Editing Cecil Spring Rice (section)

===Ambassador to the United States===
[[File:Spring-rice c.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Sir Cecil Spring Rice in [[Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom|court dress]].]]
Spring Rice had long held the ambition of being appointed ambassador to the United States. In his biography of Spring Rice, [[Stephen Gwynn]] stated that Spring Rice's main concern, throughout his diplomatic career, was to "improve relations between the two great English-speaking powers".{{Sfn | Gwynn | 1929 | pp = 178 (Volume II)}} Within the diplomatic service Spring Rice had unique entrée into Washington's corridors of power, and his work alongside President Roosevelt in 1905 led the British government to regard him as a natural choice for ambassador by 1912.<ref name=burton/> The diplomat [[Sir&nbsp;Ignatius Valentine Chirol]] observed that Spring Rice's "whole career seems to have been a preparation for the final struggle in Washington".<ref name=burton/>

Within two years of Spring Rice's posting to Washington DC, the [[First World War]] had broken out in Europe, and his principal task became that of ending American neutrality. The United States was the largest potential supplier of munitions, arms and food to the United Kingdom and its allies, as well as a potential ally in the war.<ref name="theodorerooseveltcenter.org"/> However, in 1914 public opinion in America favoured neutrality, and Spring Rice had to grapple with the strong anti-British and non-interventionist elements in American politics at the time. Spring Rice also had the complex task of justifying British policies that violated America's rights as a neutral state, such as the monitoring of mail and telegrams and the seizure of contraband at sea.<ref name="theodorerooseveltcenter.org"/> Furthermore, German diplomats under [[Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff]] were active in attempting to influence American political opinion against the Allies. Of particular concern to Spring Rice was liaison between German and Irish groups in America, and his embassy was closely involved in gathering intelligence regarding the actions of anti-British spies and informants.<ref>Stephen Hartley, Licínia Simão, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DbSuCwAAQBAJ&q=The+Irish+Question+as+a+Problem+in+British+Foreign+Policy,+1914%E2%80%9318 ''The Irish Question as a Problem in British Foreign Policy, 1914–18''] (Springer, 1987), p. 45 (Retrieved 25 July 2016).</ref> He successfully engaged with his many [[Atlanticism|Atlanticist]] American friends, including [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[Henry Stimson]] and [[Joseph Hodges Choate]], who applied pressure on [[Woodrow Wilson]] to abandon neutrality.

In January 1915 [[Arthur Balfour]], the former prime minister, was sent on a mission to convince the United States Congress of Britain's friendship.<ref>/ref>"absolutely irreplaceable supplies", Cabinet Papers, 41/23/7</ref> In a series of meetings, Spring Rice and Consul-General, [[Courtenay Bennett|Sir Courtenay Bennett]], were marginalised by the delegation's representatives. Spring Rice and Bennett agreed to support the subsequent [[Anglo-American Agreement for Co-ordination and Acceleration of Deliveries|Commercial Agreement]] on the condition that Spring Rice's friend, [[J. P. Morgan Jr.]], was appointed as the sole purchasing agent.<ref>[[Kathleen Burk]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=BbtwAwAAQBAJ&q=Britain,+America+and+the+Sinews+of+War+1914-1918 ''Britain, America and the Sinews of War 1914–1918''] (Routledge, 2014), p. 18 (Retrieved 25 July 2016).</ref> Spring Rice was able to keep the feeble commission alive, but voiced his concerns that British finances in the United States were reaching a critical point as chaotic credit arrangements by-passed the body set up by parliament to effectuate co-ordination. Spring Rice sent daily wires to London warning that Gold runs would seriously undermine British bank facility, but these were largely ignored. Spring Rice had served as best man at J. P. Morgan's wedding and his influence over the commission was too great for him to be seen as impartial.<ref>The Board of Management, "The Bulletin of the Federal Reserve" - for warnings to US Treasury and Wall Street against investing in foreign Treasury bills;</ref>

As the war went on, Spring Rice's embassy increasingly assumed an advisory role to the many British special delegations which were sent to secure the support of the US government. Spring Rice complained about the limited part he was able to play in the 1915 [[Anglo-French Financial Commission]] led by [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|Lord Reading]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Greg Kennedy|title=Britain's War At Sea, 1914-1918: The war they thought and the war they fought|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSIFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PP1|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-17221-5|page=33}}</ref> Spring Rice was also concerned by the large number of private brokers and agents, both with and without official authority, who were operating in the United States on behalf of the government and British businesses. As a result, Spring Rice had to request for the [[War Office]] to provide him with an official list of accredited agents, which was reluctantly compiled in late 1914.<ref>Kathleen Burk, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BbtwAwAAQBAJ&q=Britain,+America+and+the+Sinews+of+War+1914-1918 ''Britain, America and the Sinews of War 1914–1918''] (Routledge, 2014), p. 17 (Retrieved 25 July 2016).</ref>

[[File:Signing the British War Loan 1917.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Spring Rice (second from left) signing the third US [[War bond|War Loan]] to Britain in 1917.]]
By 1916, the British government was becoming increasingly worried about the [[Ghadar Party]], a US-based political movement which was agitating for rebellion against British rule in India. The American authorities had been reluctant to check the Indian seditionist movement earlier in the war, and fear about the potential political fallout had prevented Spring Rice from pressing the matter diplomatically. However, in February 1916 Spring Rice was ordered to raise the issue with the new US Secretary of State, [[Robert Lansing]]. The subsequent [[Hindu–German Conspiracy Trial]] uncovered plans to incite an armed revolt in India with German support.<ref name=Strachan800>{{Harvnb|Strachan|2001|p=800}}</ref><ref name=Strachan804>{{Harvnb|Strachan|2001|p=804}}</ref>

In 1916, Spring Rice constantly sought a reprieve for [[Roger Casement]], citing the danger of protests from [[Irish Americans]], but he also advised political and religious leaders of Casement's "perversion" and the existence of the ''[[Black Diaries]]''. In January 1917 he signed the agreement of the third US [[War bond|War Loan]] to Britain on behalf of his government. Spring Rice's efforts to end US neutrality eventually met with success when the USA [[American entry into World War I|entered the conflict]] on the side of the Allies in 1917. In mid-January 1918, following a disagreement with [[Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe|Lord Northcliffe]], the head of the British war mission to America, he was abruptly recalled to London in a one-line telegram.{{Sfn | Gwynn | 1929 | p = 426 (Volume II)}}

Spring Rice immediately travelled to Canada to begin his journey back to Britain. In Canada, Spring Rice was the guest of his wife's cousin, the Duke of Devonshire, who was at the time serving as [[Governor General of Canada]]. Although only 58 and in reasonably good health, Spring Rice unexpectedly died at the viceregal seat, [[Rideau Hall]] in Ottawa, a mere three weeks after leaving his post.{{Sfn | Gwynn | 1929 | p = 435 (Volume II)}} It is believed that his underlying health condition (Graves' disease) had been exacerbated by exhaustion and stress. It was suggested by his family and close friends that Spring Rice had died of a broken heart following his removal from office, with [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] commenting that "the sudden cessation of his work and responsibilities in which his heart was bound up caused him the loss of the will to live".<ref name=burton/> He is buried in [[Beechwood Cemetery]] in [[Ottawa]]. Spring Rice was replaced as ambassador by Lord Reading, who was a direct representative of Britain's [[war cabinet]] and had been afforded additional negotiating powers, thus combining the roles previously held by Northcliffe and Spring Rice.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 January 1918 |title=Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, the British Ambassador at Washington, is coming home on leave |url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/12th-january-1918/3/sir-cecil-spring-rice-the-british-ambassador-at-wa |newspaper=The Spectator |location=London |access-date=26 July 2016 }}</ref>