Chapter II The members of the Conference. SERVIA (Serbie) Chedomil Mijatovitch, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. Member of the Second and Third Committees. Colonel Maschine, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Cettigne. Member of the First Committee. Voislave Veljkovitch, Professor of Law at Belgrade. Member of Second and Third Committees. SIAM (Siam) Phya Suriya, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France. Member of the Third Committee. Phya Visuddha, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. Chevalier Corragioni d' Orelli, Councillor of Legation. Member of the Second and Third Committees. Edouard Rolin, Consul-General of Siam in Belgium. Member of the First and Third Committees; reporter of the sub-committee of the Second Committee. SWEDEN AND NORWAY (Suède et Norvège) Baron de Bildt, formerly Minister to Washington and Vienna, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Italy. Member of the Third Committee. Col. P. H. E. Brändström, Commander First Regi ment of Grandees of the Court; Military Expert. Chapter II Member of the First and Second Committees. Captain C. A. M. de Hjulhammer, Naval Expert. W. Konow, President of the Odelsthing of Norway, and member of the Third Committee. Major-General J. J. Thaulow of the Norwegian Army, Military Expert. Vice-President of the Second Committee. SWITZERLAND (Suisse) Arnold Roth, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Berlin. Vice-President of the Second Committee and member of the Third Committee. Colonel Arnold Kuenzli, National Councillor. Member of the First and Third Committees. Edouard Odier, National Councillor; Counselor at Law. Member of the Second and Third Committees and of the Comité d'Examen. TURKEY (Turquie) Turkhan Pacha, formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of Council of State. Honorary President of the Second Committee and member of the Third Committee. Noury Bey, Secretary-General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Member of the Second and Third Committees. General Abdullah Pacha, Military Expert. VicePresident of the First Committee; member of the Second Committee. Rear-Admiral Mehemed Pacha, Naval Expert. Member of the First and Second Committee. Chapter II Address of M. de Beaufort, BULGARIA (Bulgarie) Dimitri I. Stancioff, Diplomatic Agent at St. Petersburg. Member of the Second and Third Committees. Major Christo Hessaptchieff, Military Attaché at Belgrade. Member of the First Committee. So far as the author could ascertain, not one of these one hundred members was missing at the opening scene. Promptly at two o'clock the doors of the meeting room were closed, and an impressive silence came over the assemblage, in which every member doubtless realized that a great and solemn historical moment had arrived. His Excellency W. H. de Beaufort, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, rose and called the meeting to order with the following remarks: "In the name of Her Majesty, my August Sovereign, I have the honor to bid you welcome, and to express in this place my sentiments of profound respect and lively gratitude toward His Majesty, the Emperor of all the Russias, who, in designating The Hague as the meeting-place of the Peace Conference, has conferred a great honor upon our country. His Majesty, the Emperor of all the Russias, in taking the noble initiative which has been acclaimed throughout the entire civilized world, wishing to realize the desire expressed by one of his most illustrious predecessors the Emperor Alexander the First- that of seeing all the sovereigns and all the nations of Europe united for the purpose of living as brethren, Chapter II aiding each other according to their reciprocal needs, -inspired by these noble traditions of his august grandfather, His Majesty has proposed to all the Governments, of which the representatives are found here, the meeting of a Conference which should have the object of seeking the means of putting a limit to incessant armaments, and to prevent the calamities which menace the entire world. The day of the meeting of this Conference will, beyond doubt, be one of the days which will mark the history of the century which is about to close. It coincides with the festival which all the subjects of His Majesty celebrate as a national holiday, and in associating myself, from the bottom of my heart, with all the wishes for the well-being of this magnanimous Sovereign, I shall permit myself to become the interpreter of the wishes of the civilized world, in expressing the hope that His Majesty, seeing the results of his generous designs by the efforts of this Conference, may hereafter be able to consider this day as one of the happiest in his reign. Her Majesty, my August Sovereign, animated by the same sentiments which have inspired the Emperor of all the Russias, has chosen to put at the disposal of this Conference the most beautiful historical monument which she possesses. The room where you find yourselves to-day, decorated by the greatest artists. of the seventeenth century, was erected by the widow of Prince Frederick Henry to the memory of her noble husband. Among the greatest of the alle Chapter II gorical figures which you will admire here, there is one appertaining to the peace of Westphalia, which merits your attention most especially. It is the one where you see Peace entering this room for the purpose of closing the Temple of Janus. I hope, gentlemen, that this beautiful allegory will be a good omen for your labors, and that, after they have been terminated, you will be able to say that Peace, which here is shown to enter this room, has gone out for the purpose of scattering its blessings over all humanity. My task is finished. I have the honor to submit to you two propositions: first, to offer to His Majesty, the Emperor of all Telegram to the Russias, our respectful congratulations by telethe Emperor graph in these words: The Peace Conference places at the feet of Your Majesty its respectful congratulations on the occasion of Your Majesty's birthday, and expresses its sincere desire of coöperating in the accomplishment of the great and noble work in which Your Majesty has taken the generous initiative, and for which the Conference requests the acceptance of its humble and profound gratitude.' of Russia. Election of the President. 6 My second proposition will be met with equal favor. I wish to be permitted to express the desire that the Presidency of this assembly be conferred upon His Excellency M. de Staal, Ambassador of Russia." These motions having been carried unanimously, His Excellency M. de Staal took the presidential chair, with the following speech: |