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Edward Grey, is the admission that the First Lord of the Admi-ralty had upon his own initiative, already on the 24 th of July,inhibited the demobilisation of the fleet concentrated for manoeuvres.And yet more important is that Sir Edward Grey on the 27 th ofJuly took the opportunity to inform the French Chargé d'Affairesof this until then concealed measure, explaining it by the con-ciliatory attitude of Servia and Russia . A similar communicationwas made by Grey on the same day to the Russian Ambassador.Grey informed Buchanan (Blue Book No. 47):

"I have been told by the Russian Ambassador that"in German and Austrian circles impression prevails that"in any event we would stand aside. His Excellency"deplored the effect that such an impression must produce.

"This impression ought, as I have pointed out, to be"dispelled by the orders we have given to the First Fleet,"which is concentrated, as it happens, at Portland , not"to disperse for manoeuvre leave. But I explained to"the Russian Ambassador that my reference to it must"not be taken to mean that anything more than diplomatic"action was promised."It is easy to understand the kind of inference which, notwith-standing the reservation made by Sir Edward, was naturally drawnby the Russian and French Governments from the maintenance ofthe mobile state of the English First Fleet, and from the officialnotification of that fact. The action of the First Lord of theAdmiralty and its sanction and publication by the British Cabinetweighed more heavily than any cautious wording.

In the course of the two following days the war party in theCabinet must have gained more and more the upper-hand.For on the 29 th of July Sir Edward Grey took a step which wasbound to finally remove any doubt concerning England's stand bythe side of her Entente partners. On that day Grey had a conver-sation with Prince Lichnowsky on which he himself reports to theEnglish Ambassador at Berlin (Blue Book No. 89):

"After speaking to the German Ambassador this"afternoon about the European situation, I said that I wished"to say to him, in a quite private and friendly way, some-

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