Chapter XXXIX: Section III: of article 111 of the federal constitution is (7)

"'I have resolved to be known by the name of Edward, which has
been borne by six of My ancestors. In doing so I do not
undervalue the name of Albert, which I inherit from My ever to
be lamented, great and wise Father, who by universal consent is I
think deservedly known by the name of Albert the Good, and I
desire that his name should stand alone.

"'In conclusion, I trust to Parliament and the Nation to
support Me in the arduous duties which now devolve upon Me by
inheritance, and to which I am determined to devote My whole
strength during the remainder of My life.'

"Whereupon the Lords of the Council made it their humble
request to His Majesty that His Majesty's Most Gracious
Declaration to their Lordships' might be made public, which
His Majesty was pleased to Order accordingly."

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The King then "caused all the Lords and others of the late
Queen's Privy Council, who were then present, to be sworn of
His Majesty's Privy Council." Orders had been previously given
for proclaiming "His present Majesty," in the following form:
"Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to His Mercy Our
late Sovereign Lady Queen Victoria, of Blessed and Glorious
Memory, by whose Decease the Imperial Crown of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully
come to the High and Mighty Prince Albert Edward: We,
therefore, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of this Realm,
being here assisted with these of Her late Majesty's Privy
Council, with Numbers of other Principal Gentlemen of Quality,
with the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, do now
hereby, with one Voice and Consent of Tongue and Heart,
publish and proclaim, That the High and Mighty Prince, Albert
Edward, is now, by the Death of our late Sovereign of Happy
Memory, become our only lawful and rightful Liege Lord Edward
the Seventh, by the Grace of God, King of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Emperor
of India: To whom we do acknowledge all Faith and constant
Obedience, with all hearty and humble Affection; beseeching
God, by whom Kings and Queens do reign, to bless the Royal
Prince Edward the Seventh, with long and happy Years to reign
over Us."

The proclamation was made in London, with antique and
picturesque ceremony on the succeeding day, January 24, and
the following official report of it, from "Earl Marshal's
Office," published in the "London Gazette":

"This day His Most Gracious Majesty King Edward VII. was, in
pursuance of an Order in Council of the 23rd instant,
proclaimed with the usual ceremonies. At 9 o'clock in the
forenoon, the Officers of Arms habited in their tabards, the
Serjeants-at-Arms, with their maces and collars; and
Deputy-Serjeant Trumpeter in his collar; the Trumpeters, Drum
Major, and Knight Marshalmen being assembled at St James's
Palace, the Proclamation was read in the Grand Court by
William H. Weldon, Esq., Norroy King of Arms, Deputy to Sir
Albert W. Woods, Garter Principal King of Arms, in the
presence of the Earl Marshal of England, the Lord Steward, the
Lord Chamberlain, the Master of the Horse, and many other Members
of Her late Majesty's Household, with Lords and others of the
Privy Council and several personages of distinction. Deputy
Garter read the Proclamation. Then the Officers of Arms having
entered Royal Carriages, a procession was formed in the
following order:

The High Bailiff of Westminster, in his carriage.
Horse Guards.
Trumpeters.
A Royal Carriage containing The four Serjeants-at-Arms,
bearing their maces.
A Royal Carriage containing Pursuivants.
Rouge Dragon: Everard Green.
Bluemantle: G. Ambrose Lee.
Rouge Croix: G. W. Marshall.
Heralds.
Windsor: W. A. Lindsay, Esq.
York: A. S. Scott-Gatty, Esq.
Somerset: H. Farnham Burke, Esq., in a Royal Carriage.
A Detachment of Horse Guards.

"The Procession, flanked by the Horse Guards, moved from St.
James's Palace to Temple Bar, and Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of
Arms, alighting from the carriage, advanced between two
trumpeters, preceded by two of the Horse Guards, to the
barrier, and after the trumpets had sounded thrice, demanded
in the usual form admission into the City to proclaim His
Royal Majesty King Edward VII.; and being admitted, and the
barrier again closed, Rouge Dragon was conducted by the City
Marshal and his Officers to the Lord Mayor, who was in
attendance in his State Carriage, when Rouge Dragon delivered
to his Lordship the Order in Council, which the Lord Mayor,
having read, returned, and directed the barrier to be opened;
and Rouge Dragon being reconducted to his place in the
Procession it then moved into the City; the High Bailiff of
Westminster filing off at Temple Bar.

"At the corner of Chancery-lane York Herald read the
Proclamation; then the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Recorder,
Sheriffs, Chamberlain, Common Serjeant, Town Clerk, and City
Officers fell into the procession immediately after the
Officers of Arms, and the procession moved on to the Royal
Exchange, where it was lastly read by Somerset Herald, when
the guns in St. James's Park and at the Tower of London were
fired. A multitude of spectators filled the streets through
which the procession passed, the windows of which were
crowded; and the acclamations were loud and general."

As described more fully by the "London Times," the interesting
proceeding, according to ancient custom, at Temple Bar—the
site of the old city gate—was as follows: "Temple Bar has
passed away, but not so the privileges associated with it,
although they have ceased to have more than an historical,
ceremonial, and picturesque interest. In accordance,
therefore, with ancient custom, the Lord Mayor yesterday
proceeded in State to the site of Temple Bar to grant entrance
to the King's Officer of Arms, who was about to proclaim his
Majesty King within the City. The gates of Temple Bar were
formerly closed for a short time before this ceremony, to be
opened, upon demand of the Officer of Arms, by the direction
of the Lord Mayor. As there are now no gates, a barrier was
made for the occasion by the holding of a red silken rope
across the street on either side of the Griffin which
commemorates the spot upon which Temple Bar formerly stood. A
strong force of burly constables was entrusted with this duty,
and the barrier thus created answered every practical purpose,
although there must have been lingering in the minds of some
of the venerable City Fathers some little regret that stern
necessity had occasioned the removal of the historic landmark
which stood there when Queen Victoria was proclaimed and
remained for many a long year afterwards, one of the most
interesting features of the ancient City.

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"The Pursuivant (Rouge Dragon), the heralds, the officials of
Westminster, and the cavalcade halted a short distance to the
west of the barrier, and the Pursuivant then advanced between
two trumpeters, and the trumpets sounded thrice. Upon this the
City Marshal, on horseback, in scarlet tunic and cocked hat
with plumes, advanced to the barrier to meet the Pursuivant,
and in a loud voice, which could be heard by those at a
considerable distance, asked, 'Who comes there?' The
Pursuivant replied, 'The Officer of Arms, who demands entrance
into the City to proclaim his Royal Majesty, Edward the
Seventh.' Thereupon the barrier was opened so as to admit the
Pursuivant without escort, and immediately closed again. The
Pursuivant was then conducted by the City Marshal to the Lord
Mayor, who, being made acquainted with the object of the
Pursuivant's visit, directed the opening of the barrier, and
the Pursuivant returned to his cavalcade. There was a fanfare
of trumpets, and York Herald, Mr. A. S. Scott-Gatty, between
two trumpeters, approached the Lord Mayor, and presented to
his lordship the Order in Council requiring him to proclaim
his Majesty. The Lord Mayor replied:

'I am aware of the contents of this paper, having been
apprised yesterday of the ceremony appointed to take place,
and I have attended to perform my duty in accordance with
ancient usages and customs of the City of London.'

"The Lord Mayor then read aloud the Order in Council requiring
the herald to proclaim his Majesty within the jurisdiction of
the City, and returned it to the herald. … The trumpets
sounded and, the officials of Westminster having filed off,
the cavalcade advanced into the City as far as the corner of
Chancery-lane. There was another fanfare of trumpets, and the
herald then made the proclamation, reading it with admirable
clearness. When it was over the spectators, who had listened
with bared heads, cried 'God Save the King.' The trumpets were
again sounded, and a military band stationed to the west of
Temple Bar played the National Anthem. This was followed by
cheering, which lasted while the Lord Mayor and his retinue
resumed their places in the carriages which had brought them,
and the procession made its way to the Royal Exchange, the
route being down Fleet-street, up Ludgate-hill, through St.
Paul's Churchyard, and along Cheapside.

"Thus ended a ceremony which impressed all who saw it by its
solemnity, its dignity, and its significance. It brought home
vividly to the mind of every spectator the continuity which
exists amid all the changes of our national life, and the very
strangeness of the quaint heraldic garb worn by the heralds
and pursuivants, which at another time might have provoked a
smile, was felt to be an object-lesson for all, telling of
unbroken tradition reaching far back into the glorious history
of our country. On turning away from the site of Temple Bar
after the Proclamation had been made and the procession had
disappeared, one felt that the seriousness of the occasion had
impressed itself on every mind and that from every heart there
rose a common prayer—God Save the King!"

With somewhat less ceremony, on the same day, the same
proclamation was read in many parts of the United Kingdom.

On Friday, the 25th, both Houses of Parliament met (the
members having, one by one, taken the oath of allegiance to
the new sovereign on the two preceding days) to receive a
message from the King and to adopt an address in reply. The
royal message was as follows: "The King is fully assured that
the House of Commons will share in the deep sorrow which has
befallen his Majesty and the nation by the lamented death of
his Majesty's mother, the late Queen. Her devotion to the
welfare of her country and her people and her wise and
beneficent rule during the sixty-four years of her glorious
reign will ever be held in affectionate remembrance by her
loyal and devoted subjects throughout the dominions of the
British Empire."

The Marquis of Salisbury, in the House of Lords, and Mr.
Balfour, in the House of Commons, moved the following
Address, in speeches from which some passages have been quoted
above:

"That an humble Address be presented to his Majesty to assure
his Majesty that this House deeply sympathizes in the great
sorrow which his Majesty has sustained by the death of our
beloved Sovereign, the late Queen, whose unfailing devotion to
the duties of her high estate and to the welfare of her people
will ever cause her reign to be remembered with reverence and
affection; to submit to his Majesty our respectful
congratulations on his accession to the Throne; to assure his
Majesty of our loyal attachment to his person; and, further,
to assure him of our earnest conviction that his reign will be
distinguished under the blessing of Providence by an anxious
desire to maintain the laws of the kingdom and to promote the
happiness, the welfare, and the liberty of his subjects."

Speeches in support of the motion were made by the leaders of
the Opposition party, the Earl of Kimberley, in the House of
Lords, and Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, in the House of Commons,
and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, also, in the former
chamber. The Address was then adopted, and Parliament was
adjourned until February 14. On the 4th of February, the new
King addressed the following messages to his subjects in the
British Empire at large, to the Colonies, and to the princes
and people of India:

"To My People. Now that the last Scene has closed in the noble
and ever glorious life of My beloved Mother, The Queen, I am
anxious to endeavour to convey to the whole Empire the extent
of the deep gratitude I feel for the heart-stirring and
affectionate tributes which are everywhere borne to Her
Memory. I wish also to express My warm recognition of those
universal expressions of what I know to be genuine and loyal
sympathy with Me and with the Royal Family in our overwhelming
sorrow. Such expressions have reached Me from all parts of My
vast Empire, while at home the sorrowful, reverent and sincere
enthusiasm manifested in the magnificent display by sea and
land has deeply touched Me. The consciousness of this generous
spirit of devotion and loyalty among the millions of My Subjects
and of the feeling that we are all sharing a common sorrow,
has inspired Me with courage and hope during the past most
trying and momentous days. Encouraged by the confidence of
that love and trust which the nation ever reposed in its late
and fondly mourned Sovereign, I shall earnestly strive to walk
in Her Footsteps, devoting Myself to the utmost of My powers
to maintaining and promoting the highest interests of My
People, and to the diligent and zealous fulfilment of the
great and sacred responsibilities which, through the Will of
God, I am now called to undertake.
EDWARD, R. I."

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"To My People Beyond the Seas. The countless messages of loyal
sympathy which I have received from every part of My Dominions
over the Seas testify to the universal grief in which the
whole Empire now mourns the loss of My Beloved Mother. In the
welfare and prosperity of Her subjects throughout Greater
Britain the Queen ever evinced a heartfelt, interest. She saw
with thankfulness the steady progress which, under a wide
extension of Self-Government, they had made during Her Reign.
She warmly appreciated their unfailing loyalty to Her Throne
and Person, and was proud to think of those who had so nobly
fought and died for the Empire's cause in South Africa. I have
already declared that it will be My constant endeavour to
follow the great example which has been bequeathed to Me. In
these endeavours I shall have a confident trust in the
devotion and sympathy of the People and of their several
Representative Assemblies throughout My vast Colonial
Dominions. With such loyal support I will, with God's
blessing, solemnly work for the promotion of the common
welfare and security of the great Empire over which I have now
been called to reign,
EDWARD, R. I."

"To the Princes and People of India. Through the lamented
death of My beloved and dearly mourned Mother, I have
inherited the Throne, which has descended to Me through a long
and ancient lineage, I now desire to send My greeting to the
Ruling Chiefs of the Native States, and to the Inhabitants of
My Indian Dominions, to assure them of My sincere good will
and affection, and of My heartfelt wishes for their welfare.
My illustrious and lamented Predecessor was the first
Sovereign of this Country who took upon Herself the direct
Administration of the Affairs of India, and assumed the title
of Empress in token of Her closer association with the
Government of that vast Country. In all matters connected with
India, the Queen Empress displayed an unvarying deep personal
interest, and I am well aware of the feeling of loyalty and
affection evinced by the millions of its peoples towards Her
Throne and Person. This feeling was conspicuously shown during
the last year of Her long and glorious reign by the noble and
patriotic assistance offered by the Ruling Princes in the
South African War, and by the gallant services rendered by the
Native Army beyond the limits of their own Country. It was by
Her wish and with Her sanction that I visited India and made
Myself personally acquainted with the Ruling Chiefs, the
people, and the cities of that ancient and famous Empire. I
shall never forget the deep impressions which I then received,
and I shall endeavour to follow the great example of the first
Queen Empress to work for the general well being of my Indian
subjects of all ranks, and to merit, as She did, their
unfailing loyalty and affection.
EDWARD, R. ET I."

English feeling toward the new sovereign of the British
Empire, and the English estimate of his character and promise,
are probably expressed quite truly, for the general mass of
intelligent people, by the following remarks of "The Times:"

"In the whole range of English social and political life there
is no position more difficult to fill satisfactorily and
without reproach than that of Heir Apparent to the Throne, and
it may be justly said that the way in which that position has
been filled for more than the ordinary lifetime of a
generation has contributed to the remarkable increase of
devotion to the Throne and the dynasty which is one of the
most striking characteristics of Queen Victoria's reign. In
the relations of private life, from his childhood upwards,
'the Prince' has been universally and deservedly popular.
Cheerful and amiable, kind and generous, ever ready to
sympathize with the joys and sorrows of those around him, a
true friend, and a loyal antagonist, possessing considerable
mental culture and wide intellectual sympathies without any
tinge of pedantry, he has represented worthily the type of the
genuine English gentleman. Though a lover of sport, like most
of his countrymen, he differed from some of them in never
regarding it as the chief interest and occupation in life. If
he had been born in a humbler station he might have become a
successful business man or an eminent administrator, for he
possesses many of the qualities which command success in such
spheres of action. He is a quick and methodical worker,
arranges his time so as never to be hurried, is scrupulously
conscientious in fulfilling engagements, great and small, with
a punctuality which has become proverbial, never forgets to do
anything he has undertaken, and never allows unanswered
letters to accumulate. Few men have a larger private
correspondence, and his letters have the clearness, the
directness, the exquisite tactfulness, and the absolute
freedom from all affectation which characterize his
conversation. … "In public life he has displayed the same
qualities and done a great deal of very useful work. The
numerous and often irksome ceremonial duties of his position
have been invariably fulfilled most conscientiously and with
fitting dignity. Of the remainder of his time a considerable
part has been devoted to what might be called semi-official
activity. In works of benevolence and public utility and in
efforts to promote the interests of science and art he was
ever ready and anxious to lend a helping hand. He never
forgot, however, that in his public appearances he had not the
liberty of speech and action enjoyed by the ordinary
Englishman. Whilst taking the keenest interest in public
affairs of every kind, he carefully abstained from
overstepping in the slightest degree the limits imposed on him
by constitutional tradition and usage. No party clique or
Court camarilla ever sheltered itself behind him, and no
political intrigue was ever associated with his name.
Throughout her dominions Queen Victoria had no more loyal,
devoted subject than her own eldest son. If this strictly
correct attitude had been confined to his relations with the
Head of the State we might have supposed that it proceeded
from a feeling of deep filial affection and reverence, but, as
it was displayed equally in his relations with Parliament and
politicians, we must assume that it proceeded also from a high
and discriminating sense of duty. Of the Prime Ministers,
leaders of her Majesty's Opposition, and politicians of minor
degree with whom he came in contact, he may have found some
more sympathetic than others, but such personal preferences
were carefully concealed in his manner, which was invariably
courteous and considerate, and were not allowed to influence
his conduct."

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In another article, the same journal again remarked that
"there is no position more difficult to fill than that of Heir
Apparent to the Throne," and added: "It is beset by more than
all the temptations of actual Royalty, while the weight of
counteracting responsibility is much less directly felt. It
must be with a feeling akin to hopelessness that a man in that
position offers up the familiar prayer, 'Lead us not into
temptation.' Other men may avoid much temptation if they
honestly endeavour to keep out of its way, but the heir to a
Throne is followed, dogged, and importuned by temptation in
its most seductive forms. It is not only the obviously bad
that he has to guard against; he must also steel himself
against much that comes in the specious garb of goodness and
almost with the imperious command of necessity. The King has
passed through that tremendous ordeal, prolonged through youth
and manhood to middle age. We shall not pretend that there is
nothing in his long career which those who respect and admire
him could not wish otherwise. Which of us can say that with
even approximate temptations to meet he could face the fierce
light that beats upon an heir apparent no less than upon the
Throne?"

The King was in his sixtieth year when he succeeded to the
throne, having been born on the 9th of November, 1841. "By
inheritance under a patent of Edward III., he became at once
Duke of Cornwall, and a month later he was created, by patent,
Prince of 'Wales and Earl of Chester—titles which do not pass
by descent." He was married to the Princess Alexandra, of
Denmark, on the 10th of March, 1863. The children born of the
marriage have been six in all—three sons and three daughters.
Of the former only one survives, Prince George, Duke of York,
the second son, who will no doubt be created Prince of Wales.
The eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and
Avondale, died in his 27th year, on the eve of his marriage.
The third son, Alexander, born in 1871, died an infant. The
Duke of York is married to Princess Victoria Mary, daughter of
the late Duke of Teck and of his wife, Princess Mary of
Cambridge. There are four children of the marriage, three sons
and a daughter, the eldest son, in direct succession to the
Throne, bearing the name of Prince Edward Albert. Of the
daughters of the new Sovereign the eldest, Princess Louise, is
the wife of the Duke of Fife and has two daughters. Of her two
sisters, the Princess Victoria is unmarried. The Princess Maud
became in 1896 the wife of Prince Charles of Denmark.

ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (February).
The opening of Parliament by King Edward VII.
The royal declaration against transubstantiation and
the invocation of saints.
Protest of Roman Catholic peers.

Parliament, reassembling on the 14th of February, was formally
opened by the King in person, with a degree of pomp and
ceremony which had been made strange by half a century of
disuse. King and Queen were escorted in procession, with all
possible state, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.
Received there, at the royal entrance, by the great officers
of state, they were conducted, by a still more imposing
procession of dignitaries, to the "robing room." "His Majesty
being robed and the Imperial Crown borne by the Duke of
Devonshire (Lord President of the Council), the Procession
advanced into the House of Peers in the same order, except
that the Cap of Maintenance [a mediæval symbol of dignity] was
borne immediately before His Majesty, on the right hand of the
Sword of State, by the Marquess of Winchester. The King being
seated on his Throne, the Lord bearing the Cap of Maintenance
stood on the Steps of the Throne, on the right, and the Peer
bearing the Sword of State, on the left, of His Majesty. The
Lord Chancellor, the Lord President and the Earl Marshal stood
on the right, and the Lord Privy Seal on the left, of His
Majesty; the Lord Great Chamberlain stood on the Steps of the
Throne on the left hand of His Majesty, to receive the Royal
Commands. The Lord Steward and the other officers of His
Majesty's Household arranged themselves on each side of the
Steps of the Throne, in the rear of the Great Officers of
State."

By hereditary right, the ceremonial arrangements of the
occasion were controlled by the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl
Marshal, and the Marquess of Cholmondeley, as Lord Great
Chamberlain, and they are said to have followed ancient
precedent with a strictness which became very offensive to
modern democratic feeling. The small chamber of the House of
Lords was so filled with peeresses as well as peers that next
to no room remained for the House of Commons when its members
were summoned to it, to meet the King. What should have been a
dignified procession behind the Speaker became, in
consequence, a mob-like crush and scramble, and only some
fifty out of five hundred Commoners are said to have succeeded
in squeezing themselves within range of his Majesty's eye. The
King, then, as required by laws of the seventeenth century
(the Bill of Rights and the Test Act—see, in volume 2,
ENGLAND: A. D. 1689, OCTOBER, and 1672-1673) signed and made
oath to the following Declaration against the doctrine of
transubstantiation, the invocation of the Virgin and the
invocation of saints: "I doe solemnely and sincerely in the
presence of God professe testifie and declare that I doe
believe that in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper there is
not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine
into the body and blood of Christ at or after the consecration
thereof by any person whatsoever; and that the invocation or
adoration of the Virgin Mary or any other saint and the
sacrifice of the masse as they are now used in the Church of
Rome are superstitions and idolatrous, and I doe solemnely in
the presence of God professe testifie and declare that I doe
make this declaration and every part thereof in the plaine and
ordinary sence of the words read unto me as they are commonly
understood by English Protestants without any evasion,
equivocation or mentall reservation whatsoever and without any
dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope
or any other authority or person whatsoever or without any
hope of any such dispensation from any person or authority
whatsoever or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted
before God or man or absolved of this declaration or any part
thereof although the Pope or any other person or persons or
power whatsoever should dispence with or annull the same, or
declare that it was null and void from the beginning."

{221}

Having thus submitted to the old test of a Protestant
qualification for the Throne, the King read his Speech to
Parliament, briefly stating the general posture of public
affairs and setting forth the business which the two Houses
were asked by government to consider. The war in South Africa
was dealt with by the royal speaker in a very few words, as
follows: "The war in South Africa has not yet entirely
terminated; but the capitals of the enemy and his principal
lines of communication are in my possession, and measures have
been taken which will, I trust, enable my troops to deal
effectually with the forces by which they are still opposed. I
greatly regret the loss of life and the expenditure of treasure
due to the fruitless guerrilla warfare maintained by Boer
partisans in the former territories of the two Republics.
Their early submission is much to be desired in their own
interests, as, until it takes place, it will be impossible for
me to establish in those colonies a government which will
secure equal rights to all the white inhabitants, and
protection and justice to the native population." In a later
paragraph of the Speech he said: "The prolongation of
hostilities in South Africa has led me to make a further call
upon the patriotism and devotion of Canada and Australasia. I
rejoice that my request has met with a prompt and loyal
response, and that large additional contingents from those
Colonies will embark for the seat of war at an early date."
The Speech concluded with the following announcement of
subjects and measures to be brought before Parliament:
"Gentlemen of the House of Commons, The Estimates for the year
will be laid before you. Every care has been taken to limit
their amount, but the naval and military requirements of the
country, and especially the outlay consequent on the South
African war, have involved an inevitable increase.

"The demise of the Crown renders it necessary that a renewed
provision shall be made for the Civil List. I place
unreservedly at your disposal those hereditary revenues which
were so placed by my predecessor; and I have commanded that
the papers necessary for a full consideration of the subject
shall be laid before you.

"My Lords and Gentlemen, Proposals will be submitted to your
judgment for increasing the efficiency of my military forces.

"Certain changes in the constitution of the Court of Final
Appeal are rendered necessary in consequence of the increased
resort to it, which has resulted from the expansion of the
Empire during the last two generations.

"Legislation will be proposed to you for the amendment of the
Law relating to Education.

"Legislation has been prepared, and, if the time at your
disposal shall prove to be adequate, will be laid before you,
for the purpose of regulating the voluntary sale by landlords
to occupying tenants in Ireland, for amending and
consolidating the Factory and Workshops Acts, for the better
administration of the Law respecting Lunatics, for amending
the Public Health Acts in regard to Water Supply, for the
prevention of drunkenness in Licensed Houses or Public Places,
and for amending the Law of Literary Copyright.

"I pray that Almighty God may continue to guide you in the
conduct of your deliberations, and may bless them with
success."

Dated from the House of Lords, on the day of the opening, the
following protest, signed by Roman Catholic peers (of whom
there are thirty), against the continued requirement from the
British sovereign of the Declaration quoted above, was laid
before the Lord Chancellor: "My Lord,—On the opening of his
first Parliament to-day his Majesty was called upon to make
and subscribe the so-called Declaration against
Transubstantiation, which was framed during the reign of
Charles II., at a moment when religious animosities were
unusually bitter.

"Some days ago we addressed ourselves to your lordship, as the
chief authority on English law, to ascertain whether it was
possible to bring about any modification of those parts of the
Declaration which are specially provocative to the religious
feelings of Catholics. We received from your lordship the
authoritative assurance that no modification whatever was
possible, except by an Act of Parliament, and that no action
of ours would therefore be of the slightest use to effect the
pacific purpose we had in view. The Sovereign himself has, it
appears, no option, and is obliged by statute to use the very
words prescribed, although we feel assured that his Gracious
Majesty would willingly have been relieved (as all his
subjects have for many years been relieved by Act of
Parliament) from the necessity of branding with contumelious
epithets the religious tenets of any of his subjects.

"While we submit to the law, we cannot be wholly silent on
this occasion, We desire to impress upon your lordship that
the expressions used in this Declaration made it difficult and
painful for Catholic peers to attend to-day in the House of Lords
in order to discharge their official or public duties, and
that those expressions cannot but cause the deepest pain to
millions of subjects of his Majesty in all parts of the
Empire, who are as loyal and devoted to his Crown and person
as any others in his dominions.

"We are, my lord, your lordship's most obedient and faithful
servants."

_London Times,
February 15, 1901._

In the House of Lords, on the 22d of February, the Marquis of
Salisbury made the following reply to Lord Braye, who asked if
the Prime Minister could hold out hope of an early measure to
abolish the oath so offensive to Catholic subjects of the
King: "Though I am very anxious to give an answer which would
be satisfactory to the noble lord and his co-religionists, I
do not wish to leave on his mind an impression that there are
any doubts in the matter. We all of us deplore the language in
which that declaration is couched, and very much wish it could
be otherwise expressed; but when it comes to altering an
enactment which has now lasted, as far as I know, without
serious question, 200 years, and which was originally included
in the Bill of Rights, it is a matter which cannot be done
without very considerable thought. We must remember that an
enactment of that kind represents the passions, feelings, and
sensibilities of the people by whom it was originally caused;
and that these have not died out. They are not strong within
these walls; but there are undoubtedly parts of the country
where the controversies which the declaration represents still
flourish, and where the emotions which it indicates have not
died out. Before an enactment is proposed, with all the
discussion which must precede such an enactment, we shall have
to consider how far it is desirable to light again passions
which sleep at this moment, for an occasion which is not now
urgent, and which we all earnestly hope may not be urgent in
our lives.
{222}
I do not wish to debar the noble lord from any action which he
may think it right to take; but I wish to point out to him the
extreme difficulties and anxieties which would accompany any
such attempt. With respect to the actual question of
legislation, I need hardly observe that it is rather a
question for the House of Commons than for us, because here I
do not imagine there would be any doubt whatever about the
result of such attempted legislation. But I could not be
certain that a very strong feeling might not be excited
elsewhere; and I notice that, possibly with a view to that
consideration, the leader of the other House, in answer to a
question, said that, at all events for the present year, he
did not see the possibility of having the requisite
opportunity of bringing the question before the House. I am
afraid, therefore, however deeply I sympathize with the
feelings of the noble lord and wish there had been no cause
for their being appealed to, that my answer would have to be
of a discouraging character."

Notwithstanding this discouraging reply to the question, Lord
Salisbury, on the 21st of March, moved the following
resolution in the House of Lords: "To resolve that it is
desirable that a Joint Committee of both Houses be appointed
to consider the declaration required of the Sovereign, on his
accession, by the Bill of Rights: and to report whether its
language can be modified advantageously, without diminishing
its efficacy as a security for the maintenance of the
Protestant succession." On introducing the resolution he said:
"The only thing that it is necessary I should mention is that
something has been said with respect to referring the
Coronation Oath to the same committee and making in it
alterations which undoubtedly will have to be made. But the
two subjects are not at all similar, and it would have been
impossible to put the Coronation Oath into this reference. If,
later, it should be thought wise to use the same committee for
the purpose of considering the matter of the Coronation Oath, I
probably shall see no difficulty in that."

ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (February).
Attitude of the Liberal party towards the South African War.

At the annual meeting of the general committee of the National
Liberal Federation, held at Rugby, February 27, 1901, more
than 400 affiliated Liberal Associations in England and Wales
being represented by about 500 delegates, including many
eminent men, the following resolution was adopted: "That this
committee records its profound conviction that the long
continuance of the deplorable war in South Africa, declared
for electioneering purposes to be over last September, is due
to the policy of demanding unconditional surrender and to a
want of knowledge, foresight, and judgment on the part of the
Government, who have neither demonstrated effectively to the
Boers the military supremacy of Great Britain, nor so
conducted the war as to induce them to lay down their arms;
this committee bitterly laments the slaughter of thousands of
brave men on both sides, the terrible loss of life from
disease, owing in no small degree to the scandalous inadequacy
of sanitary and hospital arrangements provided for our forces,
and the enormous waste of resources in actual expenditure upon
the war, in the devastation of territory, and in the economic
embarrassments which must inevitably follow; the committee
calls upon the Government to announce forthwith, and to carry
out, on the cessation of hostilities, a policy for the
settlement of South African affairs which will secure equal
rights to the white races, just and humane treatment of
natives, and such a measure of self-government as can
honourably be accepted by a brave and high-spirited people."

ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (February).
Emphatic declaration of the policy of the government in
dealing with the Boers.

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR): A. D. 1901.

ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (March).
Rejection of the Inter-oceanic Canal Treaty as amended
by the United States Senate.

See (in this volume)
CANAL, INTEROCEANIC: A. D. 1901 (MARCH).

----------ENGLAND: End--------

ENSLIN, Battle of.

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

EPWORTH LEAGUE, The.

The Epworth League, an organization of young people in the
Methodist Episcopal Church, on lines and with objects kindred
to those of the "Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor"
(see, in this volume, CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR), was instituted by a
convention of representatives from various societies of young
people in that church, held at Cleveland, Ohio, May 14-15,
1889. It was officially adopted by the General Conference of
the M. E. Church in 1892. The Year-book of the League for 1901
says:—"A dozen years ago the Epworth League had no regularly
organized Chapter. To-day it has almost twenty-one thousand.
Twelve years ago it had a total membership of twenty-seven.
To-day it has a million and a half. Twelve years ago the
Junior League had scarcely been dreamed of. To-day it is the
most promising division of the great Epworth army, having a
membership of tens of thousands. Twelve years ago a suggestion
to establish a newspaper organ was looked upon as a most
doubtful experiment, and predictions of failure were freely
made. To-day the organization has an official journal whose
circulation exceeds that of any Church weekly in the world."

ETRUSCANS, The:
Fresh light on their origin.

See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: ITALY.

EUPHRATES, Valley of the:
Recent archæological exploration.

See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA.

EUROPEAN RACES, The expansion of the.

See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: EXPANSION.

EVOLUTION, The doctrine of:
Its influence on the Nineteenth Century.

See (in this volume)
NINETEENTH CENTURY: DOMINANT LINES.

EXCAVATIONS, Recent archæological.

See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

EXPLOSIVES FROM BALLOONS, Declaration against.

See (in this volume)
PEACE CONFERENCE.

{223}

EXPOSITION, The Cotton States and International.

See (in this volume)
ATLANTA: A. D. 1895.

EXPOSITION, National Export.

See (in this volume)
INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL CONGRESS.

EXPOSITION, Pan-American.

See (in this volume)
BUFFALO: A. D. 1901.

EXPOSITION, Paris.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1900 (APRIL-NOVEMBER).

EXPOSITION, Scandinavian.

See (in this volume)
STOCKHOLM.

EXPOSITION, Tennessee Centennial, at Nashville.

See (in this volume)
TENNESSEE: A. D 1897.

EXPOSITION, Trans-Mississippi.

See (in this volume)
OMAHA: A. D. 1898.

EXTERRITORIAL RIGHTS.

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1899 (JULY).

F.

FAMINE: In China.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).

FAMINE: In India.

See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1896-1897; and 1899-1900.

FAMINE: In Russia.

See (in this volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1899.

"FANATICS," The.

See (in this volume)
BRAZIL: A. D. 1897.

FAR EASTERN QUESTION, The.

See (in this volume)
CONCERT OF EUROPE.

FARM BURNING, In the South African War.

See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1900 (AUGUST-DECEMBER).

FARMERS' ALLIANCE, and Industrial Union, The.

The Supreme Council of the Farmers' Alliance and Industrial
Union held its fourth annual session at Washington, February
6-8, 1900, and pledged support to whatever candidates should
be named by the national convention of the Democratic Party,
making, at the same time, a declaration of principles
analogous to those maintained by the People's Party.

FASHODA INCIDENT, The.

See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1898 (SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER).

FAURE, Francois Felix, President of the French Republic.
Sudden death.

See (in this volume)
FRANCE: A. D. 1899 (FEBRUARY-JUNE).

FEDERAL STEEL COMPANY, The.

See (in this volume)
TRUSTS: UNITED STATES.

FÊNG-TIEN PENINSULA: A. D. 1894-1895.
Cession in part to Japan and subsequent relinquishment.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895.

FÊNG-TIEN PENINSULA: A. D. 1900.
Russian occupation and practical Protectorate.

See (in this volume)
MANCHURIA: A. D. 1900.

FILIPINOS.

See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

FINLAND: A. D. 1898-1901.
A blow at the constitutional rights of the country.
Attempt to Russianize the Finnish army.
Possible defeat of the measure.

"In July, 1898, just one month before the publication of the
Czar's Peace Manifesto, the Diet of Finland was summoned to
meet in extraordinary session during January, 1899, in order
to debate upon the new Army Bill submitted by the Russian
Government. Hitherto, the army of Finland has been strictly
national in character, and has served solely for the defence
of the province. The standing army has been limited to 5,600
men, 1,920 of whom are annually selected to bear arms during a
period of three years. This has now been changed; the main
features of the new Army Bill being as follows:

1. Finnish troops may be requisitioned for service beyond the
confines of the Grand Duchy.

2. Russians may serve in the Finnish, and Finlanders in the
Russian, Army.

3. A lightening of the duties of military service upon the
ground of superior education will be granted to those only who
can speak, read, and write Russian.

4. The period of active service under the flag is increased
from three years to five.

5. The annual contingent of soldiers in active service is
increased from 1,920 men to 7,200.

We at once perceive the fundamental nature of these changes,
which threaten to impose a far heavier burden upon Finland,
and to Russify her army. Naturally, the new law met with the
most determined opposition. But while the bill was still in
committee there appeared on February 15, 1899, an Imperial
ukase, whereby the entire situation was radically changed, and
the independence of Finland seriously threatened. This ukase
decrees that while the internal administration and legislation
of Finland are to remain unimpaired, matters affecting the
common interests of Finland and Russia are to be no longer
submitted solely to the jurisdiction of the Grand Duchy.
Furthermore, the Emperor reserves to himself the final
decision as to which matters are to be included in the above
category. …

"The document is couched in terms expressing good-will for
Finland. In effect, however, it signifies the complete
demolition of the constitutional rights of that country. For
in all matters involving the interests of both countries, or
affecting in any way those of Russia, Finland will hereafter
be confined to a mere expression of opinion: she will no
longer be able to exercise the privilege of formulating an
independent resolution. The definition of 'common interests'
as furnished by the ukase is so vague as to make the exercise
of any form of self-government on the part of the Finlanders a
matter of uncertainty, if not of serious difficulty. Not only
the interpretation of 'common interests,' but also the
designation of the law governing them, is primarily in the
hands of the Russian authorities. Finland, an independent,
constitutional state [see, in volume 4, SCANDINAVIAN STATES:
A. D. 1807-1810], has been, or, at all events, is to be,
converted into a province of Russia. …

"The conviction is general that the Czar, who had formerly
manifested such good-will toward the country, and who had
abrogated the enactments curtailing its constitutional rights,
could not possibly have so completely changed his views within
so short a time. Consequently, it was decided to address a
monster petition in behalf of the people directly to the ruler
himself. This plan met with the enthusiastic approval of the
entire nation, and the document was signed by no fewer than
523,931 men and women of Finland.
{224}
A deputation of five hundred was elected to present this
petition, which so eloquently voiced the conviction of the
whole nation. These five hundred representatives went to St.
Petersburg, and requested an audience with the Czar. But their
efforts were unavailing. They were not received; and it
appeared as if the united voice of a peaceful and loyal people
could not penetrate to the ear of the ruler.

"In the meantime the attention of all Europe was directed to
the matter; and everywhere the liveliest sympathy was
manifested for that little Nation in the Northeast. … There
now arose—entirely from private initiative, and without the
exercise of any influence on the part of Finland—a general
movement among European nations to select prominent scholars
and artists; i. e., men entirely removed from the political
arena, to act as representatives of the popular sentiment, and
to speak a good word with the Czar in behalf of Finland. …
Addresses of sympathy for Finland were formulated in England,
France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland,
Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway; and these
addresses were signed by over one thousand and fifty scholars
and artists. … All the addresses together were to be presented
to the Czar by a small deputation; and for this purpose the
Commission mentioned at the beginning of this article
proceeded to St. Petersburg. The gentlemen took great pains to
secure an audience; they went from one minister to another,
and avoided every appearance of unfriendliness. Nevertheless,
their request was politely declined; and the acceptance of the
document bearing the signatures of over one thousand
notabilitles firmly refused."

_R. Eucken,
The Finnish Question
(Forum, November, 1899)._

A correspondent of the "London Times," writing from
Helsingfors, December 28, 1900, reported: "The situation in
Finland at the end of the year is by no means improved,
notwithstanding a few gratifying events, such as the
permission granted by General Bobrikoff for a new daily paper
to be published in Helsingfors. … Two papers, one published in
a provincial town, and a weekly journal in Helsingfors, have
been suppressed for ever, and the preventive censorship is
applied with the utmost rigour. The Governor-General has
displayed great energy in enforcing the restrictions on the
right to hold meetings, and he has in circulars to the
provincial Governors issued instructions for the introduction
of Russian as the language of the Provincial Government
offices even earlier, and more fully, than is provided for in
the language ordinance promulgated last autumn. Denunciations
of private persons to General Bobrikoff by secret agents, as
well as public authorities, are events of well-nigh daily
occurrence, and one consequence of these secret reports is
that five University professors are threatened with summary
dismissal unless they 'bind themselves to mix themselves up no
longer in any sort of political agitation.' …

"The question of the new military law will in all probability
come before the Russian Imperial Council in January, all
authorities concerned having had an opportunity of expressing
their views on the report made on the question by the Finnish
Diet in 1899, including the Minister of War, General
Kuropatkin. In conformity with the manifesto of February 15,
1899, this report will be regarded merely as an 'opinion'
given by that body, in no way binding when the matter comes up
for further consideration. This scheme, it will be remembered,
not only imposes on Finland a military burden beyond the
powers of the country, but has the political aim of
denationalizing the Finnish army, and is thus intended to
serve as a potent lever in the Russification of the Grand
Duchy. The main features of the Bill were rejected by the
Finnish Diet, but, although several members of the Imperial
Council are opposed to the new scheme, it is believed that it
will gain the majority in the Council in all its more salient
points."

Three months later (February 26, 1901), an important change in
the situation was reported from St. Petersburg by the same
correspondent. The project of Russifying the Finnish army had
suffered defeat, he learned, in the Council of State, by a
large majority. "But," he added, "this does not by any means
imply that the military reform scheme in Finland, which has
been the chief cause of all the harm done to the Finnish
Constitution during the last three years, has been finally
upset. A similar procedure in any other European civilized
country would mean as much, but it is not so in Russia. It
simply means that the Russification of Finland is still being
prosecuted by a small powerful minority, who will probably
gain their point in spite of the vast majority of his
Majesty's councillors. The Council of State, the highest
institution in the sphere of supreme administration, is merely
a consultative body, whose opinion can be, and often has been,
set aside by the Sovereign without the least difficulty. A mere
stroke of the pen is necessary.

"In the present case the Finnish military project was
discussed by the four united departments of the Council. It is
stated that M. Pobiedonostzeff and the Minister of War said
nothing, being, perhaps, either too much impressed by the
speech of M. Witte against the project, or feeling sure of
their ground without the need of entering into useless
discussion. M. Witte, whose influence is gradually embracing
every branch of government, is also looming big in this
question. He is reported to have made a speech on the occasion
which carried over 40 members of the Council with him in
opposition to the project. He attacked it principally on
financial grounds, and declared that nobody could advise his
Majesty to adopt it. The rejection of the proposal by the four
departments is preliminary to its discussion by a plenary
assembly of the Council, and only after that has taken place
will the opinion of the majority be laid before the Emperor,"

FIST OF RIGHTEOUS HARMONY, Society of the.

See(in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JANUARY-MARCH).

FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES, The.

See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1893-1899.

FORBIDDEN CITY, March of allied forces through the.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST 15-28).

FORMOSA: A. D. 1895.
Cession by China to Japan.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895.

FORMOSA: A. D. 1896.
Chinese risings against the Japanese.

See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1896.

{225}

----------FRANCE: Start--------

FRANCE: A. D. 1894-1896.
Final subjugation and annexation of Madagascar.

See (in this volume)
MADAGASCAR.

FRANCE: A. D. 1895.
Cession of Kiang-Hung by China.

See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895 (MARCH-JULY).

FRANCE: A. D. 1895.
Ministerial changes.
The alliance with Russia.

On the resignation of the presidency of the Republic by M.
Casimir-Perier and the election of M. Felix Faure to succeed
him (January 15-17), a ministry was formed which represented
the moderate republican groups, with M. Ribot at its head, as
President of the Council and Minister of Finance, and with M.
Hanotaux as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

See, in volume 2,
FRANCE: A. D. 1894-1895).

The most important work of the new government was the
arrangement of an alliance with Russia, which was
conspicuously signified to the world by the union of the
French and Russian fleets when they entered the German harbor
of Kiel, on the 17th of June, to take part in the celebration
of the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Ship Canal, between the
Baltic and North Seas (see, in this volume, GERMANY: A. D.
1895, JUNE). This gave the greatest possible satisfaction to
the nation, and powerfully strengthened the ministers for a
time; but they were discredited a little later in the year by
disclosures of waste, extravagance and peculation in the
military department. Early in the autumn session of the
Chamber of Deputies a vote was carried against them, and they
resigned. A more radical cabinet was then formed, under M.
Leon Bourgeois, President of the Council and Minister of the
Interior; with M. Berthelot holding the portfolio of foreign
affairs, M. Cavaignac that of war, and M. Lockroy that of the
marine.

FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (January).
Agreement with Great Britain concerning Siam.

See (in this volume)
SIAM: A. D. 1896-1899.

FRANCE: A. D. 1896 (March).
Census of the Republic.

Returns of a national census taken in March showed a
population in France of 38,228,969, being an increase in five
years of only 133,919. The population of Paris was 2,511;955.