VON HERTLING'S SPEECH

Taihape Daily Times, 30 January 1918, Page 4

VON HERTLING'S SPEECH

Whatever else the German Chancellor's Teply to the Allies' war aims has made evident, it bas induced a criticism which makes it clearly obvious that Austria's case is, if anything, worse than it appeared to be. It /is obvious that the Austrian Government can no longer be sure of maintaining internal peace without entering into an agreement with the Allies for an international peace. The wild beasts of Germany could not repress their rage and howls wiien Austria's true position was disclosed to them. They realise thai the alliance with Austria is about to be scrapped from sheer necessity, and they are howling with rage because the Allied blockade is doing its deadly work; they know that the collapse of Austria brings with it the ruin of the whole Central power fabric. Von Hertling's tirade of equivocation and irresolution pleased neither the PanGermans or the Socialists. Insincerity practised in its' most dexterous connections failed to deceive either the German people or the Allies, Behind Von Hertling's utterances was the knowledge that Austria was no longer of use to Germany, and that a separate peace would be forced upon Austria that would involve the down-

fall of the preparations of half a century. The facts as he knew them mace it impossible for him to do more than dissemble like a common braggart; as a German newspaper describes it, It was an "ambiguous masterpiece." The hopelessness of the German case set Hertfing's words so far apart and rendered them so unrelated that it was impossible to avoid seeing the truth between them. Not even t the German people were deceived by his high-fal-utin', bombastic verbiage that was poured out fcr their special benefit. Criticism by German newspapers has tended to emphasise the seriousness of the position, and whatever object the German censor has in allowing it to pass out to 'the world Count Roderi's memorandum to the Kaiser, warning him that the condition of the nation renders further development of the western offensive inadvisable, if nothing else, discloses that Germany is in such a condition that the most perplexing and Contusing steps have to be taken to hide the facts. In his speech von Hertling made no reference to Germany's new trouble, Austria, Even though Austria may discover a way out of making separate peace, it is beyond denial that alj her strength, military and otherwise, will be needed to' maintain internal peace, but the probabilities of a separate peace j have been brought out in criticisms of the German Chancellor's speech, been strengthened almost to certainty, and there are indications that Germany will rather seek defeat through the weakness of her friends than accept it in any trial or strength with her enemies