Bevieu' of Rrvieas, 1/3113. 



41 



Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



HOW THE WAR AFFECTS EUROPE. 



THE DIVERSE VIEWS OF " EXPERTS " IN THE 



MAGAZINES. 



The British and forei<^n reviews are 

 crowded with articles forecasting pro- 

 bable alterations in the grouping of 

 European nations, and the changes in 

 the balance of power which may follow 

 the Balkan war. Doctors often disagree, 

 but political experts nearly always do. 

 It is rather remarkable therefore that al- 

 most all assume the imminent break up 

 of the dual monarchy. Threatened men 

 live long — as instance the Turk during 

 the last century — and the Austro-Hun- 

 gary Empire may hang together long 

 after the death of Franz Joseph, an event 

 dreaded by the whole of Europe. The 

 following extracts give a good idea of 

 the situation European diplomatists are 

 discussing. 



AUSTRIA IN LIOl'IDATION. 



Mr. J. Ellis Barker, discussing the 

 balance of power in Europe in the Fort- 

 nightly, .'■egards London as now the 

 political centre of Europe, as Berlin 

 was at the zenith of Bismarck, and Paris 

 was before 1870. He thinks that the 

 Austrian Empire may some da)' go into 

 liquidation, like Turke)'. She is in- 

 terested in preventing the formation of 

 a powerful Slavonic federation, and will 

 do all in her power to make war between 

 the Allies, a war that will be favourable 

 not only to the Germanic Powers, but to 

 Turkey also. We must reckon, he savs, 

 with the possibilities of war between 

 Germany, Austria-Hungarx', Roumania, 

 Turkey, and possibly, Italy, on the one 

 side, and Russia, France and the Balkan 

 States on the other. Between these pos- 

 sible combatants Great Britain holds the 

 balance of power. A European war, he 



reckons, would at first be extremely pro- 

 fitable to Great Britain, but for her to 

 foster it on that account would be a 

 crime against humanity. He declares 

 the present grou]3ing of the European 

 Powers to be an ideal one from the 

 British point of view. 



A FRENCH VIEW. 



Austria, says M. Albert Danzai, in La 

 Rez'iic, is, after Turkey, the greatest 

 loser in the war. She is most dissatis- 

 fied, but the truth is, the Austrian 

 Government does not know its own 

 mind. It hesitates between three differ- 

 ent currents, which it is Count Bercli- 

 ihold's mission toreconcile -the iniiuence 

 of the aged Emperor, whose wisdom, 

 happily, has so far prevailed ; Hun- 

 garian hostility, which is very irritable 

 since the question of universal suffrage 

 has been raised, and which is opposed 

 to anne.xation and the impulsive im- 

 perialism of the Archduke Francis Fer- 

 dinand. The heir to the throne, we are 

 assured, still dreams of \''enetia, and 

 cherishes the firm hope of restoring 

 Rome to the Po])e. Meanwhile, Austria, 

 who will not accept an established fact, 

 is trying to eiiih.dil the coalition in- 

 stead ; she sliiuild ((iiiciliate the Balkan 

 Allies, in particukir the Serbs, devote 

 herself to econoniu- expansion, and calm 

 Slav irredentism 1)\- seeking to attach to 

 the Auslro 1 lungari.ui regime, b\' re- 

 forms and serious guarantees, the 

 \arious nat Hinalitic^ which make up her 

 Empire. 



Meanwhile, her ill-considered jiolic)- 

 is preparing the \\a\- for the admission 

 of the I^alk.in I'cderation into the 



