4733 I^^ INTERNATIONAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 75 



people of Alsace and North Lorraine to their country. The 

 abstract principle he thought peculiarly awkward in a nation 

 that had made recent annexations of her own." In a state- 

 ment to the English Cabinet he urged that " it cannot be 

 right that the neutral Powers should remain silent, while 

 this principle of consulting the wishes of the population is 

 trampled down, should the actual sentiment of Alsace and 

 Lorraine be such as to render that language applicable."® 

 Morley, Gladstone's biographer, quotes part of a letter sent 

 by Gladstone to Mr. Bright, who was prevented by illness 

 from attending the Cabinet meeting. In this letter Glad- 

 stone writes : 



I send for your private perusal the enclosed mem. which I pro- 

 posed to the cabinet yesterday, but could not induce them to adopt. 

 It presupposes the concurrence of the neutral Powers. They agreed 

 in the opinions, but did not think the expression of them timely. 

 My opinion certainly is that the transfer of territory and inhabi- 

 tants by mere force calls for the reprobation of Europe, and that 

 Europe is entitled to utter it, and can utter it with good effect.^ 



However, Europe did not utter its reprobation, nor did 

 Mr. Bright agree with Gladstone.^" He favored the prin- 

 ciple of territorial inviolability as did Thiers himself who, 

 in 1867, had expressed his views before the French As- 

 sembly to the effect that " the new principle of popular con- 

 sent is an arbitrary principle, very often deceptive, and 

 that at the bottom of it is nothing but a principle of per- 

 turbation when applied to nations. "^^ 



In criticism of a memorandum to the neutral powers the 

 Duke of Argyll, writing to Gladstone, expressed what Mor- 

 ley considers as perhaps the general view. The Duke's 

 stand in the matter of annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by 

 Germany is thus stated by Morley : 



He had himself never argued in favour of the German anne.xa- 

 tion of Alsace and Lorraine, but only against our having any right 

 to oppose it otherwise than by the most friendly dissuasion. The 



8 John M. Morley, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, New 

 York, 1903, vol. ii, pp. 346-347. 

 »Ibid. 

 " Ibid. 

 1^ Quoted from Rivicr, vol. i, p. 211. 



