The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1918. THE CENTRAL POWERS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16524, 20 April 1918, Page 6

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 1918. THE CENTRAL POWERS.

The resignation of Count Czernin and the outburst of tiie yiennu j'Arbeiter Zeitung" against tile "war-mad Genitalis" come in gootl time to remind us that, while the Avar has reached a most anxious stage for the Britisn Empire, the Central Powers ai'e not without their troubles- . The retirement of the Austrian h'oreign Minister is still wrapped in obscurity, though internal reasons are said to have had part in it. Count Czernin succeeded Baron Burian in that post in December 1916, and now, Baron Burian succeeds him again. The change armears. to mean that the extreme militarists are now in charge in Austria, as also in Germany, since the new Minister lias been described as a faithful disciple of Count Tisza, the Hungarian statesman who was ihe strongest supporter of the German War Lords until his full from office, but not, it has been saidi from power, almost a year ago. If Count Tisza now gets' back to office as the Premier of Hungary, whose Government Jias resigned out of sympathy, it would seem, with the resignation of Count Czernin. the supremacy .of the extreme Avar party throughout the Dual Empire will bo complete. • That prospect need not disturb us, because if anything like a revolution is to be caused in either Germany or AustriaHungary, it is far more likely to be proA'oked by the extremists than by parties with more moderation who might hold control. In Germany the most fanatical war party has held power for some months past, but they have not held it by the .people's will. While German lives are being poured out by them on an unprecedented ;;cale, they make magnificent promises, of the victories soon to be achieved and triumphant ending of the Avar, but the German ■people doubts the victories," Avliile the slaughter • is everpresent to it. When a moderate German stateman, Prince Max of made the simple statement lately that "if theAVorhl is to be reconciled to the greatness of our power, it must feel that a world conscience exists | behind our strength." an out- | burst was provoked from the j Berlin "Deutsche Zeituna'" highly typical of the Junker spirit:

•'Down -with the world-conscience!" it declared. "Away with tho spirit of world-brotherhood! Let the German spirit of power alone be our commander and loader! Its cry is more power! More German power! That is the legacy bequeathed to us by dead heroesj and written in the flninored letters of their blood. May those who trifle with this legacy bo struck by the curse which will rise from their graves to God's heaven f He vhoso 'world-conscicnco' or sense of 'responsibility toward humanity' causes him to say or write anything else 'thuu that which tho power of tlie German sword commands is, and always will be, a feeble political dreamer, a gloomy wanderer in the clouds."

Such frenzy of pan-Gerimuii.sm might have been attractive to the German musses iu the first mortals of tlie war, not at the present period. Iu the Dual Empire dissatisfaction with tho war and economic miseries worse jß.ven than those of Germany are

accompanied by the fiercest .jealousies between Austria and Hungary. Austrian papers were furious, it is said, when a now and separate Magyar army was formed recently, in which the words of command are given in •Hungarian, and the Jiuda Pest "Az Est" was urging lately:

"Lob us break with Austria! /his should bo engraved on tho heart of every Hungariail of whatever raoo, from the Prime Minister to tho humblest peasant. Wo do not desiro and wo aro fully resolved not to live in union, or in any form of dualism with our worst foe. We .shall settle our accounts with our enemies in -Austria, and they will mourn over that settlement for centuries to come."

The frank confessions of the -(jerruan Ambassador, i J riuoe Lichnowsky, in regard to the origin of the war have had their influence, it appears, in Austria as well as Germany. It is the Junkers <j[£ both countries who have sown the windj and they will reap the whirlwind.