The reason why Germany would not agree was stated very frankly by Herr von Jagow, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, to Sir Edward Goschen, our Ambassador in Berlin; and it is recorded in the second “White Paper” that we published.  The attitude of the British Government throughout has been to endeavor to preserve the neutrality of Belgium, and we never thought of sending troops to Belgium until Germany had invaded it and Belgium had appealed for assistance to maintain the international treaty.

We have known for some years past that in Holland, in Denmark, and in Norway the Germans have inspired the apprehension that, if England was at war with Germany, England would violate the neutrality of those countries and seize some of their harbors.  This allegation is as baseless as the allegation about our intention to violate the neutrality of Belgium, and events have shown it to be so.  But it seems to be a rule with Germany to attribute to others the designs that she herself entertains; as it is clear now that, for some long time past, it has been a settled part of her strategic plans to attack France through Belgium.  A statement is inclosed, which was issued by us on Oct. 14 last, dealing with this point.

     This memorandum and its inclosures should provide ample
     material for a reply to the German statements.

     Foreign Office, Nov. 9, 1914.

* * * * *

Belgian Official Denials.

Here is inclosed a copy of the note of Aug. 3 sent by M. Davignon, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Herr von Below Saleske, the German Minister at Brussels, included in the Belgian “Gray Paper,” and printed in full in THE NEW YORK TIMES of Oct. 18 and reprinted in THE TIMES’S pamphlet of the war’s diplomatic papers.  This is the note expressing the “profound and painful surprise” caused to King Albert’s Government by the German invitation to it to abandon Belgian neutrality and denying that France had, as alleged by Germany, manifested any such intention.

A second inclosure gives this clipping from The London Times of Sept. 30: 

     OFFICIAL STATEMENT.

The German press has been attempting to persuade the public that if Germany herself had not violated Belgian neutrality, France or Great Britain would have done so.  It has declared that French and British troops had marched into Belgium before the outbreak of war.  We have received from the Belgian Minister of War an official statement which denies absolutely these allegations.  It declares, on the one hand, that “before Aug. 3 not a single French soldier had set foot on Belgian territory,” and, again, “it is untrue that on Aug. 4 there was a single English soldier in Belgium.”  It adds: 

“For long past Great Britain knew that the Belgian Army would oppose by force a ‘preventive’ disembarkation of British