NEPAUL. AN independent Kingdom in the Himalayas, between 26° 25' and 30° 17' N. lat., and between 80° 6' and 88° 14' of E. long.; its greatest length 500 miles, its greatest breath about 150; bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Sikkim, on the south and west by British India. The nominal sovereign is the Maharaj Adiraj, Surandar Bikram Shumshir Jung, succeeded 1884; the real power being in the hands of his minister, Bir Shamsher. The Goorkhas, a Rajpoot race from Kashmir, conquered Nepaul in the latter half of the last century, and have maintained their power to this day. About 1790 a Goorkha army invaded Tibet; and to avenge this affront the Chinese Emperor, Kuen Lung, in 1791, sent an army into Nepaul, which compelled the Goorkhas to submit to the terms of peace, by which they were bound to pay tribute to China. This tribute is still sent, but only at irregular intervals. The relations between the Indian Government and the Goorkha rulers of Nepaul date from the time of the Chinese invasion, when Lord Cornwallis endeavoured, but without success, to avert hostilities. A commercial treaty, however, between India and Nepaul was signed in 1792 An English envoy was sent to reside at Khatmandu, but was recalled two years later. A frontier outrage, in 1814, compelled the Indian Government to declare war; and a British force advanced to within three marches of the capital. Peace was signed in March 1816. Since then the relations of the English with Nepaul have been on the whole friendly; and during the Indian Mutiny, the Prime Minister, Sir Jung Bahadur, sent a detachment of Goorkha troops to assist in the suppression of the rebellion in Oudh. Jung Bahadur died in 1877, and was succeeded as Prime Minister by Sir Ranodhip Singh, who was overthrown and murdered in a revolution which occurred in November 1885. Since then the Prime Minister Bir Shamsher has been in power. The government of Nepaul is that of a military oligarchy. The chief power is in the hands of a mayor of the palace, or prime minister; the Maharaj Adiraj being merely titular sovereign. In accordance with the treaty between Nepaul and the Government of India, an English Resident lives in the capital, and is permitted to have a small guard of Indian sepoys; but he has no right of interference in the affairs of the State. Area about 54,000 square miles; population estimated at 2,000,000 The races of Nepaul, besides the dominant Goorkhas, include earlier inhabitants of Tartar origin, such as Magars, Gurangs, and Newars. Chief town, Khatmandu. Hinduism of an early type is the religion of the Goorkhas, and is gradually but steadily overlaying the Buddhism of the primitive inhabitants. There is a standing irregular army in Nepaul with an estimated strength of 13,000. Besides this, a force of 17,000 regulars is said to be stationed near the capital. The troops are equipped with Enfield rifles of local manufacture; and there is a limited number of small field-pieces. The trade of Nepaul with British India amounted in 1888–89 to:ports, 15,281,000 rupees; imports, 11,154,000 rupees. The principal artic. of export are rice, oil seeds, clarified butter, ponies, timber, musk, be The chief imports are raw cotton, twist, and piece goods, woollens, shar tobacco, sheet copper, and tea. The silver mohar is valued at 6 annas 8 pice of British Indian rency. Copper pice of varying value are also coined. The Indian reg passes current in southern Nepaul. British Political Resident.—Major E. L. Durand. BOOKS OF REFERENCE. son. Essays on the Languages, Literature, and Religion of Nepaul and Tibet, by Brian Es Sketches from Nepaul, Historical and Descriptive, by H. A. Oldfield. London, 1880. London, 1st NETHERLANDS (THE). (KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN.) Reigning Sovereign. Willem III., born February 19, 1817; the eldest son of King Willem II., and of Princess Anna Paulowna, daughter of Emperor Paul I. of Russia; educated by private tutors, and at the University of Leyden; succeeded to the throne, at the death of his father, March 17, 1849. Married, June 18, 1839, to Princess Sophie, born June 17, 1818, the second daughter of King Wilhelm I. of Württemberg; widower June 3, 1877. Married, in second nuptials, Jan. 7, 1879, to Queen Emma, born August 2, 1858, daughter of Prince George Victor of Waldeck. Daughter of the King. Princess Wilhelmina, offspring of the second marriage, born August 31, 1880, heiress-apparent. Sister of the King. Princess Sophie, born April 8, 1824; married, Oct. 8, 1842, to Grand-duke Karl Alexander of Saxe-Weimar, born June 24, 1818. The royal family of the Netherlands, known as the House of Orange, descends from a German Count Walram, who lived in the eleventh century. Through the marriage of Count Engelbrecht, of the branch of Otto, Count of Nassau, with Jane of Polanen, in 1404, the family acquired the barony of Breda, and thereby became settled in the Netherlands. The alliance with another heiress, only sister of the childless Prince of Orange and Count of Châlons, brought to the house a rich province in the south of France; and a third matrimonial union, that of Prince Willem III. of Orange with a daughter of King James II., led to the transfer of the crown of Great Britain to that prince. Previous to this period, the members of the family had acquired great influence in the Republic of the Netherlands under the name of 'stadtholders,' or governors. The dignity was formally declared to be hereditary in 1747, in Willem IV.; but his successor, Willem V., had to fly to England, in 1795, at the invasion of the French republican army. The family did not return till November, 1813, when the fate of the republic, released from French supremacy, was under discussion at the Congress of Vienna. After various diplomatic negotiations, the Belgian provinces, subject before the French revolution to the House of Austria, were ordered by the Congress to be annexed to the territory of the republic, and the whole to be erected into a kingdom, with the son of the last Stadtholder, Willem V., as hereditary sovereign. In consequence, the latter was proclaimed King of the Netherlands at the Hague on the 16th of March, 1815, and recognised as sovereign by all the Powers of Europe. The established union between the northern and southern provinces of the Netherlands was dissolved by the Belgian revolution of 1830, and their political relations were not readjusted until the signing of the Treaty of London, April 19, 1839, which constituted Belgium an independent kingdom. King Willem I. abdicated in 1840, bequeathing the crown to his son Willem II., who, after a reign of nine years, left it to his heir, the present sovereign of the Netherlands. King Willem II. had a civil list of 1,000,000 guilders, but the amount was reduced to 600,000 guilders at the commencement of the reign of the present king. There is also a large revenue from domains, and in addition an allowance of 50,000 guilders for the maintenance of the royal palaces. The heir-apparent has 100,000 guilders, which sum is doubled in case of a marriage with the consent of the States-General. The Queen-widow receives an annual allowance of 150,000 guilders. The family of Orange is, besides, in the possession of a very large private fortune, acquired in greater part by King Willem I. in the prosecution of vast enterprises tending to raise the commerce of the Netherlands. The House of Orange has given the following Sovereigns to the Netherlands since its reconstruction as a kingdom by the Congress of Vienna:Willem I. Willem II. Willem III. Government and Constitution. I. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. 1815 1840 1849 The first Constitution of the Netherlands after its reconstruction as a kingdom was given in 1815, and was revised in 1848 and in 1887. According to this charter the Netherlands form a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. The royal succession is in the direct male line in the order of primogeniture; in default of male heirs, the female line ascends to the throne. In default of a legal heir, the successor to the throne is designated by the King and a joint meeting of both the Houses of Parliament (each containing twice the usual number of members), and by this assembly alone if the case occurs after the King's death. The age of majority of the King is 18 years. During his minority the royal power is vested in a Regent-designated by law-or in some cases in the State Council. The executive power of the State belongs exclusively to the Sovereign, while the whole legislative authority rests conjointly in the King and Parliament, the latter-called the StatesGeneral-consisting of two Chambers. The Upper or First Chamber is composed of 50 members, elected by the Provincial States from among the most highly assessed inhabitants of the eleven provinces, or from among some high and important functionaries, mentioned by bill. The Second Chamber of the States-General numbers 100 deputies, and is elected directly from among all the male citizens who are 30 years of age and are not deprived by judicial sentence of their eligibility or the administration and the disposal of their property. Voters are all male citizens, 23 years of age, who have paid either a ground-tax of at least 10 guilders, or a direct tax (personal) to an amount higher than the sum which gives partial exemption from taxation, and which varies according to population, or who are lodgers according to the precepts of the law. The total number of electors, according to the new Constitution, is 290,000, which gives 1 voter in about 15 persons. The members of the Second Chamber receive an annual allowance of 2,000 guilders, besides travelling expenses. They are elected for 4 years and retire in a body, whereas the First Chamber is elected for 9 years, and every three years one-third retire by rotation. The King has the power to dissolve both Chambers of Parliament, or one of them, being bound only to order new elections within 40 days and to convoke the new meeting within two months. The Government and the Second Chamber only have the right of introducing new bills; the functions of the Upper Chamber being restricted to approving or rejecting them, without the right of inserting amendments. The meetings of both Chambers are public, though each of them, by the decision of the majority, may form itself into a private committee. The ministers can attend at the meetings of both Chambers, but they have only a deliberative voice, unless they are members. Alterations in the Constitution can be made only by a bill declaring that there is reason for introducing those alterations, followed by a dissolution of the Chambers and a second confirmation by the new States-General by two-thirds of the votes. Unless it is explicitly declared, the laws concern only the realm in Europe, and not the colonies. The executive authority, belonging to the Sovereign, is exercised by a responsible Council of Ministers. There are eight heads of departments in the Ministerial Council, namely: 1. The Minister of the Interior and President of the Council of Ministers.-Jonkheer Dr. A. F. de Savornire Lohman; appointed Feb. 17, 1890. 2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs.-Jonkheer C. Hartsen; appointed April 20, 1888. 3. The Minister of Finance.-Jonkheer Dr. K. A. Godin de Beaufort; appointed April 20, 1888. 4. The Minister of Justice.-Jonkheer Dr. G. L. M. K. Ruijs van Beerenbroek; appointed April 20, 1888. 5. The Minister of the Colonies.-Dr. A. E. Baron Mackay; appointed February 17, 1890. |