or later inevitable step into the democratic republican form of
Government to which Europe is visibly tending, though "this king
business," as my American correspondents call it, has certain
conveniences when it is limited and combined with an aristocracy also
limited by primogeniture and politically controlled by a commonalty into
which all but the eldest brothers in the aristocratic families fall,
thus making the German segregation of the _adel_ class impossible. Such
a monarchy, especially when the monarch is a woman, as in Holland today,
and in England under Victoria, is a fairly acceptable working substitute
for a formal republic in old civilizations with inveterate monarchical
traditions, absurd as it is in new and essentially democratic States. At
any rate, it is conceivable that the western allies might demand the
introduction of some such political constitution in Germany and Austria
as a guarantee; for though the demand would not please Russia, some of
Russia's demands will not please us; and there must be some give and
take in the business.


*Limits of Constitutional Interference.*

Let us consider this possibility for a moment. First, it must be firmly
postulated that civilized nations cannot have their political
constitutions imposed on them from without if the object of the
arrangement is peace and stability. If a victorious Germany were to
attempt to impose the Prussian constitution on France and England, they
would submit to it just as Ireland submitted to Dublin Castle, which, to
say the least, would not be a millennial settlement. Profoundly as we
are convinced that our Government of India is far better than any native
Indian government could be (the assumption that "natives" could govern
at all being made for the sake of argument with due reluctance), it is