ines and held them, together with the Entente Ministers and
subjects, as hostages: whether by any of those acts he might not have
escaped this final blow, was now of small account: though the point
provides matter for very interesting speculation. Now, with his troops
and arms bottled up in the Peloponnesus and his people reduced by
starvation to helplessness, all chance of escape was cut off. A
pitiful situation, no doubt, but more pitiful had he attempted
resistance. In such event, the Powers would immediately declare that a
state of war existed {193} and France might acquire a permanent footing
by right of conquest.[18]

Nevertheless, two only of the statesmen assembled, M. Zaimis and M.
Stratos, pronounced in favour of submission. The rest were against it.
True, they argued, Greece completely disarmed could offer no effective
resistance to the armies and fleets which hemmed her in on every side.
Yet it were better that the King should let violence be used against
him, better that he should be made the Powers' prisoner, than yield.
His hopes of sparing Greece greater calamities by his abnegation were
vain. No calamity could be greater than that which would be produced
by an acceptance of M. Jonnart's Ultimatum. They recalled all the
encroachments upon her neutrality, all the infringements of her
sovereignty, to which Greece had submitted unresistingly, trusting to
the Allies' solemn promises. And how had they kept those promises?
After the violation of so many pledges, how was it possible to put
faith in M. Jonnart's assurances? If the French troops pursued their
march into the country, imposed upon it Venizelos by force, dragged it
into the war, who could stop them? Better perish without dishonour.

Such, in substance, were the arguments used. The King remained
unshaken. "We have no right to doubt the good faith of M. Jonnart," he
said. Despite past experience, the man who was perpetually accused of
having no scruple about breaking his word, was still slow to believe
that others could break theirs. He made all present promise that they
would use their utmost endeavours to have his decision accepted by the
people, so that no disturbance might aggravate a situation already
sufficiently menacing. They all left the Council Chamber in tears.[19]

In the afternoon a Cabinet meeting took place under the presidency of
the King, who, quite unmoved by the objections and entreaties of his
Ministers, persisted