Baron von Holstein, the late head of the permanent staff
of the German Foreign Office, has broken the silence he has maintained since his resignation in April, 1906. Baron von Holstein, who is very truly described by the Times as " one of the most important and one of the least known men in Europe," has of late been charged by the semi-official Press with having manceuvred Germany into a false and untenable position over the Moroccan question. He now denies in the columns of the Zukunft that he was in any way responsible for the troubles of 1905-6 for the excellent reason that after the end of February 1906, he had nothing to do with Morocco, and that as long as he had, all the more important directions emanating from the Foreign Office " not only bore the Chancellor's signature, but had for the most part previously been exhaustively discussed." It is alleged on good authority that Baron von Holstein recently resumed friendly relations with the Chancellor. His statement in the Zukunft clearly indicates that this rapproche- ment has been imperilled, if not terminated, by the action of the organs which draw their inspiration from the Chancellor himself.
