Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-18
PRINCESS ENA'S CASE
interest in England Over Ap-
preaching Marriage
TO YOUNG KING OF SPAIN
Features of the Present Political
Situation.
BALFOUR AND CHAMBERLAIN
The Agitation Over Death Duties
Things Going Too Fast for Dear
Old "Lunnon."
BALF0UR AND CHAMBERLAIN

! Special Correspondence of The Star
| LONDON, February 3, 1906
over courtship all the world melts and
| while you in America are deeply inter
| ested over the marriage of Miss Roosevelt
| Europe smiles benignly over the love-mak-
| ing of the King of Spain and Princess Ena
| of Battenberg AS a matter of fact the
| bride-elect is really a German princess,
| though all her upbringing is English. Over
! the question of her conversion" to Roman
! Catholicism there is precedence in the case
| Of Princess Alix of Hesse, who was re-
| ceived into the Greek Church before her
| marriage to the car, both ladies being
| granddaughters of Queen Victoria. Prin-
| cess Ena has never shown the least inter-
| est in religious matters, and her reception
| into the Church of Rome is not received
! with the usual satisfaction of that church
| over convert, simply because the priests
| recognize that she will never be a tool in
| their hands, The authority of the church
| of Spain is doomed, and its RELOCATION to a
| merely legitimate participation in mum
| dane affairs is matter of time materially
| shortened by this marriage. The young
king is secularist. though he dare not
say So Spain will probably take a much
| more important place in European politics
| in ten years time, when Alfonso feels
| strong enough to throw off the domination
| of the church.
King Alfonso is the only monarch in his
| tory who from the first moment he drew
| breath lived a king, except, perhaps. Jean
! the First OF France who survived only
| few days. Henry the Sixth of England
| succeeded to the throne of his father dur
| ing the first year of his life. and Louis the
Twelfth OF France was only child of five
on the death of his grandfather. But AL
| fonSo the Thirteenth king from the
moment of his birth
| If much divinity doth hedge a king it
! curtained the cradle of his Most Catholic
| Majesty Don Alfonso the Thirteenth, king
| (among other things) of Spain. of CASTLE,
| of Leon, of Aragon, of the two SicilieS, of
| Jerusalem, Of Navarro, of Gibraltar, of the
| Western and Eastern Indies, Of the Oceanic
! Continent, Archduke of Austria, Duke of
| Burgundy, of Brabant and Milan, Count of
Hapsburg. of Flanders, of the Tyrol, Grand
| Master of the Golden Fleece. These are
| only some of the titles his majesty must
| live up to, and If half the stories told of
| him are true the royal lover now ardently
| pursuing his courtship at Biarritz has not
| fallen far below the lofty standard they
| represent.
j.
| No feature of the presnt political situa-
| ton in England Is more engrDssing than
! the activity of the tariff reform section of
| the minority in the house of commons. In
| the unionist London Press during the last
| few days il has revealed itself in leading
articles, which bear the hallmark of COM
| mon source of inspiration. In the attempt
i in the city byelection to season Mr.. Bal
| fours' Candidature with a tariff reform
| flavor it has also been prominent. In no
! less degree it is now engaged in an en-
| deavor to plaster the whole unionist party
| with Chamberlainism.
| 1t IS clear that the tariff reformers are
| now determined to lose no opportunity of
! formally pledging the unlonlst party TO
| Mr.. Chamberlain's fiscal policy. My IN
| formation shows that this might In their
/ opinion be done in one both of two
| ways. Mr.. Balfour might be induced to
abandon the position to which he has
| pledged misunderstanding emphaticaly
! that he will not lead the party If it &C
| cepts the protectionist policy held out to
! it--or, failing this, an attempt might be
| made by means of an amendment to the
| address moved in his absence. to commit
| the PARTY to a policy very far in excess
| of that enunciated by the ex-premier.
| The feeling that English society is, of
| course, in the main tory, and there IS
| naturally strong aristocratic tendency to
| take innate opposition to the new democ-
| racy. On all sides one hears antcpatlons
| of increased death duties and of augmented
| taos on invested money connected with the
| invest tors business. Society, which in the
| main lives on unearned increments-al-
though hundreds of the smartest men about
| town now earn honorable livings-fs a lit
| tie apt TO tremble at future when demo-
| cratic labor will set the tune to which they
will have to dance Consequently, ianliy
solicitors are now extremely busy drawing
up dsds whereby parents at once assign
| money to their children in order TO avoid
death duties, separate deeds being drawn
making the children repay the dividends
during the lives of their parents and taking
out guarantee to insure this. Further
several families being turned into lin
tied liability companies, also sor the purpose
of avoiding death duties. the parent being
manager and having sole control OF the
funds. BY these clever ways 1t Is hoped TO
counterfeit the future devastatfons OF death
duties
Very large death duties indeed, will have
to be paid on the estate of Lord Newlands.
who died somewhat suddenly on Tuesday
afternoon at his seat, Mauldslie Castle Far
better known as Sir William Hozer, he was
a familiar figure to every man in the street.
owing to his mania for driving President
of the Coaching Club and leading member
of the Four hand Club, absolutely every
day either in forenoon or afternoon. he
would take out his drag, and in the reverse
time he woud drive his mail phaeton and
pair. Apart from his outlay on yachting,
shooting and horses, Lord Newlands was
extremely close. though enormously rich,
and of late years very few people were ever
invited to his residence in GroSvenor place.
Lord Newlands' brother, Sir Henry HoZier,
is the secretary of Lloyd's and possesses
one OF the most profound brains in En-
gland He has in his time done many
things and done them well
Ever since the late MT. 1efheS came over
here 10 make Londoners hustle things have
been going too fast for the somewhat lei
surely inhabitants of the town. Even the
motor buses. which came as a boon to peo-
pie in a hurry. are now regarded with sus-
picion. One trouble Is that no one has yet
got used to the affairs which are designated
by names and not by colors as the old ones
were. They are providing new problems for
the most praciced Londoner Today / saw
brand-new motor bus, labeled apide"
passing through Trafalgar square, but
probably because it bore no very denite in
dfcations of It's route 1t had very few
passengers. The Londoner could always tell
at glance the route followed by the old
omnibuses by their color Thus, a white
bus he knew always went to Putney, and
he did not need to look for any further in
formation. But the new buses have adopt
ed descriptive names, and tie mere fact that
a bug is a ''Rapide," or a Vanguard or
General or Union Jack, or an ar
row. does not inform even the sophisticated
Londoner whether 1t is going to Liverpool