the duty and high calling of Germany to step forward and strike us down.
Further, the methods by which this operation is to be carried out are clearly defined. Russia need not necessarily be subdued; she must be isolated, for her real interests lie elsewhere, and her face should be turned towards the East. Belgium, Holland and Denmark must be captured or cowed; France is to be crushed. These are the preliminary steps, and when they have been accomplished the final blow is to be levelled at the head of the arch-enemy—namely, ourselves. These are the teachings of the German books. But even if we had never read or studied them, we might have been warned by events. Look at the history of Prussia during the last fifty years. She began by robbing Denmark of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, she smashed Austria in 1866, she fought France in 1870, and filched from her Alsace and Lorraine. Ever since she has been the restless world-intriguer, bullying the weak and seeking to cajole the strong. The telegram to Kruger, the "mailed fist" in China, the visit of the Emperor to Tangier, the "shining armour" in Bosnia, the "Panther" at Agadir—all of these have been links in the chain, direct steps to the finale which we are now witnessing.
Meanwhile we have gone on in our innocence offering to the Germans "naval holidays," "reduction of armaments," and so forth. But to them we are not so stupid as we are perfidious. They take our overtures as a proof not so much of our folly as of our duplicity. In their eyes we are merely the successful burglar who has retired from business, glutted with spoil, and who, in the evening of his days, seeks the protection of the police.
A few of our countrymen have had their eyes opened to the truth, and have preached it to deaf ears. Let us honour them for having done it. Let us honour Lord Roberts in particular, and let us see to it that his warnings are not again thrown away. There is nothing of which I am more proud than this, that during the past five years, although it is not thought wise for a politician to associate himself too closely with the movement for compulsory military training in this country, I have never hesitated in Parliament or out of Parliament to stand by Lord Roberts's side and preach his creed. Had it been accepted, I am convinced that this war would not have taken its present shape. Had the British possessed the forces to throw into the field at the outbreak of hostilities, Belgium
