Yet eight to nine
days had to elapse before the beginning of the war. Let us see whether
Sir Edward Grey used this time to preserve peace, according to his
own documents.
From this testimony it appears that even at the beginning of the last
and decisive part of the European crisis, which began on June 28, 1914,
with the assassination of the Austrian heir to the throne, Sir Edward
Grey refrained from considering a direct participation of his country in
the possible world war. At least, this must be the impression gained
from his remarks to the representatives of the two powers with whom
England is today at war. Thus, he said to the Austro-Hungarian
Ambassador, Count Mensdorff, on July 23:
The possible consequences of the present situation were terrible.
If as many as four great powers of Europe--let us say Austria,
France, Russia, and Germany--were engaged in war, it seemed to me
that it must involve the expenditure of so vast a sum of money and
such an interference with trade that a war would be accompanied or
followed by a complete collapse of European credit and
industry.--(British "White Paper" No. 3.)
Here Grey speaks only of four of the big powers at most that may go to
war, without even hinting at the fifth, namely, England.
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