Page:Turkey, the great powers, and the Bagdad Railway.djvu/236

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
  • [Footnote: March 30, 1911, pleaded with the German Government to be

sympathetic with the position in which Great Britain found herself. No nation with the imperial responsibilities of Great Britain could afford to neglect to take precautionary steps against the possibility of the Bagdad Railway being used as a weapon of offense against Egypt, the Suez Canal, and India. "Complications upon complications," he said, "are certain to arise as a result of the construction of the Bagdad Railway. But we expect of our Government, at the very least, that in the course of protecting the legitimate German economic interests which are involved in the Bagdad Railway, it will leave no stone unturned to prevent the development of Anglo-German hostility over the matter. We want to do everything possible to effect a thorough understanding with England. Only by such a policy can we hope to quiet the fears of British imperialists that the Railway is a menace to the Empire." Stenographische Berichte, XII Legislaturperiode, 2 Session, Volume 266 (1911), pp. 5980c-5984b.]*