Part 16 (2/2)
For those whose interest lies in this direction, the Imperial Statistical Bureau of Berlin provides information of an astounding kind. Germany's exports in 1896 reached the value of 3754 millions of marks. German exports to England and her colonies amounted to 808 million marks, whilst England and her colonies supplied Germany with produce to the amount of 931 million marks. [19]
Henceforth William II knows that he has at his command the tools with which to bite into England, industrially and commercially. He has already had a large bite, and he looks forward to eating up proud Albion, slowly but surely.
November 26, 1897. [20]
We must always remember and incessantly repeat: Germany's paths throughout the whole world are widening and lengthening horribly. The latest Roman invader profits at the same time by all the headway that Carthage and Athens lose. England and France, alike responsible for their spoliation, are the more to blame in that they allow themselves to be smitten with blindness at a time when they are not yet smitten with impotence. In the East, both might have done what they liked, with the help and the interested support of Russia. But what have they done? Less than nothing, since they have worked in servile fas.h.i.+on--one for the greater glory of her military conqueror, the other for the glory of her commercial conqueror. The European Concert, whether it retreated or advanced, whether it took up a question or discussed it, has done all things under the exclusive direction of German interests.
With a haughty contempt and disdain for the dignity of all Europe outside the Triple Alliance, which should have been met by emphatic protests, William II has compelled Russia, England and France to give public sanction to the crimes of the hyena of Stamboul, to build up with their own hands the supremacy of Prussia in the East and that of Austria in the Balkans.
Baron Marshal von Bieberstein, Germany's new Amba.s.sador, has been welcomed at the Court of the Grand Turk as the envoy of his chief counsellor, his only friend, as the sacrosanct representative of the Emperor-King, over-lord of the East. Thus all the delays, evasions and subterfuges of the Sultan are sanctioned by William II.
The King of Prussia, Emperor of Germany, takes pleasure in a self-contradictory policy, whereby he misleads and confuses the world.
He is the same to-day as he was when, as prince heir to the throne, he declared that he ”would never have any friends, only dupes.” Through him the Sultan, whom he delights to honour, becomes a conqueror, his crimes are condoned and cynically absolved before the outraged conscience of all Europe. Yes, all these things have been done by William II; Abdul Hamid looks upon the German Emperor as the main pillar of the temple of his glory!
One cannot speak of the East without feelings of shame and heartfelt indignation. In Turkey's stolid resistance to reform, in her ma.s.sacres, in the Cretan revolt, and in the war between her and Greece, William II has seen only an opportunity of gain for himself. He has cynically pursued his policy of profit-s.n.a.t.c.hing. Just as certain quacks demand a higher fee when they prescribe for a patient whose life is in serious danger, so William II exacts heavier payment from his client. His demands are exorbitant: trade, finance, armaments, concessions, sale of arms, renewal of munitions of war, rebuilding of the fleet, etc., etc.
The King of Prussia continues, without ceasing and at his own sweet will, to utter defiance to common sense and to the general direction of civilised opinion. Whilst by his policy he supports the foul murderer of Christians and prepares the way for fresh butcheries on the return of the victorious Turks from Thessaly, William II has addressed these astounding words to the recruits of his Royal Guards: ”He who is not a good Christian, is not a brave man, nor a worthy Prussian soldier, and can by no means fulfil the duty required of a soldier in the Prussian army.”
December 10, 1897. [21]
Germanism, which up till 1870 had a certain sense of decent restraint, and took the trouble to disguise itself skilfully under Bismarck, no longer knows either limitations or scruples. It displays itself without shame, secure in the hesitancy of the Slav and the weakness of the Latin peoples. Who could fail to be roused to indignation by the display of German fanaticism which has taken place at Vienna? To think that in the capital of an ally of William II, a faction, relying on advice publicly given in Berlin should shout in the Reichsrath, overthrow a ministry, disturb the public peace in the streets, and accompany these manifestations with Prussia's national song, ”Die Wacht am Rhein,” and the display of the German flag! If scandalous proceedings such as these make no difference in the relations of the Triple Alliance, why wonder at the audacity and pride of the Teutons?
Everything is a matter of exclusive right for the German. There are no other rights but German rights, and when Germany claims the exercise of a right, neither numbers, nor nationalism, nor races have any existence, confronted by the individuality, the nationalism, of the German race. Mommsen, the leading historian of Prussian Germany, wrote in the _Neue Freie Presse_ of Vienna, ”Pummel the heads of the Czechs with your fists,” whereat all the Austrians of German race applauded, loudly declaring that if it came to a question between the Germans of Prussian Germany and Austrian subjects of Slav extraction, their sympathies would not be in doubt, for they, although Austrians, saw on the one side their brethren of a superior _Kultur_, and, on the other, barbarians only fit to remain for ever oppressed.
On another occasion, Mommsen wrote: ”We are twin brothers; we became separated from you in former days, but soon we must be united again.”
The linguistic map of Germany, widespread wherever German is spoken, reveals very clearly what are the ambitions of ”Alt-Deutschland.” The lion's maw of the ”Slav-eaters” is always wide open. Sometimes the devouring beast walks delicately, at others he hurls himself savagely on his prey.
The opening of the Reichstag has provided us with a very important speech from the throne by William II, for it emphasises the lack of agreement which prevails between Sovereign, Parliament and people. The Emperor-King has announced his plan for a seven-years' period for naval service, similar to that in force in the army. The Bill will come before the Reichstag during its present session. As William has declared more than once, he intends that the naval strength of Germany shall equal that of her army. As for the German people, while ready to accept all the sacrifices required to maintain the supremacy of its military forces, it has no hankerings after naval supremacy. Its proudest hopes lie in the direction covered by the ”Drang nach Osten”
formula. It wants to advance upon Austria, while retaining the ground already won. Mommsen and the Duke of Baden between them sum up Germany's ambitions.
In Germany at the present moment, public opinion would appear to be satisfied with preserving the work of William I and pus.h.i.+ng on towards the East; but how little will these things satisfy William II! It is the will of the German Emperor, King of Prussia, to be a law-giver to the East, to dispute with England the sovereignty of the seas, to take bites out of China, to display the ever-victorious flag of Germany all over the world. It is true that, to accomplish this will of his, will require an additional 500 millions, and it will require, in particular, that the Reichstag should vote them in one lump sum. William II is like his teacher Bismarck in the matter of dogged obstinacy. Like him, he will present his scheme in a hundred different guises, until its opponents become weary and give in.
Germany has just been giving the European Concert a lesson in the policy of energy. She displays as much bluntness in her sudden claims as she displayed skill in having the Concert brought to ridicule by Turkey. Haiti and China have yielded on the spot to her direct threats. If they reflect, will not the Powers of the Concert realise that Germany's every act is either a challenge or a lesson? The German expedition to Kiao-chao, 4000 strong, is so greatly in excess of the requirements of her claims to compensation for injuries suffered, that it reveals a definite intention on the part of William II to take advantage of the first plausible pretext to acquire a naval station in China.
Peace has been signed between Turkey and Greece, but let us not regard it as a settlement of outstanding questions, for the Amba.s.sadors were only able to come to an agreement by eliminating questions in dispute, one by one. Germany now appears to dominate the Eastern question to such a degree that, in his Speech from the Throne, William II did not even allude to it. What would have been the good? Turkey is already a province of Germany! William II and his Amba.s.sador are the rulers there and govern the country as sovereigns. The flood-gate of German emigration, secretly unlocked, will soon be thrown wide open; 200,000 Germans will be able to make their way into the Ottoman Empire every year. Before long their numbers will tell, they will a.s.sert their rights, and the Slav provinces in the Balkans and in Austria will find themselves out off by the flood.
Is Russia beginning to realise that it would have been better for her to protect the Christians against Turkey rather than to allow them to be slaughtered--that it would have been a more humane and far-seeing policy to defend Greece and Crete instead of abandoning them to the tender mercies of Turco-German policy? It is over-late to set the clock back and to challenge the pre-eminent control which William II has established over everything in the East.
December 25, 1897. [22]
None but the author of _Tartarin_ and his immortal ”departures” could have described for us the setting-forth of Prince Henry of Prussia for China. The exchange of speeches between William and his brother makes one of the most extravagant performances of modern times, when read in conjunction with the actual facts, reduced by means of the telegraph to their proper proportions, which may be summed up as follows: Taking up the cause of two German missionaries who have suffered ill-treatment in China, the Emperor of Germany sends an ultimatum to the Son of Heaven, who yields on every point and carries his submission so far that he runs the risk of compromising his relations with other Powers.
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