My immediately preceding telegram. [1]

Following is the text [2] of the draft reply to the Queen of the
Netherlands. [3] Reply to the King of the Belgians [4] would be in
corresponding terms:-

(1) I have carefully examined, with my Governments in the United
Kingdom, Canada, Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and Union
of South Africa, the appeal which Your Majesty and His Majesty the
King of the Belgians addressed to me on 7th November. [5]

(2) I recall the appeal made by His Majesty the King of the
Belgians on 23 August in the name of the heads of the states in
loyalists group [6] of States, in which His Majesty pleaded for
the submission of disputes and claims to open negotiation carried
out in the spirit of brotherly co-operation. My Government in the
United Kingdom as well as the French Government sent favourable
replies to this appeal.

(3) I recall also the joint offer in their offices [7] made by
Your Majesty and His Majesty the King of the Belgians to my
Government in the United Kingdom and to the French, German,
Italian and Polish Governments on 28th August. This offer was
welcomed by my Government and by the French, Italian and Polish
Governments. A few days later the German Government launched an
unprovoked attack on Poland which has been over-run with every
circumstance of brutality.

(4) My Governments deeply appreciate the spirit of Your Majesty's
offer and they would always be willing to examine a reasonable and
assured basis for an equitable peace. It is, as it has always
been, our desire that the war should not last one day longer than
is absolutely necessary, and I can therefore at once reply that
the part [8] of Your Majesty's appeal in which you state your
willingness to facilitate the ascertaining of the elements of an
agreement to be reached.

(5) The essential conditions upon which we are determined that an
honourable peace must be secured have already been plainly stated.

The documents which have been published since the beginning of the
war clearly summarizes [9] its origin and establish the
responsibility for its outbreak. My peoples took up arms only
after every effort had been made to save peace.

(6) The immediate occasion of our one [10] entry into war was the
violent Getman aggression against Poland. But this aggression was
only a fresh instance of Germany's policy towards her neighbours
and largely the purpose [11] for which my peoples are now fighting
is to secure that Europe may be redeemed from 'perpetually
recurring fear of German aggression so as to enable the peoples of
Europe to preserve their independence and their liberties'. In any
case the words of the Prime Minister [12] have been amplified and
enlarged on a number of occasions, in particular by him on 12th
October in the House of Commons and by the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs [13] in the House of Lords on 2nd November.

(7) The elements which in the opinion of my Government form [14]
part of any settlement emerge clearly and distinctly from these
declarations of the policy. Should Your Majesty be able to
communicate to me any proposals from Germany of such a character
as to afford real prospect of achieving purpose I have described
above, I can say at once that my Governments would give them their
most earnest consideration.