Prince Lichnowsky then described in his letter how the memorandum, owing
to an indiscretion, got into circulation, and finally expressed lively
regret at such an extremely vexatious incident.
Herr von Payer said that Prince Lichnowsky had meanwhile tendered his
resignation of his present rank, which had been accepted, and as he had
doubtless no bad intention, but had simply been guilty of imprudence, no
further steps would be taken against him. The Vice Chancellor proceeded:
"Some assertions in his documents must, however, be contradicted,
especially his assertions about political events in the last months
preceding the war. Prince Lichnowsky was not of his own knowledge
acquainted with these events, but he apparently received from a third,
and wrongly informed quarter, inaccurate information. The key to the
mistakes and false conclusions may also be the Prince's overestimation
of his own services, which are accompanied by hatred against those who
do not recognize his achievements as he expected. The entire memorandum
is penetrated by a striking veneration for foreign diplomats, especially
the British, who are described in a truly affectionate manner, and, on
the other hand, by an equally striking irritation against almost all
German statesmen. The result was that the Prince frequently regarded
Germany's most zealous enemy as her best friend because they were
personally on good terms with him.
"The fact that, as he admits, he attached at first no great importance
to the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne, and was
displeased that the situation was judged otherwise in Berlin, makes it
plain that the Prince had no clear judgment for the events that followed
and their import."
The Vice Chancellor then characterized as false all Prince Lichnowsky's
assertions about General von Moltke's urging war at the Potsdam Crown
Council of June 5, 1914, and the dispatch of the Austrian protocol on
"this alleged Crown Council" to Count Mensdorff, containing the
postscript that it would be no great harm even if war with Russia arose
out of it.