s assurance is, of
course, subject to the policy of his Majesty's Government receiving
the support of Parliament, and must not be taken as binding his
Majesty's Government to take any action until the above contingency
of action by the German fleet takes place.

I read that to the House, not as a declaration of war on our part, not
as entailing immediate aggressive action on our part, but as binding us
to take aggressive action should that contingency arise. Things move
very hurriedly from hour to hour. Fresh news comes in, and I cannot give
this in any very formal way; but I understand that the German
Government would be prepared, if we would pledge ourselves to
neutrality, to agree that its fleet would not attack the northern coast
of France. I have only heard that shortly before I came to the House,
but it is far too narrow an engagement for us. And, Sir, there is the
more serious consideration--becoming more serious every hour--there is
the question of the neutrality of Belgium.

I shall have to put before the House at some length what is our position
in regard to Belgium. The governing factor is the Treaty of 1839, but
this is a treaty with a history--a history accumulated since. In 1870,
when there was war between France and Germany, the question of the
neutrality of Belgium arose, and various things were said. Among other
things, Prince Bismarck gave an assurance to Belgium that--confirming
his verbal assurance, he gave in writing a declaration which he said was
superfluous in reference to the treaty in existence--that the German
Confederation and its allies would respect the neutrality of Belgium, it
being always understood that that neutrality would be respected by the
other belligerent powers. That is valuable as a recognition in 1870 on
the part of Germany of the sacredness of these treaty rights.

What was our own attitude? The people who laid down the attitude of the
British Government were Lord Granville in the House of Lords and Mr.
Gladstone in the House of Commons. Lord Granville on the 8th August,
1870, used these words. He said:

We might have explained to the country and to foreign nations that
we could not think this country was bound either morally or
internationally, or that its interests were concerned in the
maintenance of the neutrality of Belgium; though this course might
have had some conveniences, though it might have been easy to
adhere