THE GERMAN CRUSADE AGAINST ENGLAND.
THE crusade of the German Press against England in
• general, and Mr. Gladstone's Government in particular, shows no sign of abating. What does it mean ? Is it in- spired by Prince Bismarck? At all events, it cannot be very displeasing to him, for his relations with the principal journals of Germany are such that he never finds any difficulty in getting them to take their cue from him in matters of foreign policy. Nor are the violent tirades of the German Press the only indications which Prince Bismarck has lately given of his antagonism to the Government of Mr. Gladstone. His obtru- sion of the sanitary condition of Egypt into the discussions of the Conference on Egyptian finance showed his animus. He knew quite well that the sanitary condition of Egypt was out- side the agenda of the Conference e and the question, more- over, was one in which Germany had no special interest. But Prince Bismarck wished to be disagreeable to England ; and, therefore, the more irrelevant the disagreeable
the better it would
serve his wish to tread on John Bull's corns. Nor is it the Press only that seems to have received a hint from Prince Bismarck to make itself disagreeable to England ; the incident just reported from .Bageida, in West Africa, would appear to indicate that the commanders of Germany's ships-of- war have learnt that they would not mortally offend the Chan- cellor by rudeness towards England. We are glad to learn that no insult was offered to the British flag ; but there appears to be no doubt that the German flag was Ostentatiously hoisted on territory which there is at least pri»lli fircie reason to regard as a British possession. We do not attach much im- portance to the incident ; but it affords evidence of a temper which, if not checked, may breed mischief between the two countries. That the German Chancellor has any wish seriously to pick a quarrel with England, or even with the Liberal Government, we do not for a moment believe. Germany's position in Europe is not so assured that she can afford to provoke the hostility or even the estrangement of England. lt. is England's turn to have some embarrassment on her hands just new in Egypt. But., after all, the Egyptian imbroglio is but a trifle in comparison with mul- titudes of embarrassments which we have often had to meet and surmount. We have probably passed the crisis of the Egyptian difficulty, and the prospect before us in the Valley of the Nile is not particularly alarming. Politics, on the other hand, have their surprises, and Prince Bismarck may find to his cost that it is not prudent to alienate a powerful nation which has no other desire than to live on terms of good-will and amity with Germany. We believe that the mass of the German people sincerely reciprocate the friendly -
feelings of this country towards them, and that the rabid violence of their Press does them a gross injustice. Still, the Press of a free country must, after all, be taken to represent its public opinion ; and if the attacks of the German Press continue much longer, the English nation can hardly be expected to hold the German nation entirely irresponsible. So far, the English Press has treated the attacks of the Press of Germany with good-humoured forbearance. But our for- bearance has its limits ; and if we should be provoked to retaliate, a sore might be established between the two coun- tries which both would have cause to regret. We would gladly be on friendly terms with Germany ; but it is rather difficult to know at present what _conditions Germany is dis- posed to exact in return for her friendship.
We have already expressed our opinion that Prince Bismarck is annoyed by our ambiguous policy in Egypt. He does not know what we would be at. He prides himself on the direct- ness and firmness of the administration of Germany under his rule, and he cannot understand the slowness and tentative efforts of -English administration. With all his ability, he fails to understand the English character. Lord Beaconsfield made a great impression on him. He really seems to have imagined that Lord Beaconsfield's theatrical displays were genuine evidence of power. The English public laughed at the transportation of seven thousand Sepoys to Cyprus; but it. made a great impression on the Continent, and Prince Bismarck was one of the dupes of that farcical manceuvre. When the question was brought to the test of Parliamentary debate, Mr. Gladstone and the Liberal Party were beaten by
an overwhelming majority, and Prince Bismarck believed that Lord Beaconsfield had the English public at his back. The result of the General Election of 1880 was a surprise and a disappointment to him. He had fully persuaded himself that Lord Beaconsfield had won the confidence of the vast majority of the English people, and he made his political calculations accordingly. Dreading an alliance between France and Russia, he projected a quadruple league of defence, con- sisting of Germany, Aestria, Italy, and England, never doubting that the Conservatives in England were assured of a long lease of power. The result of. the Dissolution, as we have said, was a great surprise to him ; and he seems to have persuaded himself, like Lord Salisbury and the Conservatives generally, that the Liberal majority of 1880 was a mere accident,—" a scratch majority," bewitched for the nonce by the syren strains of Mr. Gladstone's seducing oratory. He also appears to share Lord Salisbury's delusion that the electorate have changed their mind ; that they have returned to sober reason, and would now, if they got the chance, reverse the verdict of 1880. It is probable, therefore, that an authoritative hint has been given to the German Press to write down Mr. Gladstone's Government, and thereby help the return of a Conservative Government to power. Let us remember what happened just before the General Election of 1880. The German Press then received the 7not d'orclre to write Mr. Glad- stone down and write Lord Beaconsfield up. "So long as the Austro-German alliance can reckon," wrote one of Prince Bismarck's Berlin scribes in the beginning of 1880, "on seeing its policy of peace, which constitutes its raison d'are, sup- ported by an English Government strong at home and respected abroad, whose influence with Prance is powerful enough to wean or to deter her from an armed coalition with the Northern Empire [Russia], even the most warlike Russians are forced of necessity to keep still. But if, on the other hand, an un- happy fate should will that a revolution in Russia should be accompanied by a relapse of England into indifference to Con- tinental interests, then would follow a European complication detrimental to the policy of Prince Bismarck." Now we wish to be perfectly frank with Prince Bismarck. He is fond of assuring the world that he will never allow a single Pomeranian soldier to be slain in defence of any interest which is not strictly German. Let him clearly understand that no English Government, whatever be its political complexion, will ever again pull chestnuts out of the fire for any Con- tinental Power. The future destiny of Constantinople may be a matter of vital concern to Germany and Austria ; it does not concern England at all. Our interests, so far as India is concerned, end in Egypt ; and if we claim a voice in the distribution of the disjecta membra of the Turkish Empire, when the day of its dissolution has at length arrived, it will not be because we have any serious material interest in the matter, but because we•may wish to safeguard the rights of the native populations who are legitimately the residuary legatees of the Turks.
But why should Prince Bismarck wish to upset Mr. Glad- stone's Government, and help a Tory Government into power ? He is probably influenced by a variety of reasons. He is himself a Tory of the Tories. He is proud to call himself "a King's man." He accepts Parliamentary Government as a very • disagreeable necessity ; but he loses no opportunity of showing his contempt for it ; and whenever he can, he tramples upon it and defies it. While he was maturing his schemes of Army - reorganisation and military .conquests he remained in power, and passed his measures by means of the Royal prerogative, in spite of the opposition of the majority of the representatives of the people. With him the Royal prerogative is everything; the will of the people counts for nothing, if it is opposed to the will Of the King. It is easy to see how such a man would sympathise with a statesman like Lord Beaconsfield; who tried to restore the Royal prerogative at the expense of Parliamentary power and control. And it is equally easy to. see how a man, like Prince Bismarck would dislike a statesman of Mr. Gladstone's character and power. Prince Bismarck has more than once expressed his contempt for oratory and orators. That is natural; for the proper field of oratory is a free Par- liamentary Government, and a free Parliamentary Government is, of all things, that which Prince Bismarck most cordially dislikes. His ideas of Government are entirely feudal. He is the foe of popular freedom everywhere ; and, therefore, it is but natural that he should cordially dislike a statesman whose name is identified with the cause of freedom throughout the world. But Prince Bismarck is making a great mistake. There is nothing which the English people resent more than
any attempt on the part of foreign Governments to interfere in the domestic politics of this country. The ostentatious patron- age of Lord Beaconsfield's Government by Germany and Austria in 1880 had no other effect than swelling Mr. Gladstone's majority. And if there were any doubt (which there is not) that the Liberals would get a majority in the next general election, the violent attacks on Mr. Gladstone by the German Press would probably turn the scale in favour of Mr. Glad- stone. We have already admitted that Prince Bismarck has good reason to complain of the dilatoriness and bungling of our Foreign Office on some recent occasions. But the surest way to make us forget the faults of our own administration is to encourage such unfair attacks as those which the German Press are now making on the Government of Mr. Gladstone. If Prince Bismarck wished to help Mr. Gladstone at the next dissolution of Parliament, he could not adopt a more effectual method to serve his purpose than the attempt which the principal journals of Germany are now making to bully the English people to dismiss Mr. Gladstone's Government in favour of an administration under the guidance of Lord Salisbury.
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