PROFESSOR DELBRUCK AND ENGLAND.
[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Your correspondent, Mr. J. D. Drummond, writing from a suburb of Berlin, in the Spectator of December 27th takes exception to my letter on " Germany and Britain" in your issue of December 20th on the ground that it " might give the impression that Professor Delbriick is one of the German England-haters." I said nothing about Professor Delbriick being an England-hater. What I said was that such a man as Professor Delbriick, " compared to the ordinary German journalist, as Hyperion to a Satyr," had repeated an ignoble slander against our troops on no better ground than that it had not been contradicted. The whole point of my reference to Professor Delbriick was that he was not the ordinary German Anglophobe. He is a man who for character and ability may be compared to Mr. Bryce or Mr. Morley among ourselves. What, therefore, may we infer as to average German feeling towards England if even such a man makes himself responsible for the diffusion of that story on that evidence ? As my reference to Professor Delbrfick has been challenged, I proceed to quote exactly what he said, and am the readier to do so as my reference to the back numbers of the Preussische .Tahrblicher (of which Professor Delbrfick is editor) has revealed the fact that, though he repeated the slander in December, 1901, he re- canted it in February, 1902. I had overlooked the latter passage, and am very glad to do Professor Delbriick the justice of quoting it. In the first article (p. 562) Professor Delbriick wrote :—" The statement is still uncontradicted, that on two different occasions English soldiers, when attacked, put captive Boer women in front of them and, so protected, fired." In the second article (p. 387) we have the recanta- tion :—"Another charge, which I myself repeated in these pages, I now see myself compelled to withdraw. Herr Scho- waiter, who represents the Boer cause in Germany with energy and eloquence, has put together the evidence for that outrage in the Tagliche Rundschaa. I have carefully examined his compilation, but have come to the conclusion that, by all the rules of historical criticism, he fails to prove his case." Professor Delbriick concludes that the story is one of the ordinary war-legends, and even invents a theory to account for its origin. I am glad to have this opportunity of quoting the recantation, as I had previously quoted the slander. Still, my original argument bolds good. Professor Delbriick may fairly be compared to Mr. Bryce or Mr. Morley. Is it conceivable that Mr. Bryce or Mr. Morley would give the authority of his name, and the publicity of a great English review, to a similar charge against the German Army on no other ground (itself probably a mere misstate- ment) than that the story had not been contradicted P-1 am,
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