New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-07-12


which the Minister of the Interior prefers to
repudiate. Although every one admits the
commanding and unprecedented influence OF
the great Chancellor in Germany, 1t Is also
UNREASONABLE that in many details OF admin
stration, he has been subjected to sharp anu
annoying opposition from both the Liberai
and Conservative parties, which nave
shown him that he can no longer
hope to rule the legislative bodies by the mere
weight of his character and prestige. lie mas
preferred TO retire at once from tho arena Oh
active conflict without suffering tho brutality
of an actual defeat He retains, 1t Is true' INC
most important of his Offices and the most I'M
nosing of his titles-that of Chancellor OF the
Empire. When he created that position no
seemed TO have cut it out by his own meas
uro II ia a place which fits him per-
fectly, and could scarcely be held by any
one else. If there were no Bismarck IL "ouiu
he hard to find Reichs-Kanzler who Woulu
MT he made more or less ridiculous by means
of dIsobliging comparisons. 1t Is place winch
would be az exactng upon the energies OF
onv other aspirants as the bow of Ulysses to
The suitors of Penelope. His place as Minister
~ Foreign Affairs descends, it appears, to
Herr Won Baan, political and personal friend
Of the Chancellor who will carry out his
nlans and respect his traditions as far as pos
sible.
How long the Chancellor will retain his
higher position is by no means certain. 1t is
possible that he has come to the conclusion
that it would not be expedient to strain any
further the already weakened confidence and
regard Of the Emperor King by continuing to
engage in the routine of political discussion
and administration, with its inevitable
contingencies of misunderstanding and
conflicts. 1t seems to be a necessity Of human
nature that all kings should hate their War
wicks, and the Kaiser Wilhelm is no exception
to this unamiable rule. He feels that it is be
and his son Fritz and his nephew Karl, and
Divine Providence, who have consolidated
Germany and set tho Empire on foot. The
services rendered by Herr Bismarck have been
richly rewarded, the good King doubtless
thinks, by his favor and goodwill as well as
by material manifestations of them. He
made him Count for Gastein, and Prince
for Sedan, besides giving him stars and rib
bons and estates, paid for by the coun-
try and tho enemy. There is little
doubt that Bismarck himself agrees in
this opinion of his sovereign. He is man
of such ingrained convictions of feudal loyalty
that he probably regards the Emperor as I'M
der no obligation whatever for all that he has
done for the house of Hohenzollen. 81 and
"my ancestors were born to serve him and
"his," he once said, and the words were not
mere oourtierlike phrase. But his loyalty,
perfect as it is, cannot prevent the jealousy of
his master, nor shut the imperial ear and mind
to the whispers Of that brood of noble
backbters which infest every palace.
In the course Of his marvellous career,
the Prince has had occasion to defy and de-
feat, at different times, the resistance of
liberals, and the Vaccinations of the reaction.
AS Hong as he remains in public life, both
sides will be inclined to remember rather
what he has done against them than what he
has done for the Kaiser and the country.
When he is gone, the time will come to ap-
preciate with justice his enormous services to
German imperialism and his shortcomings in
the sight of democracy.