made against Germany from the side of the English.  Our aims were misconstrued, and hostile plans against England were foisted on us which we had never thought of.  The Kaiser, rightly convinced that this state of things was a calamity for both countries and a danger for the civilized world, kept undeviatingly on the course he had adopted.  The Kaiser is particularly wronged by any doubt as to the purity of his intentions, his ideal way of thinking, and his deep love of country.

“Gentlemen, let us avoid anything that looks like exaggerated seeking for foreign favour, anything that looks like uncertainty or obsequiousness.  But I understand that the Kaiser, precisely because he was anxious to work zealously and honestly for good relationship with England, felt embittered at being ever the object of attacks casting suspicion on his best motives.  Has one not gone so far as to attribute to his interest in the German fleet secret views against vital English interests—­views which are far from him.  And so in private conversation with English friends he sought to bring the proof, by pointing to his conduct, that in England he was misunderstood and wrongly judged.

“Gentlemen, the perception that the publication of these conversations in England has not had the effect the Kaiser wished, and in our own country has caused profound agitation and painful regret, will—­this firm conviction I have acquired during these anxious days—­lead the Kaiser for the future, in private conversation also, to maintain the reserve that is equally indispensable in the interest of a uniform policy and for the authority of the Crown (’Bravo!’ on the Right).

     “If it were not so, I could not, nor could my successor,
     bear the responsibility (’Bravo!’ on the Right and National
     Liberals).

“For the fault which occurred in dealing with the manuscript I accept, as I have caused to be said in the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, entire responsibility.  It also goes against my personal feelings that officials who have done their duty all their lives should be stamped as transgressors because, in a single case, they relied too much on the fact that I usually read and finally decide everything myself.

“With Herr von Heydebrand I regret that in the mechanism of the Foreign Office, which for eleven years has worked smoothly under me, a defect should on one occasion occur.  I will answer for it that such a thing does not happen again, and that with this object, without respect to persons, though also without injustice, what is needful will be done (’Bravo!’).

“When the article in the Daily Telegraph appeared, its fateful effect could not for a moment be doubtful to me, and I handed in my resignation.  This decision was unavoidable, and was not difficult to come to.  The most serious and most difficult decision which I ever