Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1909. BEHIND THE AUSTRIAN THRONE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LX, Issue 9345, 16 April 1909, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [Established Third of a Century.] FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1909. BEHIND THE AUSTRIAN THRONE.

Whence this sudden bellicose, display oil the part of Austria? She, too, means to possess Dreadnoughts ! Sucn an idea, we may be sure, did uofc emauate from the miud of Francis Josef, uor c:iu we believe that his Ministers or his people would of their own volitiou have come to this determination. But the iurlueuoo of Germany lias beau growing for years in Austria. The Geruiaus already settled tliore have been drawing ever nearer to their original stock, the German nation ; aud, among these, the idea of a Federation of the two nations as the new German Empire is exceedingly popular. The Kaiser, no doubt, regards the incorporation as a certainty whou the aged Hapsburg mouarch dies, aud no doubt he lias counselled the step that Austria is now taking. Similarly, it is easy to trace fcho origin of that flagrant violation of a treaty which was involved in the seizure of Bosnia-Herzegovina. That piratical act was an earnest of what is to follow when the union is accomplished. No wonder the Kaiser hastens on his warlike preparations. It is not alone a design on Great Britain that prompts him. He knows that when the plan of uuiou is effected (or rather when it is about to bo olfected) Germany will liavo to encounter the long-suppressed spirits of Hungary, Wallachia, Bohemia, and the various Slav races in the Austrian dominions —that he will have also to reckon with Russia, winch (supported by Fniuce) will not quietly let the Kaiser dominate the Balkau States, where her interests are so uutnerous. Nor could England stand by and allow this great design to be carried out, without taking a haud in resistance. It should not be forgotten, either, that the Kaiser, with admirable craft, some timo ago ingratiated himself with the Sultan of Turkey, aud that Turkey is the irreconcilable foe of Russia. The design is stupendous, one of the most stupendous in all history. That Austria should acquire Dreadnoughts, for which she has no earthly need, is one of the most convincing evidences of German design. The small oxisting navy of Austria is indeed in excess of the country's requirements under ordinary circumstances; but it is intended that she shall be in a position to back up her future lord when the time at length comes for that potentate to draw the sword. The sword has been kept in its sheath by admirable self-control, and we have hoard ondless things about the Kaiser's desire to promote peace in Europe—for the time is not yot! Armageddon may be nearer than

we think. Greater issues hang upon the life of the Austrian Emperor than upon that of any other monarch.