Moreover, he requested
his hearers to repeat his words and to let people know the motives which
impelled him thus to set his face against a reform, which, not having
secured his approval, must remain in the limbo of fantastic schemes.
Much stir and commotion follows, and as usual a great deal is said about
the most changeable and the most feather-headed of Sovereigns; then we
have a new interpretation of his speech by the Press, contradictions of
the original text, withdrawal by the Emperor himself of his original
words, and finally, as net result: a great deal of noise, and the
attention of all Europe directed towards William II. What more could he
ask?
Soon, thanks to the insidious activities of Austria in Servia, and thanks
to that of his own police on the Franco-Belgian frontier, William will be
able to threaten Europe with War.
September 12, 1892. [27]
William has given up the idea of his trip to Hamburg, cholera being the
sort of jest for which he has no relish. To make up, he has rushed off
to Canossa. The Black Alliance, as the Liberals call it, is an
accomplished fact. The price paid to the Catholics for their assistance
has been a matter of bargaining; what William II wants is an increase in
the peace-footing of the army, and of the annual contingent of recruits,
so that Germany's army of 300,000 men may always be ready.
In twenty years the War budget has been raised from 309 to 700 millions,
as the result of these new plans.
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