"They have faced without flinching, and against almost incalculable odds, the horrors of an irruption, devastation, of spoliation, and of outrage. They have stubbornly withstood and successfully arrested the inrush, wave after wave, of a gigantic and overwhelming force. The defence of Liège will always be the theme of one of the most inspiring chapters in the annals of liberty. The Belgians have won for themselves the immortal glory which belongs to a people who prefer freedom to ease, to security, even to life itself. We are proud of their alliance and their friendship. We salute them with respect and with honour. We are with them heart and soul, because by their side and in their company we are defending at the same time two great causes--the independence of small States and the sanctity of international covenants--and we assure them, as I ask the House in this Address to do, in the name of this United Kingdom and of the whole Empire, that they may count to the end on our whole-hearted and unfailing support." * * * * * The reception which this speech met with was unmistakable; and the motion was voted unanimously. Mr. Bonar Law, in seconding, spoke with great feeling of the shameful atrocities committed upon the Belgian people by the German soldiery, and, in the Upper House, Lord Crewe, referring to the same theme, observed that no country ever outraged humanity without sooner or later paying for it: "It must be our part to see that the sword is not sheathed till these great wrongs are redressed to the full." Lord Lansdowne spoke of the "incalculable value" of the two or three weeks gained by the heroic defence of Belgium; and Mr. Redmond, in a few glowing sentences, bore witness to the generous enthusiasm which had been excited in Ireland. There was no sacrifice, he said, which Ireland was not willing to make for Belgium, and he suggested that, instead of the loan of £10,000,000 which had been proposed, the Belgian people should be asked to receive the money as a gift. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 1: In this telegram, which is quoted in full on p. 178 of "How the War Began," Sir Edward Grey reproduced the appeal of the King of the Belgians to King George for diplomatic intervention, and asked for an assurance that the German demand on Belgium for permission to pass troops over Belgian territory would not be persisted in.] [Footnote 2: This was the British ultimatum, in which Sir Edward Grey recapitulated the circumstances connected with the German occupation of Belgian territory and demanded an answer by midnight. Quoted in full on page 180-1 of "How the War Began."] [Footnote 3: This telegram, says a footnote to the dispatch, never reached the Foreign Office.] [Footnote 4: This letter has been quoted in full on p. 106 of "How the War Began."] [Footnote 5: Sir Edward Grey's speech appears _ibid._, p. 150 foll.]