Prince Charles of Roumania opened his Chambers on Novem- ber
27th, in a speech in which, after congratulating the country on its independence and the acquisition of the Dobrudscha, and lamenting the cruel sacrifices of the war, he states that the finan- cial position of Roumania is better than before the war, and advises Members to devote themselves to internal improvements. He hopes they will complete the communal law, establish rural Banks, pass a law sanctioning the appointment of Justices of the Peace and securing their responsibility, affirm the irremovability of the Judges, carry further the reorganisation of the Army, and complete the arterial railway system. This is a large programme, and may not be all fulfilled ; but it is as well to remember that the country in which such pro- posals can be entertained is a slice cut off from Turkey, in the teeth of English opposition ; that the union of Moldavia and Wallachia was opposed as bitterly as the union of the Bulgarias now is ; and that it is not twelve months since Prince Charles was denounced as an adventurer, his people declared to be worthless, and his soldiers cowards, all because they ventured to fight Turkey. But for the silly stipulation that the Prince must not belong to a reigning family, the Bulgarias might elect another Hohenzollern, Prince Leopold, the candidate of 1870 for the throne of Spain.
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