VON BULOW CONFESSES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16282, 15 July 1916, Page 8

VON BULOW CONFESSES.

POLITICAL REVELATIONS.

DESIGNS AGAINST BRITAIN.

BUILT UP NAVY FIRST.

FELT SAFE BY 1914. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received 1.35 a.m.) LONDON. July 14 The Morning Post's Berne correspondent says that the chapter of foreign politics covered in " Deutsche Politike," a book written by Prince von Bulow, ex-Ger-man Chancellor, is a frank confession that Germany adopted a policy of dissimulation with Britain until the German fleet should bestrong enough to justify defiance. Von Bulow explains that Germany, '"as a new arrival amongst the Great Powers, forcing herself into the circle of the old national family by her surprising excellence," was regarded as an uninvited and objectionable intruder, nevertheless, inspiring fear" " It was essential, while we were building up our navy,"' says von Bulow, •• to maintain Germany's Continental position and avoid collision with Britain. Our fleet had to be built with one eye on British politics. My main efforts in the. field of higher politics were directed towards the fulfilment of this task. " At last there seemed a chance, during the Boer war, of striking a blow at Britain. This would have been applauded by the German people. The general situation, however, was not really unfavourable to Britain. Furthermore, had Germany struck then, our relations with Britain would have been poisoned for a long time. Even if our intervention had caused her failure in South Africa, she would still have been able to nip in the bud our developments in sea power. By the year 1914 we had grown so big that we ciTuld venture upon war with Britain in high spirits." !