"THE BULLY OF EUROPE"

North Otago Times, Volume C, Issue 13139, 21 August 1914, Page 3

"THE BULLY OF EUROPE"

' M CAUSES OF THE GREAT; ' WAR. ' > As suTely as tho sun rises in the cast and sets m the wost so has tho present conflict with Germanj been ex pected and foreseen—with diplomats, soldiers and statesmen it lias been Whon is it coming' To the inhabitants of the British Em . piro tho one central and outstanding fact ill Europe has been tho domination of that Continent since 1870\by German military power Prior to that date the Getnnn Empire consisted of dozens of small states, ilwavs quarrelling* with each other and often at war This disj union not onb parihscd Germanj as a countn, but tomplcteh destroyed what little influence the Gemini nation might ha\c had 111 Europe Euisia aud Trance then donunited Em ope, Italj T\as diwded into ic\ci il states, and it was rnncc s dclibente polio lhat dis union should lontmue and her own pre dominance rem 1111 Patriotic Germans | had long desired umh, but loul princes and poth jeilousiesi prc\ ented it Then Bumaitk itaiks moss the stage and this gieat nnu establishes unih "not speeches and pirlia mentary lesolutions, but b) blood and iron" g GERMAN METHODS. Thus is the Geimin Empne founded in wai, in direct antithesis 1 to British method l ; Lmh brought in , ternal peace, a sliong ind stible go\ 1 ernmeuf, ml 1 position in Euiopt tuner I before dttiinod b\ the German nation after centuries of disunion intcispersed nilh war Bismauk requite 1 a gener i

ahon to loiibohditc the Empire But about 1810 he ictircd fiom the stage, lo bb suiceeded b\ the louthful Kaiser, his own pupil, hught at the knee of (he Iron Ch uiielloi Imbued with his leach ing the Knisei isjimd lo the same position in the outside woild is Ger mam thin held in Europe Bis. ■ jouthiul ambition ind keen ispintion made bin) the nitional represent ih\c of his country j people, Ihe idol ot the German nation, and the pcrsonifi-| cation "of their ideals. German trade]. and power must, and should, extend to ■ the uttermost limits of the earth. They i spoke of themselves as the' people of; destiny to whom the i!oth century be- j loDgcd. '. It was their right as the fay-1

(writes oi. lonunc to aciucve . tucir.i destiny by destroying all who stood in '■ thoir way, Host of all the British 1 Empire must go. It lay across their path Jiko a log; its possessions wercj Germany's heritage; its. continuance! ■was inconsistent with Germany's pro,-! 'gross—rit.was "the colossus with foot' of clay"—and its people were effete! anil generally easily to be overcome ' In 186(5' and. 1870 it was the German! sword that, won Empire in Europe—the I great tradition of the great Frederick' in the 18th.century were called to mindj —in the 20th century it was., to be ilic; Gorman .Navy that would win a world j EmpirK JThc "Admiral of theAtlah-1 tic" liatl'already sent greetings to the! Czar as''the Admiral of i-hc Pacific.'' THE GERMAN PLEET. The' British Navy alone had gaiue;' I England's Empire, and this must ;,;n! down before the superior powers and 1 scientific .•organisation of Germany, > In the past.all had.been .won-by-.the; sword, from the conquest of Silesia in ; • 1740 to Alsacc.aml Lorraine in 1870. In' 1896 the famous Krugcr telegram was dispatched and an interest assumed in n country about which Germany had no-' concern whatever. During the Boer war rip opportunity was lost' to stir up Anglophobia - and the ■ Germany Navy League'numbered its members by.-" lnm/ dreds of.thousands," The Kaiser referred to the "bitter need' ' of a. German Fleet, ' What for! •To enable Germany to iiitcrfore in -a] quarrel which was no affair or hers..j British difficulties in ending the war con-1 firmed'the notion of British effcteness. CampbelHJamierman's offer to : reduce! armaments clearly established to Gen| ■ many the dotage of Great Britain, and was interpreted as a sign of weakness. In 1906 and 1908 Navy Bills of-sur-passing' answered these friendly advances. Such incidents as the forced resignation of M; Delcasso from French politics, "Agadir" and the "Panther," Morocco, and other affairs have duly crossed the stage during' the last ten years as examples of German diplom- ' a'cy. -

Germany has occupied the position of "the bully .of Europe," and such ex : pressions as Germany's "shining arm- : our,'! "and "mailed list," have kept ail Europe in fear and apprehension. Smaller States such as- Norway, Denmark, and Belgium have been threatened with dire punishment if they resented or dared-to interfere with German ambi l tion. ®.i Norwegian fiords and waters have been openly" used for naval drills in spite of local resentment. What did it matter! Force was Germany.'s ideal. "TO THE DAY." Germans-have openly said, when questioned 'about their., immense loans -for naval 'purposes, that the principal was no concern of theirs, as the British nation would have to pay that in due time. The German naval toast- wiis . always.."To the, Day!",". Britain knows that the day referred to was the great day of the future Trafalgar,;which may even now; have - arrived;- \. Britain has been compelled dnringthe\laSt ten years to completely alter:-her whole naval policy, Jo.,'build ships to fight German ships, for .these latter were buiit 'for one purpose' only," 'naniciy, to light in tlie North Sea, where 1 the 'only enemy'could 'be Britain. No one knows -this better than Winston Churchill, who. has, with patriotic zeal, and great .'.determination also been preparing' for 'J'the day,'' with -s'neli a result, that Britain'oil look toj'the future with.confideucc; Thus -,it was;.that the war.'was bound, to ' corned . Eobert^Blatchfdrd, the-'briUiaiit. Sociaj : . ist" writerj'a few. years' .-■ d orccastcdvthe present;-.; war'witii--almost diabolic accuracy, pointing, .out '.that i3nglaiiU's:-prohluiii >as'.;ih'e.; defence-' of Francos and Belgium. . Ho even;" urged ; the necessity of Lord Kikliener' asswii;. !■; ing ther supreme command at Once. : ,-)ie. '.'',-i!rgcdi/ilrcat'"JiriJaiu to:• forjjeti 1 her internal poises and prepare for the great ..'struggle. # ; ; ■ , ~'. .: ;;>Vliai, then, do Hie facts reveal he- . yond 'Hlio cleiir. aiid, outstanding,? fact 'that the present war '-.is: ! ii;w^^:'of :; ;' grcssioii; by Germany (... thitt t(ll • oppospt • v to hcr^dials; : iuid.;.iiaj)iri^ioi|S-n'uist>lio: ' snuttcii aside; tliat Great oiie of the'gresi(est•.ifjjli ,hCT. history; ; . tliat'Geriiiany lielipves/i jj v ; ;force 'pdithe' sword;'on(x ;' pl;adviin(s|ng>her iutere|f^^!K^ ; ;fthat; . force the j achieyiiig J| Jer ii.ational' aspiratlo'h/; ? Ger : : pro'v : ' : dn%Cbf: ; ;Js&n'saW :;.her, 6^^? ; ;':. Britain. '[ i'rfaadvrfor; anil; fpr-ipree'-arirj; |wghfy;£^se^

plet-elmistress tof i Europe Wqtq > 6mbarkin&unon hor present great strugglp, but* destiny l Juis 'decider otherwise, 1 and j GermanyVhiur inMMlculatecf 1 the* Ho' (ileal Vth Great tßntain after subduing Europe It !is a fight to a'finfsh—a national Jehad or ho)y on "behalf l of the Trench, Dutch, * Belgian i and •(•English national ideals, with the grwlj bear m the back ground on bohalf of tho Slavs. If Germanj wins, well may she de serve the foremost place in the world, and stand,forth ab tho mightiest mill tary nation the world has wer seen But the civilised world has decided that it is not the sword that shall pro\ail, but principles of reason, freodom, de inocracy, and liberty