The Washington herald., 1912-01-17
CANNOT SUR MONARCHS
IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

The recent decision OF the Kings s
Bench Court in London that the ruler
Of Baroda could not be made a core
spondent I'm divorce suit on the ground
that no action could be brought against
his highness as reigning sovereign by
the rules of International law unless he
consented to be made party thereto.
once more goes 10 prove how little there
Is In reality in the talk about equality
before the law" in the most enlightened,
most Christian, most civilized nation Of
the world.
That reigning soverelgns are not sub
Ject to the laws OF any county they may
Chance to visit, has long been recog-
nized. When Queen Christina OF Sweden
was the guest Of Louis XIV, she had her
chamberlain. the Marquis Monaldeschi,
beheaded at Fontainebleau. He had
written letter sneering at the some-
what mature charms Of his royal mis-
tress. and this had come into Christmas s
possession. Louis XIV was enraged at
such sentence having been carried out
In one OF his palaces. and wished TO
show his resentment in a forcible man
ner. But his ministers persuaded him
that 1t would be futile 10 do 20, as the
Queen had acted well within her rights.
All this is bad enough. II should be
supposed that crowned heads. while Wis
Ting other countries, ought TO have
enough consideration for their hosts and
the law OF the land 10 try to live within
It's pale during their sojourn. But when
such forbearance Is stretched to include
the diplomatic representatives Of nations
while accredited TO other countries, po-
liteness ceases to be a virtue. as quite
frequently has been proven.
No man. no nation, no sovereign. Is or
should be above the law. II they are.
law ceases to be what IT should be-a
protection. pillar for the safety OF our
social system. ] know OF a case in point
which ought to give modern Iawgivers
and administrators food for reflection. II
Is the case of the miller OF sans soueie.
the summer palace OF the kings OF Prus-
sia- This country seat and lie magnin-
cent gardens and Trianon-like terraces
were created by Frederick the Great, and
the historic corner room there, with that
famous monarch's flute: music stand,
armchair. mantel clock. &C.. up TO this
day are kept in exactly the same posi-
tion and condition as on the day the
great Hohenzollern breathed his last.
Now Il came to pass that the noise
made by the revolving OF the wheels and
fans and the grinding OF the miIlstones
annoyed the Kings household, and the
palace officials ordered the miller TO
coincide with the views OF the humble
eountryman at ALL II spelled ruin 10 him
and his family. So what did he do but
don his best Sunday clothes, grab his
stout walking stick and 60 to Potsdam.
where he submitted his complaint to the
court.
The honorable" Judges were horri-
fed, Whoever heard or such a thingl
a subject OF the King. a common wind
miller, TO enter suit against his sovereign.
an autocratic ruler. TO restrain him from
interfering with the plaintiffs business
by ordering him TO stop his mill! And
back homo went the poor miller, crest
fallen. because he saw ruin staring him
In the face.
But In some manner. best known TO
himself. the King. who had a knack of
knowing what was going on, got wind of
the miller's complaint. He ordered the
judges to appear before him, inquired
into the case. and read them the riot
act, as only eagle-eyed Frederick the
Great knew how TO do. Shaking HIS his
toric crutch-handIed stick in their hon.
orable faces. the King laid the law down
to them, as he, the supreme lawgiver
Of his realms, understood Il. and con-
cluded with these words which IN them
selves were enough to make him great
and famous: How can ! expect my
subjects to obey my laws when I. who
make these laws, would evade themY'
It would seem that the honorable Kings
Bench court of England. the Gaekwar
OF Boroda, and some modern lawgivers
everywhere might study Frederick the
Greats ideas on equality before the
law with profit to themselves.
Three students Of history-Fournier. OF
Vienna; HaSsall. of London. and Haupt-
mann. the Berlin pIaywright-have pub
hshed the result Of their researches into
the ethical causes OF Napoleon's down.
fall, and all three have come TO the same
conclusion-that 1t was caused by his
inability to realize that there is such
thing as a national conscience. Napoleon
believed he could settle all problems Of
European politics by making deals with
princes. He forgot the people, himself
a son of the people. He betrayed the
revolution which had made him. He
failed TO understand the new spirit of
which he himself was the instrument.
There was a certain moral obliqueness
in Napoleon which made him insensIble
to finer motives in individuals as well as
in nations.
Napoleon understood only facts and
forces. but never could grasp the inward
meaning OF religion, liberty, and national
spirit. The latest biographies OF the
great Corsican attempt to destroy the
Napoleonic myth which he himself built
up industriously. for Napoleon, II the re-
suits of the above quoted researches are
based upon facts. appears to have been
an accomplished disciple of Ananias. Yet
the fact remains that he unquestionably
was the greatest individual man deter
mining the fortunes Of the modern world
Tried at common law, the Judgment seat
none Of US can escape, that modern Alex
ander would be sentenced to penal servi-
tude, which, in fact, he underwent.
His monumental selhshness obscured his
vision and necessitated his fall. None
of his brothers dared to use the familiar
''tu'' In conversation with him, and
Louise Muehlbach records that even Jo-
sephine, in the privacy OF the nuptial
chamber, was compelled to address him
as your majesty" Though he con-
trolled the world, he was unable to con-
troll himself This also is amply proven
by the memoirs Of his second wife, the
Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, In
her narration OF her reception by Napo-
leon and his untamed passion on the eve
OF her arrival in a suburb Of Paris where
Napoleon was awaiting her, and person
ally took her from her carriage and sub
jected that delicately reared, modest
princess to shocking indignities within
the first hour OF their first meeting.