Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-28
FUTURE OF THE CONGO
London Comment Over King
LeopoId's Position.
RARCOURT'S APPOINTMENT
Some Amusement Over German EN-
peror's Industry.
OTHER ROYAL MEN OF BUSINESS
Taximeter Cabs the Craze of the Hour
Novelty Has Excited Lon
doners-Tree's Play.
HARCOURT'S APPOINTMENT
OTHER ROYAL MEN OF BUSINESS

LoNDcN, April looS.
I hear that the Congo crisis may soon
be upon us in a more acute form than ever.
Last autumn the British foreign minister.
Sir Edward Grey, told a deputation that
the annexation of the Congo State by Bel
GUM would be the best remedy for the
atrocities of the existing regime. and just
before Christmas the Belgian chamber de-
citied 10 appoint a select committee to con-
slider scheme for the government of the
state as a colony, should the kings offer
to cede it to Belgium be accepted.
This committee now finds itself hampered
by the positive refusal of the king to give
any information to the present Condi-
ton of the state, of which he is now the
absolute monarch. 1t does not want to
take over "a pig in poke, and the state
is believed to suffer from recurrent deficits
| in its budget. More than this, the dec-
sions of the committee this week will viz
tually leave the government of the state in
the king hands.
Even when it becomes a colony he is to
be assisted by purely consultative coun-
Gil, but it will consist of his own nominees,
and the colonial minister, who will preside
at ii, may not speak, and may only make
known Its proceedings if he disapproves of
them.
The king wishes to keep the adminstra-
ton absolutely under his own control and
to give no opportunity for criticism that
IS not likely to be tolerated by the mnori-
ties in the Belgian parliament, especially
by the socialists, and ii is possible that the
bill may be defeated by q coalition of So
c!alists with certain liberals and that sec
ton of the clerical supporters of the min
istry which believes the reports sent home
by the Catholic missionaries on the Congo.
Indeed. TINS coalition has recently defeat ted
the ministry on another matter. though not
rnally-the limitation of the working hours
in mines-so ministerial crisis is expected.
Should the bill not pass, the atrocities will
sun call for the intervention of the pow
ers as signateries of the act of Berlin,
which recognized. if it did not set up. the
Congo State. Should it pass it stands,
the powers Will have tor intervene all the
more to prevent the perpetuation Of the
present system. Only it will be harder
TO deal with the king plus the Belgian gov
eminent than with the king alone
l learn that there is a possibility of King
Leopold visiting London during the sum
mer though at the moment nothing def
mite has been settled. Such a visit, if
paid, would have considerable political sig
niticance, as it would mean that the king
desired to consult King Edward on the
question of the future of the Congo Free
State.
1 have high authority for stating that
some correspondence passed a few months
ago between the two monarchs on this
question. and that King Edward ex-
tration on the Congo in very straight Ian
guage. Always something of a favorite
with the late queen, King Leopold has no
particular liking for King Edward, and if
the visit should be paid there will as
suredly be something more than mere
friendship behind it.
Mr.. Harcourt's Elevation
The announcement Of Mr.. Lewis Har-
courts elevation to the cabinet did not
cause any establishment to his friends
The present cabinet numbers nineteen
members, which is rather below the aver
| age of recent cabinets For practical pur-
| poses, at least, two members of the cab
met may be said to be hors de combat
| from reasons of age and infirmity-Lord
| Ripon and Sir H Fowler. The present
| cabinet may, Therefore, be said to be con-
Slderably smaller than that of Mr.. Bal
| tours before the retirement of the Duke
! OF Dcvonshire and Mr.. Chamberlain. and
| it is certainly less numerous than Lord
| Salsbury'S cabinet.
The appointment has no great political
! significance. Mr.. Harcourt would certain
| " have been included in the cabinet on
| the formation Of the government if the
| prime minister had had any experience of
! his qualities in the house. But Mr. Har-
! court when he joined the ministry had
| never made speech in the house of COM
| mons. He proved, however, an immediate
! anxious to strengthen the radical element
| in the cabinet, he has row summoned Mr..
| Harcourt 10 his council chamber.
His eleE alton is also a compliment to
| the memory of hi; father, who was one of
| the best and most devoted friends of Sir
| Henry Campbell Zimmerman during the
time of the Boec war Thus the appoint
| ment is regarded in some quarters as
| &c. B.'s' reply to Lord Rosebery' s
| speech
Amused at Kaiser's Industry.
| The kaiser's industry in making propa-
| ganda for his porcelain factory at Cadinen
| has excited some amusement, but at the
same time the average German is really
| proud that the monarch shows sound bust
| ness sense. Cadnen is a handsome prop
| erty, worth about six million marks,
| which was left to the kaiser by one of his
| admirers. a wealthy Holsteiner, who had
no direct heirs. The kaiser has six sons
| handy for one of them The Kronprinz-
| liche palais has, of course, been handed
| over to the crown prince. Prince Eitel
| Fritz has been given the Cabinet house at
| Potsdam and Prince August Wilhelm is
| TO be given the castle at Stettin But
| there are still three more sons to be pro-
yided for, and the little Princess Victoria
| will also expect residence part of
| her dowry.
| But there are limits to the number of
! castles and palaces at the emperor's dis
| pOsal. He himself makes constant use OF
! four-the Neues palais, in Potsdam This
! favorite residence); the royal castle at
| Berlin. Chateau d'Urville, in Alsace, and
| the castle of Wilhelmhohe near CasseI
| HubeTstock, but these are shooting boxes,
| only used during the shooting season.
| though the former is almost palatial in
| extent
| Many of the palaces are simply historic
| piles, little suited for habitation, such as
| the old palace at Potsdam and the palace
| at Konigsberg, the coronation palace of
the Prussian kings. The palace of Char
| lottenburg could easily be adapted for
| residence (the Kaiser Friedrich lived there
for few weeks during his hundred day
| reign), but 1t is too vast for a mere
| prince Kiel Castlepis always given to
the royal prince commanding the fleet. and
| is at present in possession of Prince
| Henry, the emperOr's brother. 1t will
| probably be the future residence of Prince
| Adalbert, the kaiser's sailor son. The only
| two suitable residences are the castle al
| Wiesbaden, a handsome modernized resi-
| dence and the Castle of Cadinen
| The kaiser is not the only royal man OF
| business in Germany. The Prince of Iippe
| Detmold makes the major part of his in
| come from the sale of butter and eggs
| from his estate and bricks from his lime
| kilns His civil list is small. and he keeps
up the royal state of his little principally
| Che looks mao three countries from his
| drawing-room windows) by the revenues
| from his personal property. Prince Bis
| marcl- had the monopoly of supplying the
| telegraph poles for the German empire
| and had a~distillery in which he produced