Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-02-07

| The King and his ministers practically
| have lived in state of -a>s,e.
| In all these years of warfare. the King
stood almost alone. He was a good
| without stain. He was warm-hearted,
| generous. lberal-minded, an enemy of po-
| litical corruption, accomplished, good
tempered and fond of manly sports.
Carlos was born in Lisbon, September
%. 1868. He was married to Ameie,
| Princess OF OrleanS-BOurbon, daughter
| of the Compile of Paris. May -. 1886.
| He assembled the throne Ocstober 49,
1889.
At the outset he was confronted not
only with a financial crisis, but with
half score Of political intrigues. He
met the financial crisis by Surrendering
| one-fifth' of the royal revenues to the
| people to tighten taxation.
| First among his enemies was the pre-
| tender to his throne. Dom Miguel, son of
King Miguel, a former King of Portugal.
| The aristrocracy was against King
! Carlos. Their natural tendencies leaned
toward Dom Miguel.
People Laud Attempt to Kill.
| In 1893 the first attempt to assassinate
| Carlos was made. He was shot at by a
Socialist while driving. The attempt
failed. The first open declaration of war
! by the people came over his reputed eX-
| travangance and that of his Queen.
There was plenty of evidence to back
| this popular indictment. The Queen
mother had no knowledge of the value of
money and is on record as having squan-
dered more on dress at Paris than all
the other Queens and Expresses of Eu-
rope put together.
| The leader of the Republican party
called on the premier as an honorab BILE
man, to insist that the King should
mortgage his private property TO pay his
debts to the national treasury.
| King Carlos then sought to conciliatc
! the people by the inauguration of liberal
! reforms and the esta blishment of a more
democratic form of government. These
reforms however, only delayed the end
In 1901 King Carlos faced the first
| desperate crisis of his reign-his struggle
with the aristocracy and the clergy, who
sought to displace him and seat Dom
Miguel on the throne.
! The provincial aristOcracy sided with
Dom Miguel almost to man.
Help from England.
The Kings first move in his struggle
was a startling one. He went to Eng
land and while there got from the Brit
ish government the assurance that the
! terms nf the alliance between Great
Britain and Portugal provided not only
for EnglandS protection of Portugal
from foreign attack but likewise for the
safeguarding of the dynasty from any
attempt to overthrow by means of inter
nal revolution. This had the effect of
altering altogether the position of Car
los. For he was able to dispense with
the costly support of the religious orders
and clergy without being doomed to lose
his throne.
He had not been back in his capital
for more than two days before popular
disturbance occurred in Lisbon owing
to one of the religious orders having
abducted a girl. The inhabitants of
Lisbon sided with the clergy, and went
to the extent of smashing the windows
of Il convent.
own authority he dismissed the chief of
police and took the reins of government
in his own hands. In fact, he threw
down the gauntlet to the clergy. His
wife was against him, while his mother
was with him. The royal family was di-
Ylded but King Carlos saved his throne.
Men Higher Up Conspire.
In 1903 King Carlos faced wide
spread nutiny i'll the army and Il deep
seated conspiracy against his life. At
| the head OF the army conspiracy was
Col. Elias Garcia, one of the Republican
chiefs. Carlos. although fearing to ex-
cite popular wrath by arresting Gen.
Latino, met the crisis with courage i'll
other directions. He ordered Wholesale
arrests, court martials and deportation of
entire shiploads of officers and soldiers
to the most pestilential of the Portuguese
penal colonies OF the west and east coast
of Africa.
The years 1905 and 1906 We're filled
with struggles between King Carlos and
his Parliament. Ministry after ministry
rose and fell. The people were sinking
deeper and deeper into poverty, the poll
ticians were growing more rapacious and
corrouption and thievery i'll public life
became holder.
Greatest Crisis in 1907.
Finally, in 1907, King Carlos called Oh
the conservative leader, Franco, to form
ministry, and gave him free hand i'll
putting an end to the frightful corrup-
ton which had been the bane of every
government at Lisbon.
But the masses Of the Portuguese peo-
pie were against the King and Premier
Franco. Their hatred eliminated June
y in open revolt. Scores were wounded
and several killed. Hundreds We're ar
rested. The principal cafe in Lisbon was
destroyed. On the next day there was
public mourning for the dead. All news
papers appeared III deep black borders.
The army remained loyal in spite OF its
dissatisfaction, and with il at his back
he was able to keep Premier Franco in
power during the tempestuous months
of 1907. But the opposition to Franco
was steadily growing, and eliminated i'll
Il demand from Parliament for his re-
moyal The answer was the Punishment
by his father of Crown Prince Louis to
Villa Nicoso, royal residence in a re-
mote part of the kingdom.
1t IS an open secret that politics in
Portugal is a mere trade, and the tinan-
cial abuses which exist are q crying
shame to constitutional authority.