’If the Servian Government misunderstands us here, this is done deliberately, for it must be familiar with the difference between “enquete judiciaire” and simple police researches.  As it desired to escape from every control of the investigation which would yield, if correctly carried out, highly undesirable results for it, and as it possesses no means to refuse in a plausible manner the co-operation of our officials (precedents for such police intervention exist in great number), it tries to justify its refusal by showing up our demands as impossible.’[176]

It would have been fairer to Servia to assume that there had been a genuine misunderstanding, and that the explanation here given by Austria might prove satisfactory to Servia, as the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs suggested.[177] The persistent refusal of Austria-Hungary to permit any discussion on the basis of the Servian reply goes far to justify Sir Maurice de Bunsen’s impression

’that the Austro-Hungarian note was so drawn up as to make war inevitable, that their Government are fully resolved to have war with Servia, that they consider their position as a Great Power to be at stake, and that until punishment has been administered to Servia it is unlikely that they will listen to proposals of mediation’.[178]

Notes: 

[Footnote 57:  Correspondence respecting the European Crisis, No. 2.  Sir E. Goschen to Sir E. Grey, July 22, 1914.]

[Footnote 58:  German White Book, p. 4.]

[Footnote 59:  Correspondence, No. 10.  Sir E. Grey to Sir F. Bertie, July 24.]

[Footnote 60:  Correspondence, No. 18.  Sir H. Rumbold to Sir E. Grey, July 25.]

[Footnote 61:  Ibid.  No. 32.  Sir M. de Bunsen to Sir E. Grey, July 26.  See also German White Book, p. 5.]

[Footnote 62:  Ibid.  No. 54.  M. Sazonof to Count Benckendorff, July 15/28, 1914 (communicated by Count Benckendorff, July 28).]

[Footnote 63:  Correspondence, No. 139.  Sir G. Buchanan to Sir E. Grey, August 1.]

[Footnote 64:  Ibid.  No. 141.  Sir M. de Bunsen to Sir E. Grey, August 1.]

[Footnote 65:  Ibid.  No. 71.  Sir E. Goschen to Sir E. Grey, July 28.]

[Footnote 66:  Correspondence, No. 94.  Sir M. de Bunsen to Sir E. Grey, July 29.]

[Footnote 67:  German White Book, p. 4 (see infra Appendix I).]

[Footnote 68:  Ibid.  No. 36.  Sir E. Grey to Sir F. Bertie, Sir H. Rumbold, and Sir R. Rodd, July 26.]

[Footnote 69:  Correspondence, No. 43.  Sir E. Goschen to Sir E. Grey, July 27.]

[Footnote 70:  Ibid.  No. 60.  Sir E. Goschen to Sir E. Grey, July 28.]

[Footnote 71:  Ibid.  No. 84.  Sir E. Grey to Sir E. Goschen, July 29.]

[Footnote 72:  p. 8 and Exhibit 12 (see infra Appendix I).]

[Footnote 73:  Correspondence, No. 11.  Sir E. Grey to Sir II.  Rumbold, July 24.]