th Germany at the expense of France, a
disgrace from which the good name of this country would never
recover.

"The chancellor also in effect asks us to bargain away whatever
obligation or interest we have as regards the neutrality of
Belgium. We could not entertain that bargain either.

"Having said so much it is unnecessary to examine whether the
prospect of a future general neutrality agreement between England
and Germany offered positive advantages sufficient to compensate
us for tying our hands now. We must preserve our full freedom to
act as circumstances may seem to us to require in any such
unfavorable and regrettable development of the present crisis as
the chancellor contemplates.

"You should speak to the chancellor in the above sense, and add
most earnestly that the one way of maintaining the good relations
between England and Germany is that they should continue to work
together to preserve the peace of Europe; if we succeeded in this
object, the mutual relations of Germany and England will, I
believe, be _ipso facto_ improved and strengthened. For that
object his majesty's Government will work in that way with all
sincerity and good will.

"And I will say this: If the peace of Europe can be preserved,
and the present crisis safely passed, my own endeavor will be to
promote some arrangement to which Germany could be a party, by
which she could be assured that no aggressive or hostile policy
would be pursued against her or her Allies by France, Russia, and
ourselves, jointly or separately. I have desired this and worked
for it, as far as I could, through the last Balkan crisis, and,
Germany having a corresponding object, our relations sensibly
improved. The idea has hitherto been too Utopian to form the
subject of definite proposals, but if this present crisis, so
much more acute than any that Europe has gone through for
generations, be safely passed, I am hopeful that the relief and
reaction which will follow may make possible some more definite
rapprochement between the powers than has been possible
hitherto."

Grey telegraphed Ambassador Buchanan at St. Petersburg:

"German Ambassador [Prince Lichnowsky] informs me that German
Government would endeavor to influence Austria, after taking
Belgrade and Serbian ter