"the invasion of Britain by America." Her newspapers in English
diplomatists and statesmen may often be heard public and her rulers in private have first triumphed over to deplore the fact that we cannot come to an under- our alleged discomfiture, and have then urged us to arm and standing; with Russia. They sometimes even go further, withstand the American invader before it is too late. Their and declare that they can see no real reason why we should object in doing this has apparently been hidden from the not come to such an understanding. But they add that majority of our leaders of public opinion, including a all efforts in this direction somehow or other always large number of the Members of the House of Commons. end in nothing, and they, give the matter up as Yet the aim of Germany is clear enough. She is terribly hopeless. They speak as if there were some natural alarmed at the notion of America entering upon anything and uncontrollable force which kept the two nations approaching commercial co-operation with Britain, for she apart against which it was useless to fight. Like sees in that prospect the creation of a force which would the pious Mahommedan, they opine that "it is written" infallibly destroy her most cherished ambitions. Accord- that Russia and England should. be at loggerheads, and ingly she has striven her hardest to make the assertion of they resign themselves to the inevitable. Curiously. Anierica's claim to share in the work of Atlantic transport, enough, it never seems to occur to them that it might not a source of closer relations between the two branches of be worth while to try to discover the source of the our race, as it should be, but of enmity and distrust. The mysterious force which is keeping the two nations apart. proverb, "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any Yet if they were to make the necessary effort, it could be bird," does not seem to have operated.—Curiously enough, it discovered without much difficulty. Let them begin by never does seem to operate in the case of Germany.—The asking the very simple question whether it is to the interest' German Intelligence Department, says the well-instructed of any other Power to keep them apart. If this question informant of the Times, has grasped. what the British is asked, there can be only one answer. Leaving for the public has not—co-operation in the Atlantic carrying moment the second question whether Germany is in fact trade, and so in the carrying of our food supplies, would keeping us apart, it is quite clear that it is to the interest of have a very important effect on any future war between Germany to keep Russia and England in a state of enmity. England and the Powers of the Continent. They see, Indeed, it is hardly too much to say that it is absolutely though we do not, what we stand to gain politically and vital to Germany to keep Russia and England embroiled. they to lose, and accordingly Germany is most anxious, even Imagine for a moment a state of things in which England. if she cannot actually stop the Shipping Combine, to make and Russia had composed. their strife,—that we had allowed it a source of ill-feeling and of political and commercial Russia a free hand in Northern China, that we had recog- . antagonism between England and America. nised her fullest claims in Persia, and had facilitated her As we have said, the Times sees this most clearly in the acquisition of a warm-water port on the Gulf entirely under case of the Atlantic trade, and has added to its long list of her control and linked with the Russian railway system by a Russian railway, and lastly, that we had exerted our public services by setting the matter forth plainly and clearly. Unfortunately, however, it d influence on the Russian rather than the German side in Germany is do Syria and As Minor. Germany's position would then be doing, and has been doing for the last three Asia or four years, exactly the same thing. only in a far more one of extreme danger. She dare not expand in any way that would offend Russia, for with Russia on one flank and dangerous way and on a much grander scale, in the case of Russia. Germany has been playing the part of agent_ Russia's ally on the other, her whole energies must be devoted to the protection of her home interests. She _provocateur in the matter of England and Russia with te the utmost assiduity both as regards China and Persia. We say deliberately, and in spite of the denials which can, world-Power and of expansion in China and the Levant no doubt, be freely given, that Germany has consciously be determined to keep Russia and England apart, and to make mischief between them, and that during the course of events in the Far East she never lost a single opportunity which she could take with decency to sow distrust between us and Russia. Germany, of course, was nominally playing the friend not only of England but of the publicly in her Press and privately through personal general peace, but at the same time she was always channels, we must be very blind if we miss the significance officiously suggesting the dangers we were incurring from Russian enmity, and pointing out ways in which our ence that is keeping England and Russia apart, and that interests he is determined so to do even though that determination sts might be preserved. Needless to say, these ways were designed to increase, not lessen, the friction. And necessitates the disagreeable operations of the agent- in spite of the difficulties of the game, Germany, we Provocateur. must' admit, played it with very great success. No We do not for a moment profess to blame Germany doubt she must every now and then have had a for the part she has played and is playing. Her peril mauvais guart-d'heure lest a compromise should "break is too great to make it possible for her to reject out" between the parties, but in the end we always the opportunity given her by the foolish tradition of docilely followed her instructions as to how those British animosity towards Russia which dates from dreadful Russians (in whose nefarious designs she kept us TOPICS OF TIIE DAY. regularly posted) were to be circumvented. In a word, in all the China developments Germany was always "nudging, GERMANY AS " AGENT-PROVOCATEUR." us " and reminding us out of pure friendship that we had THE Times of Thursday, both in a long telegram from better look out and resist Russia before it was too late. Vienna and in a leading article, draws attention to What Germany said to Russia is not recorded, but may be the part which has been played of late, not merely by the easily divined. In the case of the Persian Gulf, Germany officially inspired German Press, but by " certain exalted played her part with even greater skill and effect. Indeed personages "—meaning, we presume, the Emperor—in t 7 ing her action there must win the respect of all students of to foster illwill between America and England over the diplomatic finesse. She not only continued to prevent Shipping Combine. Our readers know that we have re_ England and Russia from coming to a sensible agreement, peatedly and in strong terms deprecated the foolish anxiety but she aCtually managed to step in between them and, and excitement that have reigned in England over what, establish her own claims to a port on the Gulf without whether we like it or not, is in the last resort merely receiving any opposition from either. The lawyer who ate a commercial operation on a large scale. Unfor- the oyster and gave each litigant the shell was a mere tunately, however, the public and a large portion of novice at the game. Germany improved. on him not only by the Press have insisted on representing Mr. Morgan's setting the litigants to fight each other, but by contriving purchases as a terrible blow to England, as involving a to make one of them—England—feel that she was having loss of political prestige, and as a national humiliation. a service so valuable rendered to her that she ought to be If the Times is well informed, as we do not doubt it is, devoutly thankful to Germany, and should even repay her Germany, by the semi-official means which she knows so by material sacrifices elsewhere. It is really magnificent, well how to employ, has seen an excellent opportunity in the and if we did not happen to be English we should be excitement here to exaggerate the perils to which we are obliged to admire it as the cleverest stroke of policy of being exposed, and has done her best to egg us on to resist modern times. "the invasion of Britain by America." Her newspapers in English diplomatists and statesmen may often be heard public and her rulers in private have first triumphed over to deplore the fact that we cannot come to an under- our alleged discomfiture, and have then urged us to arm and standing; with Russia. They sometimes even go further, withstand the American invader before it is too late. Their and declare that they can see no real reason why we should object in doing this has apparently been hidden from the not come to such an understanding. But they add that majority of our leaders of public opinion, including a all efforts in this direction somehow or other always large number of the Members of the House of Commons. end in nothing, and they, give the matter up as Yet the aim of Germany is clear enough. She is terribly hopeless. They speak as if there were some natural alarmed at the notion of America entering upon anything and uncontrollable force which kept the two nations approaching commercial co-operation with Britain, for she apart against which it was useless to fight. Like sees in that prospect the creation of a force which would the pious Mahommedan, they opine that "it is written" infallibly destroy her most cherished ambitions. Accord- that Russia and England should. be at loggerheads, and ingly she has striven her hardest to make the assertion of they resign themselves to the inevitable. Curiously. Anierica's claim to share in the work of Atlantic transport, enough, it never seems to occur to them that it might not a source of closer relations between the two branches of be worth while to try to discover the source of the our race, as it should be, but of enmity and distrust. The mysterious force which is keeping the two nations apart. proverb, "Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any Yet if they were to make the necessary effort, it could be bird," does not seem to have operated.—Curiously enough, it discovered without much difficulty. Let them begin by never does seem to operate in the case of Germany.—The asking the very simple question whether it is to the interest' German Intelligence Department, says the well-instructed of any other Power to keep them apart. If this question informant of the Times, has grasped. what the British is asked, there can be only one answer. Leaving for the public has not—co-operation in the Atlantic carrying moment the second question whether Germany is in fact trade, and so in the carrying of our food supplies, would keeping us apart, it is quite clear that it is to the interest of have a very important effect on any future war between Germany to keep Russia and England in a state of enmity. England and the Powers of the Continent. They see, Indeed, it is hardly too much to say that it is absolutely though we do not, what we stand to gain politically and vital to Germany to keep Russia and England embroiled. they to lose, and accordingly Germany is most anxious, even Imagine for a moment a state of things in which England. if she cannot actually stop the Shipping Combine, to make and Russia had composed. their strife,—that we had allowed it a source of ill-feeling and of political and commercial Russia a free hand in Northern China, that we had recog- .
does not realise that an would be at the mercy of Russia, and all dreams of a and on the Persian Gulf must abandoned. Can we wonder, then, that Germany would view an understanding, b3tween Russia and England with the utmost dread? But of course, as every criminal investigator knows, a motive is not sufficient to establish a crime. When, however, besides the motive, we see the action of Germany as illustrated of Germany's action, and fail to see that she is the influ- the "thirties." Those whom we blame are our own Ministers and newspapers, who can see the German game in the case of America, but cannot see it in the case of Russia. But the blindness, though inexcusable, can partly be explained. The British Government first fell under the influence of Germany in her role of agent-provo- cateur owing to the unfortunate suggestion that Germany might be " used " to keep Russia in order. No great harm was meant to Russia, but it was imagined that Russia might be the more easily handled if we made certain advances to Germany. The Germans were, of course, delighted by those advances. They gave them the very opportunity they desired. German diplomacy knows well how to accept the advances of one rival Power while assuring the other all the time that nothing hostile is intended on her side at least. It was the notion of employing Germany to keep Russia in order which directly led us into the rela- tions which have enabled Germany to play the part of agent-provocateur.
Is there any hope that our statesmen will open their eyes and realise where Germany is leading us 1 In the case of Russia we fear there is very little. They are so mastered and fascinated by German influence working on a traditional prejudice that in all probability we shall walk right up to the edge of the precipice, and only be saved from walking over—if we are saved—by our national instinct of never carrying any policy, bad or good, too far. In the case of America, however, we are more hopeful. We under- stand America, and, what is more, America is governed by statesmen of real strength and insight, and they will, we are certain, absolutely refuse to allow Germany to bam- boozle the two branches of the Anglo-Saxon race into a quarrel. As regards America, we feel sure that Germany will find that the part of international agent-provocateur cannot be played. That is something to be thankful for, but we do not wonder that the attempt has been made considering the marvellous success of similar tactics in the case of Russia.
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