TEUTONIC POLICY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10022, 19 April 1910, Page 3

TEUTONIC POLICY.

WHAT THE GERMAN AMBASSADOR SAID. "NO THOUGHT OP WAR." THE KaISER'Js BIRTHDAY. Upwards of five hundred of the leading [Germans assembled at the Hotel Cecil under the presidency of the German Ambassador, Count Paul Wolff-Metternich, to celebrate the britbday of the German Emperor. The German Ambassador, who proposed the healths of King Edward and of the Kaiser, said: Gentlemen,—The celebration of this auspicious anniversary has brought us together again to-day as informer years. You gentlemen M the German Societies of London are here round this festive board to give expression 4 to your loyal sentiments towards his Majesty the Emperor and the Empire. The feeling of national unity, the consciousness of belonging to a great nation, at the head of which stands the Emperor, has brought you here. We are all naturally proud of the Empire to which we belong, and of the mighty influence it represents. We are not less proud to know that the German Empire has never abused its power. We are a peace-loving people. We can defend ourselves, and if necessary we can defend ourselves vigorously. But wars of from a last of conquest, or greed, or' a desire for glory are far from our thoughts, (Cheers). With national unity accomplished there is for us no thought of further war in order to attain national aims. This is known to everyone in Germany, and we here know it too. Nevertheless it is not superfluous that this tru*;h, which to . us Germans seems a matter of course, should be stated, for there are people who assert that we are only awaiting the opportunity to fall upon any weaker Power.

POLITICS AND COMMERCE. This refers equally to the Home as to the foreign market. The political boundaries have lost much of their former significance through the increase of the facilities of trading. No civilised country can nowadays shut itself off from the rest of the world without injury to itself. The policy of peaceful conquest of trade has the advantage that it does not act in a spirit of exclusion. I have never believad that among the commercial and industiial nations in their modern conception the destruction of one o" two rivals could mean advantage to the other. Commercial rivalry is not to be conceived as if international tracing could be represented by a trader, sitting on a block of gold from which he is continually detaching pieces with which to pay for the goods others are pressing upon him. On the contrary, there is no constantly diminishing block of gold, but simply an exchange of products. Germany ana England, for example, are doing this, and their exchange of commodities forms the basis of their commercial balance sheet. The more the interchange of products increases the more both countries are enriched. (Cheers). The possibilities of a disturbance of theso relations is nowhere regarded with greater apprehension than in the leading centres of industry and commerce. Hence it results that, notwithstanding the rivalry, those primarily interested demand the continued existence and not the annihilation of the rivalry. WAR'S DAMAGE TO TRADE.

No one could fie more competent to pronounce judgment upon what I have said than you, gentlemen, who are engaged here in the most important centre of the commercial world. Let us assume for a moment that England were involved in a European war. According to an opw.ion expressed by experts, the sensitive structure of the system' of■ credit upon whichjlepends the streugth of the London market would react gravely on the first news of such an event, and a financial panic would ensue, which, again in the opinion of financial authorities, would result in the insolvency of the large financial institutions. In a few days values would have been destroyed to a larger amount than even a fortunate war could make good. (Hear, I hear.) Let us contemplate a more agreeable picture illustrating the same idea. We have repeatedly observed during the last few years that the great national and term-national banks of France, England and Ger-many—-not to overlook tne banks of the United States—crone (o o-<e another's aid in order to mitigate the financial crisis in one or other of these countries, although j;hey tham •

selves were suffering from a scarcity of money. No banking institution acts from motives of philanthropy, but only from weli-consHereci selfinterest. This self-interest induced them to assist a rival—for all the countries named are commercial rivals—in order that the duration of its economic decline might be as short as possible, and not accentuate itself still more, for they all of them felt themselves threatened and injured by the economic and financial distress of one of their number. If we follow this idea still further we shall arrive at the thesis, which to

many may, perhaps, sound like a paradox, that it is not in injuring one another, but. on the contrary, in aiding one another that lies the common interest of comir.ercial

rivals. (Cheers). For commerce, finance, and industry in their modern state of advancement have broken down political boundaries, and are so interwoven internationally \ as to be independent of all this. I do not imagine I am telling you anything new, who to a large extent are I yourselves taking an active part in international trade. But in view of the strange opinions which are nowadays disseminated on the subject of

{international competition, u can do |no harm to refesh the memory of < those who appear to have forgotten the very A.B.C. of the international economic code.

FORTY YEARS OF PEACE,

To such hallucinations of timorous souls it is not easy to reply. The mind that can conceive them is not

open to reasonable argument. Uur conscience, however, is clear We can point to the fact that Germany has kept the peace for ntatly forty years, and for more than half that period under the rule of his Majesty the Emperor. (Cheers). Could the same be said of all other Great Powers? We have not succumbed to the temptation to use our might. On the contrary, the history of the last decade shows that we have imposed upon ourselves a wise self-restraint.

We have no inclination to play the role of the pike in the carp pond, and we are not disposed to put our sole trust in force. A nation in arms like

ours is conscious of the grave responsibilities involved in the employment of its power, and knows that only a just and great purpose can sanccion its use.Even the most powerful nation would arouse universal indignation and endanger its very existence if it threatened on every difference of

opinion and in every question in dispute to resort to the -ultima ratio. Such an obnoxious member would

econ find its position among the nations unbearable. History shows that hegemony based upon force must toon crumble. We wish to remain masters of our destiny, but we have no desire to influence other nations against their will. Moderation and a conciliatory spirit, however, must not be, mistaken for weakness or timidity. There is though, I think, little fecr of this. My experience has not led rr.e to suppose that there has betn &ny disposition on the part of any foreign Power to regard Germany's influence i as une quantite (Cheers.)

GErtMANYS' ASPIRATIONS,

1 have already said (hat we are a paace-loving nation, and are far from contemplating any war of aggression, for the reason that our national aspirations would" not b'j advanced by war now that we have accomplished cur national unity. We do nor. cast longing eyes on tracts of territory upon which to settle a surplus population, for notwithstanding an increase of about 1.000,000 souls annually emigration from our country nas been steadily declining during the last twenty years, and has now fallen to insignificant figures. (Cbeera). ' he development of industries, commerce, and agriculture afiord suffi-

cient opportunities for employment at home, and thus restrains emigration. We must therefore depend to 1 a large extent upon export trade and in order* to secure this trade we must seek commercial relations abroad and try to preserve those already made. This is the real meaning of that i're-

quently misunderstood expression Weltpolitik. (Cheers). Our policy of

commerce is directed towards the peaceable acquisition of new markets. The weapons with which this policy of conquest is carried out are intellectual industry, skill, and knowledge. As a matter of fact, no markets can be gained by brute force.

"OUR FUTURE LIES ON THE SEA."

And if our development impels us to move out into the wide world and across the seas (our future lies on the sea, according to the wellkn<">w saying of our Emperor), in order to secure the freest possible expansion of the economic power of our nation, this is simply the outcome of our national aspirations and necessities. (Cheers.) They threaten

no one. We have not, however, yet reached an age when the mutual confidence of nations in one another is such a3 to render the protection of their interests unnecessary. Within our frontiers and on -land our Army,' which has preserved the peace to us for : forty years,-, wiil afford us protection. But for the-safe-guarding of our steadily growing interests on the sea and in distant regions we require a fleet, and §in this we are following the example of all great commercial nations possessing

a coast line, more especially are we following the example of Imperial

Britain, the greatest sea power in the world. We are building our fleet in accordance with the programme which has been known for ten years, and which has been fixed by Act of Parliament. In spite of the commercial reacovs which impel us *o wander far abroad, the pivot of our existence is in the fatherland, which the army is called upon in the first place to protect. It is therefore neither necessary for us, nor have we any pretensions to be, or to become, the strongest on the sea. The ocean is free, and according to the conception of all civilised nations belongs to no single Power alone. We do not wish to rule the seas, but we desire to occupy

a position commanding respect commensurate with our coinrnercial and colvnial interests. And since we have

no intention of competing for supremacy on the sea, is it reasonable to suppose, that we seek to become involved in a naval quarrel whils,t we know that we are much stronger on land?

I have tried to make clear certain tendencies of our policy and national aspirations, and at the same time our desire to serve the cause of peace. Tnis is also the great desire of hivi Majesty the Emperor, as the >eae;fu'l jears of lis long rule testify. We cannot to-day offer his Majesty a more welcome birthday gift than the wish, coming- from loyal Gerrran brails, that the new year of iiis life, upon which he has entered may be attended by all the. blessings of peace. (Cheers.) I ask you to join me in giving three cheers lor his Majesty'the Emperor. (Loud cheers). The toasts were heartily received. and afterwards the whole company rose and cheered his Excellency again and agai:, so enthusiastic was the reception of the speech.