r 9 y Suis The return of King Leopold to his capital
has filled half of his ibjects with enthusiasm and the other half with gloom and irrita- on. The terms of his return are uncertain ; so far nothing has been tid to show whether he intends to reign in Brussels for the rest of is life or to abdicate in the near future in favour of his eldest )11, Prince Baudouin. This latter was the compromise solution-to the crisis which gained most favour during the constitutional debates, and was even granted conditional support by the king in his broad- cast of April 15th ; the condition being that his delegation of power to his sou should not be necessarily permanent. Little more is heard today of this compromise among the king's supporters, and Leopold himself is silent on the matter. One explanation of this silence is that the king and his advisers have been agreeably surprised by the comparatively quiet reception which has greeted his return, and feel that there is, therefore, no need for him to think about setting out on his travels again. This is a dangerous line of thought. Belgian public opinion on the subject of King Leopold has been analysed in the past few months, by means of plebiscites and elections, with a thoroughness that must be the envy of Dr. Gallup. The verdict has been perfectly clear: half the nation. Wants Leopold to rule and the other half does not. It would be 'a 'mistake to argue that because the opposition has thrown no big bcmbs, or because the cheers of the supporters are a few decibels louder than the boos of the opponents, there has therefore been a shift In opinion. There has not ; and in these circumstances appeals for unity, however sincere, are of no avail. The divisions in the country are too recent and too deep to be healed by the man around whom they have centered, and the strange departure of the Regen. from Belgium shows that even in the royal family there are differences which have not been settled by the new situation. The king's reputa- tion has been vindicated by his return, but it will be jeopardised if he decides to stay on indefinitely.
