How War Came

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 106, 28 September 1914, Page 7

How War Came

FAILURE OF DIPLOMACY. LIGHT ON RECENT HISTORY. THE DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS.

(Lvttelton J'imes Correspondent). London, August 15. Yesterday tlie diplomatic negotiations that preceded the outbreaek of war were revealed in full by the publication of a White Paper, far and away the moat momentous ofiicial publication that this generation has seen. It contains the despatches exchanged between the British Foreign Ofliee and British representatives abroad respecting the crisis precipitated by Austria's ultimatum to Servia. In all there arc 159 documents, crowded into less than a fortnight, in itself a proof of the intensity of the crisis and the suddenness with which it was developed. The first document, reporting an official conversation in London, is dated July "20, and the last is the ultimatum to Germany. Seldom, if ever, have official documents of so intimate and revealing nature been made public so speedily after the events to which they relate. Those State .papers tell exactly how the present stupendous crisis was forced, reveal the excuses and pretences by which the efforts for peace were frustrated, and | the illusion which served to stiffen the neck of Cerman and Austrian obduracy. I There are some passages in these documents that will be read with amazement, ' not only in the Old Country and the Dominions, but in America and every civilised land. The tilings, however, that will specially arrest attention, and cause a wide opening of the eyes are the three despatches in which are set forth the proposal which the German Government made to the British for the j purchase of British neutrality in case of war between the Great Powers. !

AN OUTRAGEOUS PROPOSAL. In the first of these despatches our Ambassador in Berlin, Sir E. Gosehcn, informs Sir Edward Grey how the German Chancellor has sent for him and has suggested that if Germany undertook not to occupy French territory after a successful war, Great Britain should be content not to intervene, even though no undertaking were given not to seize the French colonies. In the second despatch Sir Edward Grey sends his indignant reply to the suggestion, remarking that "it would be a disgrace to us to make this bargain with Germany at the expense of France—a disgrace from which the good "name of this country would never recover." Those who have been most persistent in the view that British intervention has been unnecessary may perhaps find it a little difficult to reconcile this revelation of German methods and purposes with their theories.

But it is perhaps tlio third despatch that will claim chief attention. It is dated July 31, and confirms the claim made in the House of Commons that he had gone to the extreme limits that could be suggested, and even beyond I hem, in las efforts to keep the peace of Europe. In this despatch the Foreign Secretary instructs the British Ambassador in Berlin that if the German Government will make proposals for the adjustment) of the difficulty between Russia and Austria, and that if the Russian Government unreasonably rejects those proposals, "his Majesty's Government will have nothing more "to do with (he consequences.'' He also mentions that lie has warned the German Ambassador that if France becomes involved in the dispute We also should be drawn in. All through the correspondence Sir Edward Grey makes it clear to Germany that while the quarrel between Austria and Servia and Russia will not be a direct concern of the British Government, it must be assumed that tlio same, indifference would not attend a situation in which France was involved.

PLAYIXG FOF TIME. Another circumstance that appears very clearly from these documents is the determination of Austria and Germany not to allow any efforts towards mediation to have favorable result?, When Sir Edward Grey proposed a conference of the four Powers not immediately engaged, Germany declined on a question of form only. When Germany was invited to make her own proposal, there was first no response and then the sugg"ntion that conversations should proceed directly between St. Petersburg and Vienna. Before this suggestion COUid be accepted Austria had already declared war; and when Germany eaaic forward with another suggestion of mediation the Austrian army was on the march, and the only effect of discussion, as the Russian Foreign 'Minister points out, could be to give Austria time to crush Servia.

Through all the discussions, moreover, Germany and Austria refused to recognise the right of Russia to interest herself in Sorvia's case, and disregarded utterly the repeated warnings from St. Petersburg of the gravity of the situation. It is also made clear by passages in the correspondence that Cermany and Austria counted 011 the neutrality of Great Britain, and on the unprcparednesa of France and Russia; that the demands made upon Servia were designedly such as could not be accepted; that the true objective of Austria was Salonika; and a mine was sprung in Europe in order that there might be no time for diplomacy to get to work to present Austria from atacking Servia. TIIE AUSTRIAN' ULTIMATUM. On July 20 the German Ambassador assured Sir Edward Grey that he had not any news of what was going on in Vienna with regard to Servia, but that "Austria eertain'y was going to take aome step." Three days later the Austrian Ambassador mentioned that demands were to be made on Servia with a time limit. Next day (.July 24) the text of the demands were communicated, and Sir Edward Grey demurred to the shortness of the time limit and to the terms, in which the demands were couched. On the same day a despatch from the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg relates how the Russian Foreign Minister h"d described Austria's conduct «s both "provocative and immoral," and had askH whether the British Government would proclaim their solidarity with Russia mul France. The reply to that em >:ir -a reply approved by Sir Edward fire-—was that there was no reason to < -rpoct anv declaration of solidarity fr. ni his Majesty's Government that W' nld entail an uneonditionnl engagcimrt on tlioir part to support Russia and Trance by force of arms. To this, M. PazonotT replied, as related in a later de-patch, that he did not believe German.- really wanted war, and that if Eiv-!'nd took li«r stand firmly with Franc and Kn—ia. there would lie bo war, whilst if she fa'led them, ri'yers of blood would flow, nnd she would in the end be dragged into war. GERMAXY AND RUSSrA. | On July 24, the German Foreign Sec- 1 retarv asked whether Austria's action ■ight not excite Russia, said that ho

! "thought not." He remained of opinj ion that the crisis could be localised, j "He said that he had given the Russian ( Government to understand that the last I thing that Germany wanted was a gen- ■ oral war, and lie would do all in his i power to prevent such a ca'amity." As | to the Austrian note, ''lie repeated very 1 earnestly that, though he had been accused of knowing all about the contents of that Note, he had, in fact, had no ; such knowledge."' His view, however, ! was that "once she had launched that Note, Austria could not draw back." It may be true that the German Foreign Secretary did not know the nature of Austria's ultimatum to Servia, but if so the Kaiser was to blame for his ignorance, for Jrom a later despatch it transpired that the German Ambassador in Vienna telegraphed its text to the German Emperor before it was despatched by the Austrian Government to the Servian.

For the next three days communications were passing from Sir Edward Grey to the various Embassies on the subject of the Conference of Powers that had been proposed. On July 27, the Foreign Secretary sent the following very significant despatch to the British Ambassador at Berlin:— 1

"I have been told by the Russian Ambassador that in German and Austrian circles impression prevails that in any event we would stand aside. . . . . This impression ought, as I have pointed out, to be. dispelled by the orders we have given to the First Fleet, which is concentrated, as it happens, at Portland, not to disperse from manoeuvre leave."

The White Paper concludes w : ith a record of the "dramatic conversations'' as to the intention ofthe British Government to intervene, which have already been given to the world; the requests for undertakings as to observance of the neutrality, of Belgium, and so to the climax to tho British ultimatum to Germany. TIIE WORLD WILL JUDGE.

I A perusal of this White 'Paper will j assist the worm at large to judge of tile ; justice of the two causes for one or other of which Europe is now in arms. To Englishmen the correspondence does ' not alter in any material particulars the history of the negotiations Sir Edward Grey gave to the House of Commons last Monday, but seems to prove conclusively that Austria and Germany were acting in concert from before the ; despatch of the ultimatum to Servia. And ■ the impression given by the perusal of the correspondence is that the ultimatt urn to Servia was issued at a carefullycalculated moment, with the full know- . ledge that it would provoke Russia, and that tile time limit was deliberately fixed so that there could no international negotiations to prevent the Austrian at- . tack. The words of the German Cliani eellor on July 29, certainly suggested that Germany was acting oil a predei termined policy of aggression, that lior ; main purpose was to crush France, and that she was hoping to detach England from France and Russia so as to make ; her prospects of success the greater.

i It is somewhat startling to find Sir Edward Grey, until the last moment, declining to give either Russia or France the slightest assurance'that England would stand by them, though it is . true that from the beginning lie never concealed from Germany that if France were attacked, England would not lie able to keep out of the war. Thus in order to keep open the chance of peace, even after the German mobilisation, which he was officially told ivould "inean war," Sir Edward Grey ran (lie risk of estranging both France and Russia. Xo diplomatists could have gone further in his determination to leave nothing to avoid war. Many Englishmen, indeed, think Sir Eilwartl went too far. and that England's Foreign Secretary should have shown the "mailed fist" considerably earlier in tiie day. These cavillers argue that Sir Edward Grey must have seen through the German-Austrian diplomatic manoeuvres and fathomed the inner meaning of Germany's desire for British | neutrality.

I Be that as it may. Sir Edward did j everything to keep the peace, and this ■ White Paper makes it clear that Eng- ] land could only have escaped from his | war by deserting France and abandoning : every principle of rigrit hitherto recognised in Europe. She could have secured peace for herself—for a time—- • but it would have been peace with dishonor.

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