The speeches made by Sir Edward Grey on August 3 and by Mr. Asquith on August 4 and ihe famous interview between Sir William Goschen, British—Ambassador in Berlin, and the (Chancellor, Dr. von" Bethmann Hollweg, at. which the latter asked the Atibassador whether Great Britain would really to] s war for so little a thing as the vinlability of Belgiur just} jor serap of paper," have made "the issue so clear us regards Great Britain's action that dispassionate critics have had - no difficulty in recog nizing its justice. After the failure of Sir Edward Grey's proposals for a conference in London similar to that which sat during the Balkan wars, efforts were directed—towards localizing the conflict so far as could be done. consistently with Britain's honour. Two stipulations were addressed to Germany as the price of Great Britain's standing aside That the German eet should from attacking French coasts and France, should respect Bel hat, Germany, equally with gian neutrality It speaks much for Germany's anxiety to keep Great Britain out of the war that she was willing to accept the first condition, To the second she said that she could not reply without disclosing, vital. military secrets. Ata later stage a pretence was made of "unimpeachable formation" that, had Gernu not attacked France through Belgium, France would have at-ing that France had "already given the desired assurance that she would respect that neutrality. of Belgium to which she, in com mon with Britain and Ger was bound by the Treaty of 1860. and which even Bismarck respected in 1870. Germany offer a promise that at the end of the war Belgium's independence! should be respected and_no territory taken from her. One may wonder how that promise would have been kept—an idle specul
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.