FATE OF BELGIUM.
i'AN-GEUMAN CLAIMS AND ARGUMENTS. DEMAND i'Oll ANNEXATION. (By a Neutral Observer iu the Loudon Times.) One of the most striking indications of German public opinion is at present in the cynical manner in which the fute of Belgium is discussed. Six months ago the question was treated with dillidence, and most people hesitated before venturing an opinion. To-day the belief is almost universally expressed that Belgium will, and must, he annexed to Germany. To the Imperialists the right of conquest seems sufficient ground. But even the more conservative minds have built up for themselves a scaffolding of extenuating circumstances that set at rest the qualms of the most sensitive German conscience. Most curious are some of these claims. History is at once invoked and learned professors have no difficulty in proving that Belgium is, of course, in reality German. Ypres I heard referred to a:) "that lovely old German city." Liege belonged to Germany at the beginning of ! nineteenth century. "Nowhere el.-. '■-> eUI German culture and art pre'lwith such purity as in Flanders" i ' -tiior favorite remark. These and
!■. u t discourses have so hypnotised the (. in.in people that it is difficult for i.i. 'm to understand how brutally ridiculous they appear to a foreigner. If tho e\ Islence given is not sufficient, they hark b.iok to Caesar. Did not the great Caesar, the conqueror and historian, cay that the Belgians are Germans? Coming clown to more modern times, >„ is argued that modern Belgium owed her industrial and economic prosperity to German capital. Antwerp is chiefly v. German eit,y, and all the. trade is in German haiuln. And were it not for the fact that tho Germans were too honest not to bribe and subsidise Belgian journals and other means of influencing public opinion, as the French did consistently, German prestige would not have been so thoroughly eclipsed!
ANNEXATION AND LOOT. Tli# German programme as already outlined is extensive. It even includes the ultimate entire suppression of the use of French in Belgium and a return to the use of Walloon and Flemish, Walloon the Germans now claim to lie almost akin to German, or at least to have nothing in common with French, while Flemish is, a "German dialect." High and Low German are to be the exclusive languages in the future in Belgium. But even the word "Belgium" is to disappear, since it is merely the invention of a fertile French brain. What the political status of the country is to be if the Germans have their way is not altogether clear. Some favor a lleiehsland on the pattern of AlsaceLorraine; others believe that the Coburg dynasty might be replaced by another ruling house. Still others ad.vocate that the country be split up into provinces and directly incorported with Prussia. But to most Germans the question of tha status of the country is of little interest as long as the country itself is included within the boundaries of Die Empire. Since the Germans have been in occupation they have not been idle. I was informed by a person in a position to know that it was estimated that over fiive milliards of marks ( £250,000,0(10) worth of property of all kinds, raw materials, maim flic,lured products, "o'.> jets de luxe et de vcrtu," war indemnities, etc., had been taken from the country. It is reported that, the famous Browning revolvers made in Belgium are now part of regular German equipment, and that bayonets and swords now used by the German armies are exclusively of Belgian manufacture. The overhead wiring in Belgium is to make good the copper shortage as soon as needed. In fact, Belgium has proved herself to be a "goldmine" to the German military authorities. All Germans arc convinced that, as early as ]!)]], Great Britain and Franco had entered into an alliance with Belgium; thus Germany could not possibly have violated Belgian neutrality. Reams of paper have been covered to prove this point. That the Initial Chancellor's remarks do not exactly confirm this theory only redounds to the disgrace of the Chancellor, who, according to most Germans, "ist nieht king" (lacks smartness). The German General Staff was, of course, informed of the agreement and acted accordingly. Every German I met was entirely satisfied with this explanation, and was at the same time ready to demonstrate that the war is not a war of aggression, but merely defensive.
A FAULT CONFESSED. The Belgian Congo will, as a matter of course, fall into Herman hands. This idea has been accepted for a long time. But new arguments are advanced to show that such a step is merely a normal outcome of past negotiations, as Leopold 11, King of the Belgians, long ago offered the suzerainty of the Congo to Bismarck, who only refused it from fear of arousing French susceptibilities. In fact, it is a con|mon remark in Germany to-day that in the past the Germans, in dealing with foreign affairs, havo been far too timid. It is strange to find the Germans in the role of self-accusers. Even in regard to Belgium they admit they arc not without blame. Here their fault is also one of ''timidity." The Germans blame themselves for not having been able to free Flemish thought and the l'leniitih people from the seditious propaganda the French have been carrying on for the past twenty years. They Unii.e the Germans who wcr.t to Belgium and conquered the country comme-ciully hut ictained not a trace of political prestige in a Pan-German sense. Thev blame themselves for the behavior of the inhabitants of Louvain and other Flemish towns, who so far forgot their Alt-Deutsche (Old German) traditions as not to welcome the invader with open arms, lit conclusion, the Germans give every assurance that ill future this "timidity" will never again appear. As time passes and German arms maintain the conquests achieved, public opinion in Germany, in so far as it exists, is undoubtedly growing more unbridled and aggressive. Soon after the recent successes in the north-east a strong party arose demanding the annexation of the German Baltic provinces, and efforts are already being made to prove; historically that this "German" portion of the Russian dominions must be restored to Germany. It is interesting to follow the phases of this new "Pan-German-ism. file docility of the people in accepting the new doctrines and programme, the whole-hearted support given to the most contradictory ideas, "A war of defence and the annexation of territory," cannot fail to impress every foreigner who has visited Germany recently. "I ho only explanation possible is that Germany is '•hermetically sealed" and will continue to remain so until the Allied forces let in a breath of air through the breach made by the force of arnis.
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Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1915, Page 7
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1,125FATE OF BELGIUM. Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1915, Page 7
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