does not realize that, as a result of the teaching of—I said a generation, but of two generations—Germany stands united behind this policy as one man; and that for us to build on hopes of disunion, on thoughts that they may break up amongst themselves, is to cozen ourselves with false hopes.
We must win by our own right arm, and none other. [Cheers.] And let us understand for what we are fighting. The actual declaration of war was delivered because, in defiance of her pledged word, Germany broke the neutrality of Belgium, and invaded Belgian territory. We were guarantors with Germany of Belgian neutrality, and, as a nation of honour, we could do none other than make good the word we had pledged. [Applause.] That was the immediate occasion of war, and if it had been none other it would have been a sufficient cause of war, and would have justified the war to all our people here and across the seas. But we should little understand how much is at stake for us, if we thought we were merely embarked in a chivalrous crusade on behalf of another nation, without our interests being engaged. I saw the other day that a Minister had given an interview in which—I think it must have been by accident—he had used language which might lead any one to suppose that if the Germans had invaded France by another route than by the neutral territory of Luxemburg and Belgium they might have done so freely for all we should have cared. That is not so. [Cheers.] And in these days careless use of language of that kind is very mischievous. We are fighting because our word was pledged, but if our word had not been pledged to Belgium we should still be fighting—for our lives. Read our history; judge it as you will; with all its mistakes and all its glories there are two things that as long as we count in the world, we shall never submit to without a struggle. We shall never see the independence of the Low Countries threatened or invaded with indifference, or with inaction on our part. But neither shall we see an effort on the part of one Power, in Mr. Asquith's words, "to overbear and to dominate the European world." For those causes we fought against Philip of Spain; we fought against Louis XIV; and we fought against Napoleon; and when those causes are at stake we shall fight again as long as we have any life as a nation and any power as an Empire. [Applause.]
Putting Belgium altogether on one side, what would have happened if we had stood aloof in selfish isolation, and to think in that way we should have been safe? We should have reaped
