or to 1870, every country in Europe possessed its own distinguishing
features, its power, its ambition, or its dominating influences.
England was the first, of commercial and industrial nations. Russia
was the great leader of Oriental policy, the predestined heir to Asia.
Austria was the supreme German power. France was a military nation and
at the same time the eldest daughter of the Church; she was the
undisputed protector of Catholic Missions all over the world and umpire
in most of the great international quarrels. To-day, Germany is at
once all that England, Russia, Austria and France were. She holds
every monopoly, centralises power of every kind, and destroys all power
of movement in others. When shall we have a determined coalition
against Germany? Herein lies the only hope of liberating Europe from
the claws of Prussia and recovering something of the lion's share which
William takes to himself.

February 22, 1898. [3]

By what process of mental aberration has it come to pass that our
Minister of Foreign Affairs has placed himself under the wing of
William II at Constantinople? His one object should have been to
combine every effort on the part of Russia and France to keep Germany
out of the East.

There would be no parallel to such a deplorable lack of foresight, if
our diplomacy had not provided it in the Far East, if it had not helped
to prove to Germany, there also, that she was becoming indispensable in
China, that the prestige of Russia combined with that of France was
insufficient to cope with the situation and to solve the difficulties
that had arisen with the Son of Heaven, with Japan and England.

The blindness which has characterised our foreign policy, which, since
Jules Ferry took it in hand, has made us labour continuously with our
own hands for the greatness of Germany, as if to justify our humility
in her eyes, this will remain the crime of the initiator of an
anti-national policy, the crime of M. Jules Ferry. It will also remain
the irreparable fault committed by those who have adopted the
lamentable policy which consists in following in the train of the
conqueror once the ransom has been paid.

March 9, 1898. [4]

William II will have his sea-going fleet, and be able to challenge the
fleets of the Great Powers and meet them on equal terms. He had meant
to carry with a high hand his seven years' naval construction plan, in
the same way that Bismarck obtained his seven yea