ed into friendship, which became enthusiastic
admiration when the Archduke advocated the building of Austrian
_Dreadnoughts_.

The annexation of Bosnia was a defiance to Europe, because, at the
Conference of the Powers held at London in 1871, they all (Austria
included) solemnly agreed not to depart from their treaty engagements
without a previous understanding with the co-signatories. Austria's
conduct in 1908, therefore, dealt a severe blow to the regime of
international law. But it was especially resented by the Russians,
because for ages they had lavished blood and treasure in effecting the
liberation of the Balkan peoples. Besides, in 1897, the Tsar had framed
an agreement with the Court of Vienna for the purpose of exercising
conjointly some measure of control over Balkan affairs; and he then
vetoed Austria's suggestion for the acquisition of Bosnia. In 1903, when
the two Empires drew up the "February" and "Muerzsteg" Programmes for
more effectually dealing with the racial disputes in Macedonia, the
Hapsburg Court did not renew the suggestion about Bosnia, yet in 1908
Austria annexed that province. Obviously, she would not have thus defied
the public law of Europe and Russian, Servian, and Turkish interests,
but for the recent humiliation of Russia in the Far East, which explains
both the dramatic intervention of the Kaiser at Tangier against Russia's
ally, France, and the sudden apparition of Austria as an aggressive
Power. In his speech to the Austro-Hungarian Delegations Aehrenthal
declared that he intended to continue "an active foreign policy," which
would enable Austria-Hungary to "occupy to the full her place in the
world." She had to act because otherwise "affairs might have developed
against her."

Thus the Eastern Question once more became a matter of acute
controversy. The Austro-Russian agreements of 1897 and 1903 had huddled
up and cloaked over those racial and religious disputes, so that there
was little chance of a general war arising out of them. But since 1908
the Eastern Question has threatened to produce a general conflict unless
Austria moderated her pretensions. She did not do so; for, as we have
seen, Germany favoured them in order to assure uninterrupted
communications between Central Europe and her Bagdad Railway. Already
Hapsburg influence was supreme at Bukharest, Sofia, and in Macedonian
affairs. If it could dominate Servia (anti-Austrian since the accession
of King Peter in 1903) the