hores.

"The most awful responsibility is resting upon the Government in
deciding what to advise the House of Commons to do. We have made
clear to the House, I trust, that we are prepared to face that
situation. We worked for peace up to the last moment, and beyond
the last moment. We believe we shall have the support of the
House at large in proceeding to whatever the consequences may be
and whatever measures may be forced upon us. The country has not
had time to realize the issue. It perhaps is still thinking of
the quarrel between Austria and Serbia, and not the complications
of this matter which have grown out of the quarrel between
Austria and Serbia. Russia and Germany we know are at war. We do
not yet know officially that Austria, the ally whom Germany is to
support, is yet at war with Russia. We know that a good deal has
been happening on the French frontier.

"I believe, when the country realizes what is at stake, what the
real issues are, the magnitude of the impending dangers in the
west of Europe, we shall be supported throughout, not only by the
House of Commons, but by the determination, the resolution, the
courage, and the endurance of the whole country."

_France._ Minister Klobukowski telegraphed from Brussels the answer
the Belgian Government had given on the evening of August 2 to the
German ultimatum:

"The information as to the French movements appeared to them to
be inaccurate in view of the formal assurances which had been
given by France, and were still quite recent; that Belgium, which
since the establishment of her kingdom, has taken every care to
assure the protection of her dignity and of her interests, and
has devoted all her efforts to peaceful development of progress,
strongly protests against any violation of her territory from
whatever quarter it may come: and that, supposing the violation
takes place, she will know how to defend with energy her
neutrality, which has been guaranteed by the powers, and notably
by the King of Prussia."

M. Klobukowski added in a supplementary telegram:

"To the assurance which I gave him that if Belgium appealed to
the guarantee of the powers against the violation of her
neutrality by Germany, France would at once respond to her
appeal, the Minister for Foreign Affairs [M. Davignon]