To my peoples

English translation

The Imperial Rescript and Manifesto.
 Ischl, July 28.
 Dear Count Stürgkh:
 I have resolved to instruct the Ministers of my Household and
 Foreign Affairs to notify the Royal Serbian Government of the
 beginning of a state of war between the Monarchy and Serbia. In
 this fateful hour I feel the need of turning to my beloved peoples.
 I command you, therefore, to publish the inclosed manifesto.
MANIFESTO.
 To my peoples! It was my fervent wish to consecrate the years
 which, by the grace of God, still remain to me, to the works of
 peace and to protect my peoples from the heavy sacrifices and
 burdens of war. Providence, in its wisdom, has otherwise decreed.
 The intrigues of a malevolent opponent compel me, in the defense of
 the honor of my Monarchy, for the protection of its dignity and its
 position as a power, for the security of its possessions, to grasp
 the sword after long years of peace.
 With a quickly forgetful ingratitude, the Kingdom of Serbia, which,
 from the first beginnings of its independence as a State until
 quite recently, had been supported and assisted by my ancestors,
 has for years trodden the path of open hostility to
 Austria-Hungary. When, after three decades of fruitful work for
 peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I extended my Sovereign rights to
 those lands, my decree called forth in the Kingdom of Serbia, whose
 rights were in nowise injured, outbreaks of unrestrained passion
 and the bitterest hate. My Government at that time employed the
 handsome privileges of the stronger, and with extreme consideration
 and leniency only requested Serbia to reduce her army to a peace
 footing and to promise that, for the future, she would tread the
 path of peace and friendship. Guided by the same spirit of
 moderation, my Government, when Serbia, two years ago, was
 embroiled in a struggle with the Turkish Empire, restricted its
 action to the defense of the most serious and vital interests of
 the Monarchy. It was to this attitude that Serbia primarily owed
 the attainment of the objects of that war.
 The hope that the Serbian Kingdom would appreciate the patience and
 love of peace of my Government and would keep its word has not been
 fulfilled. The flame of its hatred for myself and my house has
 blazed always higher; the design to tear from us by force
 inseparable portions of Austria-Hungary has been made manifest with
 less and less disguise. A criminal propaganda has extended over the
 frontier with the object of destroying the foundations of State
 order in the southeastern part of the monarchy; of making
 the people, to whom I, in my paternal affection, extended my full
 confidence, waver in its loyalty to the ruling house and to the
 Fatherland; of leading astray its growing youth and inciting it to
 mischievous deeds of madness and high treason. A series of
 murderous attacks, an organized, carefully prepared, and well
 carried out conspiracy, whose fruitful success wounded me and my
 loyal peoples to the heart, forms a visible bloody track of those
 secret machinations which were operated and directed in Serbia.
 A halt must be called to these intolerable proceedings and an end
 must be put to the incessant provocations of Serbia. The honor and
 dignity of my monarchy must be preserved unimpaired, and its
 political, economic, and military development must be guarded from
 these continual shocks. In vain did my Government make a last
 attempt to accomplish this object by peaceful means and to induce
 Serbia, by means of a serious warning, to desist. Serbia has
 rejected the just and moderate demands of my Government and refused
 to conform to those obligations the fulfillment of which forms the
 natural and necessary foundation of peace in the life of peoples
 and States. I must therefore proceed by force of arms to secure
 those indispensable pledges which alone can insure tranquillity to
 my States within and lasting peace without.
 In this solemn hour I am fully conscious of the whole significance
 of my resolve and my responsibility before the Almighty. I have
 examined and weighed everything, and with a serene conscience I set
 out on the path to which my duty points. I trust in my peoples,
 who, throughout every storm, have always rallied in unity and
 loyalty around my throne, and have always been prepared for the
 severest sacrifices for the honor, the greatness, and the might of
 the Fatherland. I trust in Austria-Hungary's brave and devoted
 forces, and I trust in the Almighty to give the victory to my arms.
 FRANZ JOSEPH mppria