The German Landsturm Bill is not yet law, but it
has passed the second reading, and is supported by all the Union Liberals.
The Military party appear to have carried all their propositions, and to have placed the whole nation at the disposal of the Emperor. All men between 20 and 42 may be called out, should an enemy invade or threaten to invade the country, and may be
drafted into the Landwehr, which, it must be remembered, is in- tended as a Reserve for general service. This last provision disposes of the difficulty about officers, as the Landwehr is sufficiently officered, and can of course absorb as many men as it may lose. All the able-bodied men in Germany, in fact, may be used as soldiers, and the Government has old needle-guns on hand suffi- cient for them all. Of course no Government would disorganise society completely by calling out its whole population, but the law will enable Germany to face two Powers at once. Moreover, the Emperor is empowered to call out the Landsturm of any particular district by itself, so that in the event of sedition, say in Posen or Silesia, all the able-bodied men could at once be placed under military law in its most stringent form. It is difficult to imagine how any nation can bear such a strain, but the law has been voted by the entire Liberal party. It was opposed only by the Catholics.
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