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 pushing 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 Ambassadors 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 Ambassador 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 assert 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. Consequently, there is an end of the dispute. The facts, you see, are simple. But Prince Henry has made him ready to receive his solemn investiture at the hands of his brother, the Emperor, by going to kiss Prince Bismarck on his forehead and cheek ("forehead and cheek," as Prince Henry unctuously remarks, "so often kissed by my grandfather, William I"). Next Prince Henry goes to seek the blessing of General Waldersee; then he has himself blessed by his mother, and by his aunt, and later he will go and get blessed by his grandmother, Queen Victoria. Slowly and solemnly each act and formality is accomplished in accordance with the rites prescribed by William. The Imperial missionary, the sailor transformed into a sort of bishop, sets forth. The quest of the pirate-knight is to conquer all China, to become its emperor, to fall upon it, inspired by the God of battles. What matters it that the Chinese will not resist, that they will fall prostrate before him? The grandeur of Tartarin's setting forth has nothing to do with his getting there.
At Kiel all was prepared. Germany trembled with impatience and this is what she heard:—
"Imperial power means sea power: the existence of the one depends upon the other. The squadron which your ships will reinforce must act and hold itself as the symbol of Imperial and maritime power; it must live on good terms of friendship with all its comrades of the fifteen foreign fleets out yonder, so as energetically to protect the interests of the Fatherland against any one who would injure a German. Let every European over them, every German merchant, and, above all, every foreigner in the land to which we are going, or with whom we may have to do, understand that the German Michael has firmly planted on this soil his shield bearing the Imperial Eagle, so as to be able, once and for all, to give his protection to all those who may require it of him. May our fellow-countrymen out yonder be firmly convinced that, no matter what their situation, be they priests or merchants, the protection of the German Empire will be extended to them with all possible energy by means of the warships of the Imperial fleet. And should any one ever infringe our just rights strike him with your mailed fist! If God so will He shall bind about your young brow laurels of which none, throughout all Germany, shall be jealous!
"Firmly convinced that, following the example of good models (and models are not lacking to our house, Heaven be praised!), you will fulfil my wishes and my vows, I drink to your health and wish a good journey, all success, and, a safe return! Hurrah for Prince Henry!"