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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9308, 18 September 1893, Page 4

The recent visit of the German Emperor to Alsace-Lorraine, where military movements upon an unprecedented scale were carried out, and where his majesty everywhere met with an enthusiastic reception from the populace, emphasizes in a very striking manner the fact which the recent elections brought to light in a somewhat remarkable way, namely, that in the Reichland the Anti-German feeling is rapidly becoming extinguished. Patriotic Frenchmen will never cease to mourn the lost provinces, nor will they ever hesitate when the opportunity presents itself to risk their lives to recover them. But it is sad to think that the AlsaceLorrainers themselves do not share these patriotic sentiments. They are indeed fast becoming Germanised. In 1874, when they first got the franchise from their conquerors, they were intensely French. In 1887, on the rejection of Prince Bismarck's Army Bill, this feeling, though then showing signs of waning, was strong enough to return fifteen deputies against the Government. In 1890 the Anti-German vote showed a further decline, and this year it only amounted to 11,000. These facts are very interesting and significant, and from a sentimental point of view not a little melancholy, for they prove that at this rate in a few years from now Alsace-Lorraine will be thoroughly German in thought and feeling, and that the French party will no longer exist as a factor in the politics of the conquered provinces,