which he gave the impression that he got his first information about the
course of the quarrel between Austria and Serbia no earlier than 24
July, three days before. The Ambassador at Vienna, Sir M. de Bunsen,
had, notwithstanding, telegraphed him that the Austrian Premier had
given him no hint of "the impending storm" and that it was from a
private source "that I received, 15 July, the forecast of what was about
to happen, concerning which I _telegraphed to you the following day_."
Sir Maurice de Bunsen's telegram on this important subject thus
evidently was suppressed; and the only obvious reason for the
suppression is that it carried evidence that Sir E. Grey was thoroughly
well posted by 16 July on what was taking place in Vienna. Sir M. de
Bunsen's allusion to this telegram confirms this assumption; in fact, it
can be interpreted in no other way.
On 28 July, the House of Commons was informed that Austria had declared
war on Serbia. Two days later, 30 July, Sir E. Grey added the item of
information that Russia had ordered a partial mobilization "which has
not hitherto led to any corresponding steps by other Powers, so far as
our information goes." Sir E. Grey did not add, however, that he knew
quite well what "corresponding steps" other Powers were likely to take.
He knew the terms of the Russian-French military convention, under which
a mobilization by Russia was to be held equivalent to a declaration of
war; he also knew the terms of the English-French agreement which he
himself had authorized--although up to the eve of the war he denied, in
reply to questions in the House of Commons, that any such agreement
existed, and acknowledged it only on 3 August, 1914.[4] He had promised
Sazonov, the Russian Foreign Minister, in 1912, that in the event of
Germany's coming to Austria's aid, Russia could rely on Great Britain to
"stake everything in order to inflict the most serious blow to German
power." To say that Sir E. Grey, and _à fortiori_ Mr. Asquith, the Prime
Minister; Lord Haldane, the Minister for War, whose own book has been a
most tremendous let-down to the fictions of the propagandists; Mr.
Winston Churchill, head of the Admiralty, who at Dundee, 5 June, 1915,
declared that he had been sent to the Admiralty in 1911 with the express
duty laid upon him by the Prime Minister to put the fleet in a state of
instant and constant readiness for war; to say that these men were taken
by surprise and unprepared, is mere levity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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