HOW RULERS ARE GUARDED.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 153, 27 June 1908, Page 7

HOW RULERS ARE GUARDED.

(By S. M. WILLIAMS.) •«'lt is a strange condition of modern •'civilisation that a twentieth-century king should live in greater personal dan. ' vet than his predecesors of any age. The • medieval monarch often had to guard - aj&inst conspiracies and revolutions that ' threatened to upset his throne. The ; ruler of a civilised country, nowadays, •is secure against political perils, but it takes hundreds of soldiers and an unseen ; army f>i secret agents to protect his life from the individual assassin—the fanatic 'the madman, and the anarchist. ■>■ This constant fear of assassination causes most of the kings of Europe to -he slaves to precautions for their personal safety. While possessing the greatVest power, they often have the least / liberty. It is not exactly fear that haunts them, for centuries of inherited training have in most cases eliminated persona! cowardice, but rather a natural dread of an untimely end and of the possible consequences to their subjects. • Prudent considerations of statecraft compel the modern monarch to submit •to a system of espionage always unplea- ' saht and often intolerable. No strong .man likes to feel that another's eye is • upon his every movement, and kings are but men, with a more than ordinary ' dislike of restraint. THE CZAR AND HIS GUARDS. It is no wonder that those responsible for preserving the life of the Czar . should have instituted an elaborate defensive system. Indeed, the whole machinery of government in Russia is primarily devoted to safeguarding the imperial family. It is the duty of every official, military and civil, to think first of his royal master, and then of his otuer duties. The safety of the emperor is a sufficient excuse for setting aside, when necessary, any law or regulation. The army and police are in their entirety his bodyguards. Regiments of soldiers are stationed near each palace, and selected troops are detailed for duty in courtyards and buildings, where they form a N cordon around the imperial apartments.

In addition to the regular uniformed j police, who patrol the streets with par- j ticular care when the Czar is passing, there is a large body of secret police, whose duty it is to discover and frustrate any possible plot against him. They have agents in Berlin, London, Paris, Buehos Ayres, New York, Chicago, aDd Paterson, New Jersey. Spies are in every city in Russia and in every department of life. The censorship of mails and telegraphs, the passport system, the protection of frontiers, the compulsory announcement of arrivals and departures to the police by every householder —all these are parts of the same system, whose principal aim is the protection of the emperor.

When the Czar travels other people wait. Not only stations, but entire railways may be blocked for hours at a time, j Between St. Petersburg and Tsarkoi Selo a special line, with a private station at each end, has been built for the exclusive use of the imperial family. Every yard of it is guarded constantly, and particularly when a train is to pass. The emperor goes about the St. Petersburg streets without a military guardHe may be seen driving down the Nevsky Prospekt in an open sleigh or carriage, drawn by a swift black horse, without a footman. About two hundred feet behind him, however, a police official is sure to follow. For many years "this escort duty.fell to General Kleigels, Prefect of"fSe'St.- Petersburg Police, who has recently been appointed Governor of the province of Kieff. His successor at the capital is General Fullon.

The Czar Nicholas appears to be personally courageous, and goes out a good deal, while his father, who lived under the terror inspired by the murder of Alexander 11., was harassedi with continual fear. At Tsarkoi Selo and Peterhof, his two favourite residences, he is understood to occupy small villas in the grounds in preference to the large palaces. He does not love pomp. He often attends theatres, but rarely concerts or balls. He always arrives late, and never until the secret police have reported that no suspected or unknown persons have procured admittance. The Czar is not so carefully guarded that an evil-disposed person could not, sooner or later, find an opportunity to make an attempt on his life. Reliance seems to be placed in the ability of the police to keep persons who might be dangerous out of his vicinity. He is under closer surveillance when in his apartments than at any other time. The military guards inside the palace are never seen by the public. They are intended as a precaution against possible conspiracies in high quarters rather than against individual intruders, who are held off by the soldiers and police agents at the doors and gates.

During the Czar's visit to France in September, 1901, extraordinary precautions for his safety were taken by M. Cochefort, head of the French secret police. The palace of Compiegne was guarded like a fortress. Spies were everywhere, and thousands of troops lined the railways and the roads over which,the imperial visitor passed. When he. reviewed troops, be was surrounded by officers among whom were special men ready to shoot on -the slightest suspicion. When he drove through the streets, double lines of cavalry surrounded his carriage. On the footman's seat behind sat a Cossack, with one hand on the butt of his revolver and' the other on the hilt of his short sword. The Czar places great dependence on rapidity of movement when in public places. If on horseback in St. Petersburg, he always gallops, never remaining stilL In a carriage, his horses are either on a sharp trot or running. In this way he hopes to dodge a bomb or a chance shot from a revolver. THE ESPIONAGE ABOUT THE , KAISER. So far as immediate restraint is concerned, the Emperor of Germany moves about more freely than any of his fellow rhonarchs. He does not know what personal fear is. He hates police espionage, though on ceremonious occasions he delights in a display of military escorts and bodyguards. Yet the fear of murderous anarchists compels the authorities to guard him continually. Their task is rendered much more difficult by the fact that it must be done without attracting his attention. At Potsdam, where the Kaiser resides during most of the year, he walks and drives with democratic freedom. During the four months from January to May, when the court is in residence at Berlin, be has regular habits which the police know.

Four- or five mornings each week he drives at half-past eight to theThiergarten, where he leaves the carriage to walk for an hour. He /may be met striding briskly along secluded paths, sometimes, accompanied by/the Empress. Two or three aides-de-earrjp make up an informal party, more jfor companionship than for protection./ The park police •seer jpews* anyojje ftem taking. jfo%

line path, and only interfere when the ] "jention of intruding becomes evident. T f>re are more policemen in the streets of Berlin than in any .other European ca P»al, so it does not strike the E'mperoi as unusual if he occasionally meets an ofl, er j n the Thh>rgarten. But they must hver be visible in too great numbers, for then royal iiath is aroused. The chiei'of police is for, and the Emperor «rnphatically declares he will not be permuted by espionage. The perplexed ofhu a i promises inform and ' devises new methods. One of his plans is to disguise detectives as gvrdeners, and scatter them, among the \egular workmen in the TTfcergarten. Whoever wishes to meet the Kiiser in Berlin need only take station n^ r 136, Koeniggratzerstrasse, where theiy is a doorway in the high, wall enclosing the grounds of the Foreign Office. The ] Emperor, when he is in Berlin, enters this door nearly every morning between half-past nine and a quarter to ten, on returning from his walk in the Thiergarten, to hear the daily report of Count yon Bulow. Shortly before the hour, several policemen appear at the neighbouring corners. Passers-by stop for a moment. The Emperor and his aides soon approach. Hats are raised, ladies bow, and receive in return military salutes, for His Majesty is always in uniform,, and then he disappears into the Foreign Office.

As a rule, the Kaiser drives about Berlin without any escort. His carriage is visible from a distance by reason of the white plume on the footman's hat. Officious policemen bustle about and clear the roadway of vehicles. On state occasions there are two horsemen in front of the carriage, and two behind it. When the Emperor rides, as he often does, through Unter den Linden and the Brandenburger Thor into the Thiergarten, and sometimes all the way out to Potsdam, two mounted policemen precede and two follow him; but their duty is rather to clear the roadways, which are sometimes crowded, than to exercise surveilI lance.

A couple of years ago there were two harmless attacks on the Emperor by lunatics. As a result, the police, for a time, showed greatly increased activity. One day when he drove out in Berlin, half a dozen uniformed guards on bicycles followed him. The Kaiser was angry, the people laughed, and the bicycle soldiers quickly disappeared.

THE GUARDIANS OF KING EDWARD,

In Britain, that most democratic of monarchies, which has not lost a ruler by assassination for hundreds of years, where exiled revolutionists from other lands pledge themselves to protect the king's life, and he goes freely about in city and country, any elaborate surveillance would seem unnecessary. Yet there is a double system, extensive in its scope, always in operation, and frequently expanded until it touches far corners of Europe. So secretly is it manipulated, however, that beyond a few policeman and an occasional sentry around royal palaces, the public sees and knows nothing of the means by which King Edward is shielded from danger. Neither King nor people desire the ostentatious and arbitrary methods adopted in Russia and Italy. That would be against national traditions. Therefore, Scotland Yard, the greatest detective organisation in the world, organises a protection invisible and elastic, yet efficient. Except when in his own private apartments, King Edward is never beyond the shadow of numerous unobtrusive guards. The whole system is presided over by Inspector William Melville,' of Scotland Yard, a man of remarkable ' detective ability and infinite source: He accompanies the king almost everywhere,- though he is rarely seen, and on- instant's notice he could, if necessary, summon the entire police and military power of the nation to guard the sovereign. One part of the dual organisation is the household police stationed at the various royal palaces. Windsor Castle has forty-five men, Buckingham Palace seventeen, Sandrmgham twelve, Balmoral nine. These men, assisted by a few soldiers, form a simple guard around the residences and grounds, keeping off all intruders. At night they draw a cordon through which no one can pass unchallenged. When His Majesty drives about London, vigilant detectives are scattered along the whole route. On ceremonious occasions the police give over the immediate guard to the military, an escort 01 fifty cavalrymen surrounding the Royal carriage. Inspector Melville does not place too much dependence on the anarchists' assurance that the king will not be attacked. There is no restraining a fanatio seeking notoriety. On the Scotland Yard books are the names and addresses of perhaps two hundred avowed anarchists residing in London. When the king is appearing in public, every one of these men must be accounted for, and not allowed out of sight until His Majesty is safely within palace walls. Seventy detectives, composing the anarchist division, devote most of their time to watching these dangerous people, both for home safety and for information to foreign police, When King EdwaTd goes to a country residence, such as Balmoral, or Windsor, agents are sent in advance to watch for suspicious strangers. The railway companies guard all bridges, tunnels, and crossings. As the king frequently travels in Other countries of Europe, a reciprocal system of secret service has been arranged between Scotland Yard and the foreign police. An unwritten code is that each country makes itself responsible for the safety of all visiting sovereigns. During King Edward's visits to Homburg, one hundred men of the German secret service are detailed to assist Inspector Melville during the entire sojourn. Extraordinary precautions are taken at times of supposed danger, and thousands of soldiers and police are drawn into service. Unfounded rumours and anonymous warnings often cause radical changes of royal plans or enormous increase of guards. There was a false" alarm in England when Queen Victoria! died. Warning was received that several anarchists were seen at Portsmouth, through which place the King was about to pass. Fifty of Scotland Yard's anarchist experts were on the ground in a few hours, troops were stationed, the entire police force of the district drawn into service, and nothing happened. But with all these vast systems of surveillance, police officials, both in monarchies and in republics, admit that no king or president, unless imprisoned within palace walls, is sure of personal safety. The individual assassin, confiding his secrets to no confederates, and willing to sacrifice his own • life, can find opportunity to strike at any sovereign.