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The British Government were, therefore, formally right instating that no treaty obligations were binding them with France .But materially the drafting of plans for joint operation betweentwo Great Powers , and the continual consultations regardingsuch operations can be no mere waste of time. If only forthe intimate knowledge to be gained of the military organi-sation of the other side, there is already sufficient ground forearnest intention to co-operate. In order to illustrate the materialimportance of this exchange of letters, it may be stated thatFrance , on the strength of the plan of operation agreed uponwith England , concentrated her fleet in the Mediterranean, leavingthe protection of her channel and atlantic coasts to the English fleet. Did this really imply no obligations not even moral onthe part of England ?

It is sophistical to mislead not only others, but evenoneself. Sir Edward Grey seems to have prided himself at thebeginning of the conflict with full liberty of action which hedid not possess. That is the only explanation of the strange partplayed by Sir Edward Grey , a part which from the very startwas doomed to failure: He wanted to be a mediator where inreality he was a partner .

Whether he intended it or not, the ambiguity of his positionwas bound sooner or later to lead him into insincerity.

One need only refer in the English Blue Book (No. 17) to theanswer which Sir George Buchanan gave at the beginning of thecrisis, i. e. on the 25 th of July, to M. Sazonof when the latter pressedhim fora declaration of England's solidarity with France and Russia :"I said that England could play the rôle of mediator"at Berlin and Vienna to better purpose as friend who,"if her counsels of moderation were disregarded, might"one day be converted into an ally, than if she were to"declare herself Russia 's ally at once."The word of "honest broker" would be ill-applied to a"mediator" of that sort.

Sir Edward Grey had long lost his disinterestedness and innerfreedom in consequence of his "entente" relations with France