French were at Givet, a town in French territory, and that this constituted an attack on Germany, though how the presence of the French in a town of their own could be called a violation of their neighbour’s neutrality it is difficult to see.  From that it has gradually grown into a more formidable story of the French supplying a garrison to Liege.  There can be little doubt that all these attempts by Herr von Jagow to claim that the French violated Belgian neutrality are another illustration of Swift’s dictum to the effect that ‘as universal a practice as lying is, and as easy a one as it seems’, it is astonishing that it has been brought to so little perfection, ’even by those who are most celebrated in that faculty’.[130]

IV

England and Servia.

We have seen what attitude was taken by Germany in the crisis which followed upon the Serajevo murders and more definitely upon the presentation of the Austrian note.  It is equally important, and to English readers at least more interesting, to realize what attitude was taken by England.  Sir Edward Grey throughout maintained the position, which he was so justly praised for adopting in 1912, that England had no direct interest in Balkan disputes, but that it was her bounden duty to prevent a European conflagration.  He quickly saw, what Germany would not see, that Russia was so much interested in Servia, for both political and religious reasons, that any attempt by the Austro-Hungarian Government to coerce Servia, to interfere with her territorial integrity or independence as a sovereign state, would inevitably rouse Russia to military action.  For Russia had greater interests in the security of Servia than Great Britain had in the security of Belgium.  In each case the Great Power was bound by honour and self-interest alike to interfere to protect the smaller Power, but Russia was also bound to Servia by racial and religious bonds.  This being so, Sir Edward Grey set himself, not as the German White Book says[131] to localize the conflict, but to prevent if possible a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Servia which would inevitably involve Russia and probably other European powers.  He stated his policy with the greatest clearness in the House of Commons on July 27th, but he had already acted on the lines of the policy which he then explained.  On July 24th he told Count Mensdorff that he would concern himself

    ’with the matter simply and solely from the point of view of the
    peace of Europe.  The merits of the dispute between Austria and
    Servia were not the concern of His Majesty’s Government[132].’

In similar language, but more fully, on the same day he told the German Ambassador:—­