Page:Diplomacy and the War (Andrassy 1921).djvu/133

 any support of arms thereby, I considered nevertheless that this step was inevitable.

Cavour renounced the traditional seat of the dynasty in 1859, Savoy; and also the birthplace of Garibaldi, Nice, in order to create the Italian union. In the course of the war, Turkey gave back to Bulgaria those territories which Turkey had only recently acquired in order to assure herself of a free hand during the war that she had commenced. And should not we also have made sacrifices in order to be able to defend our existence?

I felt no confidence that we would be able to meet another foe, and Italy's entry into the war seemed to me all the more dangerous as I was certain that Roumania would follow her example simultaneously.

In the first instance, it would have been our duty to make territorial concessions only in case we could thereby secure Italy's active co-operation, or if our victories resulted in rearranging the continental balance of power in such a way that Italy would have ground for satisfaction. At the same time, we should not have rejected Italy's demands, even if she had insisted upon actual handing over of the territory in question. This statement seems obvious when it is considered that our existence trembled in the balance. We should even have displayed inclination and goodwill, and we should have avoided, by careful circumspection, giving the impression that we were only following the line of least resistance, and that we were only intending to give way to superior force and would entertain thoughts of revenge in case victory fell to our lot.