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Show IVAL BOURNE lag afihfitgrylit must be difficult to find an attack more brutal or less provoked than that made in August of this year upon the Belgian peoplhe. But, amid the untold sorrow of the weeks that have paSSCdSnCé tlien,(t1 E Werd eiipilsrg has been privileged to witness a wonderful outburst of courage an which, like the cause that has so purposelessly evoked it, is unparii e e in the history of the nations. And the bravery-0f the Belgian peop c. has been centred and carried to its highest expression in the persop of‘their undaunted sovereign, Albert the First, king of. the Belgians. l\o tribute, therefore, could be more acceptable to our Allies, \vho indeed have made themselves at the cost of immense suffering the very sayiourslof European civilisation, than that which recognises in their King the inspiring force of a resistance to injustice which has won the admiration of the world. By none is that tribute paid more gladly than by the Catholics of England. To them in the sad days of religious strife and persecution Flanders gave a generous hospitality, which with willng hearts they endeavour to repay to-dav. We recall how, in 1561, when the anoient Univers1t1es of our country banished from their halls those who ventured still to maintain the old allegiance to the Holy See, it was at Louvain that the eXiles found a new home of learning, and set up therein two houses, to one of which they gave the name of Oxford, and the other they called Cambridge. llllllllllllr" l In more recent happier times it is in Belgium that so many of our fellowcountrymen have seen for the first time in action the living practice of the Catholic Faith. It is to Belgium again that, often first among foreign lands, they have turned their steps, when they have been brought to understand and to accept anew the authority in spiritual things of the Apostolic See of Rome. Belgium, too, has sent to us successive generations of devoted priests who. in town and country, have laboured with us in gathering in the harvest that has been so plentiful since the second spring. For these reasons, and for many others on which the grateful memories of individuals may dwell, we join in offering to His Majesty King Albert the tribute of our thanks and praise, of our deepest sympathy, and of our fervent prayer that the Divine Ruler of us all may soon restore peace to By THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE I AM invited to add a few words to the tribute of admiration which the compilers of this book desire to lay at the feet of the King of the Belgians. On August 27, when both Houses of Parliament passed unanimously a resolution conveying to His Majesty their sympathy and admiration, I uttered the words which are quoted below. They were but a feeble expression of my sentiments and of the sentiments of those who listened to them, but they were at all events spontaneous and sincere, and all that has happened during the two months which have since elapsed has only served to intensify the feelings which prompted them. W All who are lovers of liberty, all who can appreciate the virtue of self-sacrifice, all who are able to admire patriotism and who entertain respect for treaty obligations, must feel that Belgium has rendered to the civilised world a signal service by what she has done. If she had been inspired by less glorious ideals, if her standard of honour had been less high, it might have been easy for her to evade these responsibilities and to escape the terrible penalties which have fallen upon her through her observance of them. She might have urged that this dispute had arisen over a question which was far removed from her and her interests. She might have dwelt upon her own comparative weakness as compared with the strength of the Great Powers who are engaged in this colossal struggle. She might have urged that events were moving so rapidly that there was not time for her friends to range themselves at her side when the struggle began. She might have dwelt upon the ruinous consequences to herself and to her people of allowing the first act of this drama to be played upon Belgian soil. Bu! she did none of these things. She never faltered in her sense of what she owed to her own position as an independent Stale. When the bribe was oflered to her she knew how to thrust it on one side. She advanced two simple propositions-first, that to accept the German proposal meant the sacrifice of her the Belgian nation, and grant it renewed life and national prosperity far honour as a nation ; second, that she felt able, in case her territory was violated, to defend her own neutrality. [My Lords, no simpler, no more dignified re- (\Ltllmg all that the past has known. joinder could, I venture to say, have been given to the inducements which the IW ; , 3 447Wo‘ By T1113 EARL OF HALSBURY German Government did not hesitate to dangle before Belgium as the price of her dishonour. We know how gallantly Belgium did defend the neutrality of her soil. She has emerged from the struggle bruised but indomitable. llis hhijizs'i‘i' THE KING or THE BELGIANS And I venture to think that she has come out of this, the first phase of a great " lll‘. has honour and eourage~qualities that eagle-plume men's souls and iii them for the fiercest sun that ever melted the weak waxen minds that flutter in the beams of gaudy power." war, with a halo of reputation of which any mighty Empire might well be proud. If we had been merely disinterested spectators of these events the conduct of Belgium would have claimed our applause and our admiration. But we are flvéj not mere spectators. We are the comrades in arms of Belgium, we are her allies, we are associated with her in this vast enterprise, in which our country 23 |