AMERICA AND GERMANY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11480, 13 January 1903, Page 4

AMERICA AND GERMANY.

The sudden recall of the German Ambassador at Washington, Dr. yon Hoileixr, has revived interest in wbau a. cable nu-.- - *age t«rms the "Lord Paunwiote incident' of February lait, to which the Ku.isei't» action is to some extent attributed iri B-r----liu. During that, month, it; may be remembered, the publication by the Ciermuti Foreign Office of certain diplomatic despatches led tt> considerable discussion concerning the part played by KngLmd and th<* Continental Powem in A;.;.!, 18S8, on the *ye of the war beiwtfii Spain and the United States. One. of tin-si-•documents was v telegram from Dr. yon Holltfben to the Kyig-r, stating that Lord Pauncefote had "taken the initiative, in a " very striking manner." by proposing that, the representatives uf the Powers at Washington should draft a co'leuiive Note protesting against American intervention, .'n Cuba. Misled (it is charitable to suppu.se) by ignorance of tha :atts, the Oemum Ambassador accused his British colleague of having taken the initiative in an effort to ilittivene un behalf of Spain. AniiBritish ciiclfcs in Berlin made capital out of the fact that such a Not , : was submitted to the Foreign Representatives by Lord Pauneefote, but the attempt to discredit Great Britain in the eye* of the United States failed completely of As purpose when the true position was disclosed. It transpired that Dr. mtieller, the Auetro-Hu.n&ui'ian Minister , t Washington, had. beeai the prime mover in the matter. After calling' upon the Foreign Representatives and President M'Kinley, in the hop? of averting war, Dr. Hengelnradler turned to Lord Pauncefote, as the "doyen" of the diplomatic body, and endeavoured to persuade him to see what measure "of support could be secured for a more forcible representation to the United States as to the undesirabltMiess cf war. The British Ambassador, while confident, that no such proposal would meet with the necessary support, yielded so fur as to submit his' colleague's proposal to tire other representatives. Where he was perhaps indiscreet waa in drafting th» memorandum which it was proposed that each Ambassador should cable to his own Government. Hie object, it was afterwards explained, was to take control of the movement and prevent undue- aggressiveness. The result justified hi* estimate o-f the position, for Great Britain declined to at: , , on the suggestion of the Ambassadors, and Germany followed suit. As for the publication of the German' Ambassador's secret despatches laat year, it left unshaken Lord Paune,efoto's position at Washington, and the confidence of the United States in Great Britain's good faith in the events of 1898. Rather the feeling has gained ground in America that but for Britain's restraining influence, exerted through Lori Pauneefote, certain other Powers would have collectively interfered on behalf of Spain. It is« reasonable to suppose that the Kaiser's displeasure was excited by Dr. Holleben's error of judgment, and th* disclosures connected with the futile attempt subsequently made to throw discredit on Great Britain. The present coldness in the relations between Germany and the United States would tend to renew his annoyance, and it does :pot appear unlikely that the German Ambassador has been .removed in the hope that hi« successor may be more successful in his efforts at conciliation.