The San Francisco call., 1896-11-08
MAY PROSECUTE
PRINCE BISMARCK
Disclosing of State Secrets
to Come Before the
Reichstag.
But the Ex-Chancellor Is Too
Popular With the People to
Be Alarmed.
YET HURLs BACK DEFIANCE
England's Claim Of Predomlnance in
South Africa Vigorously Disputed
by the Germans.

BERLIN, GERMANY, Nov. THE Reich
stag, which will resume business on No.
vember 8, will have q short session, but ii
will, nevertheless, have an extremely ex-
citing one in the discussion of promised
interpretations by various political leaders
upon the question of the right OF Prince
Bismarck, or for that matter, any ex
chancellor or Minister to disclose state
secrets. The truth concerning the reVela-
tlons made through the medium of the
Hamburger Nachrichten, especially re-
garding the Russo-German neutrality
treaty, alleged to have been made at the
Foreign Office in Berlin, is that only
Prince Bismarck, Count SchouyaIoff, the
Russian Embassador to Germany, and the
late Emperor of Russia, Alexander III,
had any knowledge of the understanding
until after the accession in 1888 of the
present Emperor of Germany through in
formation which he received from Vienna.
The Freissinnige Zeitung and many
other politically biased newspapers are
having a great deal to say about the
Reichstag impeaching Bismarck for max
ing the disclosures, but that sort of talk is
arrant nonsense. Even if public senu-
ment does not quite approve Prince Bis
marck's s course or understand his motives
the public still so implicitly rely upon the
ex-Chancellor's patriotism that the Gov
ernment could not possibly face the ma
tional uprising which would manifest it.
self against his prosecution. Prince Bis
marck is well aware that the country has
q complete trust in him and makes use o:
this influence as s3ield to defy the Gov
ernment.
The Chancellor through his personal
organ, the Hamburger Nachrichten, is
still firing his big guns of defiance, and an
article in that paper therefore, while it
does not in the least alter the position of
the controversy, shows that the Prince
has no disposition to back down.
"Prince BismaIck's opponents in this
matter" the Nachrchten maintains, "are
not the people of Germany, but the party
newspapers. Everything that the Prince
has done has been for the best interest OF
Germany"
This utterance is regarded as pretty con-
elusive evidence that the old Chancellor
has no fear of the result of the submission
of the whole matter of his official acts aud
the subsequent disclosure thereof to the
verdict of the people.
After the interpretations in regard to the
Bismarck disclosures are disposed of it is
the intention of Herr Richter, the Radi-
cal leader in the Reichstag, to raise a de-
bate upon the question of the suppression
of the practice of duelling, and in the
course of the discussion to demand of
Prince Hohenlohe, the Imperial Chancel-
lor, an explanation of the murder of Herr
Siebeman at Carlsruhe, few weeks ago,
by Lieutenant Baron Won Brusuvitz, for
which crime the lieutenant received frsm
a military court the nominal sentence OF
four years confinement in a fortress and
dismissal from the army, a sentence which
nobody believes was intended to be car
ried out.
Besides discussing the questions, the
Reichstag will also deal before the holiday
recess with a bill for the conversion of
450, ,000, 900 marks of per cent bonds into
81 per cents, the bill running parallel
with similar measure in the Landtag
converting three and half milliards of
Prussian 4 per cents into 81 per cents.
The anti-English Juror which prevailed
in Germany a short time ago has been
aroused by the publication here of wired
summary of the speech delivered in Edin-
burg last evening by Lord Shelpourne,
Parliamentary secretary OF the British
Colonial Office, and son-in-law of Lord
Salisbury, in which he declared that it was
well that the world knew that Great Britain
would never admit rival in South Africa,
where the predominance of the Queen was
permanent.
Commenting on the language used by
Lord Sebourne, the North German
Gazette denies the existence of any Eng
Ilsh right of predominance in South
Africa. and the Neuste Nachrichten SAYS
that the English claims to predominance
in South Africa which will always be con-
tested are based upon nothing beyond
lingo pretensions.
The National Zeitung says: "English
politicians may continue their arrogant
shouts about British predominance, but
they must know that En- gland is destitute
of power to enforce it. p Thei talk of Lord
Selbourne and other English politicians
is mere pothouse language"
The bill, which has been approved by
the Bundesrath, increasing the annual
Government subsidy to the North German
Lloyd Steamship Company by 100000
marks in consideration of the establish
ment by that company of fortnightly
mail service to China continues the con-
tract of the company with the Govern
ment fifteen years. Since the North Ger
man Lloyd Company was first subsidized
in 1888 the amount of goods shipped by
their vessels has risen from 74,0O0,OO0
marks to lao 600, 900 marks annually.
Chaplain Dicksee of the American