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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic
Majesty's Government.]
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EASTERN EUROPE.
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[July 27.]
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CONFIDENTIAL.
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SECTION 3.
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[34608]
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No.
1.
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Sir E. Grey to Sir M. de Bunsen.
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| Sir, |
Foreign Office, July 27, 1914.
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| COUNT MENSDORFF told me by instruction
to-day that the Servian Government had not accepted the demands which
the Austrian Government were obliged to address to them in order to
secure permanently the most vital Austrian interest. Servia showed
that she did not intend to abandon her subversive aims, tending towards
continuous disorder in the Austrian frontier territories and their
final disruption from the Austrian Monarchy. Very reluctantly, and
against their wish, the Austrian Government were compelled to take
more severe measures to enforce a fundamental change of the attitude
of enmity pursued up to now by Servia. As the British Government knew,
the Austrian Government had for many years endeavoured to find a way
to get on with their turbulent neighbour, though this had been made
very difficult for them by the continuous provocations of Servia.
The Sarajevo murder had made clear to every one what appalling consequences
the Servian propaganda had already produced, and what a permanent
threat to Austria it involved. We would understand that the Austrian
Government must at last consider that the moment had arrived to obtain,
by means of the strongest pressure, guarantees for the definite suppression
of the Servian aspirations and for the security of peace and order
on the south-eastern frontier of Austria. As the peaceable means to
this effect were exhausted, the Austrian Government must at last appeal
to force. They had not taken this decision without reluctance. Their
action, which had no sort of aggressive tendency, could not be represented
otherwise than as an act of self-defence. Also they thought that they
would serve a European interest if they prevented Servia from being
henceforth an element of general unrest such as she had been for the
last ten years. The high sense of justice of the British nation and
of British statesmen could not blame the Austrian Government if the
latter defended by the sword what was theirs, and cleared up their
position with a country whose hostile policy had forced upon them
for years measures so costly as to have gravely injured Austrian national
prosperity. Finally, the Austrian Government, confiding in their amicable
relations with us, felt that they could count on our sympathy in a
fight that was forced on them, and on our assistance in localising
the fight, if necessary. |
| Count Mensdorff added on his own account
that, as long as Servia was confronted with Turkey, Austria never
took very severe steps because of her adherence to the policy of the
free development of the Balkan States, but that, now that Servia had
doubled her territory and population without any Austrian interference,
the repression of Servian subversive aims was a matter of self-defence
and self-preservation on Austria's part. He reiterated that Austria
had no intention of taking Servian territory or aggressive designs
against Servian territory. |
| I said that I could not understand
the construction put by the Austrian Government upon the Servian reply,
and I told Count Mensdorff the substance of the conversation that
I had had with the German Ambassador this morning about that reply. |
| Count Mensdorff admitted that, on
paper, the Servian reply might seem to be satisfactory; but the Servians
had refused the one thing - the co-operation of Austrian officials
and police - which would be a real guarantee that in practice the
Servians would not carry on their subversive campaign against Austria. |
| I said that it seemed to me as if
the Austrian Government believed that, even after the Servian reply,
they could make war upon Servia anyhow, without risk of bringing Russia
into the dispute. If they could make war on Servia and at the same
time satisfy Russia, well and good; I could take a holiday to-morrow;
but, if not, the consequences would be incalculable. I pointed out
to him that I quoted this phrase from an expression of the views of
the German Government. I feared that it would be expected in St. Petersburgh
that the Servian reply would diminish the tension, and now, when Russia
found that there was increased tension, the situation would become
increasingly serious. Already the effect on Europe was one of anxiety.
I pointed out that our fleet was to have dispersed to-day, but we
had felt unable to let it disperse. We should not think of calling
up reserves at this moment, and there was no menace in what we had
done about our fleet; but, owing to the possibility of a European
conflagration, it was impossible for us to disperse our forces at
this moment. I gave this as an illustration of the anxiety that was
felt. It seemed to me that the Servian reply already involved the
greatest humiliation to Servia that I had ever seen a country undergo,
and it was very disappointing to me that the reply was treated by
the Austrian Government as if it were as unsatisfactory as a blank
negative. |
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