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to Switzerland, another to England, but the principal part remains in Belgium. But under present circum- stances there is no prospect for any profit.
My brother the admiral, who has retired from service, has nothing to do with my factories and never was interested in them.
If the European staff of my Manila factory con- sists practically of Germans, it is for the simple reason that I could not find Belgian young men willing to go so far from our country and among foreign people where they are obliged to speak the Spanish, English and Phillippine languages. The manager of my
Hongkong factory is a Dane.
Since 1871 (44 years) I have been living in Antwerp and, after, giving up my German nationality, I have obtained by a vote of Parliament, in the year 1886, the great naturalisation as a Belgian citizen.
I
I therefore have been a Belgian for nearly 30 years and think I know my loyal duties perfectly well. do not deny that I was born in Germany and have sym- pathies for the land where my parents lived and died. Were it not so, I would be a man without character or moral principles and ought to feel ashamed of my- self before my Belgian fellow-citizens. I fully agree with the German people in defending themselves in this terrible war with all fair means although they unfortunately are the enemy of my adoptive country. This however does not imply, by any means, that I agree with all their leaders or their actions. But I would consider it to be an act of high treason against my Belgian country, were I to contribute in
any
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