Since, however, the Queen of Italy and the
wife of the Commander in Chief of the Russian forces are sisters, and
since it was in the interest of the Allies to keep Italy neutral, it is
not unreasonable to assume that an exchange of opinion took place
between Italy and the Allies concerning the conditions under which Italy
would remain neutral.
If the actual opening of hostilities could be so managed that Germany
could be called the aggressor, then Italy probably declared that she
would not enter the war. This is a very important phase of the case, and
the omission from Sir Edward Grey's "White Paper" of all dispatches
dealing with Italian neutrality is much to be regretted.
Since we are dealing with the Italian dispatches here, it may be
advisable to consider at once all the communications which are published
as having passed between Sir Edward Grey and the British Ambassador, Sir
Rennell Rodd, in Rome. They are numbered 19, (perhaps 28,) 29, 35, 36,
38, 49, 57, 63, 64, 80, 81, 86, 92, 100, and 106, of which the important
numbers are 38, 57, 64, 80, and 86.
On July 23 Sir Edward Grey was informed that "the gravity of the
situation lay in the conviction of the Austro-Hungarian Government that
it was absolutely necessary for their prestige, after the many
disillusions which the turn of events in the Balkans has occasioned, to
score a definite success.
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