June 28—A Fateful Day In History.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19108, 28 June 1930, Page 17 (Supplement)

June 28—A Fateful Day In History .

To-Day Is Sixteenth Anniversary Of Serajevo Murder .

{Written for the “ Star ” by j

J.K.S.)

JUNE 28.—-Sixteen years ago to-night, a bomb and a few revolver shots had given every Chancellory in Europe an attack of “ nerves.” Strangely enough, to the newspapers and to the general public the “Serajevo murders” w r ere little more than a nine days’ wonder. It was not until a month had passed that the magazine of international pplitics blew up Europe was curiously peaceful at that time—sixteen years ago. People w’ere talking about a reduction of ar r maments or were reading books pointing out that international relationship through commerce and finance had become so close that war was impossible. Years previously, when Mr William Le Queux had written "The Invasion of 1910”—a book describing with gruesome detail an imaginary descent by the Germans on England—people on both sides of the North Sea had raised their hands in righteous horror at the idea. The world though* it had grown accustomed to peace

Serajevo. Before June 28, 1914, no one outside the Austrian Empire troubled much about the capital of Bosnia People remembered tfhat in 1908 there had been considerable unpleasantness between Austria and Serbia when Austria had filched the half-Asiatic provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the crumbling Turkish Empire, but to the man in the street the intrigues of south-eastern Europe meant nothing. Then the heir to the Austrian throne announced his intention of visiting Serajevo.

The Archduke Francis Ferdinand hadbeen inspecting troops in the neighbourhood and his visit was a military occasion, his main object being to inspect troops in the capital. He motoreu from the railway station towards the Filopovitch Parade, where the inspection was to be held. On the way, a black package fell on the hood of the Archduke’s car. He picked it up and tossed it into the street, where it exploded in front of a second car, injuring the occupants and several spectators. T. he Archduke, who was accompanied by his wife, arrived at the Town Hall and demanded hotly of the embarrassed Mayor, “What is the use of your speeches? I come here to pay you a visit, and T am greeted with bombs. It is outrageous!” After the formal welcome and reply had been made the Mayor, the Governor, the Chief of Police and the Duchess tried to dissuade the Arch duke from driving through the city again But he insisted on motoring to the hospital to visit the Governor's •iide He camp , a victim of the hnm> ■’xpl-sion.

Tn a narrow street a second bomb was thrown—by a Bosnfen student named Prinzip. The bomb did not explode, and Prinzip stepped forward and fired three shots from an automatic pistol. The first hit the Arch-

duke: the second and third his wife, who had risen to protect him. Both victims lost consciousness. At the Governor’s palace they rallied sufficiently to receive the last sacrament, but within an hour both were dead. The . Austrian Government laid the blame for the crime at Serbia’s door The assassination was said to have been plotted in Serbia, and the bomb made at a Serbian arsenal. The Serbian Government, however, has never been implicated. But the evidence was sufficient for Austria—jealous of her small southern neighbour’s rise since the Balkan Wars—to press demands so humiliating that no Government could accept them. Behind Austria was the Kaiser, declaring furiously that the Serbs must be wiped out. We may b-\ ard the guess hen the passions of the conflict hav* r aded, it will be Germany thflt will be most blamed for bringing it about.” says 11. G. Wells. “And she will be blamed not because she was morally or intellectual! v very different from

her neighbours, but because . „ . all the great States of Europe were in a condition of aggressive nationalism and drifting towards war. . . Germany fell into the pit first, and she floundered deepest.” The Teutonic nations had been seeking to push their influence through the Balkans to the Aegean, and through Turkey to the East. The annihilation of Serbia was the first step. An attack on Serbia would Slavonic Russia, who in turn was closely bound up in the Triple Entente with France and England. But, a.s the Kaiser wrote, it was “now or never." The age-old rivalry of Teuton and Slav would provoke the conflict that would mean world-power or downfall. The Sen’pvo murders constituted the per* on **-* bpne *he iu c rific<»t ; '-'n f o*that Great Britain was suffering fr-m senile decay and astigmatism She had to keep one eye on the suffragettes and the other on Ireland. Therefore, reasoned Germania, Britannia would not enter a European war until her

own troubles, were fettled. . The Teutons were ready; the Slavs were not. With swift strokes France could be wiped out; Russia could be dealt with at leisure. Then the Central Powers would face Britain—a nation rent by bitter factions and with an Empire ready to fall like a house of cards. On July 24, came the ultimatum to Serbia. Clearly designed so that no Government could consent to its terms, clauses V. and VI. indicate the nature of the demands.

“V. To accept the collaboration of Serbia with representatives of the Austro-Hungarian Government in the suppression of the subversive movement directed against the territorial integrity of the monarchy. * ' “VI. To take judicial proceedings against accessories to the plot of June 28 who are on Serbian territory. Delegates of the Austro-Hungarian Government will take part in the investigations relating thereto.” In the British House of Commons on July 24 there was a long debate on the Irish problem: ‘‘The discussion had reached its inconclusive end,” says Winston Churchill, “ and the Cabinet was about to separate when the quiet, grave tones of Sir Edward Grey’s voice were heard reading a document ... It was the Austrian Note to Serbia . . It seemed impossible that any State in the world could accept it . . . The parishes of Fermanagh and Tyrone faded back into the mists and squalls immediately, but by perceptible gradations, to fall and grow upon the map of Europe.” The Result. The last stages of the pre-war drama moved rapidly from July 24 to August 4. The mobilisation of Germany, j France and Russia; the “scrap of paper” incident; the attacks on Serbia and Belgium, in spite of Sir Edward Grey’s struggle for peace. Finally, the British ultimatum to Germany, followed by the declaration of war. ‘‘All Europe remembers the strange atmosphere of those eventful sunny August days, the end of the Armed Peace. . In Britain, particularly, for some weeks the peace-time routine continued in a slightly dazed fashion . . There was much talk and excitement when the newspapers came, but it was the talk and excitement of spectators who have no vivid sense of participation in the catastrophe that was presently to involve them all.” (H. G. Wells). So commenced ‘‘the Great Waste”— the inevitable result of the race for armaments between European imperialisms The “sabre rattling” and “mailed r t” altitude of the German Emperor nd war lords hastened it. But the spark in the powder magazine was ignited in Serajevo. Whether the tinder came from Belgrade or from Vienna itself, that spark was the dramatic murder of the Austrian Archduke and his wife, on June 28, 1914. A .