of their own folk and homes, but, necessarily by the circumstances of the case, for the protection of Britain.
May Britain then discover her old spirit—the spirit that in the past animated the nation that supported Wellington and Nelson, Cromwell and Blake, and Elizabeth and Drake, and made this country and her Empire of all other nations of the world the land of liberty and the advance guard, throughout the earth, of political enlightenment and freedom.
It is the province of this History to record the fashion in which Britain, in particular, will do her duty in this great war. The task undertaken is and must be great, but a genuine effort will be made to deal with it in a manner worthy of its subject. The operations of all the belligerents on sea and land will be described in considerable detail, and also in popular language and style, so that the progress of the war both as a whole and in its special incidents, such as particular battles, may be readily followed.
A full account will also be given of the diplomatic and other political movements which preceded and led up to the outbreak of hostilities. Special stress will be laid upon this part of the History, for the justification for the war demands clear and precise statements. So, too, the History will include an account of the settlement concluded at the close of the war.
But there is one thing which will not be lost sight of. For some time before the war broke out a belief had been gradually extending and strengthening that modern warfare of any magnitude between the Great Powers was now impossible, in view of economic interdependence among the nations. Accordingly it will be our duty very carefully to set out the economic, i.e. the industrial, financial, and commercial, conditions prevailing at the time of the commencement of the war, and note the effect of the war thereon, the measures taken as a consequence of that effect, the result of those measures, and generally the result of the war, when concluded, upon those conditions. In dealing with this part of the History, the position of the wage-earning class will be considered equally with that of the capitalist.
So the History will trace the diplomatic historical prelude to the war, will describe the armed warfare, and also the economic struggle, and will give an account of the final results and ultimate settlement.
- W. STANLEY MACBEAN KNIGHT.
September, 1914.
