LIFE IN GERMANY.

LIKE CORRUPT IMPERIAL ROME.

 Discontent with the Kaiser.

The Tausch trial, which ended in the acquittal of the late chief of the secret police, can only result in the diversion of public attention to those "psychological influences" which, in the opinion of the jury, formed an excuse for the charges of intrigues in which Von Tausch was undeniably implicated. It is a blow for the Foreign Minister, Baron Marschall ; but it is also a damaging exposure for the whole system of political espionage which has grown up round the Emperor.
 In the Contemporary Review there is an article by "Germanicus" which expresses the discontent felt now in Germany in many circles against the Kaiser : —
The Emperor leads a double life, a kind of Jekyll and Hyde existence. In theory he acknowledges that the present age represents progress and forward movement, but in practice he recognises no other will but his own, in every sphere, in every department of public and, as far as possible, of private life. The King's will, and nothing else, is the law of the land; this maxim forms the guiding principle of all his actions. Omniscience he claims as one of the attributes of his kingly majesty; popular wit expresses this in the words, "God knows everything, but the Emperor William knows everything better."

 THE EMPEROR AND HIS SPIES.

 Woe betide the poor German subject, says the writer, who dare criticise his Emperor. Lese-majeste and years in prison can alone atone for such a crime : —
Political spies, like the delatores of corrupt Imperial Rome, prowl about in all parts of the Fatherland, and denounce the unwary citizen. Sycophantic Byzantine public prosecutors indict him with the greatest zeal and official fury for some lese-majeste, which was very often nothing but the hasty expression of an ill-bred person or the remark of a sharp tongue. These pushing young King's attorneys demean themselves by taking up cases in which, perhaps years ago, a man in the presence of his own family made an unguarded remark about the Emperor ; it is now denounced to the police by a servant or a bad relation from spite or other infamous motive. Well these Staatsanwaelte know that by such zeal they ingratiate themselves in the highest quarters. They are sure to "arrive," as the French put it. Their lord and master has a good memory for such magistrates. And the poor wretches, who in a moment of excitement or, perhaps, in a drunken fit, have used bad language concerning the Emperor — for in nine cases out of ten it comes to nothing more — are sure to be punished severely, without the slightest hope of pardon. Whereas the noble man, the officer, who killed a private citizen, is let off after a short imprisonment. Thus the middle classes see, with sullen discontent, that the administration of justice, formerly the brightest spot in Prussian public life, is tarnished as soon as the slightest question arises between the feudal nobility and the members of the citizen class.

 TREPIDATION IN THE ARMY.

 Discontent is not limited to the Social Democrats; the middle classes also grumble and complain that the Emperor fosters and favors the pretensions of the feudal nobility, that even the administration of justice is tainted, wherever there is a conflict between feudal pretensions and the rights of the citizens. Thousands are thus driven into the ranks of the Social Democratic party ; every election shows this more clearly, and the Emperor thinks that reactionary laws, repression, and violence will stem the tide, which they can no more do than Mrs. Partington's broom. One would think that the military class at least would unreservedly admire the Emperor. But even this does not happen to be the case. The highest military circles are continually in a state of trepidation, lest the Emperor in one of his unaccountable fits of energy should plunge the country into war and then insist on taking command of the army, being his own General-in-Chief, Chief of-Staff, and commander of everything under Heaven.
 The Vossiche Zeitung, in an article which is sure to attract considerable attention, attacks the habit of the German police in prying into Press matters, especially when the object is to discover the writer of an unpleasant article, for which the editor is legally responsible. The leading Radical organ says the Government which approves this system is weak and degenerate. The Vossiche praises English methods. In England (it says) trials for lese-majeste are impossible. The Queen may be libelled daily by obscure newspapers, but the authorities only shrug their shoulders. The Government is not alarmed or excited, the Court is not in a state of confusion, nor are spies sent on the track of the writer. The nervousness and uneasiness of the authorities on this particular matter has lately been the subject of discussion in papers representing Liberal views. — Reynolds.

Sunday Times (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1930), Sunday 25 July 1897, page 8