I was uneasy.

The first was my strong impression that the new Fleet Law would be
insisted on.

The second was the possibility that Tirpitz might be made Chancellor of
the Empire in place of Bethmann Hollweg. This was being talked of as
possible when I was in Berlin.

The third was the want of continuity in the supreme direction of German
policy. Foreign policy especially was under divided control. Von
Tschirsky observed to me in 1906 that what he had been saying about a
question we were discussing represented his view as Foreign Minister of
Prussia, but that next door was the Chancellor, who might express quite
a different view to me if I asked him; and that if, later on, I went to
the end of the Wilhelmstrasse and turned down Unter den Linden I would
come to the Schloss, where I might derive from the Emperor's lips an
impression quite different from that given by either himself or the
Chancellor. This made me feel that, desirous as Bethmann Hollweg had
shown himself to establish and preserve good relations, we could not
count on his influence being maintained or prevailing. As an eminent
foreign diplomatist observed, "In this highly organized nation, when you
have ascended to the very top story you find not only confusion but
chaos."

However, after I had reported fully on all the details and the Foreign
Office had received my written report, matters were taken in hand by Sir
Edward Grey, and by him I was kept informed. Presently it became
apparent that there were those in Berlin who were interfering with the
Chancellor in his efforts for good relations. A dispatch came which was