THE CENTRAL POWERS

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14407, 18 May 1917, Page 5

THE CENTRAL POWERS

GERMANY'S WAR AIMS.

THE CHANCELLOR'S SPEECH

SOCIALIST DENUNCIATION OF

CONQUEST.

A REVOLUTION PROMISED. '

(Australian and N.Z. Cable Association)

Amsterdam, May 15

A fuller report of the Reichstag proceedings shows that Herr Roesicke, the Conservative leader,'. complained- of' the uncertainty of Germany's war aims. It seemed that the'- 1 {government was not convinced that the country was determined to win victory. It would he terrible, if the Chancellor -went' to a peace conference with, a plan to abandon everything. He .demanded - the abandonment of all ideas of an international renunciatory peace.

Herr Scheidemann said the Socialists wanted something definite. They opposed all policy of conquest. Tbe Conservatives wanted to conquer the world. He said that thousands wero slaughtered against the people's will. They could not achieve their purpose by throttling other nations.

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Herr Schcidemann aroused a tumult ■by declaring tbat the German policy of conquest had resulted in Germany being regarded as a nation of robbers and a gang of thieves.

, Loud protests were raised, many aemanding Herr Scheidemann's removal.

Herr Ledebour subsequently, in,the debate, caused a sensation in the House by declaring that things must happen in Germany as in Russia. '.'We must soon introduce a Republic," he said. "We shall propose a Constitutional Reform Committee to take preparatory action to that end."

It is noteworthy that the German censorship deleted from the official wireless message the" following extract from Dr. yon Bethmann Hollweg's speech': "I won't be diverted from the proper path by Herr Scheidemann's threat of revolution. The German people will show tbat they don't understand such a word. lam not going to tolerate the suspicion'that I side with the Social Democrats."

The latest reports give Herr Scheidemann's actual words as follows: "If France and. Britain renounce annexations and Germany insists thereon, we shall have a revolution in the land."