GERMAN INTRIGUES.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 January 1918, Page 8

GERMAN INTRIGUES.

REVELATIONS BY THE PARIS JOURNAL. Some account of the intrigue carried on by Germany with a view to cause the defection of France from the alliance against the Central Powers was lately sent by the Paris correspondent of the London Telegraph to his journal. He wrote: —More evidence of the amazing intrigues towards the end of 1915 engineered by Germany through Muriir Pasha, late Turkish Ambassador in Paris, is given by M. .Mouthon in Ihe Journal. M. Mouthon himself wan the representative of the journal in Geneva who saw Munir Pasha. M. Mouthon reported from Geneva on lfith November, 1915, and his report has since been in possession of the French Government. He now quotes passages contained in this report of statements made to him by Munir Pasha. These embody a definite offer of a separate peace to France far back as 1915. This is the offer in Munir Pasha's own words: "France would retain her rank as a Great Power in the new European equilibrium. Germany prefers that France should not be vanquished, but should be Germany's collaborator." M. Mouthon pointed out that there was a Pact of London. Did Germany look, upon that as another scrap of paper? "Germany may think so," said Munir, "but does not say so. Germany merely points out that France signed the Pact of London at the moment of the German invasion, and therefore was r.ot a free agent. Germany's attitude is that she will be a new Joan of Arc to restore to France, Dunkirk, Calais, and Rouen, which, without her, France will never recover. Germany adds that pourparlers are really being carried on by the Tsar and Russia might very well be the first to sign a separate peace if France persisted in sacrificing her last man to ensure British world supremacy." "It is not my business,' ' said M. Mouthon. "to speak for England, whom all France admires, because, while she might by selfish neutrality have secured the same benefits, she, preferred to go to war for justice' sake." "What," asked M. Mouthon, "did Germany offer to France?" Munir replied in substance that Germany would immediately evacuate the French occupied territory, and claim no indemnity. Germany would not give up Alsace-Lorraine, although some measure of autonomy might be granted, but Germany as compensation to France would grant to France French Belgium, while Flemish Belgium would become a Federal German State. "That would be, then," said M. Mouthon. "the price of our treachery." Munir Pasha afterwards confirmed this conversation to M. Mouthon by letter, in which he said: "My impression is that Germany's peace terms would consist of the grant to France of a. portion of Belgium, and perhaps certain advantages accorded to Alsate-LorrainJ?, which would pacify and heal French wounds and regrets. 4 In exchange Germany and Austria would demand French friendship, her assistance for the common settlement of international difficulties in l future, and a. free hand for finishing the j present war in their common interest if the other belligerents persisted in continuing the struggle." Another extraordinary character in this wild imbroglio is Mademoiselle Madeleine Roii.v. alias De Beauregard, who herself states that she was—and still is—the mistress of Prince Hohen-lohe-Oehrinsren. whom she appears to visit periodically in Switzerland. She stated in September, 1915—her evidence being now published for the first timethat, she was asked to approach Prince Hohenlohe with regard to the purchase newspaper. by Germans of an imortant French