The President states that the Government of the Netherlands has asked him to bring to the knowledge of the Conference a letter addressed by Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands to His Holiness the Pope, advising him of the meeting of the Peace Conference at The Hague, as also the answer of His Holiness to that communication. Letter of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands MOST AUGUST PONTIFF: Your Holiness, whose eloquent voice has always been raised with such authority in favor of peace, having quite recently, in your allocution of the 11th of April, last, expressed those generous sentiments, more especially in regard to the relations among peoples, I considered it my duty to inform you that, at the request and upon the initiative of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, I have called together, for the eighteenth of this month, a Conference at The Hague, which shall be charged with seeking the proper means of diminishing the present crushing military charges and to prevent war, if possible, or at least to mitigate its effects. I am sure that your Holiness will look with sympathy upon the meeting of this Conference, and I shall be very happy if, in expressing to me the [164] assurance of that distinguished sympathy, you would kindly give your valuable moral support to the great work which shall be wrought out at my capital, according to the noble plans of the magnanimous Emperor of All the Russias. I seize with alacrity upon the present occasion, Most August Pontiff, to renew to your Holiness the assurance of my high esteem and of my personal devotion. HAUSBADEN, May 7, 1899. (Signed) WILHELMINA. YOUR MAJESTY : Reply of His Holiness We cannot but find agreeable the letter by which Your Majesty, in announcing to us the meeting of the Conference for Peace in your capital, did us the courtesy to request our moral support for that assembly. We hasten to express our keen sympathy for the august initiator of the Conference, and for Your Majesty, who extended to it such spontaneous and noble hospitality, and for the eminently moral and beneficent object toward which the labors already begun are tending. We consider that it comes especially within our province not only to lend our moral support to such enterprises, but to cooperate actively in them, for the object in question is supremely noble in its nature and intimately bound up with our august ministry, which, through the divine founder of the Church, and in virtue of traditions of many secular instances, has been invested with the highest possible mission, that of being a mediator of peace. In fact, the authority of the supreme pontiff goes beyond the boundaries of nations; it embraces all peoples, to the end of federating them in the true peace of the gospel. His action to promote the general good of humanity rises above the special interest which the chiefs of the various States have in view, and, better than any one else, his authority knows how to incline toward concord peoples of diverse nature and character. History itself bears witness to all that has been done, by the influence of our predecessors, to soften the inexorable laws of war, to arrest bloody conflicts when controversies have arisen between princes, to terminate peacefully even the most acute differences between nations, to vindicate courageously the rights of the weak against the pretensions of the strong. Even unto us, notwithstanding the abnormal condition to which we are at present reduced, it has been given to put an end to grave differences between great nations such as Germany and Spain, and this very day we hope to be able soon to establish concord between two nations of South America which have submitted their controversy to our arbitration. In spite of obstacles which may arise, we shall continue, since it rests with us to fulfil that traditional mission, without seeking any other object than the public weal, without envying any glory but that of serving the sacred cause of Christian civilization. We beg Your Majesty to accept the expression of our great esteem and our best wishes for your prosperity and that of your kingdom. From the VATICAN, May 29, 1899. (Signed) LEO P.P. XIII. The President states that the text of these two letters shall be inserted in the report of the meeting, and then makes the following address: GENTLEMEN: We have reached the end of our labors. Before we part and shake hands with each other for the last time in this beautiful Palace in the Wood, I come to ask you to join with me in repeating the tribute of our gratitude to the gracious sovereign of the Netherlands for the hospitality so lavishly showered upon us. The wishes which Her Majesty recently expressed in a voice at once charming and determined have been of good omen for the progress of our deliberations. May God crown with His blessings the reign of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, for the good of the noble country under her rule. We beg Mr. DE BEAUFORT, in his capacity of honorary president of the Conference, kindly to lay the homage of our good wishes at the feet of Her Majesty. We likewise request his Excellency and the Netherland Government to accept the expression of our gratitude for the kindly assistance they have given us, which has so greatly facilitated our task. [165] With all my heart I assume the rôle of your spokesman in warmly thanking the eminent statesmen and jurists who have presided over the work of our Commissions, of our subcommissions, and of our committees. They have displayed the rarest qualities, and we are happy to be able to congratulate them here. Our reporters also deserve your gratitude. In their reports, which are indeed masterpieces, they have given the authorized commentary on the texts adopted. Our secretariat has performed an arduous task with a zeal which is worthy of every praise. The accurate and complete procès-verbaux of our long and frequent sessions bear witness to this fact. Finally, I have to thank you myself, gentlemen, for all the indulgent kindnesses which you have shown to your president. It is indeed one of the greatest honors of my long life, which has been devoted entirely to the service of my sovereigns and my country, to have been called by you to the presidency of our high assembly. In the course of the years during which I have been an attentive witness of events which will form the history of our century, in some of which I have taken part as a modest workman, I have seen a gradually increasing influence of moral ideas in political relations. This influence has to-day reached a memorable stage. His Majesty the Emperor of Russia, inspired by family traditions, as Mr. BEERNAERT has happily reminded us, and animated by constant solicitude for the welfare of nations, has in a measure opened the way for the realization of these conceptions. You, gentlemen, who are younger than your president, will no doubt make further progress along the road upon which we have set out. After so long and laborious a session, while you have before your eyes the result of your labors, I shall refrain from burdening you with an historical account of what you have accomplished at the cost of so much effort. I shall confine myself to a few general observations. In response to the call of the Emperor my august master, the Conference accepted the program outlined in the circulars of Count MoURAVIEFF, and examined it attentively and at length. If the First Commission, which had taken charge of military questions, the limitation of armaments and of budgets, did not arrive at important material results, it is because the Commission met with technical difficulties and a series of allied considerations which it did not deem itself competent to examine. But the Conference has requested the various Governments to resume the study of these questions. The Conference unanimously supported the resolution proposed by the first delegate of France, to wit: "That the limitation of military charges, which at present weigh down the world, is greatly to be desired for the increase of the material and moral welfare of humanity." The Conference likewise accepted all the humanitarian proposals referred to the Second Commission for examination. In this class of questions the Conference was able to meet the long-expressed desire that the application of principles similar to those embodied in the Geneva Convention be extended to naval warfare. Resuming a work started at Brussels twenty-five years ago under the auspices of Emperor Alexander II, the Conference succeeded in giving a more definite form to the laws and customs of war on land. Such, gentlemen, are the positive results achieved by conscientious labor. But the work which opens a new era, so to speak, in the domain of the law of nations, is the Convention for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. It bears as a heading the inscription: "The Maintenance of General Peace." A few years ago, in closing the Bering Sea arbitration, an eminent French diplomat expressed himself as follows: "We have endeavored to preserve intact the fundamental principles of that august law of nations which spreads like the vault of heaven over all nations and borrows the laws of nature herself, to protect the peoples of the world one from the other by inculcating upon them the essentials of mutual good-will." The Peace Conference, with the authority possessed by an assembly composed of civilized States, has endeavored also to safeguard, in matters of the utmost importance, the fundamental principles of international law. It has undertaken to give them precision, to develop them, and to apply them more completely. It has created upon several points a new law to meet new necessities, the progress of international life, the exigencies of the public conscience, and the highest aspirations of humanity. Especially has it accomplished a work which will doubtless be called hereafter "The First International Code of Peace," to which we have given the more modest name of "Convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes." [166] In inaugurating the sessions of the Conference, I pointed out as one of the principal elements of our combined endeavors-" the very essence of our task "—the realization of the progress so impatiently awaited in the matter of mediation and arbitration. I was not mistaken in believing that our labors in this direction would be of exceptional importance. This work is to-day an accomplished fact. It bears witness to the great solicitude of the Governments for all that concerns the peaceful development of international relations and the well-being of nations. No doubt this work is not perfect, but it is sincere, practical, and wise. It endeavors to conciliate, in safeguarding them, the two principles which are the foundation of the law of nations-the principle of the sovereignty of States and the principle of a just international solidarity. It gives precedence to that which unites over that which divides. It affirms that the dominant factor in the era upon which we are entering should be works which spring from the need of concord and which are made fruitful by the collaboration of States seeking the realization of their legitimate interests in a durable peace governed by justice. The task accomplished by the Hague Conference in this direction is indeed meritorious and noble. It is in keeping with the magnanimous sentiments of the august initiator of the Conference. It will have the support of public opinion everywhere, and will, I hope, receive the commendation of history. I shall not, gentlemen, enter into the details of the Act which many of us have just signed. They are set forth and analyzed in the incomparable report which is in your hands. At the present moment it is perhaps premature to judge as a whole the work which has barely ended. We are still too near the cradle: we lack the perspective of distance. What is certain is that this work, undertaken upon the initiative of the Emperor my august master and under the auspices of the Queen of the Netherlands, will develop in the future. As the president of our Third Commission said on a memorable occasion, "The further we advance along the highway of time, the more clearly will the importance of this work appear." Well, gentlemen, the first step has been taken. Let us unite our good-will and profit by experience. The good seed is sown. Let the harvest come. As for me, who have reached the end of my career and the decline of life, I consider it a supreme consolation to see new prospects opening up for the good of humanity and to be able to peer into the brightness of the future. (Prolonged applause.) His Excellency Count Münster speaks as follows: GENTLEMEN: You will allow me, as the senior member of this assembly, to answer the eloquent words which we have just heard, and you will join me in expressing our thanks to Mr. STAAL and Mr. VAN KARNEBEEK, the president and vice president of the Conference. Mr. STAAL has greatly contributed to the success of our work. By his great courtesy to all of us, he was able to maintain good relations among all the dele gates. It is very rare that an assembly which has lasted two months and a half can show such perfect harmony as that which has always reigned in this hall. Mr. VAN KARNEBEEK has been the prime mover of the Conference. He has worked more than any of us, and we owe him much. We have to thank him also for the great hospitality which we have found here, from the throne down to the most humble citizen. Mr. VAN KARNEBEEK has found inspiration in the example of his august sovereign, who has honored us with a welcome which we shall never forget. If the Conference has not realized all of its wishes-and its desires and illusions ran high-it will at least have a great influence upon the future, and the seeds which it has sown are sure to germinate. Its particular result will then be the influence which the meeting of so many eminent men cannot fail to have upon the mutual understanding of all nations. This Conference will be one of our most beautiful memories, and in this recollection two names will always shine, those of Mr. STAAL and Mr. VAN KARNEBEEK. I beg you to rise in their honor. (Loud applause.) The President answers that he is deeply touched by the eloquent words which have just been spoken, and that he thanks Count MÜNSTER from the bottom of his heart, as well as all those whose sentiments he has expressed. In the many memories which he will take away from the Conference, that of the good relations which he has sustained with all his colleagues will never leave his recollection. (Applause.) Jonkheer van Karnebeek says that he is equally touched by the words of Count MÜNSTER. He hesitates nevertheless to apply these words of praise to himself personally. If it is thought that he was able to do anything for [167] the success of the common labors, and if he has been in any way the per sonification of the spirit and the work of the Conference, Mr. van KarneBEEK declares that he has but reflected the spirit which filled all the delegates, and of what they themselves have accomplished. (Applause.) Baron d'Estournelles expresses himself as follows: With the permission of our honored president I would like to submit to the Conference a personal wish before we separate. Our work may be discussed and judged too modestly, but, as Count MÜNSTER has just said, it will never be doubted that we have worked conscientiously for two months and a half. We came to The Hague from all parts of the globe. without knowing one another, with more of prejudice and of uncertainty than of hope; to-day many prejudices have disappeared; and confidence and sympathy have arisen among us. It is owing to this concord, born of the devotion of all of us to the common work we have done, that we have been enabled to reach the first stage of progress; little by little it will be recognized that the results obtained can not be neglected, but that they consitute a fruitful germ. This germ, however, in order that it may develop, must be the object of constant solicitude, and this is the reason why we should all wish and hope that our Conference is not separating forever. It should be the beginning; it ought not to be the end. Let us unite in the hope, gentlemen, that our countries, in calling other conferences such as this, may continue to assist in advancing the cause of civilization and of peace. (Applause.) His Excellency Mr. de Beaufort makes the following address: |