BISMARCK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6345, 26 November 1898, Page 3

BISMARCK.

SECRET PAGES OF HIS HISTORY. Dr Moritz Busch, the publication of whose diary created a A*ast amount of interest, wos the agent who managed the subsidised or " reptile Press " for Prince Bismarck, and Bismarck himself authorised Busch to " tell all he knew," and this the agent has done. We give the following extracts from the work : It Was by means of the "reptile" Pressthat the Chancellor, having decided on a course of action, manufactured in its favour a body of "public opinion," to which he afterwards pointed as the excuse for, or fche motive-power of, his policy. In his manipulation of this instrument he showed, ifc is said, a power of resource, a. mastery of detail, an impatience' of criticism, and a personal vindictiveness which recall, in a striking manner, the. .methods and characteristics of the First Napoleon. • HOW -THK WAR WAS. HASTENED. The Prince, pursued, his object of a struggle with.France steadily, and, having brought the two countries to the verge of war, toppled them both over by his ''editing ". — to use a polite term-^-of the famous Eras Despatch. "The Chancellor then gave some par tic u-. lars of tlie wavering and hestitation "that went on up to a certain incident, which altered the complexion of things, and was followed by the declaration of war. - * I expected to find - another telegram in Berlin answering mine, but it had not arrived. In the meantime, I invited Moltke and Roon to dine with me that evening, and to talk over, the situation, -which seemed to me tobe growing more and more unsatisfactory. Whilst we were dining, anothe. long telegram was brought in. As I read it to them • — it must have been about two. hundred words-^-they were both actually terrified, and Mdltke's whole being suddenly changed. He seemeel" to <be quite old and infirm; It looked as if our Most Gracious might knuckle under afterV all. I asked him (Moltke). if , as things V stood, we - might/: hope- to , be .vie-. . torious. ' On his replying, in the affirmative, •I said, ' Wait a minute .-.. an4,.,seating.,myself : at a small table, I boiled down those two hundred- words to about twenty, but without otherwise altering or adding anything. It was Abeken's telegram, yet something different, shorter, more determined, less dubious. I then handed it over to them, and asked, 'Well, how does that do now?' ' Yes,' they said, ' it will do in that form.' • And Moltke immediately became quite young and fresh aorain. He had got his war, his trade, an 4 the thing really succeeded The French were fearfully angry at the condensed telegram as it appeared in the newspapers, and a couple of days later they declared war : against us." The Ems telegram, as doctored, led France to belisve that her representative hjid been insulted in his final audience with the King of Prussia, when, in reality, he had received no insult at all. HATING THE FREXCH. Bismarck was inspired with the profoundest hatred and contempt of t!he French people, and gave expression to it in language and actions which make one surprised at the mildness of Jules Favre in describing him as an " amiable " barbarian. We quote the following from a collection of similar outpourings which Dr Busch has carefully treasured in his Diary- : — "France is a nation of cyphers — a mere herd. The French are wealthy and elegant, but they have* no individuality, no consciousness as individuals-, but only as a mass. They are like thirty million obedient Kaffirs, each one of whom is in himself featureless gud worthless-, not fit to be compared with Russians and Italians, to say nothing of ourselves. It was an easy task to recruit out of this impersonal, invertebrate mass a phalanx ready to oppress the remainder of the country so long as it was not united. "You can give a Frenchman twenty-five lashes, and if you only make a fine speech to him about the freedom and dignity of man of which those lashes are the expression, and at the same' time strike a fitting attitude, he will persuade himself that he is not being thrashed." \ " Holnstein told us that a shoemaker in Munich had made a good deal of money by letting his windows, from which a good view could be had of the captured Turcos as they marched by, and presented seventynine florins to the fund for the wounded soldiers. People had come even from Vienna to see that procession. This led the conversation to the shooting of these treacherous Africans, on which the Chief said, ' There should have been no question of making prisoners of these blacks.', Holnstein. — 'I believe they do not do so any longer.' The Chief. — 'If I had my way, every soldier who made a black man prisoner should be placed under arrest. They are beasts of prey, and ought to be shofc down. The fox has the excuse that Nature has made him so, but the_se fellows — they are abominably unnatural. They have tortured our soldiers to death in the most shameful way.' " BISMARCK AND THE CR&WN PRINCESS — COSTS HER BITTER TEARS. Of the Crown Princess Frederick (the English Princess Royal) he was at once contemptuous and jealous. To quote Dr Busch, in 1870 :— " I ventured to ask how he now stood with the Crown Prince. ' Excellently,' he answered. 'We are quite good friends since he has come to recognise thafc I am not on the side of the French, as he had previously fancied — I do not Un*»w on what arounds.' I remarked that the day before the Crown Prince had looked very pleased. 'Why should he not be pleased?' replied the Count. ' The Heir Apparent of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world, and with the best prospects. He . will be reasonable v later on, and allow his Ministers to govern more, and not put himself too much forward, and in general he will get rid of many bad habits that render old gentlemen of his trade sometimes rather troublesome. For tlie rest, b** is unaffected and straighfcior- , ward ; but he does not care to work much,, and is quite happy if be has plenty of money and amusements, and :if the newspapers praise him.' "I took the' hberty to -ask further what sort of woman the Crown Princess was, and. whether she had much influence -over her husband.: 'I think not,' the : Count said; 'and as. to her intelligence, she is a clever woman ; clever in a womanly way. She is I nofc able to disguise her feelings, or at least I not always. I have cost her many tears, and she could not conceal how angry she was with me after the annexations (that is to ■ say. -of Schleswig and Hanover). She could hardly bear the sight of me, but that feeling has now somewhat subsided. She once asked me to bring her a glass of water, and as I : handed ifc to her she said to a lady-in-waiting, who sat near, and whose name I forget, "He'hascost me as many tears as there is , water in this glass." ' BISMARCK'S FAITH. There was nothing of the agnostic abonfc > Bismarck, who "could nofc conceive how 1 men could do their duty in»lifo without faith in God." One d»y, at dinner, he broke out with a, highly characteristic profession of his religious views. "If. l did. not believe in a Divine Providence, which has ordained. this German nation to something good, and great, I-would-at once give. up my. trade as a statesman, or , I should never have gone-into the business. '•:. Orders and'titles have no attraction; for. me. L * A resolute faith in. a life after death — for " that reason. l am a Royalist, otherwise, I 1 am by nature a. Republican. If there is no ! Divine commandment, why should I. subor- | dini.te myself to these Hnhenzollems ? They * are a Suabian family, no . better than my : own, and in that case no concern of mine." BISMARCK AND THE HOHENZOLLERNS. ; His treatment of the aged Emperor William was / throughout consistent with* the ' mental attitude thus described. He let him know as much as he thought was good for r him, ond he dominated him entirely by his [ masterful demeanour. Writing in 1870, Dr < . Busch says: — \ . "March 31. — Commissioned by the Chief to tell Zitelmann (an official of the M^ustry 5 of State in charge of press matters); thafc [ the newspaper extract which his offlce prej pares foi* submission to the King (through the Minister) should be better sifted and ar- > ianged. Those - that are suitable for the . . King are to be gummed on to separate , sheets, and detached from those' that are not ' j suitable for him. Particularistic lies and l stupidities, such as those from Kiel bf the 25th and Cassel of the 28th, belong to the

latter category, and must not be laid before him. If he sees that kind of thing printed in black or white he is apt- to believe ifc. He does not know the character of those papers." About the same period, he records the following incident .* — " The Chancellor then remarked suddenly *. 'The. King told me an untruth to-day. I asked^him if the bombardment was not to commence, and he replied that he had ordered it. But I knew immediately that that was nofc true. I know him. He cannot lie, or at least nofc in such a way that it cannot be detected. He at once changes colour, and it was particularly noticeable when h. replied to my question to-day. When I looked at him straight into his eyes he could not stand it.' " But ifc was the. "(petticoat influence" at Court that especially excited his wrath : — "That seems to be a characteristic of the Hohenzolleriis— t.heir women folk have always a -great influence upon them: It was not so with Frederick the Great, but' with his successor and the late King, as well as the present Most Gracious and his future Majesty.- The most curious example is that of -Prince Charles, who is anything but a good husband, and yet depends upon his wife ; indeed, lie is thoroughly afraid of her, and is guided by her wishes. . . . But ifc is somewhat different- with these two (the King and the Crown Prince). They want to be praised. They like to have it &aid in the English and French Press that they are considerate and generous. They find that the Germans praise them enough as ifc is." THE BATTEXBERG MARRIAGE. The brief and unhappy reign of the Emperor -Frederick was embittered in many trays, but in none more so than by Prince Bismarck's relentless oppdsition to the proposed marriage of the Princess Victoria of Prussia (daughter of the Emperor Frederick and the Princess Royal) \ to Prince Alexander of Battenberg. Here, again, the Chancellor invoked the assistance of Dr Busch, and poured his wrong, into that- re* ceiptiyerear. :-r-., -„:..■ ■■■ "■ ■ >< .-• *- ' ••■ ''■ "The question now is as to the marriage of the Battenberger to Princess Victoria, which the Queen of England has in view. Three years, and more ago,- under the old master (the Emperor William I.), it was actively promoted by her daughter, the present Empress, at first in secret.. As soon as I then heard of it I . made representations to the Emperor, verbally and in writing. He allowed himself to be co/ivinced by the reasons I adduced, and. ref used to give his consent, although she said the Princess loved him. Of course, he is a haudsome man, with a fine presence ; but I believe her nature is such that she would accept any other suitorj providing he were manly. Moreover, that is entirely beside the question. We must look at the politi-cal-objections and dangers. The old Queen is fond of match-making, like all old women, and she may have .selected Prince Alexander for her granddaughter because he is a brother of her son-in-law, the husband of her favourite daughter, Beatrice. But obviously her main objects are political _-a permanent estrangement between ourselves and Russia — and if she were to come here for the Princess's birthday, there would be the greatest danger that she would get her way. In family matters she is not accustomed to contradiction, and would immediately bring the parson with her in her travelling bag and the bridegroom in her trunk, and the marriage would come off at once. Probably the Battenpergcr, too, would have been here by this time if I had not stepped 'in, for they are in a mighty hurry over there in London. So far only a postponement has been secured. If the marriage, nevertheless, takes place, I can no longer remain in office, for I should then have lost all confidence in the future." Nothing was too bitter to say of Queen Victoria and the Empress, her daughter:— " The new Empress has always been an Englishwoman, a channel for English influence here, an instrument for tne furtherance of English interests. In her present position she is more than ever so, and the Bafctenberger is fco be another tool of the same kind. In England they do not tolerate any foreign influence — you know how Palmerston and the others accused, opposed, and persecuted, the Prince Consort for his alleged or real influence over the Queen. We, however, are expected to submit to that sort of thing, and regard it as a matter of course. We are an inferioi race, ordained to serve them. So the Queen thinks, too, and her daughter is of exactly the same opinion. They are working in partnership. I would suggest to you to take the present opportunity of treating this subject fully, dealing with it from a diplomatic and liistorical standpoint, showing how England has at all times sought and still seeks to influence us for her own ends, and often against our interest, to use us for promoting her own security and th€ extension of her power, lately through women, daughters and friends of Queen Victoria." It was impossible, said Bismarck, that tbe marriage should take place. Prince Alexander would be "a permanent channel for Englishiinfluence witli us, so far as that influence was directed against Russia." The Czar, moreover, hated the Battenberger witb his whole heart, and the latter's inclusion in the German Imperial family would be a menace to peace. "It is only the English who would benefit by it. It would be an English war if the Battenberg marriage leel Russia to join the French attack on us." All tnis was for (Dt Busch to reproduce in his organs. "But be very cautious, diplomatic, and not too venomous ; and always emphasise the fact that ifc is foreign influences that are working against me, not the Emperor, but the reigning lady and her mother." On the following day the Chancellor again primed his agent for the attack : — Ifc is a struggle, between the Emperoi and. Empress. She, as an Englishwoman, is in favour of the Battenberger ; he will not have him, first for political reasons, like myself , and then because he' actually hates him, for he dislikes the idea of a mesalliance, as he is very proud of his dynasty and his position. Two Empresses are fighting against his opinion and mine — - those oi India and Germany — and Victoria, the daughter, simply talks him down. She can make much better* use of her tongue than he .can. It has always been so, and now more than ever, owing to his illness and the way in which worry affects him. Besides, be is deeply devoted to his family: I was present on one occasion when she set at him so violently, with her feminine logic and volubility thafc at last he sat there quite silent and digressed. He is delighted every time that I come, to his assistance against his combative wife. At home with hei daughters, she, the German Empress, onlj speaks English, the language of the choser people, and the Princesses write English letter?; to their father." As all the world knows, the affair ended in accordance with the Chancellor's wishes. THE EMPEROR FREDERICKS DIARY. Everyone will recall the scandal surrounding the publication of the Emperor Frederick's dairy, by Dr Gpft'cken, in the " Deutsche RundschaUi" .. . Dr Busch treats of the affair with characteristic gusto. The moment the breath was out of the Emperor's body the- palace was. surrounded by troops, in order, as rumour, said, that the documents should not be smuggled out ; but report, added that they came into the pos session of the Queen, and that she refused to give them np. The Chancellor was en ra.ed ; the diary threatened to deprive hin* of the credit for the inception of the Imperial idea. He at once sent for Dr Busch, and, with the frankness arising out of knowledge of his subordinate, remarked, " As you will have seen from what you read, we must treat it as a forgery, a point of view foi which a great deal may be said. Then, wher it is proved to be genuine by the productior of the original, it can be dealt with furthei in another way." Dr Busch was, of course, willing to oblige, but he regarded the diary as genuine. The Prince rejoined: — "You were quite right. I myself consider that diary even more genuine than yon do. It is quite insignificant, superficial stuff, without any true conception of the situation, a medley of sentimental politics, self-conceit, and phrase-mongering. He was far from being as clever as his father, and the latter was certainly nofc a first-rate politician. Ifc. is just that which proves its genuineness to me. • But at first we must treat it as doubtful." The Emperor (Willi___.lL) was, he added,

•• " quite in a rage, and wishes to have strong measures taken against fche publication. Later he repeated to his faithful henchman s the plan of campaign to be pursued: — "First assert it to be a forgeiy, and ex- . press indignation at such a calumny upon the noble dead. Then, when they prove it to be genuine, refute the errors and foolish ideas which it contains, but cautiously, and bearing in mind .that he was Emperor, and father to the present Emperor."' Truly a delightful glimpse of Bismarckian procedure.