FRENCH VIEWS OF THE APPROACHING MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH. (La Republique Francaise, Paris, July 20.)

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 224, 16 October 1873, Page 2

FRENCH VIEWS OF THE APPROACHING MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH. (La Republique Francaise, Paris, July 20.)

The English preis appears to hare received the word of command not to ascribe any political importance to the approaching marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh and the Grand Duchess Maria. According to the London journal! it is only a princely idyll. Certainly we are not amongst (hose who regard Ibe destinies of the world as depending upon alliances between royal families, but we nevertheless think that weakened as personal power everywhere is, it will be long before the general interest altogether ceases to depend upon certain private interests- In a word, it would, in our opinion, be as unwise to exaggerate the import of djnastic marriages, as it w onld be imprudent not to take into account the consequences which they may have. And, however romantic may be the union between the ion of Queen Victoria and the only daughter of the Emperor of Russia, we think it will bo in tarn to uttempt to deceive Europe as to its political importance. What we must say is that, by •> i-are piece of good fortune, the union allows the claims of" love and of diplomacy to be happily reconciled. j |Ib is certainly very hard, as the Daily Newt observes, to. imagine such a. course of events as would call the Duke of

Edinburgh to the throne, or cause the inheritance of tlie Bomanoffs to devolve upon the princess who is about to become the wife, but w> cm foresee the trail •'miwion of the Grand Ducal crown of the Oobouigs to the son of Prince Albert. And if, as t Lie Tune" anya, fie contract which is about to be sigred at fit Petersburg 19 not destined to modify the attitude of England and Russia on the extern question or questions, that same contract may, nevertheless produce a rapprochement beturen tlie two powers on another point. Now, the possible participation of the Duke of Edinburgh m the conduct of Gvrman affairs, howeuT modest it might be, or the probable rapprochement between England and Eussia in the event of the Our being in a position to revue his claim as head of the house of Holstein Gottorp, are not, to our mind, matteis so unconnected with politics as to enable people to declare that politics have nothing at all to do with the union in question. It would, therefore, be better for the English press to spoalv of things as they are, even though by doing it should run the risk of causing some displeasure to tlie authorities at Berlin. Everyone knows that it was at the instance of the Princess Dagniar that the Czarwiteh during his recent ri^it to London actively endeavoured to tighten tlie bonds which already unite the houses of Englind, Denmark, and Kussin. Why did the English press then hesitate to pay due homage to the patriotism of the wife of the heir to the Ru=Man throne' Are people in England forsooth ignorant th it this Princess has never forgotten that the mission cf Denmark is to delond the Scandinavian race fo 11 the encroachments of Germany, and th.it on tins occasion she must have been moro than ever mindful of that ? As for us, without, we repeat, indulging in the slightest illusion as to the consequences of royal unions, we applaud everything that shows the intention to repair the mistakes made during the la<t few rears, and e\rjy thing that can contribute to bring back European diplomacy to its true traditions Europe in general and France in particular cannot but derive advantage from this.

(Ln Moxdb, Pans, July 19.) The Date of Edinburgh is to marry the daughter of the Czar. Democrats say that princely marriages have ceased to be of any importance ; it must, however, bo admitted that they do no harm. If England ever has a request to address to the Emppror Alexander, she will not succeed more easily by the intei vention of tlie Princess Maria than by means of an ambissadDr. lhe Republic of 1870 did not contract any alliances ; and how was its universal ambassador, M. Thiers, received ? The royal system has the immense adi antage of tending to unite royal families by means of marriages. It produces not only the internal peace of each state, but also an European peace founded on family alliances. What wars this system has saved Europe !