In the House of Commons on Monday Sir Edward Grey
made his promised statement on foreign affairs—a statement which had been awaited with almost unexampled curiosity and anxiety. He announced that he would deal exclusively with Anglo-German relations, and in the first part of his speech described the negotiations between himself and the German Ambassador in July. He supplied what he called the omissions " in Herr von Kiderlen-Waechter's statement before the Budget Committee of the Reichstag. The action of the German Government in publishing this statement without consultation with the British Foreign Office was unusual ; he did not complain of that, but it laid upon him the duty of making a complete explanation of what had occurred. The British Government had not, as had been said, neglected to make any response, from July 1st till the day of Mr. Lloyd George's speech, to the German communication of the fact that the 'Panther' had been sent to Agadir. On July 3rd Sir Edward Grey told the German Ambassador that the send- ing of the ship to a closed port was so grave a matter that he could not discuss it till he had consulted the Cabinet. The next day a Cabinet meeting was duly held, and immediately afterwards Sir Edward Grey informed the Ambassador that a wew situation had been created by the mission of the Panther,' an that Great Britain was obliged to take into consideration her own interests as well as her obligations to France.
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