HOLLAND'S SUCCESSION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 477, 8 April 1909, Page 8

HOLLAND'S SUCCESSION.

AN HEIR EXPECTED. REGENCY IN THE EVENT OF DEATH. (DY TELEGUAFH—riIESS ASSOCIATION—COrTUIGUT.I The Hague, April 6. In anticipation of tho accouchement of Wilhelmina, Queen of tho Netherlands, tho Dutch States-General have appointed the Queen-Mother (Emma, daughter of Prince Georgo Victor of Waldeck-Pyrmont) to act as Regent in the event of Queen Wilhelmina's death in child-birth. PAN-GERMAN DESIGNS. MUCH HANGS ON THE EXPECTATION OF HEIE, The question of. the succession to the throne of Holland becomes all-important in view of the desire attributed to Germany to absorb the Netherlands. The Queen has no issue, and if she dies leaving no issue, an anxious time will ensue. The Queen-Mother Emma has been Regent before, having acted successfully in that capacity from the time of Queen Wilhelmina'a succession (November 23, 1890) till the time of her coming of age (August 31, 1898). German Husband and German Claims. "Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands, was (says "Hazell's") born on August 31, 1880. She is the daughter of William 111, of the Netherlands, by his second wife, the Princess Emma, sister of H.E.H. the Duchess of Albany, and daughter of Prince George Victor of WaldeckPyrmont. Her marriage to Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin took place on February 7, 1901. Prince Henry is a son of the late Duke Frederick Francis 11, who held a high military command in the Franco-German war, and was born in 1876. The succession to the throne is in the- direct male line, or failing males, females. If there is no legal heir, Sovereign and Parliament (or if the Sovereign is dead, Parliament alone), with its- numbers doubled for the occasion, designate a successor." But. if there is a legal heir—or a person who claims to be such—what then? The Hague correspondent of the "Daily Express" some, time ago spoke of German claimants, though not in the sense of their succeeding without the sanction of the States-General. He wrote: Failing an heir, and apart from any special enactment of the Dutch people, the succession would go to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who,

however, could not by German law hold both crowns, and would almost certainly prefer to retain his present position. His rights of succession would then devolve on .his sister, or on the children of his aunt,-or on a still remoter line. Possibly a Republic. But . the "Express" correspondent found throughout Holland an antipathy to all the possible successors. Ho recalls that at the time of the Queen's wedding, thj word "republic" was to be heard everywhere in answer to the question, "Who shall reign if there is nr, heir?" Dr. Kuyper, the ex-Prime Minister, o::ce said that Holland would resort to arms rather than yield to German rule, and this seems to be the temper of the people. It is more than likely, he thinks, that the State-General will revise the clauses of the Constitution regulating the succession, and that much may be heard in favour of a republic, for the loyalty of the Dutch is entirely limited to their "Wilhelmintje," beyond whom they care for no one, and, in fact, "openly anu uniexpress oppositon to any possible German prince occupying the throne. The Mouth of the Rhine. A curious story of the frustration of a novel naval display contemplated by the Kaiser was told some time ago by the "Echo de Paris." In an eloquent speech delivered at Cologne the Kaiser was reported to liavo announced that the inhabitants ot the city would soon have an opportunity of realising Germany's naval power, for he intended to send a ilect of torpedo boats up the Khinc and they would anchor off Cologne. Soon afterwards the German Minister at The Hague called, on the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs and said to him: "You know about the splendid words of my august master who is going to send five or six torpedo boats up to Cologne ?" "Send up! How?" asked the Dutch Minister in apparent bewilderment. "Wny, up the Khine, of course." "Oh, no, not up the Khine," said the Dutch Minister. "The mouths of tho Rhine belong to Holland, and her Majesty the Queen does not intend them to be disposed of without her leave." There was no further talk about torpedo boats, adds the "Echode Paris," which gives the story on the authority of a "distinguished Dutchman at The Hague." Sounding of the Guns. Under date February 20 last, "A Dutch Correspondent" writes to the "Daily Mail":—"On a warm summer evening in August, 1880, the booming of cannon was suddenly heard over Tho Hague, the inhabitants sitting in their gardens eagerly counting the shots, for the birth of a prince would be announced by 101 shots, that of a princess by 51 shots.' There came forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one. . . then a moment of suspense; but no more followed. 'Only a girl' were the words most often heard i o announce the birth of her Koyal Highness Wilhelmina, Princess of Orange-Nassau, daughter of King William 111 and Queen Emmawords long since repented in affection for the young Sovereign. "And now, within a few weeks, we shall again be straining our ears to catch tho sound of the firing, and the Dutch will be only too glad to know that a royal baby has been born that the young Queen's fondest hope has at last been realised after eight years of marriage. Prayers of the People. "While tho whole nation is in a fever of expectation, the Queen lives the quietest of lives; she performs her duties as head of the State, receives her Ministers, conducts the affairs of State; but the Prince and the Queen-mother perform the duties of representation. The Court dinners and Court balls are given as usual, but the Queen remains in her private apartments. She never drives now, but she takes short walks often to the Queen-mother's palace, where her Majesty stays for lunch when the Princo is not in town. "Every week special prayers are said for the Queen's health in all tho churches and syrtagogues throughout the country; and many are the prayers sent up in private for the realisation of the Queen's fondest expectation—may everything, indeed, go well with her Majesty and glorify tl'i traditions of the Houso of Orange-Nassau."