The object of this volume is to brLag together the official corre- spondence pubhshed by the various European Governments relating to the outbreak of the present war. The correspondence thus collected is not new, though official translations of the Serbian and Austrian Books now appear for the first time. Such a compilation of documents for the most part already widely known may appear to need some justification.
The work has been undertaken, not in order to excite new attention,
but rather for the benefit of students of history and poUtics.
days historical evidence is apt to become rapidly overlaid by a mass of commentary and criticism through which the student has to dig back to the original sources. This volume is mainly designed to facihtate such work.