The Washington herald., 1907-07-28
Latter-day Abdications
BY EXATTACHE-
BY EX-ATTAcHE

Abdlcation is always momentous act.
involving az II does not merely a change
of ruler, but likewise reversal of policy.
Moreover, II is comparatively rare. Until
last week there had been none since King
Milan was obliged to surrender the crown
Of Servia TO his son, the ili-fated Alex
ander, in 1889. Consequently, the abandon
ment of his throne by the Emperor Of
Korea the other day, after a stormy and
eventful reign over the oddly misnamed
Land Of Midnight Calm" deserves
more than passing attention. This Ori-
entail monarch's abdicati0n was not Of the
voluntary character implied by the use
Of the word. It was only with the utmost
/ reluctance that he surrendered the in
sigma OF the sovereignty to his feeble
minded eldest son, the crown prince, after
all his cabinet ministers and the so-called
elder Statesmen had impressed upon him
very humbly but yet firmly. that By his
misgOvernment, by his alternate weak
submission 90 the japanese, and his child
ish intrigues against them. he had brought
about such a crisis as TO endanger the
/ existence Of the empire, even as vassal
state and as a distinct nationality. His
foolish dispatch OF secret emissaries 10
/ The Hague Conference TO appeal to its
members against the application to his
country Of much the same treatment TO
which Egypt is being subjected by Eng
/ land, with such beneficial results, proved
the last straw. and the japanese did what
the British would have done in an analo-
( gous case with Khedive Abbas. That Is
to say. they insisted upon his vacating his
throne. but were clever enough to ac-
complish their purpose through his own
ministers and through the most eminent
and respected of his countrymen.
Few abdications can be described as
having been entirely voluntary in spite
Of the fact that the word is set down
In the standard dictionaries as meaning
the voluntary remuneration Of soYer-
eign power" Usually a monarch abdi-
Gates IN order TO avoid the indignity Of
being deposed. possibly killed. and in the
hope Of preserving the crown TO his son,
TO his family, and to his dynasty. Some
times, too. the anOinted OF the Lord aban-
don their thrones because they find the
nation committed TO policy OF which
they disapprOve, and with which they
do not wish TO be identified IN those pages
OF history that last for all time.
An abdication Of this character was
that OF old Emperor Ferdinand, OF Aus
tria, ia 1S4S. Forced by the sanguinary
insurrection OF that year 70 grant a Ha-
tional constitution that annulled many
Of the imperial prerogatives and abso-
lutist rights which he had inherited from
a long line Of ancestors, unwilling TO con-
tinue the bloOdshed Of his people in the
defense OF these powers, he chose TO re-
sign the crown rather than 10 be untrue
10 what be regarded as the trust OF his
dynasty. And on similar grounds his
younger brother, Archduke Charles.
waived his rights Of succession in favor
Of his eldest son, Francis Joseph, the
present Emperor OF Austria-Hungary.
Both Kaiser Ferdinand and Archduke
Charles survived for more than a quarter
OF a century the rebellion Of 1S4S. and /
remember occasionally seeing them in the
early 70s at Prague and at Vienna, both
treated with the utmost Difference and
affection by Francis Joseph, and with
veneratiOn by the people.
Two other rulers vacated their thrones
in that eventful year OF 1s4S. namely,
King Louis Charles Of Bavaria and King
Louis Philippe Of France. The former had
incurred TO such an extent the indigna-
ton Of his subjects by his extrayagant
infauation for the notorious adventures
Lola Montez (who died many years later.
completely forgotten and destitute in
America) that he was obliged TO with
draw into private life in order to escape
formal deposition. He spent most Of the
remainder of his life which lasted for
another twenty years, in retirement at
Rome. AS for King Louis Philippe, who
during the reign OF the first Napoleon had
earned a precaTious livelihood in America
as a school teacher, and who had been
raised to the throne by the insurrection
Of 1880, he felt II necessary TO redeem the
revolutionary origin Of his sovereignty IN
the eyes Of foreign mOnarchs by adopting
an extremely conservative policy. He set
his face against all liberal reforms, and
this, in connection with his money-grasp-
ing propensities and his avarice, enraged
his subjects against him TO such a degree
that in 1913 they once more rose in their
wrath and demanded his instant abdica-
tion. Louis Philippe at once yielded, re-
signed his crown in favor Of his grandson
the COmte de Paris, who afterward served
on Gen. McClellans staff In the war Of
the Union, and fed-disguised as an Eng
lishman. describing himself as Mr.
Smith"-to London. dying in exile at
ClaremOnt two years later. The French
were so much disgusted with him at the
time that they would not hear OF his
grandson, or Of any member of his fam
ily, Teigning over them, and proclaimed a
republic, the Comte de Paris, then child,
and his mother, the widowed Duchess OF
Orleans, being obliged to follow Louis
Philippe to England.
King Amadeus, father Of that Prince
Louis of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi, who
has been spending two or three months in
the United States. making many friends.
abdicated the crown OF Spain in February,
1878, a few days after the birth OF the
Duke Of the Abruzzi There was no COM
pulsiOn in his case. But he found rhat,
owing TO the peculiar political conditions
in Spain, it was quite impossible for him
to administer the government in accord
ance with the terms Of the constitution
which he had solemnly sworn 70 observe
on his election 10 the throne three years