The Imperious Kaiser.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 8683, 7 January 1905, Page 1

The Imperious Kaiser.

In a recently published work, 'The Private Life- of Two Emperors," the compiler refers to the German Crown Prince as being destined in the course of time "to become virtually the autocratic ruler of a nation of fifty million people, as well as the absolute master of the greatest- military Power on the face of the- globe." Mr Charles Lowe severely criticises-this statement in the Daily Dispatch, and says the writer, who pretends to an inside view of Ids subject, does no more than express the common ignorance of the man in the street as to the real character and power of t-lie German Emperor." To assign William 11. to the same category of rulers as Nicholas 11. is simply stupid. It appears to be always forgotten that William 11. is not an Emperor in the sense that Tiberius, or Tamerlane, or Napoleon was one, while his power is as different from that of the Tsars a 6 is east from west. Ho is not "Emperor of Germany," as he used oven to be described by our own Court- Circular, but only "German Emperor." Francis Joseph is Emperor of Austria, while Ids ally at Berlin is only Emperor, so to speak, in Germany. He is nothing more, in fact, than the executive President and honorary figurehead of the confederation of German monarchies and Republican free cities (Lubech, Bremen, Hamburg) with the title "Deutsche Kaiser." In this capacity he does not receive one single groschen from the Imperial Exchequer. In liis capacity as Emperor, William 11. is still very much less of an absolute ruler than even President Roosevelt, The Imperial President of the German • Confederation has far less power of vetoing a law than the President of the United States of America—in fact, he ha 6 none at all. The German Emperor cannot veto a Bill which has already received the assent of the Imperial Legislature, consisting of only two factors —the Reichstag, or Imperial Parliament, returnable by universal suffrage, and the Bundesrath, or Federal Council, representing" the confederated monarchies and republics of the Fatherland. William 11., asKing of Prussia, may indeed oppose a- Bill in- the Federal Council, yet he has no choice but to promulgate it- when once ithas been approved by" that body as well as by the Reichstag. In the Bundesrath, Prussia, only possesses little more than a third of the votes—sß in all—so that she can easily be.outvoted, and, as a matter of fact, sometimes is. And then, as to "the absolute master of the greatest military Power on the face of the globe"—it will be news to many; if not- to most, that just as the German Emperor cannot veto an Imperial measure, so he is equally powerless to declare war without the previous assent of his fellow-sovereigns. The Imperial Constitution is very explicit on this point. True, if war be suddenly declared against Germany, he may then of his own accord, and of duty bound, at once mobilise the army without even calling a meeting of the Federal Council. Bat otherwise the Emperor is tied hand and foot with respect to the initial movements of the army, of which he is the supreme commander, or "War Lord."