THE GERMAN CHARACTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2788, 5 June 1916, Page 7

THE GERMAN CHARACTER

THE SAME YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOREVER. In tho course of his remarks at the All-for-Empire League's meeting on Saturday evening, Mr. C. B. Horison, K.C., stated that military history as far back as Julius Caesar had given Germany a name for oppression and bad faith. Caesar had fought the Gauls, the Swiss, and others, but would never trust the Huns of -the north, to whom every obligation was a more scrap of paper. In commenting on tho history of the two nations, Mr; lan Col pin, a noted writer, in the "National Review," stated that for hundreds of years the trade , of North Germany had been .opposed to that of England, and in ' the veigns of Edward IV and Elizabeth laws were enacted to check the trade of Germany. Germany was a commercial octopus, who was now prepared to impose her trade by force of arms. She had secured South-West Africa because it commanded the Cape, and one tentacle had grasped the Cameroons to command the route to the Cape. Other tentacles had grasped East Africa, Samoa, and New Guinea in the Pacific. • She had managed to get her nominees on every throne in the southeast of Europe, so as to command the railway to Bagdad, and so-provide a jump-ing-off place for the capture of India. She had disguised her true character in a haze of apparent sincerity, which cloaked the deepest possible hypocrisy. After thewar they would return protesting their friendship, and would stab us in the Lack'at the first opportunity. It was rather premature to debate what they should do after the war, as in a few days, there was to be held in Paris an Economic Conference, at which all such subjects would bo dismissed. But they could take into account the moveable facts, and could, bv legislation, enact that no German should ever get into tho,country, or citizenship, or on til© land. _ aud ?o he a secret emissnry of the military clique in Pruisia; and might make provision that no German goods should be _ sold against our goods by means of associated companies. It was now well known that when , war broke ..out Germany controlled the metal supply of the world. They must guard against John Brown being the proxy of Max or Herr Somebody ,in Germany, as was the. case when it was discovered that the'firm with the good old English name of Merton and Co. was in reality n German-owned firm, and, by legislation, Australia hod to assert its rights against tho shareholders of the company.