The record-union., 1899-08-20
Emperor William Surprised at the
Vote in the Diet.
But is Determined That the Measure Shall
Yet Become a Law.
The Kaiser Reported to Have Made
the Matter Would be Tanta-
mount to an Abdication-A1so
Utters Complaint Against His
Cabinet Ministers.

/ Copyrighted 1899, by Associated Press)
BERLIN, Aug. 10. The result of
Wednesdays and Thursdays sessions
of the Diet, the unbroken opposition of
the Conservatives, constituting almost
a majority of the House. came as
! stunning surprise, not alone to En-
peror William, but also to the whole
Cabinet, DR.. Won MIGUEL, the Prussian
Minister of Finance, included.
To one of his intimates the Emperor
said, early this week, referring to the
opposition to the canal bill: ITO yield
in this matter now before me would be
tantamount to an abdication-"
To the same gentleman his majesty
complained bitterly of the fact that the
Cabinet often managed affairs of i'm
portance so badly as to force him
against his will to actively interfere.
The result of Thursdays vote in the
lower house, when, by a vote Of 2l2 to
209 it rejected the second reading of the
bill relating to the Dortmund- Rhine
Canal and the completion of the Dort-
mund- Ems Canal, and by a vote of 22S
to 126 the Central Canal bill, came as
a surprise to the House itself, nobody
J
strong, especially after the Emperor's
vigorous declaration. The whole Polish
faction voted against the entire canal
bill whereas it was expected it would
at least vote for the Dortmund-Rhin
canal section. The Centre also acted
contrary to expectation. 1t split into
three portions, one voting for the canal
bill and another against it, while the
| ird nd hct
from voting. This, though meant as a
clever trick, rendered the Centre power
less, and helped in the Conservatives
ruin.
The crushing defeat of the govern
iment, which was meant as the defeat
of Emperor William as King of Prus-
sia, is generally admitted to be due to
the clumsy. half-hearted manner in
which the government fought the bat
| tie from the very first. Neither Prince
Hohenlohe, the Imperial Chancellor,
nor DR.. Won MIGUEL, though they we've
present at the session on Wednesday,
said a word in favor of the measure
with which the Emperor has so publicly
and strongly identified himself. Their
inactivity excited general comment
The 'Kreuz Zeitung" said: I'VE do
not know whether DR.. Won MIGUEL is
really for or against the BILL"
The word dissolution was not even
used by any of the government speak
ers though those present comprised
nearly the whole Cabinet. The only
government representative who spoke
decisively and well was Colonel Budde,
who declared that the canal was a mil
itary necessity for Germany.
1t is quite evident that an important
part of the Cabinet does not share the
Emperor's enthusiasm for the canal.
Putting things together, it-is. almost
certain that if the bill fails, as there
now seems small doubt it will, so far
as the vital part, the Midland canal
project, is concerned, the Cabinet must
be reorganized. 1t has been confident
ly asserted all along by persons in the
intimacy of His Majesty that in the
event of the defeat of the bill the En-
peror will dissolve the Diet and appeal
to the country. Even if this expert
ment be made, which is unlikely, the
outcome is quite doubtful
The second trial by court-martial of
Captain Dreyfus at Rennes, excited
much comment here this week, especial
ly the attempt on the life of M. La
bori and General Mercier's so-called de-
nouncements The latter are not taken
seriously. His statement that Germany
was on the point of declaring war with
France in 1894 is ridiculed. the whole
German press is united on this point
The extreme step which Ger
many would have taken then if
President Casimr-P Perier had not put
a stop to the violent attacks on the
German embassy would have been to
send Count Won Munster Ledenburg,
the German ambassador at Paris on a
long leave Of absence. In no case
would the relations of the two govern
ments have assumed threatening as
pect.
The "Tageblatt" calls General Mer-
cier's revelations >reposterous, and the
frankfort Zeitung' says General Mer-
ciers talk about Germany meaning
war in January, 1895, has excited only
hilarity throughout Germany
The Cologne Gazette" after calling
the present state of the French mind
"a species of dementia," says nobody
in Germany takes General Mercier 1e-
riously.
While the energy of the French gov
ernment is generally commented on fa-
J vorably, doubts are expressed as to
whether it is strong enough to overcome
the disaffection of the army.
Emperor william. on receiving the
news of the attempt on the life of M.
Labori, during the ceremony of unveil-
II ing the monument to his grandfather
at Arolsen, on Monday, used strong
language in denouncing the deed. He
said the crime was evidently part of a
regular plot His majesty has kept
himself minutely informed of the in
cidents of the trial at Rennes.
An interesting feature of Germany's
foreign policy in the strong rapproche-
: ment with the Netherlands and Bel
GUM The advances came from the
smaller States. This rapprochement has
made steady headway for some time
past The Minister of the Netherlands
here recently submitted a draft of the
regular treaty to the Minister of For
eign Affairs, Count Won Buelow Defin-
ite action has not yet been taken, but
it is a positive fact that negotiations
to that end are now under way. Some
of the Dutch newspapers, in pointing