Book account

England's Justification.
England's justification rests upon the solemn Treaty of 1839, whereby
Prussia, France, England, Austria, and Russia "became the guarantors" of
the "perpetual neutrality" of Belgium, as reaffirmed by Count Bismarck,
then Chancellor of the North German Confederation, on July 22, 1870, and
as even more recently reaffirmed in the striking fact disclosed in the
Belgian "Gray Book."
In the Spring of 1913 a debate was in progress in the Budget Committee
of the Reichstag with reference to the Military Budget. In the course of
the debate the German Secretary of State said:
"The neutrality of Belgium is determined by international
conventions, _and Germany is resolved to respect these
conventions_."
To confirm this solemn assurance, the Minister of War added in the same
debate:
"Belgium does not play any part in the justification of the
German scheme of military reorganization. The scheme is
justified by the position of matters in the East. _Germany
will not lose sight of the fact that Belgian neutrality is
guaranteed by international treaties.


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