of his Government. Consequently, on that
evening Mr. Lloyd George, during a speech at the Mansion House, apprised
Germany that any attempt to treat us as a negligible factor in the
Cabinet of Nations "would be a humiliation intolerable for a great
country like ours to endure." The tension must have been far more severe
than appeared in the published documents to induce so peace-loving a
Minister to speak in those terms. They aroused a storm of passion in the
German Press; and, somewhat later, a German admiral, Stiege, declared
that they would have justified an immediate declaration of war by
Germany[534]. Certainly they were more menacing than is usual in
diplomatic parlance; but our cavalier treatment by Germany (possibly due
to Bethmann-Hollweg's belief in blunt Bismarckian ways) justified a
protest, which, after all, was less questionable than Germany's
despatching a cruiser to Agadir, owing to the reserve of the French
Foreign Office. Up to July 27 the crisis remained acute; but on that day
the German ambassador gave assurances as to a probable agreement
with France.

[Footnote 534: Rear-Admiral Stiege in _Ueberall_ for March 1912.]

What caused the change of front at Berlin? Probably it was due to a
sharp financial crisis (an unexpected result of the political crisis),
which would have produced a general crash in German finance, then in an
insecure position; and prudence may have counselled the adoption of the
less ambitious course, namely a friendly negotiation with the French for
territorial expansion in their Congo territory in return for the
recognition of their protectorate of Morocco. Such a compromise (which,
as we shall see, was finally arrived at) involved no loss for Germany.
On the contrary, she gained fertile districts in the tropics and left
the French committed to the Morocco venture, which, at great cost to
them, would tend finally to benefit commerce in general, and therefore
that of Germany.

Also, before the end of these discussions there occurred two events
which might well dispose the Kaiser to a compromise with France.
Firstly, as a result of his negotiations with Russia (then beset by
severe dearth) he secured larger railway and trading concessions in
Persia, the compact of August 19 opening the door for further German
enterprises in the Levant. Secondly, on September 29, Italy declared war
on Turkey, partly (it is said) because recent German activity in Tripoli
menaced the ascendancy whic