, who is Regent of the principality
of I4ippe, should not confer the titles of
prince and even of duke. since l.ippe aud
HeSsc are just as much sovereign States
as Bavaria of Prussia. Indeed. when il is
borne in mind that even the tiny Italian
republic. of San Marine openly sells IA
tents of duke. prince and count nj a fixed
tariff rate. devoting the money thus oh
tanned to phlanthropic objects, and that
these titles are duly recognized abroad.
there is really no reason why the Grand
Duke of HcsSc should not grant the rank
of prince to his k!nsman Count Erbach
Schoenberg.
The only strange thing is that the count
should have been willing to accept the
dignity IN question. For. head of the
most ancient and ilhistrious families in
Europe. which exercised petty sovereign
sway in Germany from the year 1900 until
the beginning of the nineteenth century.
when it was ''mediatiZed' by the Con-
gresS of Vienna. one would have thought
that no brand new title of prince. con-
ferred by one of the least important SOW
ereigns of Germany. could POSSIBLY add to
his prestige or dignity.
Let me add that the Prince of Monaco.
being an independent sovereign. has like
wise the right to create dukes, princes and
commits and that whaN no nnhliu.r IN