ssible.

If England had not taken part in the war against Germany, it may be
assumed that it would have given Belgium the advice to permit the
marching through of the German Army, somewhat in the same manner as the
Grand Duchy of Luxemburg did, with a protest. In doing so the Belgian
people would have been spared a great deal of misery and loss of blood.
On Aug. 3 the Belgian Government replied to an offer of military help by
France as follows:

We are sincerely grateful to the French Government for offering
eventual support. In the actual circumstances, however, we do not
propose to appeal to the guarantee of the powers. Belgian
Government will decide later on the action which they may think
necessary to take.--(British "White Paper" No. 151.)

One day later London decided to make Belgian neutrality the cause of the
war against Germany before the eyes of the world. The Ambassador in
Brussels received the following orders:

You should inform Belgian Government that if pressure is applied to
them by Germany to induce them to depart from neutrality, his
Majesty's Government expects that they will resist by any means in
their power and that his Majesty's Government will support them in
offering such resistance, and that his Majesty's Government in this
event are prepared to join Russia and France.--(British "White
Paper" No. 155.)

Not until England thus stirred Belgium up, holding out the deceptive
hope of effective French and English help, did Belgian fanaticism break
loose against Germany. Without the intervention of England in Brussels
the events in Belgium, one may safely assert, would have taken an
entirely different course, which would have been far more favorable to
Belgium.

But, of course, England had thus found a very useful reason for war
against Germany. Even on the 31st of July Grey had spoken of the
violation of Belgian neutrality as not a decisive factor. On Aug. 1 he
declined to promise Prince Lichnowsky England's neutrality, even if
Germany would not violate Belgium's neutrality. On Aug. 4, however, the
Belgian question was the cause that suddenly drove England to maintain
the moral fabric of the world and to draw the sword.

This suddenly became the new development, which was still
lacking for Grey in order to justify this war before public opinion in
England.

Another English Advantage.

And something else was secured by the drawing