The Progress of the World. 



609 



Europe, what then ? The world can- 

 not think otherwise than that Austria 

 is either determined to flout the pohcy 

 of the open door and equal opportunity 

 or else that, having no clear political 

 ideas, those responsible in Vienna for 

 Austria's destiny have determined to 

 create an "international crisis atmo- 

 sphere," and hope to evolve some possible 

 policy before the sky clears. What is 

 certainly necessary, however, in the 

 interests of Austria's moral position in 

 Europe and of the comity of nations is 

 that she shall clearly define her policy 

 and prove her claims so that the world 

 may be reassured that she is pursuing 

 no merely selfish ends. If Austria's 

 reasons and policy are cogent enough 

 to allow her to mobilise and bring 

 Europe to the brink of Armageddon, 

 they are surely possible of expression. 

 Only Austria can dispel the bewilder- 

 ment of her traditional friends the 

 British people. 



It is not enough that 



What England this COUUtry shall ex- 

 must do. press to Servia, as, we 

 believe, she has done, 

 her desire that a Balkan Customs 

 Union shall be formed. British interests 

 and trade demand that some more de- 

 cisive steps shall be taken to secure for 

 this country an opportunity of enjoying 

 the exceptional or favourable oppor- 

 tunities offered her by Servia and the 

 other Balkan nations. While we can 

 with perfect truth assert that we have 

 no political interest in the settlement of 

 affairs between the Balkan alliance and 

 Turkey, it would be the negation of 

 commercial statesmanship were we 

 wilfully to ignore the fact that in the 

 Balkans there is a great market for 

 British goods and British enterprise. 



While it is probably quite impossible 

 for Servia to separate herself com- 

 pletely from Austria-Hungary's com- 

 mercial activity, there is no question 

 that the present action of Austria- 

 Hungary with regard to Servia has 

 intensified a hundredfold the hatred of 

 Austria, and the determination of Ser- 

 vians to develop commercial relations 

 with other countries. The attitude of 

 Servia is perfectly correct, since M. 

 Pachitch has declared " that Servia will 

 place no obstacle in the way of Austria's 

 commercial expansion, and will not 

 reject her justified economic demands." 

 This, although a fair declaration, is, of 

 course, of no value to Vienna, since it is 

 impossible for her to justify the economic 

 demands which she desires to obtain. 

 The idea of a Customs Union amongst 

 the Balkan League is as gall and worm- 

 wood to the Austrian mind, and this 

 notwithstanding the fact that at the 

 time when King Milan was responsible 

 for the direction of Servian affairs 

 Austria entered into a treaty with Servia 

 agreeing to an eventual territorial in- 

 crease, but did not think it necessary 

 then to stipulate that the Greater Servia 

 must enter into a Customs Union with 

 Austria. 



Italian statesmen should 



What Italy's havc uo hcsitatiou to- 



Poiicy should be. day iu shapiug their 



policy with regard to 

 the new condition of affairs in the 

 Balkans. They have everything to 

 gain and nothing to lose by active 

 friendship with the Balkan League. It 

 is as useful to them that Austria should 

 be barred from an approach to the south 

 of the eastern coast of the Adriatic 

 as it is for us that the advance of the 

 Pan-German ambition towards Egypt 



