THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1906, 14 November 1913, Page 4

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE.

ITS WEAK POINTS. A MARKED DISPLACEMENT. The recent visit of the Kaiser to Austria has prompted a wi'itor in tho "Man* Chester Guardian" to review the prosent condition of the Tripfo Alliance. Tho Eastern question, ho says, lias always boon tho touchstone of international relations, and the recent crisis, like tho preceding one of 1877-8, is going to leavo the political balance of Europe, _ as embodied in the grouping of the Powers, disturbed. A marked displacement has already taken placo iii tlio relations within tho Triplo Alliance, and a readjustment of theso relations will become-necessary. ' Hitherto Austria-Hungary, so to speak, fed upon Germany.' Germany, placed as sho was between Russia ant! France, and being latterly also at crosspurposes with Franco, attached great valuo to her friendship with tho Bantibiau Monarchy. Sho assisted her in gaining a footing in tho Balkans by allowing ber to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina ; shft concluded with her a formal alliance- covering lier in case of air attack by Russia; sho encouraged her—or at least suffered her—to mtrse tho dream of coming down.one day to the Aegean by taking Salottiki; and when she annexed Bosnia and, Herzegovina in contravention of international law, she covered her, as the Kaiser said, "with lier skiiiiroering armour,!' Against all Europe. In return, when Germany found hersslf within two incites of a war with France and England over the dispatch of a gunboat to Agadir two .years ago, Austria coolly declared that the Moroccan business was no concern of hers, and must bo left to bo settled by Germany alone. Bismarck's Limit to the Alliance. The recent crisis in tho Balkans bought about a remarkable change in tho Ausfro-German relations. Gerniany had already, at tho e.ml of IJIIO, secured herself against an attack by Russia by concluding with her, at Potsdam, an agreement which, among other tilings, provided that neither of the contracting parties was to take part in a coalition directed against the other. In the course of tho crisis- itself sho found liorself at one with Britin in the attitude, to bo maintained towards the developments in tho Balkans, and this, solidarity has proved fruitful in a itumber of other directions. As sho no longer felt herself isolated, sho saw no longer any need for allowing herself to bo exploited by her Austrian ally, and sho reverted to tho original point of view from which the Austro-Gerraafl alliance was regarded by its author. Bismarck. "It is not in our interest,' the lion Chancellor said, "that Austriaj Hungary should ccaso to be a Great i Power, "because then wo would' bo placed .betwenn Russia and France," But that did not- mean that Germany was to assist tho Danubian Monarchy f in lier designs of conquest. "It is natu- | ral," Bismarck continued, "that tho Danubian Monarchy should hav*> desires and plaas extending beyond her frontiers, but it is not tlio tnissoin of the Gorman Empire to offer the blood and tho money of its subjects for ww realisation of these plans." And so, thongli sho publicly declared that shewould remain true to tho alliance, and protect Austria against an attack by Russia, Germany at the same tinio resisted throughout the crisis all the aggressive, moves of Austrian diplomacy, ami'successfully restrained it from raising any separate questions -on the _ ostonsiMe pretest o£ i( vifal" or- '.'special

interests bv invariably referring them to t-ho Concert of Europe. _ Her last act in this direction was also the most glaring, for while Austrian diplomacy was exerting itself on ueliait of Bulgaria (wliom it wanted, to win as against Sorvia) for tho revision of tlio treaty of Bucharest, to tlio mortihention of Rumania and indignation of Greece, tlie Kaiser did. not hesitate to telegraph to King diaries of Rumania that the treaty was "definite," and conferred upon" King Constantino of Greece the rank of Jfiold Marshal. The ultimate permit of this systematic opposition of Germany to her ally was that Austria s If.iig-chc'rislied dream of coming down to' Raloniki was dashed to tlio ground, and tint the only return which Austria lias

obtained for her enormous sacrifices, in money and prestiga was the exclusion of th'o Servians from tlio Adriatic—a purely negative achievement, tho valua ji which, moreover, is greatly diminished by the necessity of having to sham tho salvage with Italy. Small wonder that "patriotic" opinion in Austria is greatly incensed against Germany, and even talks of rapprochement with Russia, as a means of emancipating tho Monarchy from her dependence- upon Germany. Italy a Doubtful partner. But if those are tho relations between tim two chief partners'of tho Triple Alliance, the- relations are not much better between thorn, on the one hand, and Italy; tile third partner, on tho other. That Italy is a very uiistead.V allv has been long known both to Germany and Austria, At tho conference at Algcciras, which had to settle the dispute between Prance and Germany over Morocco, Italy, in return for France's promise as regards Tripoli, •sided with her against the ally, and in 19U9 King Victor Emmanuel' re-

ceived With an ostentatious display of friendship at Ita-cconigi tho Tsar who had come all across Europe, but studiously avoided touching. Austrian territory, to talk over ''common," that is anti-Austrian, business. The- Tripoli campaign itself was undertaken by Italy without the. knowledge of liar partners, and constituted na unfriendly net towards Germany, considering tho latter's relations -with Turkey, It is true . that all these incident's belong to the past and that since then tho Triple Alliance has been renewed twelve months .in advance, and Italy has been acting in apparently perfect harmony, with Austria in- Albania. General Cnneva, too, tho "coa-nuer-or" of Tripoli, recently visited Vienna and Isohl, and .loudly proclaim-' cd tho final extinction of all Italian "Irredentist" . aspirations , towards Trieste and Trent. . ' But tlio experienced will not attach much importance to these outward signs of' friendship. The co-operation iii" Albanian matters is only another form of rivalry between the- two Powers concerned," and may easily land thorn in tho sa»e i position in which Germany and Austria found- themselves in 1866* after having "so-operated" in the conquest of Schleswig-Holsteai, that is, in a state,of disagreement over the booty; and SS" for the death of Irrcdontisft!, it only required .a tactless ' act on tlio part of the Lord Lieutenant of Trieste in applying tho law which prohibited tho 'employment in public service of foreigners'—in this case Italians— to rekindle that dangerous sentiment into a flame. And when, in addition, wo seo with what -ill-concealed disgust Italian diplomacy is witnessing tlio disptav of Gcrirrto sympathies for Greece, thtt fntu.ro Mediterranean rival of Italy, wo are entitled to suspect that in this direction, too, the solidity of tho : Triple Alliance leaves much to- bo desired.