{ "system": "GoGuides Verified Text", "api_version": "verified-text-v1", "status": "ok", "response_type": "verified_text_record", "source_key": "britannica_1926", "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)", "license_code": "public_domain", "attribution": null, "license_url": null, "chunk_id": "1926:geometry:d99c314bddc5", "title": "GEOMETRY", "section": null, "hash_alg": "sha256", "hash_sha256": "187b90c91fa0026dee9000f1185ed9918b7b4ac0169e1ac1b9aa2dcd0edd9b71", "normalizer": { "name": "ggnorm", "version": "1.0" }, "verified_text": "the usual history of the develop- ment of the kleas of a student of geometry in england to-day is somewhat as follows: after a more or less prolonged (and highly desirable) course of experimental geometry, very largely (and undesirably) limited to a plane, in which a line is a mark made on paper, and a straight line is a mark which agrees with a phys- ical object (a ruler), the student passes through a course in which he is shown that there is a logical connection between the geo- metrical conceptions his experience may have led him to form. i. foundations at first, and for a long time, often permanently, lines and cir- cles are regarded as objects of perception and, for instance, there is no hesitation in accepting the idea of two lines being in the same direction, and it appears intuitive that two points must havea certain distance, a result of familiarity with the rigid bodies which the student has had put before him. this teaching, after a certain knowledge has been obtained of the detailed re- lations of circles and lines, often painfully acquired and difficult to remember, is continued on the same plan, for the so-called geometrical properties of conic sections, though these are apt to appear at first as much less concrete than circles. after this, as soon as some facility with algebra‘cal com- putation is acquired, the student learns that a straight line has an equation, and that, e.g., the common points of two circles depend on the solution of a quadratic equation, while the com- mon points of two conics depend on a quartic equation. if his instruction is pursued far enough, he learns, with the expendi- ture of much time and energy, a vast number of algebraical de- vices, and is now, if apt in using them, capable of proving alge- braically almost any question that his usual examinations are likely to require cf him. for his further efficiency to this end he is probably taught towards the close of his career something about harmonic rela- tions, about homography, and about projections. in particular, for example, he may be taught that the equations which give the foci of a conic are obtainable by applying the analytical con- ditions for a circle to the equation of the pair of tangents to the conic from any point. if he is fortunate it may be pointed out to him, near the end of his laborious drilling in detail, that a circle behaves as if it were a conic with two definite (albeit imaginary) points; and if he must in any case know the propertics of conics he may, for economy of memory, seize hold of this remark, and come also to a geometrical description of the property of foci just referred to—and pursuing this course, if circumstances al- low, he may finally reach a framework of hypothetical construc- tions including the so-called circular points and the circle at 180 infinity, from which, looking back, as from a hill-top, he sees the whole country of geometrical fact, with which he has so labori- ously become acquainted, shrink into a landscape dominated by very few main routes. he may now be at the stage of the third year university stu- dent. with continued consideration he may be led finally, even if only with the purpose of summarising his geometrical outlook in the fewest possible ideas, to regard as working hypotheses such as the following: (a) there is no fundamental difierence be- tween points at infinity and those not at infinity; (6) there is no difference in reality between real and imaginary points; (c) there is no gain but great loss in refusing to consider space of more than three dimensions; (d) distance, as a fundamental con- ception is unnecessary. and with these will come a recognition that the so-called non-euclidean geometries are logically prior to the euclidean geometry. leaving aside now the tempting pedagogic question of whether he has been justly treated in being so long denied the synthesis which, if he could have appreciated it, would so much have lightened his task of becoming familiar with the details, we re- mark that he finally works with a conceptual scheme which in- cludes the perceptual experiences by which it has been suggested —but discards many ideas which at earlier stages his percep- tions seemed to suggest as necessary. for instance, the points of a line are not now in (linear) order, and lines have lost their straightness, the lines of threefold space being for many purposes better regarded as points of a quadric in five dimensions. questions then arise such as: is geometry unique in thus re- placing the first crude idcas of physical experience by a concep- tual scheme of entities, whose propertics are determined logi- cally, not from a set of definitions which tell us what these entities are, but from a set of fundamental propositions or statements of relations betweenthem? andconnected therewith: are the ideal entities of such a conceptual scheme less rea! than those, for example, which the physicist employs, say the aether or electrons, to explain his conceptions? may the statement that distance is not necessary as a fundamental conception be fairly replaced by the statement that distance in the abstract is an illusion? it would seem that the difference is one only of the degree of abstractness of the conceptual scheme employed. we may in geometry itself have different levels of abstractness; for example, we may in the first instance regard the points of a line as conforming to our idea of an abstract order of such a kind that the so-called dedekind’s axiom is applicable, although finally when we allow the so-called imaginary points we discard this notion of order and use the word line in a still more abstract sense. it would seem that every science as it advances in com- prehensiveness must similarly evolve for itself a conceptual scheme of ideal entities; and that in strict logic, no proposition can be asserted to be true or false except in reference to entities whose fundamental relations have been made explicit. such questions as these arise when it is assumed that it ought to be possible to ascertain by observation whether the world is finite, or still more whether space (in the abstract) is euclidean or non-euclidean. ji the attitude which has been suggested is sound, the most that can be done is to inquire what would be the modifications in our statements of perceptual regularity which would follow if we adopted a particular scheme of conceptions in regard to the extent of the world, or the character of space. of such conceptions, those which have reference to a method of measurement are of fundamental importance. and if measurement is possible at all, it must presumably be based upon a scheme for assigning identification numbers to the points of bodies which are to be measured. this is not the same as assigning numbers to points of space, nor, even if this could be done, would the method of meas- urement be determined uniquely thereby. a way of assigning identification numbers to the points of a figure must be conditioned (a) by the fundamental theorems of incidence of the elements of the figure (as that a line is determined by two points, or that two thea meet in a line); (6) by the nature of the numbers to be used (whether they allow commutative multiplication, for example); (c) by the freedom of the assignment, that is the number of points of the figure for which the corresponding numbers may be assigned arbi- trarily, the numbers belonging to any other point being then deter- minate; (d) which is in fact included under (@), by the character of geometry the “infinity ” of the figure (as whether the space of the figure is open or closed); and even then (e) it appears to be necessary to assume one or more definite limiting theorems of incidence. in the way which has been studied most in detail, as being that which is most naturally suggested by the euclidean scheme in which geometrical thought has developed, the numbers being taken to be those of ordinary arithmetic, it is possible to assume arbitrarily the numbers for three points of a line, so long as this is considered by itself, the numbers of four points of a plane regarded as isolated, and the numbcrs of five points of a three-dimensional space; this space is regarded as closed, the numbers belonging to a point are regarded as ratios of numbers, and infinite values of numbers are thereby ex- cluded from consideration—and the assumption is made that four lines of which no two intersect have two common transversals. it is shown that the introduction of this assumption is equivalent (other things being equal) to assuming that the numbers used are commuta- tive in multiplication. the number space of descartes, in which each point is represented by three ordinary numbers, one or more of which may be infinite, may be regarded as a particular case of the so-called projective space thus described. in his famous labtitationsschrift (1854), when 28 years old, b. riemann considered a cartesian space in which each point is specified not by three but by # numbers or co-ordinates, and proposed to measure the distance between two neighbouring points by means of a quadratic function of the small differences of their corresponding co-ordinates. he remarked then that such a space has not neces- sarily any rigid bodies capable of movement without change of linear dimensions. for this to be possible it is necessary and suffi- cient that certain functions of the co-efficients in the quadratic form and their differential coefficients should be constant. the number of these functions is n?(2?—1)/12; for instance, for »=2, this number is 1, and for 7 =3, it is 6. when these conditions are satished the space is said to be of constant curvature. but it is to be remarked that a cartesian space of » dimensions, such as that considered by riemann, is in reversible, point-to-point correspond- ence with a quadratic manifold (also of » dimensions), in a pro- jective space of 2#-+1 dimensions. in such a space of 2-+1 dimensions, as was first remarked by cayley, we can set up a measurement of distance between any two points by taking, quite arbitrarily, a quadric manifold of reference. it is then the case that riemann’s definition of distance, when his space is of constant curvature and allows rigid bodies capable of movement, is so obtainable after cayley’s manner. these details appear to bring out very clearly that even when the difficult step has been made of passing from the descriptive prop- erties of a geometrical figure to the assignment of co-ordinates, it is a further step of much artificiality to introduce a measure of the distance between any two points. in recent years, under the stimulus of a. einstein, h. min- kowski, h. weyl and others, riemann’s dearest dream of a unl- form formulation of all phenomena of physics, has, it would seem, been brought appreciably nearer to realisation, in what is known as a theory of relativity. an event, occurring in a definite place at a definite time, is regarded as depending on three co-ordi- nates for its position, and one for its time, and these four together are spoken of as its co-ordinates in a cartesian space of four dimensions. as formulated by einstein, there is an interval between two neighbouring events, given by a quadratic in the differences of their corresponding co-ordinates; this quadratic will then have 1o co-efficients. (see relativity; space-time.) it can be shown that there exist functions of these coefficients and of their derivatives in regard to the point co-ordinates, which are un- changed in value if calculated for the quadratic form into which the given one is transformed by any transformation of the co-ordinates; for instance, the 20 functions which, as has been stated, arise in the consideration of what is called the curvature, are such functions. it is clear that the vanishing of such an invariantive function ex- presses a fact which is not altered by any simplification that may be possible in the form of the quadratic expression. for instance, if the 20 functions above referred to all vanish, the quadratic expression has a form the same as in cartesian ituclidean geometry; and if they are all equal to the same quantity independent of co-ordinates, the quadratic expression has the form considered by riemann. in riemann’s theory, following gauss, account is taken of curves, called geodesics, which satisfy the condition that the integral fds, taken along such a curve, shall be stationary according to the ordinary rules of lagrange’s calculus of variations, where ds is the square root of the quadratic expression referred to. [-instein’s sug- gestion is that the path of a particle under the influence of what we call gravitating masses may be represented as such a geodesic, pro- vided the coefficients in the quadratic form are chosen to depend suitably upon these masses; and this has proved capable of verifica- tion in the case of the planet mercury, and in the case of a ray of light passing near to the sun. an analogous suggestion has led weyl not only to the equations belonging to the theory of gravitation, but also to those which george v. express the phenomena of electromagnetism (and light). and it is very interesting from our present point of view to see the character of the modifications which weyl has been led to make in ejinstein’s mathematical formulation in order to attain this end. for our present purpose we may state this in a twofold manner without entering into the logical connections. in the first place, in weyl’s theory, instead of the quadratic form ds? being regarded as definite for two specified neighbouring events, a product ¢ds* is regarded as definite, where ¢ is a function variable from point to point, whose derivatives in regard to the co-ordinates are utilized to represent electromagnetic phenomena. | hoe at a as weyl writes (math. zeitschrift, ii., p. 397, 1918), “ riemann machte die . . . annahme, dass sich lintenelemente nicht nur an derselben stelle, sondern auch an zwei endlich entfernten stellen ihrer lange nach miteinander vergleichen lassen, die meglichkeit einer solchen ferngeometrischen vergleichung kann aber . . . nicht zugestanden werden.” this is precisely in the spirit which has moved geometers increasingly since the publication of g. k. c. von staudt's geometrie der lage (1847). it introduces however evidently a wide arbitrariness which wey! limits by adopting as a datum the possibility of the translation of a vector given at one point to another neighbouring point without change of direction, ‘this concep- tion, adopted from t. levi-civita (see levi-civita, palermo, rendi- conti, xlii., 1917, pp. 173-205, and f, severi, idid., p, 254), 1s as follows: the two elements of direction defined by (a) the vector at the first point p and (5) the displacement from p to the neigh- bouring point p’, define a family of geodesic directions through p, forming a surface; the parallel vector at p’ is that whose direction on this surface makes with the direction pp’ the same angle as that made by the vector at p. evidently the assumption of the possibility of this determination of unchanged direction is fraught with large consequences or conditions. a suggestion subsequent to weyl's (a. s. eddington, proc. roy, soc., xcix., 1921, pp. 104-122), begins with levi-civita's differential equations for parallel displace- ment of a vector, but working backwards towards the quadratic differential form leads to a generalisation of weyl’s formulation. so much of detail in regard to these remarkable contemporary speculations seems necessary in order to compare the geometrical aspects with those of older conceptions. in the so-called space of einstein, still less in weyl’s space, there exist neither bodies, nor movement; and what are the fundamental geometrical condi- tions assumed prior to the establishment of the system of co- ordinates is as yet undetermined. the latter fact, which is equally true of any cartesian space, may provisionally be evaded by regarding the space as being in point to point correspondence with a quadric manifold in a projective space of five dimensions; the former fact, which relates to the consideration of a quadratic differential expression, is most probably, if it proves finally to be possible to put the phenomena of physics into exact correspon- dence with geometrical considerations, suggestive of a physical theory which, given some fundamental relations of experience, shall be developed not by computation, but by descriptive methods. for the aim of geometry, towards which since von staudt’s time, much progress has been made, is such a descrip- tive conception of the relations of figures in space as may render computation unnecessary. il. general theory of surfaces the older theory of circles and conics, or of rational curves in general, as also the theory of quadric surfaces, of cubic surfaces or of rational surfaces in general, can be placed in (1, 1) correspon- dence with the geometry of lines, or of planes, respectively; it deals ultimately with linear equations when viewed analytically. a consideration of cubic curves on a plane, or of the curve of intersection of two quadric surfaces, soon shows that these do not depend upon linear equations ultimately—or more precisely that the points of a plane cubic curve cannot be put into (1, 1) correspondence with the points of a line. and it further ap- pears that a quartic curve in a plane is again of a higher category, and cannot be put into (1, 1) correspondence with a cubic curve. this fact first emerges clearly in abel's great paper on the inte- grals of algebraic functions. the general theory of the so-called higher curves was then historically subsequent to the theory of algebraic functions and the integrals of these; though, when this theory had received a sufficient development, it proved pos- sible to elaborate a descriptive theory of these curves embodying the results obtained by the earlier analytical methods. in geom- etry, entities which can be put into exact (1, 1) correspondence are equivalent for gcometrical purposes, and conversely, for 181 purposes of a general theory, it is vital to know whether two entities have this equivalence or not. itis oneofthe most impor- tant recent developments of geometry to have made it clear that criteria can be given by which to determine whether two surfaces have this (1, 1) correspondence. and it 1s interesting to remark that historically the develop- ment in this case has been on similar lines to that by which the corresponding result was obtained for curves; in the first place, over many years, picard developed the theory of algebraic integrals associated with surfaces on lines as far as possible analo- gous to those which had been followed in the case of curves, therein in part carrying out a suggestion due to klebsch and noether, though the integrals which have proved most effective hitherto were not those suggested by klebsch; after this the geo- metrical aspect of the matter was investigated by italian geometers, more especially iinriques, castelnuovo and severi, who have succeeded in surpassing in beauty and generality even the distinguished contributions of their own countrymen to the theory of curves. it is impossible indeed to convey to a non- geometrical reader any idea of the interval which separates the development of geometry in italy to-day from the development reached in england. the new theory is under the disadvantage that an apprecia- tion of it is impossible without sympathy and acquaintance with the theory of algebraic functions and their integrals, and it may be some time before detailed applications of it become the com- mon property of mathematicians. but it offers a limitless scope for new work, its importance cannot be doubted and its per- manence is assured. bibliograpiiy.—for the question suggested by the einstein- minkowski work, ample material arises in attempting to sift into logical coherence many of the current writings on relativity. an ample bibliography of these concludes the work of hermann weyl, raum-zeit-materte, vierte erweiterte auflage (berlin, 1921). the english reader will find much stimulus to geometrical consideration in eddington’s volumes, space, time and gravitation (cambridge, 1920) and the mathematical theory of relativity (and ed., cambridge, 1924); and should consult e. cunningham’s two fundamental vol- umes on refutivty, and a. a. robb, a theory of time and space (cambridge, 1914). emile picard’s work is summarised in his book, lheorie des fonctions algebriques de deux variables independentes (paris, 1897 1906), which concludes with a summary by mm. castelnuovo and enriques (t.ii., pp. 485-522) of the results obtained by the italian geometers up to 1906. ‘the reader may also consult the article by severi in vol. 11 of pascal’s repertorium of iligher mathematics (german edition, pp. 741-782, 1922). subsequent progress is re- corded (and scattered) in the various mathematical journals, mainly of italy. (isk ..bas) george v. (1865- ), king of great britain and ireland (see 11.745), succeeded to the british throne on the death of his father, king edward vii., may 6 1910. by the regency act, 1910 (a temporary constitutional necessity in view of the fact that king george’s eldest son, prince edward, was then not 16) his consort queen mary was at once nominated regent in the event of a demise of the crown while the heir to the throne was under age. a new civil list fixed at £470,000 a year, was approved by parliament in 1910. an important change in the king’s accession declaration was also embodied in an act of that year, the following short and simple formula being substituted for the old manifesto:— i do solemnly and sincerely in the presence of god profess, testify and declare, that | am a faithful protestant, and that i will, accord- ing to the true intent of the enactments which secure the protestant succession to the throne of my realm, uphold and maintain the said enactments to the best of my power according to law. the coronation at westminster abbey, on june 22 1911, was attended by representatives from all parts of the empire and other countries and, in order to complete the public assumption of royal authority throughout the united kingdom, the king and queen, with the prince of wales and princess mary made state visits to ireland, wales and scotland during july. later in the year their majesties visited india, and coronation ceremo- nies took place at the ancient capital of delhi (dec. 12 1911). irom the very first king george and queen mary showed in all their actions their earnest desire to use their royal position 182 in the most public spirited manner. great britain was fortunate in the fact that so much had already been done, by queen vic- toria and king edward vii., to establish the throne in the hearts of the people as a central and unifying national and im- perial force, distinct from sectional interests of party or class. incler king george this tradition was steadily maintained. iie and quecn mary devoted themselves to the task of making the influence of the court a pure, useful and kindly one in the life of the country; they mingled with different classes of society and were ever active in accepting new opportunities of service. the personal tastes of both were known to lie in charactcristically domestic directions. the royal stamp collection is the most complete in existence, and in 1920 the king assured the junior philatelic society of his “unabated interest in stamp-collecting.” the war period—the value of the iniluence of the crown, as standing above and outside domestic party politics, was emphasised by the buckingham palace conference of r9r4 on the irish deadlock; and by the conduct during the world war of the king and royal family who in various ways strengthened their hold on the affections of the british people. from the open- ing of the world war in aug. tor4 the king and queen jointly and severally set themselves to make the royal influence an en- couragement to every form of national activity in aid of the fighting forces. the king and queen regularly went in state to prorogue and open parliament in successive sessions and on [re- quent occasions during the war royal visits were paid to impor- tant factories and workshops at the munitions centres throughout great britain, as well as to shipbuilding yards, hospitals and other institutions engaged in war-work of one kind or another. the king’s inspections of provincial industrial establishments in- cluded visits to glasgow and the clyde, coventry and birming- ham, leeds and sheffield, nottingham, liverpool, manchester, barrow and gretna, newcastle-on-tyne, hull and rosyth, bristol, bradford nd huddersfield. moreover, perioclical visits were made by him to the grand fleet. in 1917 queenmary accompanied the king to france. finally, after ihe armistice, the king made another visit to paris and to the battle-felds, nov. 27-dec. 10 1918, and had an enthusiastic reception in the french capital (nov. 28-30). in other directions during the war period, the ki: ng’s desire to set an example of patriotic self-abnegation was frequently ap- parent. the long record of royal attendances at notable cere- monies included such occasions as the funeral services at st. taul’s for lord roberts (nov. 19 1914) and lord kitchener (june 13 19:6); the commemoration service there on the entry of the united states into the war (april 20 1917); the albert hall commemoration of the first seven divisions (dec. 15 1917); the thanksgiving at st. paul’s on their majesties’ silver wedding (july 6 1918 rg): - the presentation to the king at buckingham pal- ace by the special japanese mission of the sword and badge of a japanese field-marshal (oct. 29 1918); and other events. on the occasion of their majesties’ silver wedding, the king and qucen were received at the guildhall (july 6 1918) and were presented with a cheque for £53,000, subscribed by the citizens of london, to be devoted to charities by their majesties’ wish, together with a silver tankard once owned by charles it. on july 17 1917 it was announced that king george v. had abandoned all german titles for himself and his family. at the same time a proclamation was issued to the effect that hence- forth the royal house of great britain and ireland would be known, not as the house of saxe-coburg-gotha, but as the house of windsor. it had previously becn announced (june 20 1917) that the king had decided that those princes of his family who were british subjects but bore german titles should relinquish those titles in favour of british names. post-war incidents —with the return of peace it was possible for the more normal activities of court life to be resumed, but in the long list of later royal functions some stand out as worthy of record for their special appeal to contemporary public interest. immediately after the armistice in 1918, the king and queen on successive days made popular progresses through different sections of london, and received general ovations, in carriuge george i.—george il. drives through the citv (nov. 11), to a special thanksgiving at st. paul’s (nov. 12), through the east end (nov. 13), the south (nov. 14), the north (nov. 15), the northwest (nov. 18) and the southwest (nov. 22). on dec. 27 a banquet was given in hon- our of president wilson at buckingham palace, where he and mrs. wilson were staying with the king and queen. on june 21—2 1921 the king and queen visited belfast, where itis majesty inaugurated the new parliament of northern ire- land. the king, in his speech on that occasion, made an appeal to all irishmen to pause and stretch out the hand of forbearance, to forgive and forget and to make for the land they loved a new era of peace, contentment and good-will. when, in the following idec., an agreement was at last reached with the irish free state, the king in his telegram of congratulation to mr. lloyd george, ventured to hope that his own speech at belfast might have contributed to bring it about. on feb. 28 1922 the king’s o1 ily daughter, princess mary, was married in westminster abbey to viscount lascelles (q.2-.), eldest son of the earl of harewood. the king and queen paid a state visit to belgium on may 8. early in the following year (feb. 7) a son was born to princess mary and on april 26 the duke of york was married to lady elizabeth bowes-lycn, fourth daughter of the earl of strathmore and kinghorne. two days later the king inaugurated the new stadium at wembley, middlesex, constructed in connection with the projected british empire exhibition, by attending the final cup tic of the english football association. on may 5 the king and queen paid a slate visit to the king and queen of italy, remaining in rome for some days. they were received by the pope at the vatican on may 9, and on may 12 the king visited montecchio to inspect the graves of british soldiers, who had fallen in italy. the outstanding event of 1924 was the opening by the king on april 23 of the british empire exhibition at wembley. he and the queen made frequent subsequent visits to the exhibition, both privately and accompanied by their royal guests, the king and queen of rumania and the king and queen of italy, who made state visits to london during mav. on sunday, may 25, an empire thanksgiving service was held in the stadium, con- ducted by the archbishop of canterbury and attended by the king and queen. on july 19 the king and queen visited liver- pool and were present at the dedication of the new cathedral. on aug. 21 a second son was born to princess mary. nearcr the throne was the daughter born to the duke and duchess of york on april 21 1926 and named elizabeth alexandra mary. on may 9 1925 the king and queen opened the second year of the wembley exhibition. 25 oe greate fee oe oy george i. (1845-1913), king of greece (sce 11.746).—in 1910 king george promptly recogniscd veniselos’ rare ability and gave him his whole-hearted support, though the latter had long denounced the roval policy of faissez fuire. internal politics played only a secondary part in king george's reign; the pan- hellenic idea had absorbed the thoughts and resources of the greek people ever since the recognition of the independence of greece. the king consistently strove to restrain the patriotic exuberance of his subjects on the one hand, while endeavouring, on the other, to use his great personal iniluence and family con- nections abroad in favour of the aspirations of the greck people. ilis policy was consistently pacific. even in oct. 1912, when greece wis preparing to declare war against turkey, king george made it clear to veniselos that he only consented to the venture because of his obedience to the constitutional principle. he was about to celebrate his jubilee when he was assassinated by a greek named schinas at salonika on march 18 1913. he was succeeded by his eldest son, constantine i. sce capt. walter christmas, azng george of greece (igt4). george ii. (1890- ), ex-king of the ilellenes, eldest son of king constantine, was born on july 20 1890 at tatol, the royal villa near athens. on account of his supposed germanophil tendencies during the world war, he was excluded from the succession by the allics in favour of his younger brother, alex- ander, upon the deposition of his father by the ultimatum of george, david lloyd june ri 1917. after his father’s restoration to the throne in 1920, he married on feb. 27 1921, princess elizabeth, elder daughter of king ferdinand and queen marie of rumania. upon the second deposition of his father by the revolution of gen. plasteras, his younger brether alexander i. having died in 1920 he succeeded to the throne on sept. 27 1922. a rae the unsuccessful counter- revolution of oct. 1923, his position became more diffic cult, al- though there was no proof that a iad been a party to that rising. republican fecling grew under the | peut of ml. papanasta- siou and others, and, despite m., veniselos’ aclvice to await the decision of the national as sembly, a number of military and ra- val officers demanded the deposition of the giicksbu re dynasty. on dee. 19 1923 the king and queen icit greece. next dav. admiral condouriotes, for the second tine, became reg ‘cent. on march 25 1924 the assem bly deposed the dynasty and forbade its members to reside in greec ce; ard the plebiscite of april 13 confirmed the vote of the assembly (see greece). george, david lloyd (1563- ), british statesman (see 16.832). the 1910 conference of british party leaders lasted from june till november. it was a strange pause of calm in the midst of the stormy events of that period. it is not true to say that the conference was a failure. the conferring leaders, on the con- trary, nearly arrived at a very comprchensive and far-reaching scheme of agreement, affecting all the disputed issues—the house of lords, home rule, tariffs and conscription. but the six months of secrecy ended in detaching the leaders from their followers. perhaps the secrecy was overdone, because very few whispers came from behind the closed doors of the conference room to prepare the party followers for the agreements which required to be ratified by the parties before they: coull become valid. the result was that when the party leaders on both sides emerged from the conference room they found their followers quite unpre- pared to grant the concessions required from them. while the leaders hac passed into a mood of conciliation, the followers were still living in an atmosphere of party warfare. on both sides the proposals put forward were regarded as surrenders. mr. balfour (later lord balfour) and mr. (later sir) austen chamberlain found themselves in peril of being isolated, and mr. lloyd george was immediately denounced as an opportunist. being party leaders themselves they were compelled to bow to the storm. yet it is a fit reflection now that, but for the world war, this conference presented to great britain at that moment the last solid alternative to the civil war which even then loomed ahead. it is also interesting to observe that most of the confer- ence proposils were adopted later, during the war or after. mr. lloyd george was among those who took a sanguine view of the prospects of the conference, and afterwards he always regretted its failure. ife took a long view. he was realy to come to very boid settlements if they would save the country from civil strife. he and mr. balfour agrecd in this attitude. but public opinion was not ready for compromise. party tides still ran too strong. schemes of soctal rrerorm national insurance.-—the political conflict was resumed. in december there took place the second of the two 1910 general elections. it was, in effect, a test election on the parliament b'il. the liberal govt. had refused to go to the polls until they ob- tained the promise of the king that, if they were successful, he would consent to employ his prerogative of peer-making in order to carry the pariacot bill. ‘hat promise was reluctantly givea by king george v. mr. lloyd george was returned for car- narvon bor gans for the seventh time with an enhanced majority (1,208). but a second national campaign within one year proved too much for his strength, and he was struck down by serious throat trouble for some months. during this compulsory retire- ment he prepared the national insurance bill of rort. this was the first of a series of measures for improving the condition of the british working class by the method of social insurance. the idea was first applied by bismarck in germany in 1893, and mr. lloyd george had made a study of the german insurance svs- tem during a holiday visit to central europe in the autumn of 1908. old age pensions had been already passed into law before 183 that visit; and thus it was that the british svstem of old age pensions originally took a non-contributory form. mr. lloyd george’s first general application of the contribu- tory insurance principle was to sickness and invalidity, and the proposal produced a formidable social and political crisis in the autumn or tori. mr. lloyd george was proposing a new habit to the british people, and at the first shock it was profoundly unpopular. all classes rose against it. there followed a succes- sion of political revolts; and it seemed as if the combination of forces—of the conservatives—of the press and the public—opposed to the bill would be sufficient to swamp it. byselection after by-election was lost by the liberal government. the party managers were in favour of postponement; but mr. lloyd george held on. he eased the passage of the bill by a series of conferences with all the disturbed parties. early in the year he won ever the insurance societics. the trade unions were never definitely hos- tiie. ‘the doctors, after a series of protests and defiances, were finally appeased by a combination of firmness and concession. so at last, pushing the bill through the [louse of commons with the aid of a strong closure time-table, mr. llovd george achieved its third reading early in dec. 1911. the house of lerds, tired of conflict with the house of commons, allowed mr. lloyd george’s insurance scheme to pass into law without serious amendment. ‘this was followed by mr. lloyd george with an unemptoyment insurance bill which broke new ground. it was extended in subsequent years over the whole werking class, and did much to carry the country through the dark years of unem- ployment which followed the world war. phe “ marconi” affair —in to12 mr. lloyd george ap- proached the reform of the english land system by wavy of a land committee, of which sir arthur acland was the chairman. two reports were published, one on the rural and the other on the urban side of the existing system; and mr. lloyd george had already announced his intention of bringing forward a scries of bills in the house of commons to carry out the proposals of his land committee. he sketched the main lines of his policy in a series of speeches throughout 1912 and 1913. but just as he approached this venture his way was barred by two events— one personal, and the ether national. the first was known as the ‘ marconi affair,” which produced a grave crisis in mr. lloyd george's career. ile had been persuaded by his friend sir rufus isaacs jater lord reading) to take £1,000 worth of shares in the american branch of the great marconi company at a moment when the brilish post office was discussing the terms of a contract with the british company. the two companies were separate, and there could in fairness be no accusation of anything beyond carelessness. but mr. lloyd george—at that moment chancellor of the exchequer —was too formidable a political figure to be iet of lightly. the proceedings became the subject of an inquiry by a committee of the house of commons, and he was gravely censured in the report of the chairman, sir albert spicer, a prominent liberal member of parliament, al- though the majority of the committee acquitted him of serious blame. a majority of the ilouse of commons replied to the aa attacks by a vote cf confidence in mr. lloyd george. sut for the moment his position was shaken. lie curragh revolt—already overshadowed by these events, the land proposals were now effectively blocked by the far greater crisis of irish civil war. mr. lloyd george always took a medi- ating attitude mn regard to the relations of ulster and southern ireland, but he was now acutely involved in the coming passage of the home rule bill with its proposal of a single irish parlia- ment under the parliament act. ulster, organised by sir ed- ward carson (later lerdi carson), thre apene an armed defiance of the govern nent. this defiance had now its first effect in the revolt of the otcers at the curragh ageinst the orders issued for carrying out the prospective home rule policy. faced with the possibility of a mititary revolt both at the curragh and at alder- shet, alr. lloyd george took a very grave view of the situation and devoted all his energics to preserving civil peace. but at this moment, at the very heart of this irish crisis, there came the vaster and more momentous challenge of the world war. 184 the first war years mr. lloyd george’s position—lord grey of fallodon in his memoir, twenty-five years, t892-1916 (1925), gives a vivid account of the state of division that prevailed in the liberal cabinet in the fortnight before the outbreak of war. during that period the attitude of mr. lloyd george was deeply affected by his position a3 chancellor of the exchequer. on the saturday before the declaration of war—aug. 1 1914—the governor of the bank of england headed a deputation to rr, downing street, urging the policy of neutrality upon the government. the same governor on monday, aug. 3, when the germans invaded bel- gium, telephoned to downing strect withdrawing the opposition of the city, and declaring that they were now in favour of war. this change of opinion in the city was highly dramatic, but it reflected the attitude of the chancellor of the exchequer. mr. lloyd george at first was not in favour of great britain being drawn into a contest between the two great warring groups of europe unless some british interest or some british obligation were clearly involved. accordingly during the previous week he did not take up the decisive attitude against germany which he adopted in 1911, when he held the view that the claim of germany to go to war with france over morocco clearly involved a british guarantee (under the entente). once belgium was invaded, however, and the neutrality treaty of 1839 defied, all hesitation left him; and never from that moment forward did he doubt that the military machine of the central furopean powers must be destroyed. thus it was that mr. lloyd george entered upon a new phase of his carecr—that of war statesman. the first great civilian duty of the war fell on mr. lloyd george. as chancellor of the exchequer, he had to secure the finances of the country. while lord kitchener at the war office was organising the armies, mr. lloyd george had to see that the credit of the country did not collapse. at the very opening of the war he called together the governors of the leading banks and arranged a moratorium which prevented a panic. all the gloomy forecasts of the breakdown of finance so freely indulged in by the opponents of the war were in a moment dissolved into thin air. british finance, thus rallied at the start of the struggle, remained steady throughout; and the good faith thus engendered enabled the government to borrow the immense sums which alone made it possible to endure and achieve victory. as long as he was chancellor of the exchequer, mr. lloyd george gave steady attention to this aspect of the war struggle. he knew that war, to be successful, depended, in milton’s phrase, on “ two main nerves—iron and gold.” his first attention was given to gold. during the first ro months of the war he remained chan- cellor of the exchequer; and thus on him fell the main financial responsibility. by common agreement of a!l parties he placed british finance on an impregnable foundation. the minisiry of amlunitions—it was in june rots that mr. lloyd george passed from the nerve of gold to the nerve of iron. it was brought to his knowledge that the insufficient supply of shells and guns at the front was exposing our armics to an intol- erable inequality of loss. the crisis which followed on the general realisation of this fact in england broke up the liberal govt., may 19 1915, and substituted for it the first coalition adminis- tration, of mr. asquith and mr. bonar law. the govt. was entirely reconstituted. perhaps the most important change was the creation of a ministry of munitions—offered to and accepted by mr. lloyd george. this ministry was boldly en- trusted with the whole function of providing war armaments, hitherto part and parcel of the duties of the war office. it was natural that the war office should resent this subtraction from their powers. but it was now quite clear that, in so great a war, the supply of munitions would be a function on a scule so large as to require a separate department. the new enterprise was rather a national movement than an ordinary office of state. ‘the government workshops at woolwich and elsewhere had been modelled to supply arms for a small peace army. now that lord kitchener was calling forth from the nation by his magnetic appeal an army of 2,000,000 there had to be a corresponding effort to supply them with weapons. in order to achieve this, george, david lloyd mr. lloyd george put forth all his powers as a democratic orator and organiser. fle first called on the private armament firms to make a new and gigantic combined effort; and they gave him splendid support. but this was not enough. he was compelled to create a vast network of new factories and workshops, and to rally to his effort a huge army of workers, both men and women. he set out to supply the army not only with sufficient shells, but also with the great guns and explosives rendered necessary by germany’s extensive preparations. above all, he had to create the machine-guns, hand grenades, trench mortars, and other equipments which were now absolutely necessary for the efficient conduct of a war which was from day to day taking on new types and forms. iron and gold were not, however, the only nerves destined to be necessary for the winning of the world war. it soon became evident that it was also to be a struggle of brains. as the war spread from end to end of europe, and afterwards to asia and africa, it became clear that in this vast struggle statesmanship was just as urgently requisite as strategy for the full achieve- ment of victory. strategy on so vast a scale passed into the sphere of statesmanship. much depended, for instance, on the moral appeal to the world against the aggression of germany. there mr. lloyd george, with his golden gift of oratory, took a leading part from the beginning. he helped gradually to detach italy, and widely affected opinion in all the neutral coun- trics. it was one thing to raise so gigantic an army. it was another thing to apply it to its full use and value. on all these questions mr. lloyd george in 1915-6 held vigorous views. he was not content to confine himself to the function of creating guns and shells. in the beginning of 1915 he began to pour out to the cabinct a succession of memoranda, in which he endeav- oured to put before them the full seriousness of the military situ- ation following upon the collapse of the russian attack in the spring and summer of ro1s. the theory of the “ russian steam roller”? had proved very comforting to depressed englishmen during the winter and spring of tor4-5. but when the german advance swallowed up warsaw and brest-litovsk, it became clear that the “ steam roller”? was not even a good sickle, and that great britain would have to rely upon herself. the failure of the gallipoli attack in the latter part of 1915 only emphasised the same point. it began to look as if victory would depend not so much on numbers as on skill; and all britain’s great armies and splendid armaments might only increase the magnitude of her defeat if such enterprises were repeated. mr. lloyd george and the fastern front.—the policy and strategy laid before the cabinet in the lloyd george memoranda in the year 1915 were never fully adopted. in the language of the time, the cabinet was divided between “‘ westerners ” and “‘ easterners ’—those who looked for a decision only on the western front, and those who believed that victory could be quickened by transferring part of our effort to the near east. it all ended in a compromise which resulted in the expedition to salonika. but mr. lloyd george aimed at something far larger—nothing less than a considerable diversion of armies from the west to the east of europe. he proposed and contemplated the diversion of an army of at least 1,000,000 from the western to the eastern front. with the development of the german submarine warfare mr. lloyd george’s eastern idea became less and less practicable; and with the increase of the german armies the danger of a german break-through on the west finally held the british armies to their task. but in early 1915 these facts had not been fully disclosed. as the year 1915 advanced, mr. lloyd george’s general dis- content with the conduct of the war grew stronger with every month. it extended to home policy as well as foreign. he saw, for instance, that if the generals were to have their way and stake the whole issue on a break-through in the west they would require to be provided with an incessant flow of men. the first response to lord kitchener’s appeal had been magnificent, and some 2,000,000 volunteers had flocked to the colours. but then came a pause in the recruiting; and yct the fearful wastage continued— and grew worse. the policy of frontal attacks begun at neuve george, david lloyd chapelle clearly meant a continual supply of vast armies. such armies, mr. lloyd george now began to perceive, could not be secured by the voluntary principle alone. having once made up his mind on that point, he became a vehement advocate of con- scription in the autumn of to1r5. but liberal sentiment was against it, and mr. asquith hesitated. a series of experiments, known at the time as the “ derby schemes ”—distinguishing between married men and single—were attempted from month to month. mr. lloyd george advocated the american ballot. but the military councils were not in fayour of it. then came other plans—such as “starring”? and ‘‘ unstarring ” of men according to their callings and occupations. but all these makeshifts ended in leaving a sense of inequality - and unfairness which could only be removed by a more compre- hensive policy. so at last mr. lloyd george swung the cabinet into conscription; and only one minister—sir john simon— resigned. everything possible had now been done to supply the generals both with men and with munitions. but the question of policy remained, and there mr. lloyd george’s discontent continued to grow. the tragic death of lord kitchener by the sinking of the cruiscr h.m.s. ‘‘ hampshire” on june 5 109016 created a vacancy at the war office which could only be filled in one way. soin that month mr. lloyd george passed from the ministry of munitions to the war office. in this new position of power he obtained a firmer grip on the military machine at the front, and in particular he carried out a drastic reform of communications in france. from these lesser tasks his mind was diverted to the main issue of victory or defeat by the tremendous tragedy that befell the allied cause in the autumn of 1916. rumania, tempted by russia into the war on the side of the allies at an unseasonable moment, was violently attacked by the great german general mackensen and dramatically crushed before the eyes of her dis- tant and helpless allies. in vain mr. lloyd george appealed to the cabinet to make some effort to save rumania. italy had entered the war in the previous year, and the russian armies were still in being—could nothing be done? nothing was done; and for the moment rumania was blotted out. but the event had a profound effect on the mind of mr. lloyd george. it brought him to the parting of the ways. “ is it necessary,” he used to say, “ that a little nation should be laid on the altar of this war every christmas? it was serbia in rors, now it is rumania. what nation will come next?” possessed with this dread, he decided to raise the issue in a definite form, and on friday, dec. 1 1916, he laid his views before mr. asquith. collapse of the asquith govt—his main contention was that so large a war committee as then existed could not conduct the war to victory. he proposed a smaller and more eflicient body of three or four men, solely devoted to this one object of winning the war. what was wanted was unified and unsleeping control. but he proposed—anid here was the crux of the political situa- tion—that the existing prime minister should not be chairman of the committee. that was where the dividing line came. for frankly and definitely mr. lloyd george had ceased to believe in mr. asquith as war leader. mr. asquith’s pride was touched to the quick; and it was quite clear that he profoundly resented the proposal, although he himself had first named mr. llovd george as chairman of the new war committee. on saturday, dec. 2, mr. lloyd george was under the impression that his proposal had been accepted. but friends intervened on both sides: the northcliffe press in favour of mr. lloyd george, and mr. asquith’s friends in favour of a chief whose loyalty has always commanded a fit return of personal devotion. on mon- day, dec. 4 1916, the times published a leading article display- ing exultation over mr. asquith’s defeat, and immediately mr. asquith wrote to mr. lloyd george breaking off the agreement. in the afternoon of that day mr. asquith resigned oflice. ile received authority from the king to form a new ministry. he wrote to mr. lloyd george asking him to join on condition that he—mr. asquith—as prime minister must be chairman of the new war committee. mr. lloyd george refused that condition, and placed his office at the disposal of mr. asquith. 185 already, on sunday, dec. 3, the conservative rank and file had met. they had decided at first against following mr. lloyd george, whereupon mr. bonar law had emphatically said that, in that case, they could not count on his leadership. he and his friends refused to join the new ministry, and so mr. asquith’s efforts to reform his coalition without mr. lloyd george broke down. the king then sent for mr. bonar law. but as some of the liberals and the labour party refused to support him, he too failed to form a government, although mr. lloyd george offered to serve under him. the king then called a conference at buckingham palace and tried to form a new coalition min- istry under mr. bonar law, with the offer of the woolsack to mr. asquith. mr. asquith refused. ‘thereupon the king sent for mr. lloyd george, as he was clearly the only possible premier. mr. ltoyp grorcre as premier the new war policy —there was nothing left for mr. lloyd george but to accept the call. he attempted to rally all parties behind him. he succeeded with the conservatives and the labour party, and a certain number cf liberals. but the bulk of the liberal ex-ministers stood aside and began to form a group known as the independent liberal party. mr. lloyd george was now in sole command of his own war policy. the small war committee which he instantly appointed fully carried out the hopes of its founders. it sat from day to day, and very often twice a day. it practically took the place of the cabinet. records were kept of its meetings, ancl mr. llovd george formed a small downing strect secretariat in order to keep in close touch with the various ministries. the result was a general quickening up of war decisions and a more decisive control of the whole machine of government. during the year 1917 mr. lilovd george pressed forward his idea of unified command of the allied armies. he was now com- pletely convinced that the war could only be won if the allies were to face germany with the same concentrated authority that germany had established over her own partners. he was faced, however, with a very steady resistance from the high mili- tary command, now from time to time supported by the inde- pendent liberal party. there was a strong national sentiment against subordinating our armies to the control of foreigners, and there was a firm belief among the soldiers that they could win the war alone by pounding harder at the western front. but as the year advanced the sanguine expectations frankly thrown out in interviews in the spring by sir douglas (later earl) haig were not fulfilled. the aug. fighting round lens; the sept. onslaughts on the east and north of ypres; finally the assault on passchendaele—all these battles displayed fully the inexhaustible valour of british, australian and canadian troops. but there was no break-through. the british armies were checked by the mud and rain of the flanders autumn, and in too many cases heroism was literally choked in slime. mr. lloyd george con- templated this wastage of brittish manhood with increased impa- tience, and on many occasions protested against the sacrifice of volunteers and conscripts. on oct. 24 1917 there occurred an event which finally decided him to force the matter of unified control to a decision. on that day the austro-german armies under von biilow broke through the lines of the italian armies dangerously stretched out between the eastern alps and the adriatic sea, and drove them back to the line of the tagliamento with the loss of 300,000 men and 2,000 guns. italy stood for the moment in peril of a defeat equal to that of serbia and rumania in the preceding years. mr. lloyd george was determined that this defeat should not take place. he himself journeyed immediately to italy. by infusing new courage into the italians he helped to check the confusion and flight of their armies. he compelled the western commands to send an army of infantry and artillery, english and french, under gen. plumer through the mont cenis tunnel to northern italy. these reinforcements arrived in the nick of time, checked the collapse of italy, and aided greatly to save her from defeat. the end of the war.—laving achieved this task, mr. lloyd george, with characteristic swiftness, determined to press on 186 with the matter of unified control. on his journey back to eng- land he stopped in paris on nov. 12 1917 to make a speech in which he plainly announced that divided control meant defeat. but that speech for the moment only aroused fresh oppasition, and when he returned to parliament he had to face the vehement criticism of the independent liberals led by mr. asquith. yet, later, in may 1918, when sir f. maurice, challenged his authority in a letter to the times, the consecjuent vote of con- fidence in the commons secured! him a decisive majority of 187. but full unity of control was not really achieved until the terrible events of march 1918 brought home to all parties in england the nearness of the peril. during the winter the germans brought across europe a fresh army of 2,000,000 men released by the collapse of russia after the bolshevik revolution of oct. 10917. this gigantic new army created a fresh situation in the west, and the first blow fell on march 21, when 40 german divisions attacked and broke through the british line west of st. quentin. on the following davs the british line withdrew 15 m., and the military struggle that followed lasted through five terrible months. mr. lloyd george threw into the firhting line all those youthful regiments which he had hoped to keep for home defence. even so, the german pressure very nearly crashed through to the sen. there was a tense moment when some high military authorities were in favour of bringing the british armies back to england. but myr. lloyd george always strenuously refused to face such a possibility. he averted defeat by two principal steps of policy. one was the assertion of full unity of control, and the other was the bringing over of the american armics. president wilson had not contemplated sending his armies to europe until they were fully trained and brigaded. but that process could not have been finished till 1919 at the earliest, and it was now clear that in that case the american armies would be too late. mr. lloyd george therefore made a definite appeal to president wilson to send all he could immediately, and the presi- dent instantly responded by a promise to do so on condition that great britain provided the transport. thus with the combined effort of the american command and the british navy and marine no less than 2,000,000 american soldiers were carried across the atlantic, in spite of the submarines, during the months of april and may 1918. those numbers now enabled the allies to meet the germans with a greater sense of numerical equality. but mere numbers were still useless without unity. visiting france in the first week of may 1918, mr. lloyd george held a decisive combined meeting of the military and civil powers, in which, supported by lord milner and m. clemenceau, he was at last able to persuade the british generals to accept the supreme command of the great french soldier marshal foch. during the final months of the war the british armies fought loyally under that command. it was by the combincd attacks of british and french troops, storming the german lines east of amiens, that the tide was turned on aug. 8 1918. seven great battles were fought after this event, but from aug. till nov. the german armies were steadily driven back. finally, on nov. 11, came the collapse of the german resistnce and the acceptance of armi- stice terms of defeat by the new german government. “ ger- many is doomed,” cried mr. lloyd george, speaking at the man- sion house on nov. 9 1918, and he proved a true prophet. the allies had won the war. the peace conference—victory having been achieved, it now remained to make peace. there were tnevitable delays. mr. lloyd george deemed it necessary first to strengthen his posi- tion by an appeal to the country. the polls took place on dec. 14 1918, and the results were declared on dec. 28. he effect was an overwhelming victory for mr. lloyd george, he being returned to power by a majority of 249 over all the independent groups. iie himself was returned for the eighth time as member for carnarvon boroughs with a majority of 12,898. these events filled up the pause rendered inevitable by the waiting of europe for the arrival of president wilson, who had decided to attend the peace conference as american representative. the next step was the choice of the capital in which to hold the peace con- ference. paris was selected, the intention being to move on to george, david lloyd geneva after the first stage. but once settled in paris it was found impossible to move so vast an assembly of nations. the first meeting of the conference took place on jan. 18 1919 at the palace of versailles, and it proved an impressive gathering of the representatives of all the 30 countries who had taken part in the defeat of the central powers. mr. lloyd george took with him from england a joint delegation representing all parties, incluling mr. bonar law, mr. balfour, lord milner and mr. george barnes. a powerful delegation came from the domin- lons, including mr. hughes, premier of australia, sir robert borden and gen. botha. thus the whole british empire was represented at paris among the colleagues of mr. lloyd george. it soon became obvious that so big an assembly could not really arrive at peace. there were too many conilicting views, there was no possibility of secrecy. the allied negotiators gradu- ally narrowed to an inner council of ten, which was soon reduced to five; then from five to four; and finally from four to three— mr. lloyd george, president wilson and m. clemenceau. on them fell the full burden of making the peace. this numerical narrowing of the peace negotiators, together with the increase of secrecy, created widespread discontent among those who had been led to expect a peace by open diplomacy. what happened behind the scenes was this: rcughly speaking, the positien was that mr. lloyd george and president wilson worked for a peace of conciliation, while m. clemenceau worked for a peace of vic- tory. the french started with a claim to extend their frontier up to the left bank of the rhine. wilson and lloyd george together succeeded in moderating this claim. but they were compelled to hand over the saar valley for 15 years as part of the compromise. smaller compromises took place in regard to silesia and the polish corridor. no one was completely satisfied, but every country had its say. president wilson’s unique con- tribution to the settlement was the league of nations covenant. though mr. lloyd george took great interest in the framing of the covenant, he left the chief british share in its moulding to lord robert (later viscount) cecil, who sat on the league com- mittee as the british representative. but when the crisis came, and president wilson threatened to leave the conference unless the covenant was placed first in the treaty, mr. lloyd george supported the view of president wilson. the treaty of versatlles—mr. lloyd george’s freedom was much hampered by press attacks from home, and at one moment lord northcliffe organised a mandatory telegram from over 200 members of parliament rebuking him for a tendency to weaken on the demands to germany. mr. lloyd george returned to london to face his critics in parliament and secured a huge majority. there can be no doubt, however, that these symptoms of discontent at home diminished his authority and weakened his resistance to the military policy of france. at this point, for instance, he agreed to the french claim to occupy the left bank of the rhine for 15 years, which he had hitherto attempted to limit toa much shorter period. on may 6a draft of the treaty was completed, and was presented to the german foreign min- ister, count brockdorff-rantzau on the following day. germany instantly picaded for various important modifications. during the six wecks of parley with germany that followed mr. lloyd george played the part of conciliator. president wilson hard- ened against germany, and took the view that he was pledged to the treaty as it stood. mr. lloyd george secured the softening of many harsh terms, and in that way prepared the ground for the return of the spirit of conciliation to europe.