Prince Bismarck has got rid of the last of the
great group who have stood round his Emperor since 1870. General von Stosch, head of the German Admiralty, recently resigned, but the Emperor refused to receive his resignation. The "First Lord," however, found his position unbearable, and persisted till the Emperor let him go, firing after him, however, a General Order in which he not only praises General von Stosch for all his conduct, but specially thanks him " for the almost unhoped-for way in which you have promoted the develop- ment of our young Navy." The truth is said to be that Prince Bismarck ordered General von Stosch to send four ironclad, to Alexandria, so that German power might be appre- ciably felt, even by Great Britain. The General had not the ships ready, and said so ; whereupon the Chancellor intimated, in the plainest German, an opinion that, if that were the case, the millions voted every year for the Fleet were wasted by General von Stosch. As Prince Bismarck is himself in favour of the counter-policy which has been pursued, of building smaller vessels first, and protecting German harbours and foreign trade, this is a little hard ; but the Chancellor is irresistible, and the poor head of the Admiralty was compelled to go. If the Prince, in getting rid of these great officers, selected his own men, the result would secure, at all events, unity of administration ; but this is not the case. The Emperor chooses everybody, and is by no means drawn towards his Chan- cellor's favourites.
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