The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1889. PRINCE BISMARCK.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2305, 18 December 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1889. PRINCE BISMARCK.

The figure that will loom largest m the history of the present generation will undoubtedly be that of Bismarck, tho Chincellor-Princo of tho German nation, which, by his masterly plans and enormous energy, has been consolidated into one of the most powerful Empires, if not the most powerful Empire of tho world. Great as was the part played by the old Emperor William, and however much the late Emperor Frederick may while Crown Prince have assisted by his conn sel, but for Bismarck Germany would probably have remained but a bundle of inferior States, and the kings of Prussia would have never attained to the crowns of Emperors. Even now Bismarck is said to be the power behind the throne and to sway the hand which swayß tho sceptre of Germany. If we are to believe what we read, however, his influence cannot be regarded as altogether for good, that is to say from an Englishman's point of view, for he is credited with cherishing an antipathy amounting to hostility towards England and everything English. The writer of a Berlin letter published a contemporary says : — " The old man has so moulded the character of the young Emperor who now sits upon the throne that only a word or a look is necessary for royal approval. If anything were needed to Bnow that Bismarck is a man of iron it is found m the fact that he was one of the few persons who looked so far into the future aB to see that William 111 would gome day be Emperor. Bismarck moulded his character to suit himself, and m doing so he taught the boy to despise his own mother and England, I and all that was English. Tho unfortunate ex-Empress Frederick, it may bo said, has left Berlin for ever, unless the death of Bismarck and the return of her son's love and respect should call her thither. It may be all well enough to say that the Emperor loves his mother, and to point to the fact that he eagerly embraced his royal grandmother upon his recent visit to England, and to give other evidence of loyalty to his mother's j country and her family ; but those who , know the facts well know that it is only | for shew. Bismarck not only hates I England with all the ardour of his great nature, but he has taught his Emperor to do the same. William 111 loves and respects Bismarck. They arc like father and eon, Tli9 young man does as he is told. He has nev< f taken the bit m his mouth yet, and he probably never will. Bismarck & influenco over him is really remarkable. He controls him m every way. In a word, the Emperor is a puppet m the Chancellor's grasp- One of the strong peculiarities of Bismarck is that he never forgives or forgets. Tho word mercy ia unknown to him. He had none even for his Emn/esß when tho Emperor Frederick lay dying. He has even less for those who have antagonised him through life. He has a remarkable memory. If ho sometimes appears to have given up a treasured plan, it is only m the appearance. He bas been a patient waiter as well as a great diplomato. He has been a beliver m the old adage, "All things come to him who waits,' He is tho most hated and most despised, but the most admired and the most feared man m Europe. His remarkable plots and his superior intellectual powers are unquestioned, and— with the exception, perhaps, of Gladstone — it is not too much to say that he is tho greatest man m Europe, if not m the world, to-day. He is the one man who holdß the scale balanced between peace and war." Wo do not say that all this is true— indeed, it is not improbable that the picture may m some respects be too highly colored ; but, as regards his dislike of England, there is a good deal of corroborative evidence, and, at anyrate, it is just as well to know that m the event ot Kuropean complications involving England m trouble it will not be safe to count upon tho sympathy of Germany so long as Bismarck lives to guide the destinies of that great Empire.