Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1939- 1940 Napoleon, had been forced to surrender with all baggage after the battle of Sedan. The Empress Eugenie had been forced to Hy, France was proclaimed a republic and at length on Jan. 29th, 1871, France yielded. But even now, France was not to have peace, as the Members of the Paris Com- mune procured some cannon and pointed them against the city, but at length, after a week of fighting, they were crushed on the barricades of Paris. .-Xt this time and Communists. a great number of east, and partly to who by stirring up Russia was undergoing a great deal of trouble owing to the Nihilists The first serious Russian revolution occurred in the year 1905, when the lower classes rioted, owing, partly to the Russian failures in the Radicals such as Lenin, Bronstein or Trotsky, Chicherin and others the innocent people caused many deaths among them. A typical incident occurred in this revolution, which made splendid propaganda for the revolutionaries, both in Russia, and abroad. A great mob had been stirred up by a priest named Father Gapon, who was really just a revolutionary in disguise, to go to the emperor bearing ikons and other instruments, to ask him to form a more democratic form of government. No sooner had they reached the gate of the palace than the guards shot them down. The monarchies suffered another blow in Portugal when King Manuel was de- posed prior to the war, after which a republic was declared which has existed ever since. Russia again throughout the early years of the war suffered greatly. The country was in the hands of the dishonest priest Rasputin, who imposed himself on the Empress, and owing to the corruption of the ministers the people became dissatisfied. At last in March 1917 the Czar was forced to abdicate, and the government was put in the hands of Kerensky, who although a great talker, was utterly unfit to run Russia at that time, and after a brief term of office was driven out by the violent Communists such as Lenin, who came back to Russia by the famous Sealed train from Switzerland, where they had been forced to stay since the last revolution of 1905. From that time the VYhite, or Czarist, cause steadily lost ground, and the armies of Denikin and later of YVrange1 were finally driven into the sea in 1921. Another great empire was also tottering all through the war, that of .-Xustria-Hung- ary. The first signs were in Bohemia, where whole regiments of Czechs deserted to the Russians. Up to 1917, however, the Empire had been held together by the strong in- fluence of the old Emperor Franz Joseph, but at his death in 1917, and the accession of his nephew Carl, who was a weak man, it fell to pieces like pins from a worn-out magnet, and in 1918 Carl fled the country. In October 1918 Gen. :Xllenby brought to a close the campaign of the Holy Land bv breaking the Turkish line and by capturing Damascus and all the Turkish bases, thus forcing the Turks to sue for peace. By the breakdown of the Turkish Army Abdul Hamid was forced to abdicate in favour of Mohammed YI, whose reign was cut short by the rising of Mustapha Kemal. 1211

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SIQLWYN HOl,'S1i SCHOOL NIAGAZINI-Q The Qtrasb nf the jflilnnarcbiss anh the Rise uf the Republics. The crash of the monarchies and the springing up in their place of republics is large- ly due to the fact that in many cases the monarchs show'ed themselves to be tyrannical slave-drivers, and to care nothing for the welfare of the lower classes. The French Revolution was the lirst of its kind to occur in Europe, and was, as we know, fully successful in deposing and executing its monarch Louis XVI. In the year 13-13 there began in lfurope a general series of revolutions which oc- curred in nearly every country of laiurope. These were started, not to set up Bolshevist states, but purely to de-pose monarchs and to wrest the power from the nobles, and they were in no small way to shake the foundations of the great monarchies. But again as in 1790 revolution started in Paris. On Feb. the 22nd the streets of Paris were hlled with armed, idle crowds, who shouted, Hurrah for reform l Down with the Ministers 1 and in a few days Louis, last King of France, abdicated. There was at this time a great deal of discontent in the countries of Italy, owing to the fact that the people were stirred up by such radicals as Mazzini and Mani. On January 12th the people of Palermo, Sicily, rose in arms against its Bourbon Government. On January 27th the people of Naples followed suit, and only a popular constitu- tion proclaimed by lferdinand II averted revolution. Similar outbreaks broke out all over Italy and in the North, then dominated by .-Xustria, the Austrian Commander, Radetzky, was forced to proclaim martial law. A revolt now broke out in Berlin, where troops and rioters clashed, barricades were thrown up, and for a day street lighting continued, until the streets were cleared. The Czechs ot' Bohemia now rebelled for independence, and barricades were thrown up in the City of Prague, where the governor threatened to bombard the city unless the barricades were removed. This was not done, so accordingly the city was taken by storm and martial law prevailed. ln February of 13-W, Don Carlos the Spanish Pretender joined a revolution in Catalonia under Carbera, but was soon arrested, and Carbera, deprived of his assistance, soon Hed the country. Although the revolutions of 18-18 and 13-19 failed, they were in no small way, as I have said, to weaken the prestige of practically all the great houses of Europe. The year 1870 was a critical one for France. The Prussians under Von Moltke were driving everything before them owing to the folly of the French Emperor, and were fast advancing on Paris. On September lnd the French army, under the Emperor Louis 12411

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SELWYN HOCSE SCHOOL M.-XG.-XZINE The revolution in Germany was much more orderly than in many other countries. The Kaiser left Gen. H.Q. in Belgium for Holland on the morning ofNovember 9th, 1918, but refused to sign his abdication prepared for him by his Chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, till November 28th. The lirst German King to abdicate was that of Wlirtemberg, fol- lowed by the King of Saxony, then by the King of Bavaria, and later by all the Princes. The Republican Government, under Ebert the saddle maker, formed after the Armistice, had a hard battle against Communism. The Communists led by Dr. Carl Liebknecht and a Jewess, Rosa Luxemburg, who were later murdered, were utterly crushed by the Schupo under Noske, Ebert's right-hand man. The revolution of Greece was not due to the Great 1Yar but to the Turco-Greek War of about 1920. lt was here that King Constantine decided to invade Turkey and after some successes his army was routed by Mustapha Kemal before Angora and driven back into the sea. The Greeks, infuriated by the army's failure in Asia Minor, forced Constantine to abdicate, and thereafter Greece became a republic. About eight or nine years ago, King Alphonso ll of Spain abdicated and came to England owing to the socialist influence then in Spain, but after the revolution starting in 1936 a new King may someday reign in Spain. The monarchy in England lasted all through the war, it has lasted ever since, and will I think last far into the future, the reason being that the King has little power, and the government with which he rules is a democratic one. Where other kings have, through imperious methods, failed to keep their thrones, the King of England keeps his by democratic means. I. B., Form 3. The Zlihrarp. We are indebted to the following boys for the large increase of books on our shelves' To all these donors we are extremely grateful. A further bookcase was added last September, ere long it would seem that another will be needed. The Library has been patronized as extensively as ever, and particularly so by the small boys, which is encouraging and all to the good. Here is the list of donors, who, between them, contributed forty-five books in all:- Jimmy Paterson, Arthur hlathewson, George Currie, John l-lallward, Jeremy Lyman, 1Yilfrid Palmer, Hugh Cleveland, and Malcolm Nlacllougall. B. 14. T. H. 1331