Great Britain and the Creation of the League of Nations: Strategy, Politics, and International Organization, 1914-1919 0807813206, 9780807813201

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Great Britain and the Creation o f the League o f Nations

Supplementary Volumes to The Papers o f W oodrow W ilson Arthur S. Link» Editor THE EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Katherine E. Brand Henry Steele Commager, Em eritus John Milton Cooper» Jr. William H. Harbaugh August Heckscher Richard W. Leopold David C. Meams» Em eritus Arthur M . Schlesinger» Jr. A list o f volumes in this series will be found at the back o f the book.

Great Britain and the Creation o f the League o f Nations

,

Strategy Politics, and International Organization, 1 9 1 4 —1 9 1 9

by George W. Egerton

The University o f North Carolina Press C hapel H ill

Copyright © 1 9 78 by The University o f North Carolina Press A ll rights reserved Manufactured in the United States o f America ISB N 0 -8 0 78 -1 320-6 Library o f Congress Catalog Card Number 7 7 -1 7 8 9 7 Library o f Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Egerton, George W Great Britain and the creation o f the League o f Nations. (Supplementary volumes to The papers o f Woodrow Wilson) Bibliography: p. Includes index. i . League o f Nations— Great Britain. 1 . Great Britain— Foreign relations— 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 ) 6 . I. Title. II. Series: Wilson, Woodrow, Pres. U. S., 1 8 5 6 - 1 9 2 4 . Papers : Supplementary volume.

JX197S S G 7E37

ISB N 0 -80 78-1320 -6

77'i7897

For M ary Trevelyan and Friends at International Students House London

Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction

1 2

3 4

5

ix

xi

War and Liberalism : The Birth o f the League o f Nations Idea War and Diplom acy: G rey and the League Idea , 1 9 1 4 —1 9 1 6 War and Ideology: The League o f Nations Movement, 1 9 1 7 CeciVs War: Searching for a Policy; 1 9 1 8

63

War

Peace: Preparing fo r the Peace Conference

6 War N o M ore: Drafting the Covenant

no

7

The Peacemakers at War: Revising the Covenant 14 1

8

War N o M ore fo r Ten Years: Retreat from the Covenant 17 0

9

Dilemmas o f Security Notes

20 7

Bibliography Index

261

239

200

81

3 24 44

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express gratitude to die following persons and institutions for permission to use copyright material under their control: The Controller o f Her M ajesty's Stationery Office (Crown copyright material in the Public Record Office, London); the M ar­ quess o f Lothian (papers o f Philip Kerr, i ith Marquess o f Lothian); the Hon. M rs. Butterwick and the Dowager Viscountess Davidson (papers o f Lord Willoughby H. Dickinson); Captain Stephen Roskill, R.N . (papers o f Lord Hankey); A. J. P. Taylor and the House o f Lords Record Office (papers o f Lloyd George); Audrey Davis, secre­ tary, League o f Nations Union (records o f the League o f Nations Union); Gordon Phillips, archivist and researcher, the Times (pa­ pers o f Wickham Steed, Arthur Willert, and Lord N orthdiffe); Yale University Library (papers o f E. M . House and Sir William Wise­ man); and Professor A. K. S. Lambton (papers o f Lord Robert Cecil). Agnes Headlam-Morley provided information on the career o f her father; The Right Hon. Philip Noel-Baker kindly granted two interviews; the late Sir J. R. M . Butler discussed with me his role in the creation of the league and showed me papers in his possession; and Sir Dennis Proctor made G. Lowes Dickinson's autobiography available to me before its publication in 19 73. I am indebted to Harold I. Nelson, Michael G. Fry, James Barros, Henry R. Winkler, Lawrence E. Gelfand, Arthur Walworth, and Douglas Goold for comments on various stages and portions o f the manuscript. A spedal debt is owed to Arthur Link. Research for this book was made possible by funds from the Canada Council and support from die University o f British Co­ lumbia. tx

Introduction

Recent years have seen a wealth o f scholarly publication on British foreign policy o f the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a period during which British statesmen responded to manifold chal­ lenges to the security o f the home islands and die overseas empire and which culminated in the Great War. The themes o f imperial ri­ valries, naval competition, continental commitments, and dominion relations have been analyzed by historians in light o f the copious documentation now available. The politics and diplomacy o f the w ar years and peacemaking have attracted many students o f British history. The result o f this new scholarship has been a major enlarge­ ment o f our knowledge about Britain's position and role in world politics o f this period, as well as the domestic underpinnings o f her foreign policy. There are, o f course, gaps in the historical record and there w ill always be room for revision and changing insight. One such gap concerns the question o f international organization debated in wartime British politics and the role o f the British government in the creation o f the League o f Nations. The American part in die creation o f the league, particularly the dramatic role o f President Wilson, has been amply chronicled by historians. There remain, however, important uncertainties concerning the British side o f this venture, most specifically the role o f Lloyd George and the coalition government that he headed. Can we accept the assertions o f Lloyd George that he and his government were consistent in their devo­ tion to the league and entitled to major credit for its creation?1 xi

x ii

Introduction

Ray Stannard Baker grouped Lloyd George with Clemenceau in the conspiracy o f the old order against Wilson, the league, and the New Diplomacy.2 Frank R Walters, author o f the standard history o f the league and a minor British participant in 19 19 , argues that there were those in his government's military and diplomatic ranks who strongly opposed the project and that "Lloyd George as Prime Minister cared nothing about the idea o f a League."3 Lord Robert Cecil, leader o f the British delegation on the League o f Nations Commission at Paris, later argued that although the prime minister officially supported the league, his approval was always "ch illy," and he regarded it "a s o f secondary importance."4 Does Henry W inkler's conclusion from evidence available in 19 52 still stand, that the covenant, projecting a limited league, can "safely be said to have reflected the official British position in many o f its most im­ portant aspects” ?5 This study, building upon recent scholarship and utilizing new documentation, will examine the wartime debate in Britain on the question o f international organization, analyze the attitudes and policies o f government leaders, and reassess the contribution o f the British government to the creation o f the League o f Nations. The analysis is placed in the context o f the larger debate on British strategy that preceded the war and underlay much o f the war-aims debate and planning for future peace and security. Most government leaders andadvisors h o p cd tafash io n ji league o f nationvthat would complement tradirinnal British strategies,'w h eth er based-oojiayal hegemony and imperial strength or on a continental commitment.to uphold the European baian ceirf'fow er, and afeefacilitate-Anglo-American cooperation in future world politics. At the same time, the league idea, with its immediate origins in the nineteenth-century peace movement and the prewar politics o f British radicalism and dissent, presented a_diiect challenge to tradi­ tional strategies and interestsTTorlfTproponents, the league project offered Britain fhg_çhance to surm ountlhe inadequacies and dan­ gers o f her traditional strategies and Uy the .foundations for-world peace and British security ? npw