THE KAISER.

Mataura Ensign, 18 April 1917, Page 7

THE KAISER.

EFFACING HIMSELF. GIVES UP CONTROL OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Wilhelm has abdicated from throne,' in taut if - not in iotta (writes The Hague correspondent Qt American journal). He keeps his ttfle.. '.'.German Emperor and King of Prussia," but these honors are ornamental. He reigns but does not rule. Stronger men do his work. Like a good cunsut>u tional sovereign he retains many decorative functions. In his armored train or in a motor-car he flies till over Ltertnany and part of France, -Belgium and Kussia.; una he in»peci.» armies,,bestow*3 iron crosses, visits the ami makes speeches. But the civii-and the military government or Germany jit war has passed out ol his hands.

bfei-many's party leaders are commenting oa this change, some with joy and some with grief. - When Chancellor Uethinaun-LLoli»veg promised the lteich—stag*, that Germany will be governed with greater freedom alter the war, the tough Prussian junkers revoked and asked, Is this the iirst result of Kaiser Wilhelm's abdication:- Angriest is Herr ■ Oldenburg of Janusrhau, a tough conservative politician, nno yeais a'go threatened that the Kaiser would disperse the Reichstag with a squad' of soldiers.. Oldenburg proclaims that ''in the pieseni critical days of Prussia and Germany wo want an iron monarchy, riot,a monarchy of paper.'' This is a veiled reproach to Kaiser Wilhelm. Oldenburg has twice lief ore revolted against VVilhelm's alleged weakness; he is a bosom lrienu and assiduous correspondent of the I'row n Prince, who resents his father's abdication. "With Oldenburg and the Crown Prince are banded all tho old forces of Prussian conservatism which demand that .Kaiser Wilhelm shall return to his* old heajxny autocratic mood, so that he majryShsmit to his heirs the powei he inherited from his forefathers.! I

DISBURDENING HIMSELF OF FOREIGN AL< FAIRS. Waiser Wilhelm has already abandoned. wo-tWds of ins control of ioreigii affairs and he xjroposes to ab'andon.most.ol' what remains, fie began fi year ■ ago by ret using to road mmoi documents • )f and now he has commissioned, Dr.' Aibrecht Kedwilz, of his civil, chancellery, to go through all memoranda on foreign ma Mors submitted by the Foreign Ohtce in the last ten years, and estimate how many of 1 them could have dour without; his attention. Kaiser Wilhelm's motive is to avoid too much responsibility in foreign affairs. He foresaw the storm of German discontent with German diplomacy when- Rouinania entered . the war. The people's party and the Socialists are demanding the constitution of l a permanent .Reichstag Foreign Affairs Committtee which will have continuous control and supervision over Wilhejmstrasse. This means control over Kaiser William, for all of Wilhelmstrasse's important measures used to be a'proved by him. Another of Kaiser Wilhelm's private advisers, Dr.' von .Koerner, director ol a Foreign Office department, and member of the Bundesrat, lately drew up a memorandum showing how Wilhelm's work and responsibility could be induced. ' The present plan is to leave Chancellor Bechmann-Hollweg his titular rank of Foreign Minister of Prussia and of the Empire, but t6 give' the main work to Secretary .of -Slate Zimmerman; arid to stop the feyscem of endless reporting to the Kaiser. 'Until last summer' Kaiser 'Wilhelm received and was supposed to read live memoranda a day on foreign affairs. Most of the memoranda, were of no . consequence; but-custom required that they should be submitted, and with them.must go the'original supporting documents, which were often in foreign Henceforth Kaiser Wilhelm w:tl gu« M no memoranda on small matter's, and no original documents at all nuless they are of firsc-r:ite importance. Everything will/be in German. Under the present system Kaiser Wilhelm is expected to record his opinion in the shape of a marginal note on every-for-eign office document submitted to him. In future he will read the- papers, but he will be free "to make no note, leaving ilYUhelm'str'asse to do what it likes. During the last year Kaiser Wilhelm has flatly refused to decide some vital . questions. The decision to surrender to America at the lasc critical stage of the submarine question, when Germany w;ts threatened with a breach of diplomatic relations, was entirely Bethmann-iioll-weg's. Kaiser Wilhelm wrote a marginal note on the Chancellors memorandum, saying: "The decision and the responsibility are left to the Imperial Chancellor."

EYE TO THE INTERIOR, Kaiser Wilhelm; is ceasing to meddle in Priissiah or German internal administration . Before ' the ■ war the w hole .Prussian, system of centralised administration, which starts Avith the" Berlin Minister of the Interior and ends ? with the rural Commissionaries—Landrats—was in .the 1 hands of .-the Kaiser as' King of; Prussia. Wilhelm had a two hours' report from the Minister of the Interior, sumrnmg up the. chief work oi the provincial ober-presidents. The reports . 'dealt with such subjects as Io<?al education, justice, agriculture, forestry,, communications, and lahor insurances. Also there were sumniarios of reports from the political police about matters of party, politics, in particular about the growth of Socialism among minor officials. Prussia's former Minister of the« Interior,, now Governor of Sch'leswig-Holstein, developed to virtuosity this system df political ■ reportKaiser - Wilhelm was tatight that King of Prussia ought to know what every subject thought and 'did. The individual leanings in polities of local landowners, doctors, and schooljpiasters vvero described. Herbert Jlasr-h----dail, a former official '■who callod Mmtke's system "political espionage to the nth degree," says that Kaiser "Wiihelm himself gave .orders for the disciplinary minishinflnt of sehooJmast-j ers suspected of Socialist leanings. \ ' Since the war began this system of I jnnhing internal politics by the Kaiser! direct has been done avay with. Wil-I helm at first declared that he Avar; ton! busy; and later he ■announced that ho could no* take responsibility for siub minute affairs. This yen rhe instructed the Minister .of the Interior to nursiie an independent policy in ihe Prussian Landtag. For months past lie has left home politics to go their own Aray. The lopal affairs do as they like. Even the promotions system lias dropo'vl from wilhelm's hands. A n<?\y rule has been jnade that during the_ war eight classes ofjofficials who were formerly nromotod directly by the Kaiser will be promoted flutomatically. ThetKaiser, the official •Nofrddeutsche Zeituns;' -says, lias .no time. In reality this* is .another item in the general abdication from politics of .Wilhelm 11..-.'..

THE BUMDESRAT OOTNG ITS OWN GAIT. Kaiser Wilhelm's critics are angry at this, but anm-ier still an bis withdrawal from BnndesraT. politics, in which thoy see a complete surrender of vital dynastic interests,. The Bundesrat is the Federal Council, and the Mohen/oHcrns' so-called autocracy is! ent ; rely based on their power over it. | " The Bundosrnt," said Bismarck, "is j the citadel of Prussian Poyal newer " i Prussia rules Germany Ihrough it. Tn his capacity'as Gorman Emperor,-WiM holm has very little authority over, matters other than armaments. .The, lioichstag is a Democratic institution ; i the Kaiser cannot force ir- to -noop'nt a j Bill, and'his assent is not necessary to i mike its Bills law. But Kaiser Wil-, helm nominates Prussia's reprpsenta-' tires m the Rundosrat. Thev number only 17 out of t3l : but as Prussia is j hisrcer .than all other" German ' States j puc together, ]7 are civen excen-' tional powers. They can veto Bills and i cdinances conoerßinsr army and navy, j Customs, finance and somo other im-l portanfc matters. In the matters that i really count Prussia's 17 minority bare more power-than'the mr.iority of -1-t. The 17 take tb«ir inslruci.ions as to bowl they are to vole from Kaiser Wilhelm,! with thn Chancellor aolin<v as inter-1 mediary. This system makes the Kai-j sop + be" cimfMno i 1 ultimate authority I in German legislation. | Beforp thp v,:ir Kaiser Wiibelna fber-| isTied and liberally used bis enormous powers as master of the Bnndosrat, Durinp; the Avar he has been sheddinp. - these powers half a dozen at a time. The war has doubled the Bundosrat's importance. The Bnndosrat has' now authority and jurisdiction in matters which Wilhelm does not understand and has never been interested in. Through the Btindesr.it are issued all the exceptional decrees concerning the Empire]s supply of necessaries; the Bnndosrat is the sole authority in the fond question; sind it has got new, exceptional powers in war finance. Kaiser Wilhelm for long tried to keep a firm grip, but owing to lack of technical knowledge in food questions and manufacturing ones- . tions ho failed. Ij.it-oK- he has been lotting the Bnndosrat go its own way; and in one critical question—the lm-, peiial meat cards—be told Bethmanniiollweg that ft would be inadvisable; for the Sovereign to hind the judgment I of- Prussia's representatives. The | Bnndosrat should be free to use its o\\ n | judgment in matters that concerned the vital necessities of' the people. On Other important questions Prussia's Buridesrat'representatives are being .left without instructions, and they vote as they like, or they-take., the. Ini'true- ' tipns of Chancellor "Bethm&nn-Hollweg framed, without consultation with the KaiisPr. The non-Prussian majority of Bundesrat members lias increased its power; it votes, food ordinances in a way that enrages, the big Prussian, food producers; and these Prussians are in a; very 'angry mood with Kaiser Wilhelni; They declare that after the war he will* never bo able to get back the power he.has parted with; and that all < future Prussian kings will be puppets, in the hands of the 'unruly; minor' German States. ' ' , .

POTSDAM ALSO BREAKING LOOSE. At Potsdam Kaiser Wilhelm has created a. new department with the aim of helping him to efface himself. This i& situated in the old town palace, and is manned by a dozen jurists and bureaucrats, who are helping Wilhelm's work as' a receiver of petitions, beslower of decorations, and administrator of hunting domains. The Potsdam. commission proposes to create, independently of the existing civil cabinet. i new department for Prussian l{oya' ali'airs, . which will take most of the work off Wilhelm's shoulders. Alread.s tor two years past Kuiser Wilhelm has refused personally to consider petitions. tie has also transferred to a commis s>on ol lawyers part of his duty as pardoner in cases' of civil crime; he hay aiiondonod toe seignorial rights which he had as chief magnate of. Potsdam iii questions of town building and improvements; and he has entrusted a privK councillor from the National "Museum with the work' of supervising mint designs, which work'ho I'ormerlv did himself. t " Kaiser Wilhelm's abandonment of his authority as Commander-in-Chief ol 1 he army during war is his worst office in the eyes of tiie autoeratists. It has led 1o protests from the CrowiPrince, the King of Saxony and Princf Hupprecht of Bavaria, in August Kai >er Wilhelm and the King of Saxonj had a conference at Aachen. The ivin'p urged on Kaiser Wilholra to resume, I no active command; hut Wilhelm re*, He declared that'he had nevei ■ pretended to he a specialist soldier: and that his grandfather Wilhelm J. had never played the role of commander in the victorious wars of 1860 and IS7O. After this meeting an agree ' nient was come to under which Wilhelm ■! attended councils of war when he was in'.'the neigh borhood and listened to t.br ■ views of 'all generals who were to vote, but he did not express his■ o'wr opinion. This system was kept up till Hindehburg became Chief of Staff. fcsin.ee then Kaiser .Wilhelm has with-' drawn more v and more into the back-' ground.He refuses to give any or-" • •rders on- questions of strategy 6r tC take any responsibility in field matters;' and he confines himself to War Office matters'.of supply and organisation. : FOURTH TO SEVENTH MAGNITUDES LET ALONE. ~ • Kaiser Wilhelm is told in advance only of moves of importance. ' According to general staff calculations, an operation may be of any magnitude from one. to seven, according to the strategical task involved, and the number from first to third magnitude are reported to the Kaiser beforehand. Of minor

undertakings Khisor Wilhelm hears nothing until he gets his evening report of ihe prvt day's events. Fnder this system Rindenmirg tiot only Chief of Staff; hp i<s also do factor Command-er-ih-Ohief. Kaiser Wilhelm has close informal ion of uliat is going on; but he has no more influence on events than has a second lieutenant. ! Maximilian Harden say? ihnf WilI helm is abandoning his civil r.hd milii tary autocracy partly because, lie is old, 'narlly because he dreads I lip rosnonsiI bilicv of fail'nro. This year the a.hdica- | tion has .been going; on at hoadlonQ ,snood. That- is beca"so Germany and ! her allies J.his year have bad no sucjcp°sos worth mentioning and havo had nir*ny bad ■♦knocks. Germans" have set in a oiiticrd .mood; ihey*,iro publicly orHicking their ■'diplomacy' and tbeir ' internal administration: and among ihomoslvos thoy : avo criticising ihp conduct of military I op«raLions. Politicians clamor for re- ' forms, for clearer statements of the aims of ihc war, for curiailmcui of the I censor'-: nosers. According to Pardon. I Kaiser Wilhelm is n wf<=o man: be saw j i hr» 'slorm onmin'j: and-be understood I tl'at Ibc proa tor his ponxts a« autocrat | the more .directly ihc ctomi would | Mow against himself. He does not > want ■(•ho rpsnonsihilty for failures laid !en himself and on *lho Holienzollorn i clvnasty; and luokilv ho bas round him ! plenty of stent soldiers and biiroauerals 1 who Vir'p willing to he nnswprrthlp for hlnnrWs and to take Ibc nation'*! reproaches and blows. If Oermanv loses Iho war,. Kaiser Wilbelin thinks that, lip will escape through haivng kept himself in the background ; and if she wins the nation-'will bp in a pood humor and.will let him bare bis m-proqalivos hack. This is whv for tM-o years past he bas been shedding one after another of bis tremendous military and civil powers; so that to-dav bo Vlit+le more of an antoprat than President Poincarc or King George. Kaiser Wilhelm hero illustrates the' German proverb. "When ram falls only the man under shelter keens dry." As a result of his relinquishment of r.ivil and military authority Kaiser Willielm is to-day n man without work. M's time does nor go on primarv State affairs, but on inspecting anil decoratmo; soldiers, visiting (be wounded, and managing his own familv affairs. Prob'iMy no will never got his power back. The bloody trial of war bas Torn ibe sceptre from him and laid it in harder hands; and when peace, comes and there are no, troons (n in snoot and doom-aft? ho will bo Europe's idlest man.