National Republican., 1883-01-12
The DccIIne OF BlsmnrcIk.

The Decline or Bismarck.
At the opening of the rechstag on Monday
Prince BISMARCK appeared weak, and suffer-
ing great pain. He read the message of the
emperor giving sixty thousand marks to the
sufferers by the recent foods and received
something to which he has been stranger
for the last ten years-loud applause
In 1871, when the apotheosis of BISMARCK
was complete, member of the Belgian min
istry wrote n series of articles in the Inde-
pendence Beige calling the attention Of Europe
to the fact that BISMARCK was more lucky
man than a great man. The gentleman, who
so boldly venturcd to disagree with the whole
world, mentioned that up to the time Of the
battle of Sadowa he too had believed BISMARCK
to be a great man. but from the use he made
of the power he had then acquired the
saucy Belgian was constrained to believe
! that Prussian victories would turn out to
be Prussian defeats. There is probably no
thinking mind of to-day that does not recog
nize the truth of that prophesy. BISMARCK
has brought Germany to condition in which
her worst enemy must pity her. BGsMARcK's
idea of German unity was an unique one.
The first thing he did to unity the empire
was to antagonize the whole of southern
Germany, section naturally attached to
Austria, and passionately regretting its sew
eranco from her. The people of saxony and
Bavaria and the Tyrol-thc whole of south
Germany, in iact-had local autonomy which
they had maintained for centuries. They
had an especial devotion to their national
uniform and standards, associated
with WHICH was all that was
glorious in their history. With that
spurious idea of unity which merely means
sameness BISMARCK reduced these patri-
otic and independent kingdoms and districts
to mere provinces of the German empire,
and with the insolence of the newly powerful
deprived them in great degree of their To-
cal government and took utterly away from
them their national uniform and other dis
! tinctions. Perhaps no men who ever wore
the German uniform hated it with the fierce
ness of these people. To further cement
German unity he forced the Fall1 laws
upon the people and drove forth the Jesuts,
whereby he made an army Of cultivated
and influential men his enemies and antago-
nized the whole world of Catholics six teen
millions of whom were subjects of the em-
pire he labored to create. Next followed the
farce of a German parliament-a parliament
which has only small and uncertain
negative power, but the consent of
which is not necessary to pass any
legislative measures, all power being in reality
invested in an irresponsible ministry. Then
came the milliards raised by the patriotic
Frenchmen to help demoralize what little re-
mained of German unity, and if ever an ingo-
nious revenge were designed, nothing could
have been more successful than the payment
of the French indomnties, by which France
grew rich and Germany grew poor. In less
than ten years the astounding spectacle was
presented of country having received the
most cruelty cXorbitant sum of money ever
eXacted from II gallant enemy hopelessly in
debt and poorer than before the indemnity
was paid, Nothing more honorable
in the history of nations is recorded
than the payment of that great sum
was to France, Besides the actual
moral influence Of the prompt payment of 50
vast debt the credit of France was instantly
restored nation that could pay such a sum
without the loss of n sou by peculation, the
} work performed in short space of time by
, officials with small salaries who disbursed
! millions with the most scrupulous honesty
could go forth and get both money and credit
, in all the markets of the world. While
France can get more money than she wants
/ within her own borders, Germany is bor
! rover and almost beggar and for this she
is indebted to the man whom she once wor
, SHIPPED,
But even with autocratic power BIsMARcB
has been forced to retreat step by step unit
! he has finally been compelled to retrace every
step he has taken for the past ten years. Mo-
has this been done by any sudden revolution
the reaction of which may place him where
he was before. 1t has been done by the cumu
lative and irresistible force of public opinion
by degrees, and there is no reaction of an,
kind. Even the German parliament, once thu
obedient creature of BISMARCK, no longe
f gives him Il majority. 1t is true that h,
| makes violent speeches to it, reminding /
r furiously that he can act without it, and tina
, he intends to maintain the one-maI
r power, but it has steadily defeate,
, his pet schemes for the last two years 1t i
also true that with his usual rapacity he ha
got his military budget through for certainl!
, two years to come and possibly seven bu
5 rapacity is always short sighted, Not onl!
/ would parliament not pass his tobacco monop
oily bill in its arbitrary form, but it woulC
| not pass it at ALL The Culterkampf is n
more, and the emperor has written an auto
5 graph letter to the pope! Did BIsNARCI
t ever expect to find himself so near Canossa a
0 this2 When the great European upheava
, comes BISMARCK will find his conquere,
provinces an open door to the enemie
S of Germany to enter, just as political !,
I they have been source of weakness
4 to him by their votes, their attitude, an,
S the sympathy which they have called forth
v Austria wants revenge as much as France
o and he will be oncompassed ON the right han,
C and the left. If he should outliye the ON
d peror, which is most probable, he will b