In order to provide the necessary security for our influence at sea and in order to secure our future military and economic position as against England, _Belgium_, owing to the close connexion of Belgian territory (which is economically of such importance) with our main manufacturing districts, must be subjected to German Imperial legislation, both in military and tariff matters, and also in regard to currency, banking, and postal arrangements. Railways and canals must be incorporated in our transport system. In general, the government and administration of the country must be so managed that _the inhabitants obtain no influence on the political fortunes of the German Empire_; there must be separation of the Walloon and of the predominantly Flemish territory, and _all economic and industrial undertakings and real estate, which are so vital for the government of the country, must be transferred into German hands_. We must consider the question of _French_ territory from the same point of view, _i.e._ so far as it affects our position towards England. Hence we must regard it as a matter of vital importance, in the interests of our future influence at sea, that _we should hold the French coastal districts from the Belgian frontier approximately as far as the Somme_. and thus secure access to the Atlantic Ocean. _The Hinterland, which must be acquired with them_, must be so delimited as to secure to us the complete economic and strategic exploitation of those Channel-ports which we gain. Any further acquisitions of French territory, apart from the necessary annexation of the iron-ore district of Briey, must be determined solely by military and strategic considerations. After the experiences of this war, it may be regarded as self-evident that we cannot in the future leave our frontiers at the mercy of hostile invasion by allowing our opponents to retain those fortified positions which threaten us, in particular Verdun and Belfort and the Western slopes of the Vosges which lie between them. _The acquisition of the line of the Meuse and the French Channel-coast would carry with it the possession, not only of the iron-ore district of Briey mentioned above, but also of the coal-country in the department of the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais_. These annexations also—as is self-evident, after our experiences in Alsace-Lorraine—must be so arranged that the population of the annexed districts shall be precluded from exercising political influence on the fortunes of the German Empire; and all the economic resources of these districts, including both large and medium-sized estates, must be transferred to German hands on such terms that France shall compensate and take over their owners.