Chapter I: Front Matter

Note: Images of the original pages are available through
Internet Archive. See
https://archive.org/details/armeniaandwaran00hacogoog

ARMENIA AND THE WAR

An Armenian's Point of View with an Appeal to Britain and the Coming Peace Conference

by

A. P. HACOBIAN

With a Preface by the Rt. Hon. Viscount Bryce, O.M.

Hodder and Stoughton London New York Toronto MCMXVII

"They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak:
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth they needs must think:
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three."

LOWELL.

"_To serve Armenia is to serve civilization._"

_W. E. GLADSTONE._

"_We have put our money on the wrong horse._"[1]

_THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY._

" ... _a Government incurably barbarous and corrupt._"

_THE DUKE OF ARGYLL._

" ... _the Ottoman Empire ... decidedly foreign to Western civilization._"

_ALLIES' NOTE TO PRESIDENT WILSON, January 11, 1917._

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The end of the war will leave Great Britain and her Allies the practical arbiters of the destinies of Europe and the Near East. The predominant part played in the prosecution of the war by Great Britain and the British Empire will entitle them to an equally decisive voice in the councils of the Peace Conference. That proud position carries with it a supreme privilege as well as a heavy moral responsibility. That the voice and weight of Britain and Greater Britain will be cast, on all occasions, on the side of justice and liberty, there cannot be the slightest doubt. But however just and fair-minded a judge may be, it is impossible for him to dispense justice without hearing all sides of the case before him.

That is my plea for placing this statement of the cause of my afflicted country before the British public, confident that, with its inherent love of fair play, it will give my pleading a fair hearing.

I am anxious to make one point clear. I hold no authority and claim no right whatever to speak for the nation or any national or local organization of any kind. The views set forth in this little volume are the views of an individual Armenian who feels, as do no doubt all his compatriots, that the Armenian blood that has flowed so freely in this war, imposes upon every living Armenian the sacred duty of employing all legitimate means in his power to secure to the survivors the justice and reparation to which their numerous fallen relatives have given them an overwhelming and indisputable title. They are my views, and the responsibility for them rests on myself and myself alone.

I have stated my views frankly. One or two of my friends were kind enough to express the opinion that that might injure our cause. While I appreciate their interest and solicitude, I do not share their fears. I am convinced that the truth can never be unpopular with the British public or prejudice a good cause.

I have, of necessity, had to quote freely from many sources, and I take this opportunity to express my apologies and indebtedness to the authorities quoted, in particular to Lord Bryce and Mr. Arnold J. Toynbee for very kindly permitting me to quote extracts from the Blue Book.

A. P. HACOBIAN.

_London, February, 1917._