Ottoman Diplomats

Synopsis

Etienne Carathéodory Effendi explains that in Belgium the parliamentary year starts on the second Tuesday of November, and that – unlike in most other constitutional countries – the start of the parliamentary sessions was rarely inaugurated by a King’s speech. This year, however, there were many reasons for the government to opt for a King’s speech. Carathéodory enumerates the many reasons and describes the content of the speech of Leopold II. The government avoided the interesting subjects: Congo and Belgium’s diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The part about public education did not please everybody, but the parts on the goodwill towards the workmen and the military question were generally approved. Carathéodory notes that the King’s speech was rather dull, but explains that this was probably intended, as the government did not want to compromise its position by including too many declarations coloured by their Catholic ideas. (The enclosed text of the King’s speech and the detailed summary of the ceremony, published in the Journal de Bruxelles, is not photographed.)

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