StormnStress

Stormnstress

A novel

by

Phil Tamarr

Contents

Preamble

Foreword

Part 1 – England

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Part 2 – Prussia & Saxony

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Part 3 – Empire of Germany

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Afterword

Appendix

Portent of the future

Preamble

Front Cover Picture:

An emperor meets his Nemesis:

Count von Bismark’s meeting with the French emperor,

Napoleon IIIrd, post-battle of Sedan 1870.

Title of novel extracted from a Shakespearean tragedy:

There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads onto fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.

Marcus Brutus speech from Julius Caesar.

Foreword

In this work the author presents an argument that the Empire of Germany, created by Count von Bismarck in 1871 subsequent to Prussia’s defeat of France, was presented in the year 1899 with an opportunity to supplant Great Britain as the world’s leading power.

The fact that Germany did not do so was down essentially to a quibble: whether it was important, or not, at the time, to ally your nation with a country whose leader espouses an unworldly doctrine: that the earth was not a sphere but flat according to President Kruger of Transvaal. When Wilhelm IInd, Emperor of Germany, saw the cartoon in a Cape Town newspaper he rued his decision to offer troops to aid the Boers against the British.

British troops were mauled badly by the Boers in the first Boer War. The Boers were armed with German-supplied Mauser rifles. Had the Kaiser supplied German troops to aid the Boers the outcome would almost certainly have been a British defeat. So, did the Kaiser miss an opportunity?

Count von Bismark’s schemes to unify the German disparate states into a single empire, has been described as machiavelian; another viewpoint might well be: downright dishonest. The reader can judge for himself on reading this work of creative fiction based upon data from official records.

Part 1 – England

Chapters 1 to 5

Chapter 1

Following the general election of 1867 a Conservative administration took over the government of the UK. It is led by Disraeli who is bent on taking the Tories in a new direction and the salient item on his agenda is to steer the so-called second Reform Bill through Parliament the result of which, after it is implemented, will be to widen the franchise to encompass nearly two million men who meet the property qualification. Inevitably its enactment will cost the Treasury several thousands of pounds so various committees are set up to examine ways and means of finding this additional money.

One such meeting of a Ways and Means Committee takes place within the aegis of the Board of Trade and comprises several MPs thus: Hubert Smith of the Board of Trade, Lionel Wright from the Patent Office, Sidney Palliser from the Defence Ministry, William Cadogan, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Thomas Gore-Booth, Permanent Secretary to the Defence Minister (absent) and Ronald Strang, a clerk in the Foreign Office; also, a Pitman shorthand operator (male) to record the minutes of the meeting.

Since it is a Board of Trade matter, Hubert Smith takes the Chair and he opens the meeting, thus:

Gentlemen! I would like to open this meeting with an apology. At an occasion in the past our esteemed Prime Minister then a newly-elected member of a recent election was invited by the Speaker to make his opening address and could not be heard owing to raucous cat-calls from various parts of the chamber. One phrase however is recorded by Hansard which was: ‘One day I shall be heard and you will be silent.’ I have to admit being of the crowd which drowned Mr Disraeli’s voice, and, great man that he is, he has forgiven me and did not demur offering me my present position. I would like to place on record my apology and Mr Disraeli’s gracious reaction.

There was silence among the other members broken by Strang who declared: May I echo the sentiment just expressed by Mr Smith for I too was guilty but all has been forgiven and indeed forgotten for, as you said, Mr Disraeli has also kindly invited me into his government. But, in the context of this meeting, may I mention an item of news that some may consider the height of triviality.

Strang paused awhile to look around at his fellows adding, The Kingdom of Prussia in a speedy seven weeks of conflict has humbled the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It might have some bearing on our deliberations.

It was Cadogan who responded: But why should these Continental distractions concern the United Kingdom. Mr Strang seems to have forgotten we are separated from the Continent of Europe by an expanse of water called the English Channel; or, does Herr Bismark have wings!

Some chuckling followed this last comment and Strang felt his cheeks burn though did not react at which Cadogan seeing his discomfort spoke jocularly to Wright of the Patent Office:

Perhaps the representative from Patents can enlighten us. Has there been such an application? I should dearly love to observe Mr Bismark in full-wing regalia.

Wright looked daggers at Cadogan saying drily: Enough of this drollery. I thought we were here to discuss whether Mr Armstrong’s exclusive contract with the government should continue. I have it on authority that the man gets more revenue than the entire country. What say you Mr Gore-Booth?

The last-named grimaced shaking his head before addressing Smith and said: Mr Chairman, may I mention a salient matter in this discussion? It will answer Mr Wright’s comment and I venture to suggest also help this committee in its deliberations.

Smith answered in the affirmative and Gore-Booth continued:

Many decades ago certain gentlemen of the names Boulton and Watt succeeded in a parliamentary bill to extend their patent for their steam-engine from twenty to a full thirty-three years which enriched them enormously but denied other inventors the opportunity to make worthwhile improvements covered by patent. So, I urge the committee not to repeat that error and bring Armstrong’s contract with the government to an end. That alone will save thousands.

The chairman frowned and raised his hand to speak: The Armstrong case is somewhat different to that of Boulton-Watt. He paused and looked at all the members before saying, As I understand it the government wishes to keep Armstrong’s patents secret to prevent others, not too distant from these shores, from a development that might endanger our very security.

Each member looked around at the others and all with one thought, who might be the power not too distant from these shores? And, if their thoughts could be realised they would have uttered, ‘France’ without a doubt.

Gore-Booth seemed unabashed and responded: Nonetheless I also happen to know of a gentleman who at present supplies arms to the government of the United States but who is inhibited by this Armstrong contract. The gentleman concerned is also convinced that someone in the last government also benefited from the Armstrong contract. What do you say to that?

The chairman said decisively: We can accuse our Liberal opponents of many things but corruption is not one of them.

Wright raised his hand and nodded to the Chairman who affirmed he should address the committee: I’m sure no slight on our Liberal friends was intended, chairman, yet we must remember the purpose of this meeting. As I understand it the Armstrong contract has run for a decade. And, technical advancement proceeds apace so in bringing the Armstrong arrangement to a close the committee will be well on its way to meet Mr Disraeli’s requirements.

He looked around at his fellow members conscious that two of them, Smith and Strang, were with him while Palliser and Codogan though wealthy were envious of the newly affluent Armstrong and decided to support Gore-Booth with a leading question:

Would Mr Gore-Booth enlighten the committee on Mr Armstrong’s rival who might well reassure us also in the matter of national security?

Gore-Booth had already been given the nod by the Chair so proceeded to expound his viewpoint: My first acquaintance with Mr Whitworth was at the occasion of the Great Exhibition of ’51 when, being of an engineering family, we were very attracted to his so-called micrometer which was the focus of the engineering world. As a result of which he attracted the interest of Prince Albert.

Wright looked at his colleagues and noticing their interest coaxed Gore-Booth for more details, saying: I understand he has other interests in the steam world, Mr Gore-Booth; have you any more to tell the committee?

Gore-Booth puffed out his chest: Indeed, Sir, Mr Whitworth manufactures and exports steam engines to power ships and pumping stations so being in heavy industry he would be well able to take on armaments along with Armstrong. It may well be that the two could share gun calibres between them.

Chairman Smith expressed some exasperation: Can we leave these matters to others? Our present brief is to examine how best to save the government money. It seems from our discussions that we can recommend bringing the Armstrong contract to an end. Shall we vote?

Everyone at the table nodded assent and the Chairman turned to the Pitman shorthand note taker: Have the minutes typed Mr Simms and prepare a letter to the prime minister for me to sign. Thankyou, gentlemen; I bid you good-day!

The chairman was highly satisfied that he and Strang had repaid their leader, Benjamin Disraeli’s, faith in them in that his committee would do its part in helping provide finance to meet the expected additional costs of the reform bill upon its becoming the law of the land. The motive of Gore-Booth and Cadogan was envy of Armstrong without doubt but he was sure Wright’s promotion of the engineer Mr Whitworth would ameliorate any potential danger to national security. But, what of Wright: What were his motives?

Smith was right in questioning the motives of Wright from the Patent Office for unknown to him or to any member of the panel the name ‘Wright’ in German is ‘Radbauer’ which was his father’s name before he changed it on becoming a British citizen, decades earlier. In the 21st century officials in China would approach immigrants into the USA and remind them of their origins and at times score in planting an agent within the American community which would reap rich dividends in providing China with information to help it match American domination of technology.

Thus, Lionel Wright, loyal to Prussia would, by access to priceless British know-how in the manufacture of armaments by his presence in the Patent Office, help the aims of his first loyalty, Prussia. All thoughts were of France in this business which was a godsend to Wright. England would pay the price for this although that was still many decades in the future.

That price: millions of dead, wounded and captured soldiers between the years 1914 to 1918 and the loss of so much treasure that by 1917 Britain had become a debtor country for the first time in two and a half centuries.

Chapter 2

A few days following this meeting in Whitehall another meeting took place though this time it was more of a tete-a-tete between Lionel Wright and his handler in England. One should say at once that Prussian or German people did not speak of the United Kingdom, the UK or even Britain. As far as these people were concerned their problem lay with the English who were regarded, even