, 1874-11-07

0ltlClalS III cdCL OLuct !, uOl eau any OUl6C-
ton of opinion to a particular line of poll
cy. IfCount Arnim has been guilty of
such conduct-of which there is as vet no
proof-he must stand condemned, if not
by law, at least by the opinion ofhis pro-
fession and the European world. He will
have violated confidence to crafty a per-
sonal animosity, which has not even the
excuse of religious zeal, Count Arnim be-
ING more hostile to Rome even than his
chief.
But even if the ex-Ambassador has thus
forgotten his duty to himself, the German
Chancellor has none the less made a blum
der in taking so violent a course. lie has
not recovered the papers he desired he
has given all Europe an impression that
there are papers of which he is afraid he
has weakened his position with the En-
peror, and he has deepened that dread Of
him in the minds of his subordinates which
invariably ends in leaving those who in
spire it alone, with no trustworthy resour-
cos except their own eyes and their own
inspirations. Count Arnim has opposed
Prince Bismarck, has thwartcd him, has
assumed the position Of General of OPP
position, may intend even to be danger
OusIy hostile, and therefore he is,-dis-
missed the public service Not a bit of
it; he is treated as a great State criminal,
arrested without warning, thrown into the
common prison Of Berlin, his house search
ed, and unless the bulletin writer's actual
ly fabricate news, his son, an officer I'M
connected with the depa ment, is subject
ed to similar ignomin%. If he had been
the chief of a conspiracy for the overthrow
of the State, the action of the Government
could hardly have been more violent ; and
the action, according to most of the ac-
counts which have reached England, has
been taken without the sanction or even
the knowledge of the Emperor, an omission
which in Prussia directly affects the aspect
of the case. The Emperor there is the d.
rect working Head Of the State, the nexus
among Departments, the chief to whom all
great officers look for an impartial award
upon their claims. As he has no r~ivalries
to fear, he alone is trusted to be fair and
had he ordered the proceedings, half their
sting w0uld~a at once have been taken away.
But for one great officer to arrest another,
and that other n statesman in Opposition,
to fling him into prison, to bring against
him charges of conduct which may be ina
high degree criminal, or may be a mere
error OF judgment, and all this without re-
ference to the one impartial authority,-it
is in Madrid, not Berlin, that one expects
to hear ofsuch q scene. Even if Count
Arnim be as guilty as the official Gazette
desires to hint, if he has actually retained
States documents, common propriety still
d~emandeda referenceto the Emperor, whose
order or sanction, it must not be forgot
ten, would have justified his acts. Count
Arnim could not be tried for retaining doc
uments which the Emperor, who is direct
head, not only of the Executive, but OF
each department, had authorised him to
retain. Whatever the result of the trial,
if a trial is ever held, the impression
throughout Germany will remain that
Prince Bismarck crushed a political foe,
once his own most confidential agent, be-
cause he suspected him of intending to
thwart his most cherished policy that, in
fact, the regime, of force extends not only
to the enemies OF Prussia, but to the most
trusted servants of the State. Opposition
to Prince Bismarck has become q crime.