The wretched policy, which sent French ships to Kiel to salute the flag of the King of Prussia, continues to be honoured--no, dishonoured--by the Government of the Republic of to-day. For this Government, the least of William's wishes is an order. So the Emperor William II has set foot upon the soil of France by paying a visit aboard of the _Iphigenie_ (for every one of our ships is a bit of the mother-country). The Waldeck-Rousseau Cabinet, the ideal of M. Urbain Gohier, has allowed this monstrous thing to be done almost immediately after William II had laid the first stone of his fortresses on the Moselle, fortresses intended (to use his own aggressive words) to hold _the enemy_ under Germany's guns. So we are the enemy for Germany and yet, oh shame! even while she slashes us with this word, we seek to show her that she is our friend. * * * * * * It certainly looks as if the present Prussian Ministry has neither the prestige nor the strength of will to control successfully the conduct of the ex-Mamelukes. Its failure at the last session of Parliament was complete. It is amongst the strongest supporters of the monarchy that the most determined opposition was offered to the proposed law for the construction of the canal from the Elbe to the Rhine, an enterprise dear to the heart of the Emperor, once the father of his working men and now the father of German manufacturers. Where the political impediments block his path William II cuts and hacks away as it may please him. There is proof of this in the feverish haste with which he is lowering the age of officers in the army. On the 10th of June, six Prussian generals were allowed to retire; on the 15th, ten more were placed on the unattached list, and a further movement in the same direction is expected to take place after the great Imperial manoeuvres. July 25, 1899. [7] THE HAGUE CONFERENCE I desire to convince my readers by indisputable facts-- (1) That the pacifist agitation in Europe, in all its various forms, is inspired and sustained by the most uncompromising military Power on this Continent, that is to say, by Germany; (2) That if the magnanimous humanitarian idea, so sincerely conceived by Nicholas II, has not been fulfilled, its failure is entirely due to the treachery of Germany. For that matter, Germany has been providentially punished for her machiavellian ways. Firstly, because she has been unable to conceal the fact that she is primarily responsible for this failure; and secondly (the fact is important in other ways and has proved in a most striking manner), because the Hague Conference has clearly demonstrated, that which the initiated have long suspected, that Germany is completely isolated in Europe!