Germany advised Austria to demand most humiliating concessions from
Servia, and the resistance of Servia supported by Russia resulted
in war between Germany and Austria on one side, and Servia, Russia,
and her ally France on the other.

For strategical reasons Germany determined to attack France through
Belgium, declaring that the international treaty which bound her to
respect Belgian neutrality was but a "Scrap of Paper." Great
Britain, as one of the signatories to the treaty, protested
against such a violation of good faith, but finding protestation
vain declared war upon Germany on 4 August 1914.

The whole Empire solidly supported the Mother Country and shared
valiantly in all her achievements.

THE RALLY OF THE EMPIRE

Important as were the offers of help, both of men and provisions, which
the self-governing Dominions and the Indian Empire made to the Mother
Country almost immediately after the outbreak of the war, the knowledge
that these great daughter-nations were morally convinced of the justice
of the British cause, was a factor of even more far-reaching importance.
Great as was the necessity of organizing and expanding the Imperial
forces, and thus creating an extra army or armies to reinforce the
British Expeditionary Force in France, urgent as was the need of taking
advantage of the prompt offers of help which came from all parts of the
Empire, the necessity of convincing the self-governing Dominions and the
Empire at large of the righteousness of the cause for which Great
Britain was fighting was more imperative still. For in the long run the
consciousness of the justice of the principles for which a people is
fighting, alone can ensure the massing of material force sufficient to
secure material victory.

Evidence that the case for Great Britain was fully understood and
thoroughly approved, not only by our own peoples, but by the bulk of the
neutral States of the world, was not long in presenting itself. The
Dominions as a whole had satisfied themselves that the British cause was
just, before Sir Edward Grey had made it plain by his speech of August
3rd that the British Government had done everything short of sacrificing
the honour of the country to avoid war. In the words of Sir Richard
McBride, the Premier of British Columbia, "Should it unfortunately
develop that Great Britain is compelled to engage in hostilities, Canada
will automatically