LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE GOVERNMENT AND GERMANY. [To TER EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIE,—The Government laughed at your sagacious warning against entanglements with Germany. The imbroglio with Venezuela offers us the first object-lesson of the hypnotic influence of the German Emperor over our Cabinet. Germany's faa.cy ever since Bismarck began to shape it has been to make bad blood between ourselves on the one hand, and Russia and France on the other, and we have been simpletons enough, both Tories and Liberals, to fall into the trap. The Kaiser is a better diplomatist than even Bismarck. To say nothing of Samoa and other concessions, he cleverly lured us into " the Yangtsze Agreement," as Germany calls it. He has now got us into a mess which may embroil us with America, and force us into war with the United States in the interest of Germany exclusively, or to retire humiliated. His object will be to prevent arbitration, or any pacific solution of the difficulty with Venezuela. He wants territory, which an alliance with the greatest naval Power in the world might help him to get at our most serious cost. That is the first fruits of the Kaiser's meeting with the Cabinet at Sandringham. The second is the order to our troops to leave Shanghai while the German troops remain in command of our supposed "sphere of influence." I shall believe that the Germans will evacuate their substantially built brick barracks when the last German soldier has left Shanghai. Has there been an agree- ment with Germany about the Persian Gulf ? Has Germany there, also, employed us to keep Russia out for the benefit of Germany and the damage of British trade P Lord Lana- downe's felicitations on our alliance with Germany, despite the warning of the Spectator, and his praise of Captain Mahan's article on the Persian Gulf are suspicious. Is Lord Lansdowne going to repeat in the Foreign Office his fatuous management of the War Office P-1 am, Sir, &c.,
SCRITTATOR.
[Fortunately America seems to understand that we have been "hypnotised" by Germany into a foolish scheme of joint action. That is humiliating, of course, but the recog- nition of the fact eliminates the danger. Unfortunately Russia, always suspicious of us, is not likely to be so clear-
sighted when the time comes for Germany to take action under cover of Britain in the Persian Gulf.—En. Spectator.]
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