30

THE TWO HAGUE CONFERENCES

definitive agreements. But even after having run the gauntlet of the subcommission, commission, and conference, some of the delegations would not accept in their governments' names some of the proposals agreed upon; and some of the proposals recommended by delegations to their governments have not yet been adopted by them.1

、 Each state had the right of being represented on each of the commissions, and it was left to the delegations, or the first delegates, to decide which of their members should become members of the various commissions; but in the commissions, as in the conference, each state had only one vote. The membership of the first three commissions was 50, 67, and 59, respectively; and the countries were represented on them by from one to six members each, Russia having, in all three cases, the largest number. The Commission on Petitions numbered fifteen members, and that on Editing four.

The distribution of the offices was both an important and a delicate task; but the choice of the really important officials proved to have been most wise and successful, while the creation of a number of honorary offices prevented international jealousies. The important offices were those of the president of the conference, and the three presidents of the first three commissions. The honorary offices were those of the honorary president and vice president of the conference, the two adjunct and seven honorary presidents of the commissions, and the sixteen vice presidents 2 of the subcommissions.

1 This fact will be adverted to again in the XIV section of this book, entitled, "A Summary of Results."

2 Six of these were really vice presidents of the III Commission, which did not divide into subcommissions.

The initiator of the conference having been Russia, its first delegate, Baron de Staal, was made president of the conference; and three eminent European statesmen and jurists, Beernaert of Belgium, De Martens of Russia, and Bourgeois of France, were made presidents of the first three commissions. Upon these four men and the ten secretaries devolved the administrative work of the conference; but in all important matters they were advised by the "cabinet" and the "steering committee” mentioned above.

1

The twenty-seven honorary offices were distributed among thirteen of the twenty-six countries represented. The Netherlands, as the host of the conference, was given the first two honorary offices, its minister of foreign affairs being appointed honorary president, and its first delegate vice president, of the conference. The Netherlands received two more of the honorary offices, as did also Austria and Turkey; Germany received four; Great Britain, France, and Italy, three each; six other countries 2 received one each.

b. THE CONFERENCE OF 1907

The second conference followed very closely the wise precedents set by the first in regard to organization. A "cabinet" of first delegates was not again necessary, and, with forty-four governments represented, such a cabinet would have proved unwieldy. But an "inner circle,” or "steering committee," of a comparatively few leading

1 The secretaries were not delegates to the conference, but were appointed from four different countries: six from the Netherlands, two from France, one from Russia, and one from Belgium.

2 The United States, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway, Denmark and Switzerland.

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spirits, chiefly delegates from the "great powers," made their preponderating influence felt at critical times

This conference, too, was divided into commissions, subcommissions, and committees of examination. The commissions were six in number, namely: Commissions I, II, III, and IV, the Commission on Petitions, and the Commission on Editing. The Commission, usually called the Arbitration Commission, was divided into two subcommissions: the first, with 103 members, having to consider the various plans of arbitration and prevention of warfare; the second, with 89 members, having to do with maritime prizes

The H Commission, usually called the Commission of War on Land was divided into two subcommissions: the first, with 79 members,dealing with the laws and customs of war on land the second, with 82 members, having to consider the rights and duties of neutrals on land and the declaration of war

The III Commission, usually called the Commission of War on Sea was divided into two subcommissions: the first, with 73 members, having to consider the bombard ment of ports and the use of submarine mines and torpedoes the second, with 82 members, having to do with the conduct of belligerent ships in neutral ports, and with the application of the Geneva Convention to maritime warfare

The IV Commission, usually called the Commission on Maritime Law was not subdivided, but its 114 members discussed together a number of questions concerning maritime warfare which did not come within the province of the III Commission

The Commission on Petitions, composed of five members, was appointed at the second plenary session of the confer

DOTE: ence, on the 19th of June, and presented two reports, one on the 20th of July, and one on the 17th of October

COM

The Commission on Editing, composed of twenty-nine members, was not appointed until the 20th of July, and Ce its single report was presented to the conference at the ninth and tenth plenary sessions.

Com

ར

The procedure was the same in the second conference as in the first. The Russian propositions would be presented, explained, and discussed in a subcommission; sometimes a special “committee of examination" would be appointed by a subcommission to scrutinize and report upon propositions submitted by various delegations; then the committee's report, or the report of the subcommission's "reporter," would be discussed and amended; the commission would next pass upon its subcommission's decisions; and finally the conference would formally approve the recommendations of the commission. In this procedure the commissions' presidents, reporters, and committees of examination fulfilled an important service in crystallizing the long discussions of the subcommissions and commissions, and in formulating results for final action.J

In the distribution of offices, Russia was again given the presidency of the conference, her first delegate, M. Nelidow, being chosen for this honor. The Netherlands minister of foreign affairs and its first delegate were again made honorary president and vice president of the conference. The presidencies of the first four commissions went to Bourgeois,1 of France; Beernaert,2 of Belgium; Tor

1 M. Bourgeois had been the president of the first conference's III Commission, that on arbitration, which had become the I Commission of the second conference.

2 M. Beernaert had been the president of the first conference's I C mission, that on armaments, which topic was not assigned to a sep commission by the second conference.

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THE TWO HAGUE CONFERENCES

nielli, of Italy; and Martens,' of Russia. In addition to these four presidents of commissions, all of whom presided over one or two subcommissions, there were two other men, Asser of the Netherlands and Hagerup of Norway, who presided over two subcommissions.

Upon the seven active presidents and the twenty-four secretaries 2 devolved the administrative labors of the conference, but as in the first conference they were advised in all important matters by the "inner circle" of leading delegates.

In addition to the honorary offices of honorary president and vice president of the conference, which went to the Netherlands, there were twenty-nine honorary, adjunct, and vice presidencies, which were distributed among twenty-three of the forty-four countries represented. Of the eleven honorary and two adjunct presidencies, the United States and Austria received two each, and nine other countries3 one each. Of the sixteen vice presidencies, four went to four of the above-named countries,* and the rest to twelve others.5

1 M. de Martens had been president of the first conference's II Commission, that on the laws and customs of warfare, which topic was assigned by the second conference to its II, III, and IV Commissions.

2 The secretaries were not members of the conference, but were appointed from different countries: ten from the Netherlands, four from Russia, three from France, two from Belgium, and one each from Roumania, the United States, Spain, Great Britain, and Panama.

3 These nine were: Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Japan, China, Turkey, and Brazil.

4 Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Austria.

5 France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Greece, Roumania, Servia, Persia, Mexico, Argentina, and Chili.