The Prussians Are Coming

Near sixty years ago, just after New Year in 1957  a number of us were gathered together for discussion.  The senior person, formerly a Sergeant in The Suffolk's in the First War was presiding.  It was a session on Modern European History.

He turned to the recently appointed young man, not long before in the Intelligence Corps in the late 40's in the Rhine Army, and remarked that the French in the longer past had always been bad enemies but since had become worse allies.

He looked at me, fresh from the banks of the Elbe in the days before Berlin walls and long fencing, for an answer.  It was one word, "logistics", then little used in civilian circles.  The reply was also a single word, with a wide grin, "explain".

I said that if in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71  the  Second Empire French had paid a lot less attention to the detail of their military uniforms and ornamentation of equipment and a lot more to matters of transport, rations and command structures they might not have lost so easily.

So the Germany that came to be might not have been the same and critically may not have been dominated by the Prussians in the form of the highly militarised German Empire. It could have been more federal with perhaps Bavaria and Hannover in charge.

French troops had always been brave in battle and formidable in the field.  It was getting there with enough of the right men and kit and other things and maintaining longer campaigns that were the problem notably when faced with men like Wellington and the Prussians.

During the First World War, the French had learned to use railways etc. but almost fatally hindered by the bureaucracy of the routines and running and associated government.  Had the smaller number of British not been better at it the Germans or rather Prussians may not have been stopped.

At the outset of the Second World War neither the British nor the French  had realised the full implications of motor transport  and the potential capability of armoured forces for flexibility and movement.  The result was the collapse of France.

After the war in the age of the Iron Curtain, the French were supposed to be a major force in the Western alliance but were semi-detached from the beginning, partly distracted by loss of Empire but mostly because of pride and the density of their governing systems and distaste for American thinking.

So in the discussion the question arose, what of this new Europe in part brought together in the just signed Treaty of Rome?  The thinking was it was likely to be an alliance governed by French bureaucracy, modified by Italian chaos and corruption with West Germany doing the heavy lifting.

With the Prussians then under the heel of the Red Army in East Germany, the remaining Western Germany, created as a Federal State would be both more tractable and much less inclined to ideas about dominating Europe and the East.

Which is where the discussion left it. It was thirty plus years later when the Berlin Wall came down, the frontier barriers were dismantled and  West Germany reclaimed the East with a great deal to do.

It was not long however before the EU created the Eurozone, in reality the Deutschemark writ large, only without the safeguards.  If accidents can happen they will and it did.  But the ensuing disasters in effect strengthened the central German position.

Now if Ms Merkel's speech in Australia recently is any guide, The Prussians are back and looking for whatever forms of international domination might be available.  Then there is the Ukraine.  The lady is complaining that the much put upon President Putin should be taught how to behave to former parts of Tsarist and Soviet Russia.

Today we have an EU, very French in the nature, detail and complexity of its bureaucracy and its reach into every nook and corner of daily lives and economic activity.  We have an Italy which is more or less as expected, possibly a lot more corrupt.  America is disappearing over the horizon.

And Berlin is one again held by The Prussians.  The British, who joined the EU in the lunatic hope that they might somehow become the steersman cum navigator of Europe are now the footstool on whom all the others stand to gain a little height.

Throughout the period of UK membership  it has been a long hard struggle to try to persuade the French to unbend.  For all the prattling of our politicians we have had endless trouble with them.

The chaos of our government and loss of freedom is largely due to the dead hand of France on the internal governance of the EU, which it sees as a junior branch of the ENA, the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, the training stables of the French elite.

In the meantime, EU foreign policy is now in the hands of Berlin and the New Prussians.  The fearful think that if we left the EU, the French might in some way become our enemies.

If so, we might be much better off than having them as allies.

Punching Below The Weight

Looking for something else entirely, came across this report in the Yorkshire Telegraph and Star, of the evening of 9 July 1912 about "Iron Hague", a Yorkshire Heavyweight Champion boxer of the time.

There is a Wikipedia page, William Hague (boxer), to look at, a stub with some but not a great deal of information.  Also, he features in books about boxing.

It is very likely that this has been noticed before but not by me, but can he be, is he, related to our pugnacious Foreign Secretary, William Hague?  "Iron" was named  John William, but as was common in that period chose a variation in the preferred name.

Apparently, he was from Mexborough, one of the tangle of mining, iron and steel townships in the Rotherham area of the then West Riding of Yorkshire, now South Yorkshire.

A quick look at the background did not reveal much, only that the name Hague is a local one with a number of families among whom William was a popular option for a name.

Perhaps it might better inform the voters if our political leaders were asked to joust against each other in the boxing ring instead of these boring debates.  Who would be the best match for the present Hague?

Ed Balls or Yvette Cooper (watch out for her Leftie hook), or perhaps Harriet Harman or Andy Burnham (watch out for the below the belt).

Seconds out.
                                                                                               

Books Do Furnish A Cell

As well as the usual duties, finding the socks under beds, making sure the remote is working and writing complaining letters to all and sundry there is an opportunity to take.

So I will be busy on my new magma (is that quite right?) opus, "Breaking Out For Dummies" aimed at a special market segment, those unlucky enough to be in gaol.

This follows the decision of Appeal Court judges to the effect that prisoners have a right to receive parcels, notably books, while they are inside.

Does that extend to a right not to have them examined as well?  It is  another example of how Parliament and Government are now subjects of the judiciary and Euro law rather than the people.

If this new project goes well similar titles could follow. It might be possible that such works could change the whole culture and operation of our much loved gaols.  "How to Knit a Rope Ladder Using String From Parcels" could be a winner.

Our prison authorities are far behind the times.  Instead of complaining about the decision, in our new privatised world there are real marketing opportunities there to be taken.

They could in fact cash in on franchising book supply operations and have works written specifically for their customers (formerly prisoners).  In this way they could claw back some of the wages they have to pay them.

Equally, they could build in to the operational targets quotas for escape opportunities, or solutions, and prisoners could bid for them, subject to the full financial arrangements being in place.

Way to go, as they say these days in Strangeways.

Not So Glad Tidings

If there is one comforting thing about the web it is that there is never any shortage of bad news, grim tidings, I told you so stories and predictions of dire and disastrous events.

Money matters loom large in these issues and Zero Hedge has a fun item today on the London Property Market.  This piece claims that the bubble is about to break and will be very bad news for all concerned.

This market is the source of many conflicting opinions and ideas about the future because of its complexity.  This is compounded by the "footprint" of London being global in very many ways and that it is a money centre of the world.

As the Government has to be seen to be in charge it then has become deeply involved.  The theory is that it ought to keep things going and "create" wealth for all those involved.  The snag is that where there are winners somewhere along the line will be the losers.

With the market being rigged, manipulated and boosted for so long since the last crash, it is not clear what is happening.  This leaves a great deal of scope for unintended consequences, black swans and other perverse effects.

Anything can happen and probably will.  Perhaps the one certainty is that what the government says today will prove to be very wrong tomorrow.  The Autumn Statement has only added to the confusion.  It could just lead to over cooking what is already a burnt turkey.

Take a refreshing shower to relax may be the best way to deal with it all.

Migration From Poland

Had the Hanoverian project collapsed in the early stages of the 18th Century and  The Old Pretender, James Stuart, managed to reclaim the throne, then The Atlantic Isles would have had a Polish Queen.  The implications of this could have been considerable.

Could the Stuarts, in alliance with the Polish Crown, have prevented the Partition of Poland that took place during that century?  It would have frustrated the ambitions of The Prussians and curbed the expansion of the Tsar's of All The Russia's.

Two hundred years later, I along with many thousands of others were cheering contingents of Polish men taking part in our local 1945 Victory Parade.  There were the airmen from squadrons around Lincolnshire.  Also, there were Polish Airborne troops who had been at Spitalgate, near Grantham, after moving down from Scotland.

They had gone in at Arnhem.  Also, among the others on parade were men of the US 82nd Airborne.  I sometimes wonder how far the presence of these men in and around the Grantham area may have caused the hearts of young ladies of the town to flutter a little, see last week's blog on The Tribune of the Plebians.

There is a lot on Wikipedia about all this and about the Poles who did not go back and who escaped as The Iron Curtain came down. Many settled in Britain, one married an aunt of my wife.  This is where is does become personal, because Polish men were regular guests of ours for many years.

They played chess, a game my father had turned to after he clambered out of the boxing ring for the last time after a hard session with Nel Tarleton (Wikipedia and Youtube) and needing surgery.  But they did not just "play", they were high class.

Given jobs in my father's factory, they made the works team not just the best locally, but rated nationally.  Incidentally, they made my father a very good player in turn.  When Grand Masters came to play simultaneous exhibitions, they were hard to beat and one had even won a time or two.

From time to time, we would be invited to an evening at the local Polish Centre for enjoyable social events.  As my studies had involved a good deal of Modern European History them, at least I had some idea of this.  Later, in the Army on the banks of the Elbe we had many Polish men among the various civilian labour in the barracks that we worked alongside.

Very recently, an interest in DNA arising from other studies long ago in demographic statistics and populations told me more.  It is my male Y Chromosome is one of the more common ones among Polish males, around one in five.  In other words a good slice of my DNA is the same as many Poles.

That I am bemused at the present at the many and various idiocies being mouthed about Polish migration to the EU, on all sides by our leaders and those who want us think as they do, is putting it mildly.   The levels of ignorance, naivety and dogmatism as they address the question are an indication that they wholly fail to see what they are looking at.

A key, if not the main key, to the debate is The Treaty of Rome of 1957 establishing the European Economic Community. It seems that the actual document that was signed was blank between the front page and the signatory page because of printing issues.  So although terms had been agreed in practice the Treaty was a blank cheque.

To try to explain how different Europe was in 1957, the imperatives that dominated politics at that time, the immediate ideas born of the experiences of two wars, many revolutions and the rest would take a lot of words.  But it was not the same as Europe today and it was not the same world.

Even that of the 1970's when the UK signed up is far removed.  During that time and into the Euro Experiment of the 1990's it was all about the high politics, political ideologies, self interested horse trading and immediate interests of the powers involved.

Nobody was doing and nobody was interested in doing the future figures, assessing the risks, measuring possible global implications or making any real kind of "intelligence" appreciations of what might be and what might happen.

One area which was avoided because it was assumed to be secondary and relatively technical was the difficulties and political implications of demographics in the global context.  The issues arising for Europe from the rapid growth of world population were brushed aside.  It was simply assumed that matters would be easily dealt with as they arose.

Inevitably, in human affairs, we find there is a price to pay for everything and often these entail decisions that are both difficult and dangerous.  The latter because if you are wrong what can happen may be much worse than you assumed.

Worse, is that if you defer decisions they will be made for you and by people who have their own interests and do not consider yours.  This is has been the case in questions about migration and this is why the trouble is happening.

In relation to the Polish question, it is obvious that in the past if asked whether I should welcome them into our country the reaction would have been "Of course."

But if told that they might come to number millions, I might well have wanted to think about it.

Schlock Horror

According to the Guido Fawkes blog, the Christmas card above left is a godless one from the Blair's, despite their alleged deep religious affiliations.

Perhaps it might have been better had they stuck to the original version, right, before it had been airbrushed and titled.

Downton In The Doghouse

This leap into the steamy waters of TV soap; the one about Downton Abbey, is sparked  by an article on the Mises Institute web site.  As many viewers have decided opinions of one sort or another of programmes it is always risky if a stick is poked at the detail or the souffle shaken and not stirred.

That Downton has a dirty secret is argued by Mark Thornton.  It relates to the place where the TV programme is filmed and its history.  That he is talking about high finance rather than who does what with who will disappoint  many but that's the way it was.

In the media there has been a debate about the personalities of those depicted in the programmes, their apparent ordinariness or sometimes hapless lives that many do not accept either for noblesse oblige or the ideas of the left about their oppression of the masses.

For my part there is certainly something missing that was important in the late 19th and early 20th Century, a regular feature of most of their lives and activity, which is little recorded or recognised.  As well as the central nature of field sports and Freemasonry  to the upper classes of that time there is another thing forgotten.

This opinion arises as a result of a good deal of time spent poring at  digitised newspapers recently made available.  In the past you had to go to the archive, say Colindale for the British Library, and turn page after page in the hope of spotting an item, easily missed buried in the close type.

Chasing names, once looked at, inevitably the eye runs over the rest of the page.  The papers then would give long lists of names of who were at this or taking part in that.  If you are able to see the pattern and realise what was entailed it gives a fascinating insight into people and society at the time.

One feature that struck me is the large number of charitable funds and societies, events and other things that were given major free publicity.  Before the Welfare State it was  the Poor Law or the Friendly Societies etc. or the Charities.

It is clear that for the Aristocracy, the upper classes in general and for all the local worthies  charity work was not an option, but a given and integral to their status, function and place in the social structure and this applied from the top, The Royal Family, down.

One way or another they were expected to be there, to contribute and to lead and from the evidence of the listings it was a necessary part of their lives and I suspect many saw it as Duty.

One example will serve.  A bazaar held for the Royal Hospital for Incurables, patron the Monarch, had thirty stalls run by ladies.  All were either Duchesses or Countesses who would be assisted by other members of the upper classes.

So, for example, the grand parents of Mad Frankie Fraser, who died this week, recently arrived from Clydeside and needing perhaps ornaments for their mantelpiece could claim to have been served by a Royal duchess, or a Countess high in society at least.  Or if they had more to spend, a family christening gown.

Clearly, the problems of poverty, inequality and life at the time were far greater than the work of the charities could deal with.  Also the Poor Law was last ditch form of provision and while the Friendly Societies did a great deal of good work, they were only voluntary and not enough.

Moreover, in the late 19th Century the returns from the land that supported the Aristocracy had begun to decline in the age of Free Trade and many of them saw their wealth diminishing.  Also, large families with younger sons and daughters to provide for made its own impact.

With the benefit of hindsight and what we now know, that class as it was on the way down and badly damaged by the First World War, but it is a pity we do not recognise, or do not want to see that in many ways they were different from what we are now asked to think and believe.

But I suspect that a TV soap may not want to look at incurables, the insane, the rescue of the depraved and deprived, the widows, orphans or maimed.

The ratings might drop.