GERMANY'S VIEWS.—NOW AND THEN.
(To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTVIOR."]
SIR,—Recently one of the leading German Professors, Professor Herrmann, of Marburg, a distinguished writer on Christian ethics, has published a book under the title of The English, the Turks, and Ourselves. He there establishes to his own satisfac- tion that it iA no disgrace to Germany to be allied with Turks, though it would be disgraceful to be allied with Englishmen, in whom there is to be found nothing but falsehood and hypocrisy. Twelve years ago, however, in 1905, Professor Lemme, of Heidel- berg, wrote, in dealing with Christian ethics, to the following effect:—
" Christian sentiment cannot recommend the total ending of war as long as there exists such a miserable image of a State as Turkey. The never-ceasing massacres of Christians and the enmity to all culture of the Turkish race compel the judgment that the continued existence of this Government is ten times worse than the wars which would be needed for its removal."— lehristliche Ethik, p. 1020).
One can only say, the case being altered, that alters the case; but Austria also was quite equal to similar proceedings. In 1880 Count Xarolyi, the Austrian Ambassador in London, assured the British Prime Minister of that day that the Austrian Government had no desire whatever to extend or add to the rights Austria had acquired under the Treaty of Berlin, and that any such extension would be actually prejudicial to Austria-Hungary. However, in 1909 the Vienna Government, under cover of the veiled ultimatum which Berlin had sent to the Tsar, carried out the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, countries almost entirely peopled by Serbians. This, of course, was a great triumph for Pan-Germanism, but it was done behind the back of King Edward, who had been, only a week or two previously, meeting the Austrian Ambassador, who evidently had been told to say nothing about it to the British King.—I am, Sir, &c.,
P. W. C.
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