FATEFUL DAYS.
Every visitor to London knows Trafalgar Square, with its huge column
guarded by four bronze lions. On the top of the column is a statue to
the "little, one-armed, one-eyed hero of a hundred fights," our greatest
seaman, Lord Nelson. South of Trafalgar Square is the broad, fine street
known as Whitehall. On the right-hand side of Whitehall, just before you
come to Westminster, is Downing Street, and on the left-hand side of
Downing Street is the handsome pile of buildings known as the Foreign
Office.
The head of the Foreign Office is the Foreign Secretary, that member of
the British Cabinet who looks after British interests abroad. All
letters sent by the British Government to foreign Governments are
written and dispatched by him and his officials, and all communications
from foreign Governments are received by him. He appoints and controls
all the ambassadors and ministers and consuls who represent us in
foreign countries. They are his agents and his eyes and ears in the
countries to which they are sent. It is their duty to keep him well and
promptly informed of all matters which directly or indirectly affect the
British Empire in its relation to other Powers. So widespread is the
British Empire, and so world-wide are its interests, that very little
happens abroad that does not concern us in some way or other.
Our present Foreign Secretary is Sir Edward Grey.[157] He is the
grandson of a famous statesman, and has been a member of Parliament
since 1885, when he was twenty-three years of age. No Briton has studied
foreign affairs more diligently than he, and all parties have the
fullest confidence in him as a cool, prudent, far-seeing statesman. He
is a great lover of peace, and it is due to him that the representatives
of the warring nations of the Balkan Peninsula were induced to meet in
conference and come to terms in May 1913.
Let me remind you once again of the murder of the Archduke Ferdinand at
Sarajevo on the 23rd of June 1914.[158] When Sir Edward Grey heard the
tragic news, he saw at once that it might lead to a great war. He was
anxious to know what Austria proposed to do in the matter, but was kept
in the dark. He spoke to the German Ambassador about it, and was told
that Austria was certainly going to take some step, and that the outlook
was grave. On the 22nd of July our representative in Berlin told him
that the German Secretary of State[159] thought that Austria and Serbia
alone were concerned in the quarrel, and that outsiders ought not to
interfere. Next day Sir Edward Grey met the Austrian Ambassador, who
explained to him what Austria was going to demand[160] from Serbia. He
also informed him that Austria would fix a time limit within which
Serbia was to reply in a manner satisfactory to Austria, and that if the
reply was not satisfactory, war would be declared.
At once Sir Edward Grey pointed out that the time limit was really a
threat of war, and that it might anger Russia, and make her get ready to
fight against Austria. You can easily see what the result would be. If
Russia joined Serbia against Austria, Germany, as Austria's ally, would
fight for her; and if this came about, France would be sure to help her
ally, Russia, so that a vast and terrible European war would arise--the
vastest and most terrible conflict that the world has ever known. To
this the Austrian Ambassador replied that it all depended on Russia; but
Sir Edward Grey reminded him that it takes two to keep the peace, as
well as two to make a quarrel.
As we already know, the Note was sent to Serbia with a time limit of
forty-eight hours. As soon as Russia received a copy of the Note, she
felt that it was meant as an indirect challenge to her. A Council of
Ministers was held to consider the question. It was fortunate that the
President of the French Republic was then paying a visit to the Czar,
and that the two allies could take immediate counsel together.
On the 24th of July the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs told the
British Ambassador in Petrograd that Austria was trying to bring about
war with Serbia, and that she would never have done this had Germany not
been backing her up. He also said that France would stand side by side
with Russia if war should break out.
During the forty-eight hours allowed by the Austrian Note Sir Edward
Grey made three attempts to bring about peace. First, he tried to get
the time limit extended, and Great Britain, France, and Russia united in
urging Austria to give Serbia more time. He begged Germany to join with
the other Powers in trying to persuade Austria to do this, but all that
Germany would consent to do was to "pass on" the message to Vienna.
Next, Sir Edward Grey tried to get Great Britain, France, Germany, and
Italy--all of whom had no interest in Serbia--to unite in an attempt to
bring Russia and Austria to a friendly agreement. All the Powers
mentioned were ready to do this except Germany. She said that she had
no objection to the course proposed if war should be threatened between
Austria and Russia. Sir Edward Grey's third effort was to advise Serbia
to do as much as possible to meet Austria's demands.
I have already told you that on the 25th of July Serbia accepted all
Austria's terms, and only asked for delay in order to make new laws by
which she could carry them out, and for information as to the way in
which Austrian officials were to take part in Serbia's police and
law-court work. Every one hoped that this would end the quarrel; but the
same evening the Serbian reply was declared unsatisfactory, and the
Austrian Minister left Belgrade, thus showing clearly that war would
follow. Serbia at once ordered her troops to mobilize.
[Illustration: French Infantry.
[These soldiers are French regulars, who, unlike the conscripts, serve
for more than three years in the army.]
Photo, Central News.]
Sir Edward Grey learnt what the Serbian reply was to be an hour or two
before it was handed to Austria. At once he begged Germany to press
Austria to accept it, but again Germany would only pass on his
suggestion to Vienna. Directly afterwards the German Ambassador in
Vienna told our ambassador that Serbia had merely pretended to give way,
and that her promises were only a sham.
During the next four days--26th July to 29th July--Sir Edward Grey
strove with all his might to bring Russia and Austria to agreement. On
the evening of the 28th the German Chancellor[161] told our ambassador
that he was trying to bring the Russians and Austrians to agreement.
This was very good news to Sir Edward Grey, who now thought that he saw
a chance of staving off the European war which was threatening. He had
already proposed that the German, French, and Italian ambassadors should
meet him in London, to try to bring about a settlement; but though
France and Italy had agreed to this proposal, Germany had refused, and
had said that it would be better if Austria and Russia could be
persuaded to come to some agreement between themselves. Now that Germany
declared that she was working for peace at Vienna and Petrograd, Sir
Edward Grey sent a telegram to the German Government, on the afternoon
of the 29th, telling them that he would agree to any method of bringing
Russia and Austria together that might be proposed. All that Germany had
to do was to "press the button in the interests of peace."
A strange reply came to this telegram. It came from Sir Edward
Goschen,[162] our ambassador in Berlin, towards midnight of the same
day. He had just seen the German Chancellor, who said that if Austria
should be attacked by Russia, Germany would have to fight for Austria,
her ally. He then made an amazing offer to Britain. If Great Britain
would promise not to fight, Germany on her part would promise to take no
part of France from her. "But what about the French colonies?"[163]
asked Sir Edward Goschen. To which the Chancellor replied that he could
give no such promise with regard to them. In answer to other questions,
he said that the action of France might force Germany to invade Belgium.
Now this was very startling. For the first time we knew that Germany was
about to invade France, and that she would probably march her troops
through Belgium for that purpose. We also knew that Germany was so
anxious to keep us out of the war that she was prepared to make a
bargain with us. "What the German Chancellor asks us in effect," said
Sir Edward Grey, "is to engage to stand by while French colonies are
taken and France is beaten, so long as Germany does not take French
territory as distinct from the colonies." What answer should you have
given to Germany if you had been our Foreign Secretary? I think it would
have been just the answer which Sir Edward Grey gave. He told Germany
that we could not possibly accept such a proposal, nor could we permit
Germany to break her solemn pledge to Belgium and advance through that
country.
On July 31 there was a gleam of hope in the darkness. Russia offered to
stop all her military preparations if Austria would agree that all the
European Powers were now concerned in her quarrel with Serbia, and if
she would strike out of the Note those demands[164] which would destroy
Serbia's independence. Strange to say, Austria agreed to this
proposal--to the very thing she had refused to do in the early days of
the crisis--that is, to discuss the whole question of the Note to
Serbia. Perhaps you wonder why Austria should give way at the last
moment. The fact was that Austria had been assured by the German
Ambassador that Russia would not and could not fight. She now discovered
that Russia was quite prepared for war. She had been deceived and
misled, and she was eager to draw back. You will soon see that no chance
was given to her of doing this.
Just at the moment when men were beginning to breathe more freely, and
to believe that war might yet be averted, the thunderbolt fell from the
blue. On the very day when the horizon was brightening, the Kaiser sent
an impudent message to the Czar, ordering him to cease mobilizing his
troops within twelve hours under pain of war! No answer was returned,
and at midnight on the 1st of August Germany declared war against
Russia. Armageddon had begun.
[Footnote 157: Born 1862. He was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
from 1892 to 1895, and became Foreign Secretary in Dec. 1905.]
[Footnote 158: See p. 13.]
[Footnote 159: Herr von Jagow (Ya-go), born 1863. He is a close personal
friend of the Kaiser's, and has been the German Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs since 1913.]
[Footnote 160: See p. 30.]
[Footnote 161: Bethmann-Hollweg (_Betman-Holvech_), born 1856. He has
been Chancellor--that is, chief minister of the German Empire--since
1909.]
[Footnote 162: Born 1847. In 1905 he became ambassador at Vienna, but
was transferred to Berlin in 1908.]
[Footnote 163: France has colonies in Asia, Australasia, Africa, and
certain islands of America, comprising in all an area of more than 4½
million square miles, with an estimated population of 41 millions.]
[Footnote 164: See p. 30.]