15. Essays from "Deutsche Wochenschrift"
The Week of April 5-11, 1888
The Bismarck crisis, which is mentioned in our editorial, seems to have been resolved favorably according to the latest dispatches from Berlin. This happy outcome to the crisis would allow Germany and its friends to breathe a sigh of relief.
The Empress Victoria has traveled to the flooded areas of Posen. This trip is seen as an act of high statesmanship and great natural goodness. Prince Bismarck will leave Berlin one of the very next days and go to Varzin. It is assumed that the Prince intends to stay in Varzin for some time.
The Austrian House of Representatives convened again on May 10th. It has an extensive work program, almost too large for the time allotted to its activities. The general debate on the budget should begin on Thursday. As the delegations are due to meet immediately after Whitsun, the session of the House of Representatives must close no later than the Friday before the Whitsun holidays, i.e. on May 18. There are therefore only 30 sitting days available in total. And in this short period of time, the Spirit Tax Act, the Lloyd Treaty, the first reading of the school proposals, the bills on the lawyers' tariff, the Trademark Protection Act, the warehouses, etc. must be dealt with. It seems likely that a post-session or the postponement of one or other matter will prove necessary. The Poles, who are still in opposition to the alcohol issue, are said to have negotiated with the Left on this matter recently, but without result. The Left is said to have decided to vote against the alcohol tax law for political reasons. At Tuesday's session of the House of Representatives, the thanks of the German Reichstag for the participation expressed on the occasion of the death of Emperor Wilhelm were first communicated to it by the Prime Minister, Count Taaffe, and it has not gone unnoticed that these thanks commemorate with particular warmth the friendly relations existing with the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The wording of the note in question is as follows:
"The undersigned Imperial German Ambassador has the honor, on behalf of His Excellency His Excellency's Government, to convey to the Imperial-Royal Minister of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy the following message. Austrian Minister of the Imperial Household and Foreign Affairs, Count Kalnoky de Köröspatak, to inform the Presidents of the Austrian House of Lords and the House of Representatives, as well as the Hungarian Upper and Lower Houses, that the German Reichstag, in its session of March 19, this year. the unanimous decision to express that the signs of special reverence for our exalted monarch, who was recalled from this temporality, and the warm participation in the mourning of the entire German people, which these representative bodies have expressed in such an eloquent manner, have evoked the deepest emotion and warmest gratitude throughout Germany. This attitude of the Austrian parliaments is an uplifting manifestation of the friendly relations that exist between the two peoples."
In France, the slippery slope of radicalism is rapidly descending. The Boulangian high tide is making rapid progress; Boulanger is winning on all lines. In the department of Dordogne, where he refused to run, he was elected as a deputy with 59,500 votes out of 100,000 cast. The opportunist Clerjonie remained in the minority with 35,700 votes. The opportunists are inconsolable about their new defeat. The Floquet ministry is now up in the air. The current ministry will develop into the radical republic, which poses a major threat to the very existence of the republic.
In the Bulgarian affair, pretty much everything has remained the same. Russia is still inexhaustible in its assurances of peace. It would undertake not to use force against Bulgaria, neither to send officers to train the Bulgarian army, nor to appoint a general as Minister of War, nor to send a commissioner. Russia would calmly await the development of events. In the meantime, however, Russia's rummaging in Bulgaria continued apace. The * Porte assured the Bulgarian delegate that a customs treaty would be concluded by ı. May. The trial of the Popov-Bonev and comrades affair begins on Wednesday under the presidency of Colonel Nikolayev. The government declares that it wants to give the military court complete free rein and stay away from this affair so as not to give rise to suspicions and political machinations. The famous Turkish military cordon was withdrawn from the eastern Rumelian border.
The fact that things have still not calmed down in Romania is also the fault of holy Russia. The Russian Action Party has instigated a peasant movement in Romania. The peasants of various villages revolted, threatened or mistreated the landlords and tenants and demanded the abolition of agrarian contracts, such as the allocation of arable land. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carp, developed his program in the Chamber. The King had chosen the ministers because they were neutral and stood between the parties. They will also always remain impartial. With regard to foreign policy, the Minister said that it was a legend to claim that the Ministers were pursuing German policy. As far as internal politics were concerned, the Minister explained that it was impossible to take action during the current turmoil. It was necessary to wait until tempers had calmed down and then the government would dissolve the chambers. - It is believed that parliament will be dissolved in the first half of September.