GERMANY. 



327 



maintained similar relations with the French 

 commissary of police at Avricourt. Baron 

 Schleinitz, an ex-captain in the German arrny, 

 was tried by court-martial for treasonable 

 practices, and his sentence of three years' hard 

 labor was confirmed in April. Sarauw, a Da- 

 nish captain, who had been sentenced to twelve 

 years' imprisonment for high treason, furnished 

 the German with details of the French spy sys- 

 tem, and was rewarded for his disclosures by 

 afterward receiving his liberty. At the end 

 of May a chancery clerk at Strasburg, named 

 Cabannes, and another functionary of the 

 name of Bruckner, were arrested as spies. An 

 employ^ in the Government lithographing es- 

 tablishment, August Glausinger, who had fur- 

 nished Cabannes with secret printed docu- 

 ments, was also arrested. 



On June 13 a trial for treason-felony of 

 eight Alsatians, who were charged with be- 

 longing to the French Patriotic League, was 

 begun at Leipsic. It was shown that the 

 Ligne des Patriotes, which was founded at 

 Paris in May, 1872, to promote the reacquisi- 

 tion of the provinces, had established rifle 

 clubs and gymnastic and vocal societies in 

 Alsace-Lorraine, and that pamphlets, news- 

 papers, and song-books designed to keep alive 

 French patriotic sentiments had been dissemi- 

 nated. The prisoners confessed to having con- 

 tributed funds to the League, but denied that 

 it had any treasonable or political object. 

 They were sentenced to several years' confine- 

 ment, and were consigned to the casemates of 

 the fortresses of Glatz and Magdeburg. 



Klein and Grebert were brought to trial on 

 July 4. It was shown that Klein, who was 

 once a mason and architect, and had been a 

 sergeant in the French army in 1870, but 

 afterward adopted German nationality, had 

 forwarded to Paris information regarding the 

 German method of mobilization, the commis- 

 sariat, the garrisons, armaments, equipments, 

 the dimensions of forts and trenches, and even 

 a complete plan on a large scale of the fortifi- 

 cations at Mayence. He made a complete con- 

 fession, and gave information against his fel- 

 low-prisoner and brother-in law, but was sen- 

 tenced to six years' imprisonment as a common 

 felon, while Grebert was sentenced for five 

 years, and Erhardt, keeper of a restaurant, 

 who was implicated, was acquitted on the 

 ground of lack of criminal intention. The 

 trial of Cabannes and his accomplices took 

 place in November. 



The Uaon Incident. On September 25 M. de 

 Wangen, a sub-lieutenant of French cavalry, 

 and M. Brignon, his game-keeper, while shoot- 

 ing on the former's estate, were fired on by a 

 German soldier who had been detailed to act 

 as a forest guard and prevent poaching on the 

 German side of the boundary at Allarmont, 

 near Vexincourt, in the Vosges, and in the 

 neighborhood of the town of Raon. Lieut, 

 de Wangen was slightly wounded, and his 

 companion was struck in the abdomen, and 



died after suffering great agony for five hours. 

 The affair was investigated by the French and 

 German Governments, and, as in the Pagny in- 

 cident, there was conflicting testimony as to 

 whether the Frenchmen were on the German 

 or French side of the line. Richard Kauf- 

 mann, the soldier who fired the shots, mistak- 

 ing the party for poachers, testified that he 

 summoned them to halt three times before 

 shooting, though M. de Wangen did not hear 

 the command. The incident was closed by 

 the German Government's paying an indem- 

 nity of 50,000 marks to the widow of M. Bri- 

 gnon, and promising to prosecute the offending 

 soldier. Negotiations were entered into for 

 the settlement of a better modus operandi on 

 the frontier in order to prevent the recurrence 

 of similar painful affairs. After the shooting 

 the French Government found it necessary 

 to adopt stringent regulations to prevent mo- 

 lestation of German officials on French soil. 



Illness of the Crown Prince. Apprehensions in 

 regard to the health of the Crown Prince, 

 which began to be felt in the summer, have 

 caused in Germany, not only sadness, but a 

 feeling of doubt and distress regarding the po- 

 litical future, for high hopes were entertained 

 of his prospective reign by a large section of 

 the German people. Before he attended the 

 Jubilee of the Queen in England a troublesome 

 ailment affected his throat which almost de- 

 prived him of the power of speech. His wife 

 persuaded him to place himself in the hands of 

 Dr. Mackenzie, an English specialist, who found 

 a growth on the larynx, which he concluded 

 was of a warty nature, and not cancerous, as 

 was feared by German physicians who had ex- 

 amined his throat. He was confirmed in this 

 opinion by the result of a microscopic exami- 

 nation by Prof. Yirchow, of Berlin, of a small 

 portion that was removed. On Dr. Macken- 

 zie's advice the excrescence was cut away, and 

 for a short time the patient was much relieved, 

 but soon the growth reappeared. A second 

 operation had no better result. By the coun- 

 sel of bis physician the prince went to Italy as 

 cool weather approached, in order to have the 

 benefit of a milder climate. When alarming 

 symptoms again showed themselves, Vienna 

 physicians in lectures and medical journals as- 

 sailed the diagnosis of the English doctor, and 

 condemned his treatment from the beginning, 

 declaring that the malady was cancer, and that 

 an early excision of the larynx might have 

 eradicated it. In this they expressed a com- 

 mon conviction of the German medical profes- 

 sion. The subsequent return of a more favor- 

 able condition revived the hope that Dr. Mac- 

 kenzie had not erred in his diagnosis. 



The Session of 1887-'88. The Reichstag was 

 opened on November 24. The speech from 

 the throne spoke of a gratifying improvement 

 in the finances, which was expected to increase 

 when the new sugar and spirit duties should 

 begin to show their full effect, and produce a 

 surplus for the next year of 50,000,000 marks. 



