202 



The Review of Reviews. 



England to the expansion of Germany in Portuguese 

 territories is a sine qua non of an agreement. 



IS AN ANGLO-GERMAN ENTENTE POSSIBLE ? 



Apart from the question of expansion, Germany 

 seems indined to require England to abandon her ro/e 

 of policeman of the world. One thing is certain, the 

 Kaiser himself, notwithstanding his pacifism and his 

 English sympathies, could not make his people accept 

 this theory of liritish supremacy. Since Wilhelm II. 

 came to the throne the writer has never believed in 

 the general conflagration announced every spring. 

 liut if Baron Marschall does not succeed in bringing 

 about an entente or some other agreement, the writer 

 will begin to believe war possible, probable, andj so to 

 speak, " necessary." 



ANGLO-GERMAN MIRAGE. 



Under this title Mr. Widney Whitman contributes 

 to the Fortnightly Review an earnest endeavour to 

 disabuse Germany and England of their mutual alarms. 

 For over ten years, he says, a reckless game of mis- 

 representation and cross purposes has been going on 

 between the two countries, and sown its seed of 

 dragons' teeth. He says you cannot eradicate from 

 the English mind the idea that the growth- of the 

 German shipping trade is due to unfair State subsidies 

 paid to the great steamship companies, whereas in 

 reality it is we who, under the guise of mail contracts, 

 are the greatest steamship subsidisers. We are said 

 to suffer from the commercial competition of Germany, 

 who, however, is our best customer. Another popular 

 paradox is that a foreign Sovereign is an all-powerful 

 autocrat who loves England, and yet is supposed to be 

 planning an invasion of our shores. Similarly in 

 Germany a widely current impression is that England 

 intends to attack Germany. Another is that England 

 stands in the way of the commercial development of 

 Germany, although England's Free Trade policy has 

 [)robably done more to further German industrial 

 expansion than all her other trading connections com- 

 bined. England, again, is continually told that the 

 Bismarckian tradition means hostility towards Eng- 

 land, though the tact was that Bismarck was alwa)s 

 friendly towards England. 



Prince Hohenlohe's '' Memoirs," the writer says, 

 should go a long way towards destroying the mirage 

 that German policy is inspired by a boldly thought-out 

 train of reasoning. " The real condition of things is 

 very different, and is nowhere more clearly understood 

 than in Germany : a perennial orgy of ecstasy, a 

 delirium of delight, alternating with periodical fits of 

 abysmal depression and disappointment." 



THE VERSION OF THE I'ARKOTS. 



One of the best things in the article is the following 

 parable : — 



Max Nordau, in his remnrk.Tlili- Ijouk, " Defeneration," cites 

 a (Icliglilful story. The Libyan .VpseUuis wanted to be a god. 

 lint in spite of his utmost endeavours he was unal)le to gratify 

 liis wish. Thereupon he collected a large nuinl>er of parrots, of 



which there are many in Libya, and put them all into a cage. 

 He kept them there for a long time and taught them to say .- 

 " .^psethus is a god." When the birds had learnt their lesson, 

 he opened the cage and let them out. .\nd the birds spread al? 

 over Libya, and their words penetrated into the Greek sei'.le- 

 ments. And the Libyans, astonished at the voice of the birds 

 and not suspecting the trick of .\psethus, looked upon him as a 

 god. Similar influences have been at work with us in regard to 

 Germany. We have too often accepted the version of c'he 

 parrots for gospel truth, and have disregarded that which was of 

 iar more importance to us, as it has already shown itself to he 

 by the evidence of accomplished facts ; I mean the trend in tlie 

 world of ideas, as we observe it in Germany to-day, and whicii 

 is influencing England, not only in our modes of thought, but 

 also in translorming our institutions. We have done more ihari 

 this. We have not only accepted the dictum of the parrots, but 

 we have assisted them to carry out their project — the building 

 of a large fleet. 



This mutual estrangement has involved us in appal- 

 ling loss. It has placed us at the mercy of the United 

 States. It has ousted British trade from Morocco ; it 

 has flung Austria-Hungary into the arms of Germany. 

 The Germans, on their side, have brought about a 

 solidarity of feeling between all sections of the .'\nglo- 

 .Saxon race, and a discrimination against Germaii 

 manufacturers in our colonies. 



WHY BARON MARSCHALL WAS 

 RECALLED. 



In the Contemporary Revie'tV Dr. Dillon offers arr 

 explanation of the recall of Baron Marschall von 

 Bieberstein from Constantinople : — 



The Baron, who was at once a diplomatist <? I'oriciilali and a> 

 man of business a I'allcmaiiile, played upon the Turkish tem- 

 perament as Rubinstein played upon the piano. In this he was- 

 aduiirably seconded by the lierlin Foreign Oftice and materially 

 assisted by the late M. Siemens of the Deutsche Kank, the 

 Director of the Baghdad KaiKvay Company, and the dragoman 

 of the German Embassy, Herr Testa, to whom the Baghdad 

 Railway Concession is mainly due. That concession, which 

 was crowned shortly bclbre the war by Hakki Pasha signing, 

 the arrangement for the building of the last section of the rail- 

 w.iy, marked the end of the Karon's life-work and Germany's- 

 complete satiation in Turkey. The Amb.iss.ador himself, recog- 

 nising this, asked to be transferred to some other post, but for 

 the time being the Wilhelmslrasse left his request unanswered. 



With the fall of Hakki Pasha Germany's star set in 

 the East. When her ally, Italy, began the war in 

 Tripoli, Germany undertook the protection of Italian 

 subjects in the Ottoman lunpire : — 



Thus when at the end of last year the Porte felt inclined to 

 expel all Italians from the Empire, the Baron interceded for 

 them warmly and successfully. He nearly always won his case. 

 Once, and once only, did lie plead in vain, and this miscarriage- 

 was jieculiarly painful. .-Vfter the bonrbardment of the D.ir- 

 danellcs, Talaal Boy, the Young Turkish Jacobin, called for the 

 expulsion of Italian subjects generally. Some of his colleagues 

 dissented and expostulated with him, but were finally outvoted. 

 The decision was taken. 



But reason was powerless against emotion. Then the Baron 

 threw his personal intluence in the scale. The least he could 

 exiiect was tliat the decree of exjiulsion wouki not be promul- 

 gated until he had quilled Constantinople. .'\nd his fiiends 

 were conhdent that the Porte would wait until then. But al.as ! 

 Talaat Bey and the extreme Young Turks were inexorable, and 

 the Baron was witness^of the reluctant exodus of the Italians. 

 Baron Marschall's recall was imposed by political necessity. 



