The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1914. GERMAN MILITARY DESPOTISM.

Southland Times, Issue 17595, 6 March 1914, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 1914. GERMAN MILITARY DESPOTISM.

J ♦ The events that occurred in connection with the Zabcrn affair, of which a great deal has been heard lately, and of which full particulars are now to hand, afford a fine example of the irony o. circumstances that such startling proofs of the impotence of the German people as against their rulers should coincide with the wide demand among British Biberals for the reduction of armaments. Britishers are continually told that the German people are well disposed towards them, and that the thought of war with them is an outrage on humanity. There is no reason to doubt their friendliness and the British people reciprocate it, adding to it genuine sympathy and admiration. But the sentiments of the German people must not be confused with the line of action of the military-autocratic bureaucracy which from Berlin controls the destinies of Germany. Herr Rebel, the great Socialist leader, was proud of the progress which Social Democracy had made under his leadership, but he used to shake his head sadly when he was asked to estimate

the political power of his followers. His opinion is on record that if the German rulers should desire a war of aggression the Socialists would be utterly powerless to prevent it. There is no need to attribute to the German Government any idea of a war of aggression, and it is a matter for rejoicing* to know that the relations of Great Britain and Germany arc better than they have been for a long time, and it is to be earnestly hoped that they may still further improve. But two things must not be forgotten: First, that this improvement has coincided with a firm and frankly expressed naval policy on the part of Great Britain, and secondly, that the conduct of the rulers of Germany, who are not in any practical sense responsible to public opinion, must always he an incalculable thing. The prejudice of a single person high in authority, the desire to distract attention from awkward questions at home, some fantastic point of honour affecting the Army—any cause such as these might create an international situation from which it would be impossible to extricate Britain without war, however much, both countries might deplore the prospect of war at the eleventh hour. Those who press on the Government a reduction in naval expenditure, in spite of all the past proofs that every such proposal, however well intentioned, awakes all the misgivings and the passions of the rival groups in Europe, are simply adding to the unrest and the perils of the times. They are guilty of the mad act of tampering with forces which have arrived at a kind of tranquil equipoise.