and of appreciation of "the historic soil of the Netherlands," "the cradle of the science of international law," in which, through the hospitality of the Queen, they had come together. At the suggestion of M. de Staal, a telegram of greeting was then sent to the Queen; the two honorary officers and the secretaries of the conference were appointed; a motion for secret sessions was passed; and the first meeting of the historic assembly came to an end, after a duration of one half hour.

At the second plenary session, May 20, two telegrams of thanks and good wishes from the Queen and the Czar were read, the creation of the first three commissions was approved, and M. de Staal made his formal presidential address. Stating the principal aim of the conference to be that of seeking "the most effective means of assuring to all nations the benefits of a real and durable peace," M. de Staal noted the fact that "the instinct of the peoples, anticipating the decision taken on this point by the governments, has given to our assembly the name of Peace. Conference." "The Peace Conference," he said, "must not fail in the duty which devolves upon it; there must result from its deliberations something tangible, something which all mankind confidently expects. The eagerness which all the powers have shown in accepting the proposition contained in the Russian circulars is the most eloquent testimony of the unanimity accorded to ideas of

peace.

The nations have an ardent desire for peace, and we owe it to humanity, we owe it to the governments which have confided their powers to us here and which have in charge the welfare of their people, we owe it to ourselves, to accomplish a useful work in determining the method of employing some of the means designed to

insure peace. . . . It is not a question of entering the domain of Utopia. In the work which we are about to undertake, we should keep in view the possible, and not attempt to seek for abstract ideals. Without at all sacrificing our ulterior hopes, we should remain within the realm of reality and test it to its lowest depth, so as to lay solid foundations and build on concrete bases." After praising the attempts of diplomacy to smooth away international differences and jealousies which, in spite of many mutual interests and bonds between the nations, inevitably arise, Baron de Staal said that although "diplomacy long ago admitted arbitration and mediation within its practice, it has not determined the method of their employment, nor has it defined the cases in which they should be applied. It is to this high task that we are to devote our efforts, sustained by the conviction that we are striving for the welfare of all mankind along the path which preceding generations have traced for us.” After alluding to the other two parts of the Russian programme, the mitigation of the horrors of warfare and the limitation of armaments, the orator concluded with the words: "Such, then, gentlemen, are the essential ideas which should in general direct our deliberations. We shall consider them, I am sure, in a lofty and genuinely conciliatory spirit, for the purpose of pursuing the path which leads to the consolidation of peace. We shall thus accomplish a useful task, for which future generations must thank the sovereigns and governments represented within these walls."

1 This expression was denounced in many newspapers as an evidence of Russia's determination to push on, in spite of the Peace Conference which it had called, in its career of territorial aggrandizement. If such had been Staal's meaning, he would have been too astute to confess it; what the words implied were, of course, ulterior hopes of universal and permanent peace.

The tenth and last plenary session was held at three o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday, the 29th of July. The morning of that day had been devoted to the signing of the various conventions and declarations agreed upon. These documents had been engrossed and the seals of the various signatory powers affixed to them; they were then spread out on the tables in the dining room of the House in the Woods, and the delegates from each country in alphabetical order came out from the Orange Hall to sign them. At the plenary session in the afternoon, the signatures were first reported on; then the president stated that at the request of the government of the Netherlands he would have the secretary read to the conference a letter from the Queen of the Netherlands to the Pope and the Pope's reply to it. These letters had to do with the meeting of the conference at The Hague and the Pope's nonparticipation in it; and many of the delegates considered this rather remarkable action on the part of the Netherlands government and the president of the conference as unnecessary and indeed ill-advised, especially in view of the fact that the first delegates had been kept in ignorance of the existence of the letters, which had been written in May, and of the intention to have them read to the conference. Immediately after this ceremony, the president delivered his farewell address. This was responded to by Count Münster, the first delegate from Germany. Baron d'Estournelles, of France, and M. de Beaufort, of the Netherlands, then made brief addresses, after which the president declared the first Peace Conference adjourned without day.

1 See page II.

1

2 These four addresses had to do chiefly with the results of the conference, and will be alluded to later, under the appropriate topic.

The I Commission held eight reunions, at intervals from the 23d of May to the 20th of July. Its first subcommission held six meetings, from May 26 to June 26; and its second subcommission held seven meetings, from May 26 to June 30.

The II Commission held four reunions, from May 23 to July 5; its first subcommission held five meetings, from May 25 to June 15; and its second subcommission held twelve meetings, from May 25 to July 1.

(The III Commission held nine reunions, from May 23 to July 25 and its committee of examination held eighteen meetings, from May 26 to July 21.

It was in these twenty-one commission reunions and forty-eight subcommission and committee meetings that the detailed business of the conference was transacted. Their deliberations will not be taken up separately and in chronological order in this book, but will be narrated according to topics discussed.

b. THE CONFERENCE OF 1907

The second conference, although it continued eight weeks longer than the first, held only one more plenary session. These were eleven in number and were held on the following dates: June 15 and 19; July 20; August 17; September 7, 21, and 27; October 9, 16, 17, and 18.

The first session was opened at three o'clock in the afternoon of June 15 by the Netherlands minister of foreign affairs, Jonkheer van Tets van Goudriaan, who in welcoming the conference to The Hague mentioned the part played in its convocation by the Czar and the Queen; and of President Roosevelt he spoke as follows:

"But I think that it would be improper to omit at this hour the tribute of our gratitude to the eminent statesman who presides over the destinies of the United States of America. President Roosevelt has powerfully contributed to the growth of the grain sowed by the august initiator of the solemn international assemblies convoked for the discussion and better definition of the rules of international law."

On the motion of M. van Tets, a telegram of greeting was sent to the Czar, and the first delegate from Russia, M. Nelidow, was chosen president of the conference.

M. Nelidow nominated the honorary president, the vice president, and the secretaries of the conference, and proposed that a telegram of greeting be sent to the Queen; he also referred to the part played in convoking the conference by "the eminent head of the great North American Confederation, whose generous impulses are inspired always by the noblest sentiments of justice and humanity." In speaking of the work of the conference, "the discussion in common of the dearest interests of humanity — those of conciliation and justice," M. Nelidow said:

"Every friend of civilization follows with sympathetic interest the progress of international institutions growing out of the first Peace Conference, and a generous citizen of the United States has given a fortune for the erection here of a sumptuous palace where they will have their permanent seat. It is for us to make them worthy of this munificent act, and thereby to prove to Mr. Carnegie our appreciation. But let us not be too ambitious. Let us not forget that our means of action are limited; that nations are living beings as truly as are the individuals who compose them; that they have the same passions, the same aspirations, the same defects, the same illusions.

But let not that discourage us from dreaming of the ideal of a universal peace and a brotherhood of peoples, which are after all only the natural and higher aspirations of the human soul. Is not the essential condition of all progress the pursuit of an ideal towards which one always strives without ever being able to attain it? Excel