, 1875-05-26

sagacitles than any other In Europe
would suddenly gain an overwhelming
ascendancy in Europe and yet use it
with unexampled moderation and good
sense. We do not in the least feel dispos-
ed to bear hardly on The German people
for as yet showing exceedingly little dis
position TO enforce on their rulers that
calmness and moderation of feeling which
we were so often told that a great Teuton-
ic Power would secure to US. The Ger
mans are new to the sense OF national self.
Importance, and it undoubtedly gratifes
them to find their chief statesman filling
their ears with new evidence OF that i'm
portance almost every day. This habit of
making new power felt, was to be expect
ed quite as much from q sudden German
as from a sudden French supremacy,
though in a different and, no doubt, in a
less vain-gIorious sense. AssuredIy,
whether it was to be expected or not,
Europe is now suffering from the results,
and suffering something more than might
even have been anticipated, owing per-
haps to The excitabie and imperious cha
racter of the powerful statesman who has
fairly won the idoIatry Of Germany and
the confidence of his master. One day
we are informed, by q rumour which may
be false, but which, if mythical. is certain
ly the product of fear, that Germany is
concentrating troops on the Dutch border,
and proposing to the Netherlands to re-
strain the Catholic priests who have taken
refuge there from exciting religious dlscpn-
4 A-:to.- 4 tboi. oNiOb hD,r5 =.
another day we hear, on authority admit
ted to be good, that the German represent
tative at the Court Of Rome has been
drawing the attention of the Italian Gov
eminent to the inconvenience resulting
from harbouring q Pope whose information.
oil @utterances are unrestricted by any moral
guarantees, and yet liable to produce very
mjschievoGs results on the loyalty OF
foreign peoples; on q third day we are
told that the editor of a Bavarian paper
which had attacked Prince Bismarck, and
who had been sentenced for that offence,
has escaped into Austria, and that Austria
is required to give up the political fugitive ;
only yesterday an official or semi-olicial
Berlin paper seriously declared that a new
war with France was all but inevitable,
aud that France is intriguing for an Austro-
Italian alliance and in some respects
most serious of all, we find that a cores
pondence of an unpleasant character is
going on between Germany and Belgium
as to the duty incumbent on 40 indepen-
dent aud neutral State of taking active
measures to pat down unpleasant criticisms
on the policy OF It's neighbours. In fact
we have evidence OF all the sensitiveness
which Imperial France exhibited towards
the Republican critics who took refuge
in Belgium, now displayed by Germany
towards the UItramontane critics OF the
same little State, aud unfortunately, IN
addition to this, an intolerance of Catholic
criticism in various other regions, in
Holland, in France, in Ita'y, nay, even Of
Liberal criticism in England, which makes
anything like European repose, even if the
condition OF France would allow It, abso-
lutelv impossible. Germany is perhaps
unconsciousIy determined, but still one
the less resolute, that her personal feelings
shall count for something big in the equi-
librium of Europe aud Germany's feelings
are unfortunately not even left without
extra disturbance in that condition of ex-
cessive sensibility,-of hyper@sthesia, as
the physicians call it,-which inevitably
follows a great moral tumult, a sudden
national growth. They are artifcially
excited by the irritabiliry or political dex-