Pro THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR.') SIR, — There is a passage
in the letter of Mr. B. Delbriick in the Spectator of June 4th which cannot be assented to. He says :—" Every enlightened German knows how impolitic and injurious the behaviour of the German Press was against England during the Boer War; we will try to correct our faults in the same way as our Emperor began to do by his visit to England during the Boer War, showing that he disliked the conduct of the German Press." Familiar facts show how mistaken Mr. Delbriick is. No class in Germany was more fanatical and insulting in its opposition to England than "the enlightened" class, notably the University Professors, of whom the distinguished Mommsen was a type. Men of high social position made public speeches all over the country of the most offensive character; and in the Reichstag itself even high and "enlightened" Government officials were no less ready to use such language about England. That the visit of the Emperor to England at the time was intended to show his disapproval of the language of the Press in Germany will not be accepted by any Englishman as correct For we know full well that there is no Press in the world more amenable to Government influence than that of Germany; that nowhere are there stricter laws of.lese-majeste, and nowhere are such laws more rigorously enforced when the Emperor chooses. What made the outburst of calumny and insult in Germany so keenly felt here was the knowledge that it was never disapproved of or disavowed by the "enlightened" and the highest in the land, though effective interference with the Press in Germany is nothing unusual. The Press cannot be made the scapegoat in this matter.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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