AS THE GERMANS SEE IT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 213, 28 May 1918, Page 7

AS THE GERMANS SEE IT

MICHAELIS ON GERMANY'S INTENTIONS At the last sitting of the Main Committee of tho Reichstag, Herr House, the BDokesman of the Minority Socialists, read in the course of .his spe?;h the gist of n secret memorandum addressed by the ex-Chancollor Michaeiis to the Austrian Government, •s'hs l'ress reports of tho committee meeting excluded this document from Herr Hade's speech, but it has now been published in full by his papor, tho Leipsig "Volkszsihing." The genuineness of this document was not officially denied in tho Reichstag Committee, but it wa3 denied three days afterwards by the semi-official "Kolnifche Zeitnng." A translation runs as follows — . "The motive which inspires all Germany's actions is the need of territories for the development of her commerce and colonisation. Germany has twoo questions lo solve—tho freedom of the sea 3 and the opening up of the south-eastern route. And these two questions can only be solved by the annihilation of England. Our aim is to assure Hie position of the German Empire in Central Europe and to extend its domain. .Nobody who understands the meaning of this war can doubt that' in spito of our desire to be moderate we shall not refrain from extending tho Empire's frontiers and annexing at all costs lands for colonisation that are not subject to the influence of the maritime Powers. We cannot beat Russia because wo are not in a position to penetrate right into the heart of her Empire. But we can weaken her sensibly by detaching from her frontier ter-, ritories, the Baltic provinces. Thanks to : a skilful policy, tho Baltic provinces will; bo easily Germanised. They will bo ' peopled with Germans; their population; will be doubled. . That is why they must i be annexed. Wo desire tho independonco ! of the Ukraine, and that tho Ukraino j should, if possible, . receive a frontior which is easy to defend against tho Russians. The frontier between the Ger- • man Empire and Poland will have to bo! considerably rearranged, Esthonia and' Northern Livonia will be completely pro-! tected by the fortification of tho right '■ bank of the Narey and the Pripet. The ' lakes, which we shall not leave at any < price in the hands of the Russians, will ' have to bo included within our frontier** I The islands of Dago and Ossel will remain German in order to guaranteo the Baltic against surprise attacks bv sea. We shall only tnke portions of trench territory in order to defend the Empire against future aggression from the Republic. In the A r osges the frontier will bo improved; wo shall take a few valleys to prevent any possibility of iirin» from French territory on German frontier troops. France 'will lo<e Briey and a strip of territory to the oast of Luxemburg. Tho value of Briov from an economic and military point of view consists in tho fact that it contains a deposit of 16,000,000 tons of iron ore. For the protection of the German and Luxemburg mining districts, Longwy nl<o must remain in our hands. France will | be indemnified by a part of Hainault Brabant, and Luxemburg." I