BRITAIN AND FRANCE.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 154, 5 August 1914, Page 7

BRITAIN AND FRANCE.

HONOUR AND OBLIGATION.

SIR EDWARD GREY'S SPEECH. There was intense excitement at Westminster, and dense crowds thronged Parliament Square. Double rows of chairs were placed on the floor of the House of Commons, which is unprecedented since the introduction of the Home Rule Bill in the 'eighties. Sir Edward Grey asked the House to approach the crisis from the viewpoint of British interests, honour, and obligations. He could assure the House that until yesterday the Government had not given any country the promise of more than diplomatic support. Britain, moreover, had not construed anything previously done by other Powers as restricting her freedom to decide her action in the present crisis. Franco was involved under a definite alliance with Russia. That obligation did not apply to Britain, as she was not a party to the Franco-Russian Alliance.