THE REAL GERMANY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1702, 19 March 1913, Page 9

THE REAL GERMANY.

LECTURE BY MR. HEMMER. TEUTONIC IDEALS EXPOUNDED. . The -Truth About Germany" was the Subject of an interesting lecture delivered ■ tit tho Opera House last evening, by Mr. Heinrich : Hemmer. The lecturer laid before his, hearers a great body of information and some striking cbntentions, but fault might reasonably bo found., with Iris methods of In-the first place ihe ' attempted to cover too much ground. He spoke sitting down, and this ■ naturally reduced his vigour of utterance, mi. I mc 3 bo was almost inaudible. Ihe lecture was illustrated with moving pictures of tho German Hary ' and other subjects, arid with numerous slides, some of them very beautiful. These picturos, however-, were badly mixed. Mr. ileminer several times 'had to go round to tho back of tho screen and on one occasion lie remarked that, while ho had nothing but admiration for this country, little things did happen to lecturers who' visited it. In spit 9 of its somewhat, defective presentation, the .lecture can only bo described as absorbiiigly interesting. ■ . • Nations,' Mr. Hemmer declared in the course of his address, did not and could not .understand, one another. • In their inter-communication, misconceptions and mistrust necessarily arose. Every nation made fun .-of others, and all were right. The English, he went on to remark, wereg politically freo . and had irights. The Germans were personally.free and had in the first: place duties - . Because of the personal freedom of Germans, and their untrammcll&l- individuality, error resulted from regarding any . One German aa typical of his race.. There are no typical Germans, said' Mr. Hemmer, only German types. The German press, he stated, was moro; outspoken' and less disciplined than that of England. In the Reichstag wero half-a-dozen parties each divided into several' sub-parties. There Were twenty-three, duchies, Crown duchies, urates, and city states in the German Empire, each possessing a separate and aggressivo individuality. Prussia had a lot of trouble, and got littlo thanks for acting as a centralising influence. Its task •was to;maintain the unity of '63 millions obstinate people, and of 23 equally obstinate states. At the game time, Germany was very far from being another iKnssia*

The Kaiser, Mr. Hemmer stated, was a In an with a sense of humour. -Ha had encountered enormous; difficulties 'in inaugurating the naval era, particularly in overcoming the hostility of the grave GerJnan Philistine, who considered naval preparation unnecessary. As a fact, Mr. Hemmer contended, the growth of German naval power ' was an essential factor in (preserving, the peace of Europe. Harmony did not exist in ' Germany regarding tho navy, and millions were opposed to augmenting the country's naval strength, but even Germalis who did not desire a navy were coming to realise how much they iieeded one to ensure the efficient protection °f her geographical and commercial rights. Justice, said Mr. Hemmer, held a scab in one hand, and a. sword in the other; Right must-be backed by power. A sword alone meant brutal power. A scale alone meant impotent justice. The aim of justice was peace, but the way. to attain it ■was through struggle. Germany could Jiot defend her. interests either at home or abroad without a strong navy. It had been predicted that if England failed to maintain a fleet equalling tho combined fleets of other powers, she would cease to be a world power, but as a 'faot a distribution of power, with England still in the lead, would be a more stable condition of affairs. No sane German had ever disputed that England ■ must lead in naval No sane German newspaper or politician had ever hinted 'that Germany needed a'navy as big as Britain's.'

. It did' not; follow that the German Navy ; was a.-luxury/'but . there was: ,no German, menace, because the German nation w<suld never sanction an- unwarranted 'attack/on Britain, arid in addition , tho: attack was technically ■ impossible. Germany could'not find the transports to carry an invading army to Britain, and even-'the exposed Pacific colowere out of reach until intermediate coaling stations had ..been obtained. The rise ."of a second, Teutonic world power, said' Mr. Ileihhier, was the best guarantee of the (ontinued existence of Teutonic ideals, for which Germany and England had a common regard. Stressing the undesirability of war, he said that those who laboured to keep Germany and England apart socially and commercially weto working . for war. Thoso who tried to bring them together worked for peace, There was room for Doth Germans and English in the world, and with fuller knowledge of one another they would realise the'fact. An interesting section of Mr.-Hem'mer's ijddress dealt with tho German peasantry. He said that four-fifths of the cultivated land of the country was worked inafeas of le3s than fifty acres. The peasantry were the basis of Germany's welfare anil capabilities of advancement. Thanks to their efforts an ungrateful soil about twice as great in extent as New Zealand' produced Over friiiety pfcr cent, of the grain and meat consumed by the nation. Three-quarters of the peasant land was freehold property, and tho freehold was, the best stimtilant of systematic improvement of the land, because it created an intimate. family interest; in the tillage of the soil. The peasant l ) were the backbone of the German nation.

- "In the Scottish Highlands,", said Mr. Jlemmer,' "the tourist w&irs.i. kilt and the Scotchman .wears trousers, but the German peasants are proud of their national costume and customs, and adhere in them strongly." The peasant, he said, looked dowii on townsfolk, and -was Iproud of his, peasant estate. 'Scientific farmingmethods, said the lec•farer, had introduced somo labour complications, but upon the whole the tendency v-as to maintain itho small holdings, foreign competition necessitated resort .to even more intense cultivation, and thin favoured itho cultivation of small areas by families. These holdings wero increasing in number. It was n first principle of German administration to: secure that a very largo percentage of tho people's food should he produced on home ?oif. To this consideration,- in the miiids of statesmen at least, the promotion of manufacturing industries was subordinated. The total agricultural production of Germany, 'Mr., Hommcr stated, had trebled in the last century, and could bo further largely increased. : There wero nine, million acres .of. waste lands to be "broken in, and by. developing ithesw resources Germany could support a population of from 80, to 100. millions. Germany did not need colonies, and hud no surplus population to'speak of. It was for gobds and not for men that sho must find an outlcft. She needed markets, but Jiot colonies.

Of the German army Mr. Hemirier spoke as *i supreme influence in tho formation of national character. The Socialjsts looked upon it, he Paid, as a necessary evil. All other classes regarded it as an incorporation of itho nationitl feeling of honour. Mr. Henuner defended tho recent increas6 in the strength of tho nrmy as being moderate in itself, and the first movement of itho kind' undertaken for decades, and tho existence of the army.he defended as a necessary inFuranco against' 'aggression by Tiatin and Slav neighbours. In peaco time, ho stated; three-quarters of orio per cent, of the population boro arms, whilo tho war strength of the army was six and a half par cent, of tho population. In tho latter part of his lecture Mr. Heininer dealt with many phases of German character, and elaborated his contention that Itho'Germans were a people intensely devoted to peace, and with -infinite possibilities of peaceful progress.