-No. 275. Vol. XLVl.] 



[Novemberj 1912. 



THE 



REVIEW OF REVIEWS 



The Progress of the World. 



Why the War 

 Came. 



London, Nov. 3, 1912. 

 In our last number we 

 declared that we "do 

 not believe that there 

 will be war. ' ' Events have proved us to be 

 WTong, but the fact remains that there 

 should have been no war, and that there 

 need have been none. That there has 

 been war, that the Balkan League has 

 ridden victorious over the heroic, but 

 unavailing, Turk is due in a general 

 degree to the impotence of the Concert 

 of Europe, and in a very special degree 

 to the hopeless incompetence of Sir 

 Edward Grey as a Foreign Minister. 

 There is no ofhce in the Government 

 which demands to so great an extent 

 clearness of vision, directness of action, 

 and a broad understanding of the 

 varying interests and ideals of the 

 different nations of the world. Unless 

 a Foreign Minister is able to show, and 

 show clearly, that he possesses these 

 attributes he is not a Minister, but 

 rather as a blind dog endeavouring to 

 lead a yet blinder man along the path 

 of peace. That Sir Edward Grey has 

 many quahties we do not deny ; that 

 he is not able to lead or direct this 

 country's foreign policy events have 

 proved, and knowing well his inability 



to grasp the situation, conscious of his 

 lack of real international understanding, 

 the British Foreign Minister did nothing 

 when British action alone could have 

 prevented war. For the Balkan 

 League did not want war at the present 

 moment, however grateful the}^ may 

 now be that they had it forced upon 

 them. This fact was clearly shown to 

 Sir Edward Grey beyond any question ; 

 what he apparently failed to grasp 

 was that while the League did not 

 want war, it was ready for it. Had 

 Sir Edward Grey come out boldly and 

 announced that not only was he in 

 favour of reforms in the Turkish 

 provinces, but that this country would 

 associate herself in the carrying out of 

 these reforms, the thing could easily 

 have been done. As a great Mohamme- 

 dan Power and accustomed to adminis- 

 tering mixed populations, we could 

 have helped very materially and with- 

 out laying ourselves open, as would 

 have been the case with another Power, 

 to any suspicion of interested motives. 

 This action would have strengthened 

 the hands of Kiamil Pasha and the 

 saner Turks, while Sofia and Belgrade 

 would have accepted such British action 

 as a sufficient guarantee for reforms. 



