Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-12
SPECIAL LONDON LETTER Only 12,0OO Foreigners Emi-
 grated to the Transvaal EXCLUSIVE OF THE BRITISH This Fact Will Be Used in Dealing With the
 German Pretensions. IS EMPEROR WILLIAM A LUNATlc OR NOT? That Is a Question Being Debated By the English Press-The Queens Message
 of Thanks to President Kruger
 Thought to Be Premature.
EXCLUSIVE OF THE BRITISH
IS EMPEROR WILLIAM A LuNATlc OR NOT?

London, Jan. 1.-With view of ascer- taining from authentic data the ratio of British and German interests in the Transtraal, the government caused the board of trade officials to prepare re- port on the immigration into that repub- lie during the period covered by the re- turns in the boards possession. The in quiry of the board has resulted In the establishment of the remarkable fact that during the last fifteen years only 12,000 foreigners. exclusive of the British. have gone into the Transvaal. The re- turns include Americans, Frenchmen, Hollanders. Italians and Germans. but do not give the ratio of each. The report will be submitted to parliament as soon as it meets. and will doubtless be used as an important factor in dealing with the German pretensions of a right to in terfere in. the South African republic. While the production of these statistics may assist and justify British diplomacy in rebutting the German claims, 1t is the conviction in official circles that only the strongest and openly belligerent policy can avail Great Britain in the face of possible European coalition against her. The crisis. so far as the Transvaal Is concerned, seems to be over. Lord Sails bury has clinched the position at Dela- goa bay by notifying the government at Lisbon that the landing of any foreign troops there will be immediately followed by the occupation of the place by the British. This procedure rather savers of bluff as no power threatens to land troops there, but it is part of the strong hand that the British government Is com peled to play. No explanations of Elm peror Williams message to President Kruger or the hostile language of the German official press or of the interviews of the German ministers with the Boer representatives have been vouchsafed to assert that he has demanded such ex- plantations, and that orders to prepare the navy for war were issued after he had duly advised Count Won Hatzfeldt. the German ambassador here, that the German government ought to give the explanations required.
 The abatement of the hostile tone of the German inspired papers cannot be taken as indicating a change in the em- peror's policy or of lessening of the danger to England. Among the theories discussed by the press in trying to in- terpret the emperor's action 1t Is under ktood that Lord Salisbury accepts only one, and that Is that the message of President Kruger was part of calcu- Hated and long-pla med game of involv- ing England in complications that will weaken her force as a factor in European affairs The chiefs of the British foreign office have known for long time that in consequence of the German diplomacy in the east Lord Salisbury's efforts to bring about settlement of the Arme. nian question have been thwarted and that Germany made overtures to Russia in favor of common policy to check England's expansion in any part of Asia. The key to all this lies in the emperor's resentment of the policy of Lord Sails bury.,s While the liberals were in power the emperor expected that cold neutrality would be shown towards Germany. but he relied upon Lord Salisbury when he came into power to enter into some form of entente with the triple alliance. Dis appointed in this. the emperor decided to make England feel the weight of Ger man hostility. How far the emperor has succeeded In obtaining coalition against Great Britain is probably known to Lord Salisbury. That some tremendous dan ger threatens the British nation Is the fixed belief in official and diplomatic cir cles. where the government gets credit for preparing for impending war issues and not for fooling the country by an empty naval demonstration.
 The Berlin dispatch published by the Telegraph this morning, stating that Elm peror William had sent a conclliatory let ter to the queen In response to an auto graph letter of rebuke sent to him by her majesty, appears to be canard without even the merit of originality. It simply re-echoes story that has been current here since Wednesday, The dispatch Is ignored by some of the evening papers and sneered at by others. The Tele- graphs correspondent states that Lord Salisbury has avoided asking explana- tions of the emperor's attitude on the Transvaal questions, which explana- tions might be unpleasant, and adds that the governments Of the several German states have commenced 10 protest that no hostility to England was intended, that no protection of the Transvaal is de- sired and that no German interference. in any form was ever intended.
 The most influential weekly papers in trying to solve the emperor's policy con cur in the opinion that the theory that his majesty Is a dangerous lunatic who has exploded bomb under momentary impulse must be dimisscd as incredible.
 The Spectator very openly says that 1t finds 1t difficult to obtain accurately what the emperor's dispatch means. It adds that it has been patent to the for eign office for some time that Germany is exceedingly unfrlendly to Great Britain. She has checked Lord Sails bury's negotiations in favor of the Ar menians and her attitude, more than that of the czar, has proven a intolerance to a settlement of that question Ad- hitting that 1t Is probable that the ern- peror aims at European coalition against Great Britain. the Spectator ar- gues that such coalition is vains dream. Neither France Russia, Austria nor Italy are sufficiently interested to help to realize the dream of Germany The Spectator points out as one solution of the puzzle that Emperor William wanted the Transvaal as Germany col ony and opened negotiations with the Boers, to whom he promised protection. He then sounded Portugal relative to the passage of an armed German force from Delagoa bay across Portuguese terri tory to the Transvaal. In the meantime fnding himself checkmated by the ener- getic action of the British government he has taken more friendly attitude
 The Statist says that Germany will require to settle with France before