BY THREAT OF WAR.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 470, 31 March 1909, Page 7

BY THREAT OF WAR.

GERMANY AND RUSSIA. BRITAIN AND THE ANNEXATIONS. CONFERENCE A FORMALITY. |BI TKLKOUiI'H—rUESS ASSOCIATION—COI'TIUOnt.) London, March 29. Tho Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey) has promised to recognise tho annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary, whether Servia accopts his formula or not. If a conferenco of the Powers meets, it will i/o a mere formality. , [Tho stand taken up by Sir Edward Grey, after tho Alistro-Huugarian annexations had boen made, was that tho material nud practical chaugo was not very great, but that a European Conferences or at least an exchango of notes, was necessary to consider the sudden and unauthorised changes in the public law of Europe. Apparently, Sir Edward Grey is content with a settlement on the basis of "exchange of notes," and the Conference will thus become, according to tho cablegram, "a niero formality." 'Die formula referred to is that which Sir Edward Grey has been devising in order to bridgo tho gap botween AustriaHungary and Servia.] "Tho Times" .says: "Germany has taken advantage of Russia's unprcparcdness to put a pistol at her head and compel her to abandon her traditional policy in the Near East." The "Pall Mall Gazette" comments on tho spectaclo of tho creator of Tho Hague Peaco Convontion (tho Tsar) being constrained to condone a glaring illegality under the threat of instant war. Tho paper adds: "Berlin has supported Vienna BO that the Teuton, not the Slav, influence may prevail in South-Eastern Europe. It is a repayment for Austria's help at tho Algeciras Conferenco, and demonstrates that Germany's isolation may prove costly to those Powers which refuse to become tads of German policy."

FiRANZ FERDINAND. Yesterday's cablegrams again revert to tho dominating power of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to-tho-throne of Austria-Hungary. In the "Fortnightly Eeview," "Calchas" maintains that tho Emperor Franz Josef has practically handed over the direction of the foreign policy of Austria-Hungary to his successor. I he Archduko Franz Ferdinand has great ideas; one of these is that a Imperial Austria is to £.?, ■?!? ? nml progressive State within. Withoiu it is to bo an independent, active, and expanding Power. Franz Ferdinand is now torty-nve. A T o man ever passed through a more thorough education for tho duties of coming rulerslnp. Ho was never so popular as to-day among the great majority of his future subjects. He is behoved to have been the most resolute promoter of the universal suffrage which has restored to Austria tho sense of life He is thought to bo behind the foreign policy which is looked upon as having at a stroko reasserted Austria's rightful' influence in the world. Of the ideas of tho Archduke Franz Ferdinand,, Baron Aehronthal is tho exponent: and those ideas are characterised through and through by tho democratic Imperialism advocated by every successful political leader in our time. Based upon universal suffra»o and racial equality, the Austria-Hungary of tho future is to bo a fedoral, not a dual system. Henceforth there will bo a steady attempt from the Austrian side to spread tho view that tho vision of a "Greater Servia" might bo magnificently realised under the Hapsburg Crown. Iho annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been most .vigorously advocated from tho flrst by the Christian Sooialists-tho partv with wluoh the Archduko Franz Ferdinand 'is supposed, to bo most in sympathy. A member of that party, Princo Alexis Liechtenstein, declared the other day that tho great mass of tho berbo-troats are already under tho Hapsburg sceptre, since, Montenegro and tho kingdom of hervla only include a small minority of ih6 race. the coutro o£ gravity around which Southern Slav unity will crystallise lies in Austria, not in Servia or Montenegro, since, according to tho law of gravitation and mass tho greater attracts tho smaller, and not vico Ters j - i w , ho . le l ,olic J' i 3 contained in theso words. Iho heir-apparent and Baron Achron■l\ l -1 i, l? ir l )r,vnto minds undoubtedly asroo with it. Hungary would be held fast on both sides, and tho independence movoment among tho Magyars would be inevitably extinguished, the Dual system would bo converted into a tnplo system leading perhaps to a final reorganisation by which Bohemia and Poland would become autonomous kingdom*. To a great soheino of this kind tho Archduke Franz .Ferdinand is believed to incline.