WHO ARE THE HUNS?

8 The Neutrality of Belgium.
the Hague Tribunal? After the French had stood in their
thousands at Namur and Liège, a verdict such as this—delivered
after many months—would scarcely have set the air a-tremble.
Germany acted according to the necessity of which she
was conscious, and, as the further developments of military
events have shown, in justifiable defence against Belgium, which
had broken its own neutrality, as well as against France, guilty
of the same breach of agreement.
The preservation of the German Empire, in view of the
conditions described below, made it a matter of dire necessity
temporarily to violate the duties of agreement in the matter
of neutrality, which had passed from Prussia to the German
Empire. And this even though Belgium had not broken the
pact of neutrality with respect to the German Empire. The
preservation of its own existence, its integrity, independence
and position as a world power rendered it necessary that the
German Empire should in concrete, adopt the legality of this
condition of necessity.
It would already have sufficed that neutral Belgium had
tolerated the mere threats of France against the existence of
the German Empire, or the mere neglect of such negotiations
as would have been necessary to obviate these threats on the
part of France, in order to give Germany the right to protect
herself against France and Belgium, even though this necessitated
her violating the neutrality of the latter country.
Belgium, under the state of necessity imposed upon the
German Empire would, like Luxemburg, have been fully entitled «
to demand complete compensation for the actions enjoined by
this state of necessity—a right which was repeatedly and expressly
acknowledged by Germany and which she has promptly
and dutifully fulfilled in the case of Luxemburg. Germany was
not obliged in this state of impending danger, first to establish
by discussions this point of international law.
A state of necessity and defence demands deeds and not
words. The compensation for damage committed was a matter
for later and subsequent negotiations, both from the point of
view of material and legal aspects, as applicable to the land
whose neutrality had been broken.
Had not Belgium for more than a generation accustomed