Germany -- Foreign relations -- 1871-1918; William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
I would ask those amongst us who rejoice at the idea of seeing William
II take part in the Exhibition of 1900, to let their thoughts dwell a
little on the attitude of the Prussian delegates at the Peace
Conference. William I took part in the Exhibition of 1867 and we know
what that visit cost France three years later.
Now that all the perfidious plans inspired by Berlin have come to
nought, now that the defenders of German policy at St. Petersburg,
Warsaw and elsewhere have come to grief, and that the Peace
Congress--even though it may not have fulfilled the generous hopes of
Nicholas II--has nevertheless led to a great advance in the opinion of
the public as in that of governments, on the subjects of arbitration
and disarmament, William II shifts his rifle on to the other shoulder.
In order to clear Germany of the blame for the failure of the
Conference in the eyes of the Tzar, the same individuals who
constituted themselves the protectors and sponsors of M. de Bloch at
the Russian Court and who had assured the Tzar of the absolute support
of William II, have now started a campaign of intrigue against Count
Mouravieff.
That faithful minister and servant of the Tzar, who undertook with
great skill to carry out the initiative of his sovereign, and who has
devoted himself whole-heartedly to the task of winning over to the
Tzar's ideas not only the sympathy of the entire civilised world, but
even the vast majority of the sceptical diplomats, who are leaving the
Conference with the conviction that they have done useful work--well,
it is this same Count Mouravieff that the German Press is now trying to
hold responsible for the misdeeds of the Stengels, the Zorns and the
Schwartzkopfs.
By way of a first attempt at abolishing the horrors of war by means of
international agreements, the Hague Conference has given very
satisfactory results, and the honour for these is due to M. de Staal,
Count Mouravieff and M. de Martens. The Tzar has reason to be equally
satisfied in that he has compelled his very good friend William II to
throw off his mask and to reveal all his hostility towards Russia.
It is now for those who had pledged themselves to guarantee the
unconditional support of Germany for the Tzar, to bear the load of
responsibility which is properly theirs for having unworthily deceived
their Sovereign. Many other hopes, bearing on internal affairs in
Russia, had been created by the authors of the intrigue which I have
endeavoured to expose. We know how deeply rooted is the religious and
pacific character of the Russian masses. No initiative could stir
their hearts so profoundly as that which seeks to lessen the horrors of
war and to relieve the people of the crushing burden of armaments. One
has only to remember the sects which exist in Russia which are opposed
to military service and duties. Such an initiative coming from their
adored Tzar was bound to produce far-reaching results.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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