7. Essays from "Deutsche Wochenschrift"

The Week of February 8-15, 1888

The effect of the unveiling of the German-Austrian treaty of alliance and Bismarck's great speech was an extraordinarily profound one everywhere, and the excitement it caused is still reverberating in the European press. It is understandable that the two events gave rise to manifold conjectures concerning the position of the foreign powers with regard to the alliance of the two Central European empires, all the more so as the German Chancellor was expressly mindful of the agreements made with "other" states and especially with Italy. It was to be expected that the alliance with Italy would have similar features to the German-Austrian one, and the Roman correspondent of the "Neue Freie Presse" believes he can vouch for reports confirming this assumption. His statements are given weight by the fact that they were printed in full by the "Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung". They describe the following as the content of the treaties that Italy concluded with Germany and Austria: With Germany, that the two states must stand by each other with their entire war power until a joint peace is concluded if one of them is attacked by France; the treaty is aimed at preserving national independence and freedom, and the parties to the treaty give assurances that they will not arbitrarily break the peace. It was agreed with Austria that benevolent neutrality would be observed on both sides if Austria became involved in a war with Russia or Italy with France; Austria also undertook to support Italian interests in the Mediterranean and not to take any action on the Balkan peninsula without first reaching an agreement with Italy. In the event that France and Russia were to strike simultaneously, the entire military power of all three allied empires would have to be mobilized. These treaties are to be supplemented by agreements made between Italy, Austria and England for the protection of the Austrian and Italian coasts against any enemy landings. These communications still lack an official seal, but their intrinsic probability has been fairly generally recognized. Only as far as England is concerned, Under-Secretary of State Fergusson had previously declared in the House of Commons that the Government had not entered into any agreement committing England to any material action of which the House was unaware.

It is difficult to say what the European situation is now after the events of the last few weeks. It seems that Prince Bismarck and the German-Austrian treaty have really put a strong damper on the agitators and agitators in Russia and France. On the other hand, there has been no substantial change in the attitude of the individual powers towards each other, and Russia in particular has not ceased to complete its armaments. At the moment, relations between Italy and France are also still rather bad, as evidenced by the breakdown of negotiations on the renewal of the trade treaty. The customs war is imminent. According to a speech made by Lord Salisbury in the English House of Lords, there is nothing to fear for peace at present; England has the most concise assurances that Russia has no unlawful action in mind.

The Speech from the Throne, with which the English Parliament was opened on February 9, also contains no disquieting remarks, and the mere fact that it does not consider the European situation at all can be regarded as a sign of the seriousness of the times. But nowhere does one feel relieved of the worries that have been weighing on people's minds for months, and it can hardly be assumed that the fatal clouds of war will clear any time soon.

The extent to which the allied powers are endeavoring to destroy any belief that they are planning attacks can also be seen in a toast that Prince Wilhelm recently made at a banquet, in which he said, among other things said that he knew that reckless thoughts of war, lusting for glory, were being imputed to him, especially abroad: "God save me," the prince added, "from such criminal recklessness - I reject such accusations with indignation!"

Rather unpleasant news has since arrived from San Remo. In order to prevent the danger of suffocation that has arisen, Dr. Bramann had to perform a tracheotomy on the German crown pince-nez, and although the operation is not too serious and in this case also passed off happily, it nevertheless proves that the ailment does not justify the cheerful views that were held not long ago about a speedy and complete recovery of the tall patient. It is to be sincerely hoped that this operation will remain without bad consequences, and that the art of the doctors will not have to be called upon again for such an intervention.

In the parliaments of Germany and Austria, work continued with brief interruptions. The Reichstag, against the votes of the Center, the Liberals and the Poles and Danes, adopted the motion of the Cartel parties to introduce five-year legislative periods; the Prussian House of Representatives opted for the same change. After this, the Reichstag approved without debate the law concerning the raising of a loan for military purposes, and finally the extension of the Socialist Law in its present form, without the tightening of the law requested by the government, was adopted for two years, i.e. until September 30, 1890. The Austrian Chamber of Deputies first concluded its deliberations on the new Sugar Tax Act, after which the trade agreements with Italy and Germany were concluded. The former was soon concluded. On the other hand, a lively debate ensued on the convention with Germany, in which the German National deputies warmly advocated the extension of the alliance with the German Empire in political and economic terms. The speakers of the German-Austrian Club were much cooler towards this idea, and the Slavs did not deal with it at all, unless it had been to express their dislike of the German alliance in its present form, as the Young Czech Herald did. The bill was of course adopted. Then the matter of coal supplies for the Southern Railway came up for negotiation. The House of Lords met on ııı. The House of Lords met on February and concluded its discussion of the Health Insurance Bill, which had been returned from the House of Representatives.