"
This conversation preceded by a few minutes that in which the German
Chancellor, giddy at the sight of the abyss into which Germany was
falling, uttered these celebrated words:
Just for a word, NEUTRALITY, a word which in war times has been so
often disregarded; just for A SCRAP OF PAPER, Great Britain is
going to make war on a kindred nation. At what price would that
compact [neutrality] have been kept? Has the British Government
thought of that?
Sir William Goschen replied, that fear of consequences would hardly be
regarded as an excuse for breaking a solemn engagement. [Official report
of the British Ambassador in Berlin to his Government.]
It is very clear from these documents that Germany had for a long time
premeditated the violation of the neutrality of Belgium and that she has
even reconciled herself to the terrible danger of war with Great
Britain, rather than renounce the advantages she thought she would gain
by not respecting the treaty. In the face of these confessions the
allegations that France wished to violate the neutrality of Belgium, an
allegation supported by no proof, falls to the ground.
To continue the analysis of the German note:
If Belgium consents to assume in the war which is about to commence
the attitude of friendly neutrality toward Germany, the German
Government, on its side, engages, when peace is restored, to
guarantee the integrity of the kingdom and its possessions.
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