Brussels, July 2.
A stirring appeal for national service was made by King Leopold to the leaders of the ex-Soldiers Association, whom he received at the Palace to-day.
The demand of the ex-Servicemen for.a referendum on the Political Amnesty Bill, which grants an amnesty to persons condemned after the Great War for acts of treason committed in war time, could not be met, he said. The principle of referendum, he explained, was not recognized by the Constitution.
Tt was a mistake, the King continued, to attribute to the Amnesty Bill the character of an attack on the dignity of the country and the honour of the heroes of the War, for both this dignity and this honour remained intact.
"National service, the ideal for which you fought, should continue to be the object of your collective action," he said. "More than ever Belgium needs union and internal peace."
Demonstrations against the Amnesty Bill were staged in Brussels by thousands of ex-Servicemen on June 23 when several persons were injured and a number arrested. The Bill, as an issue of confidence, was passed by the Chamber of Representatives on June 2 by 95 votes to 75.—
Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.