Sir Morell Mackenzie and 'The Times's' Correspondent.

Evening Star, Issue 7643, 20 June 1888, Page 4

Sir Morell Mackenzie and 'The Times's' Correspondent.

One incident during the late Emperor's illness which has excited much comment, and not a little regret, has been the extraordinary encounter between Sir Morell Mackenzie and ' The Times's' correspondent at Berlin. It had been noticed that ' The Times's' correspondent had espoused the cause of the German doctors, and it was also evident, not being in the confidence of Sir Morell Mackenzie, that he was much behind the representatives of other London papers in point of information. When the Crown Prince became Emperor the correspondent in question made a desperate but ill-advised attempt to retrieve his position. Sir Morell Mackenzie sent the letter which he received from the correspondent and his own reply—one of the most crushing things of the kind which ever appeared in print—to a London paper, which forthwith published them. The correspondence, which speaks for itself, is as follows :

" April 17,

" Dear Sir,—Enclosed is my telegram to ' The Times ' of Sunday night. I need not say that, before reproducing that report in the ' Cologne Gazette,' I should have preferred consulting you as to its accuracy, so as to be able to place it before our readers weighted, if necessary, with corrective or destructive criticism. You deprive me, however, of the means of rendering you such service. liufc as trutK and fairness are, and must be, my sole principle of action, I take thtß further and last opportunity of repeating that, where reputations and national honor are concerned, I am still always at the disposal of you and your English colleague.—Believe me to be, very truly yours,

" Cuari.es Lowe.''

" Konigliches Schloss, "Cliarlottenburg, April 17. " Sir,—From the beginning of November till March you thought you would best serve your interests by pleasing the ' military party ' in Berlin, and you therefore systematically depreciated me in your telegrams to ' Tne Times.' This you did by invariably quoting attacks on me which from time to time appeared in the anti-English section of the German Press, and never alluding to favorable attacks, by constantly endeavoring to prove me wrong, and by ignoring the devotion of my colleague, Dr Mark iiovcll, to his august patient. " When, contrary to your expectation, the Crown Prince became Emperor, and I arrived at Cliarlottenburg in attendance on His Majesty, you thought it would suit your interests better to be friends with me, and accordingly wrote me a letter of congratulation, in which you said : ' I place my service at your disposal.' I, however, declined to receive you. I am not surprised that since then you have continued your former conduct. ''On Sunday you telegraphed long extracts from the 'Kolnische Zeitnng' and ' Kreuz Zeituug' which are highly damaging to me and my English colleague, but you omit to point out that these attacks proceeded from papers which for years have systematically attacked everything English. You arc perfectly aware that the ordinary Englishman knows nothing of the politics of the ' Kolnische Zeitung' or the ' Kreuz Zeituug, 1 and hud 'truth and fairness' been the sole principles of your action you would certainly have called attention to the Chauvinistic character of the newspapers in which the attacks have appeared against your countrymen. If you have such tender feelings as you now claim ' where reputations and intional honor are concerned,' you would certainly have ' taken a further and last opportunity' of offering your services to me before telegraphing tho disgraceful attacks and lies of the socalltd patriotic Press, instead of first publishing them arid then giving me the chance of ' corrective and destructive criticism.' Further, many of the Berlin newspapers have corrected the absurd and injurious statements contained in the ' Kolnische Zeitung,' and had you any regard for ' national honor' you would telegraph extracts from these papers, instead of which, in the hope of getting news from me in the future, you attack me and then offer me the opportunity of vindicating myself and my English colleague. I have already refused to yield to your flattery, and I decline to give way to your threats. "I have only to add that many friends, and even perfect strangers, both in Berlin and England, have written to me expressing regret that a paper so highly esteemed as 'The Times' should bo so unworthily represented in this city. With this opinion I entirely agree.—l am, sir, your obedient servant,

"(Signed) Mokell Mackenzie