arbitration the right to demand a rehearing of the case. In this case, and in the absence of any stipulation to the contrary, the demand shall be addressed to the Tribunal which has pronounced the judgment; but it shall be based only on the discovery of new facts, of such a character as to exercise a decisive influence upon the judgment, and which at the time of the judgment were unknown to the Tribunal itself and to the parties demanding the rehearing. The proceedings for a rehearing can only be begun by a decision of the Tribunal stating expressly the existence of the new fact and recognizing that it possesses the character described in the preceding paragraph, and declaring that the demand is admissible on that ground. The agreement of arbitration shall determine the time within which the demand for a rehearing shall be made. ARTICLE LVI. The award shall be obligatory only upon the parties who have concluded the arbitration agreement. When there is a question of the interpretation of an agreement entered into by other Powers besides the parties in litigation, the parties to the dispute shall notify the other Powers which have signed the agreement, of the special agreement which they have concluded. Each one of these Powers shall have the right to take part in the proceedings. If one or more among them avail themselves of this permission, the interpretation in the judgment becomes obligatory upon them also. ARTICLE LVII. Each party shall bear its own expenses and an equal part of the expenses of the Tribunal. GENERAL PROVISIONS. ARTICLE LVIII. The present Convention shall be ratified with as little delay as possible. The ratifications shall be deposited at The Hague. An official report of each ratification shall be made, a certified copy of which shall be sent through diplomatic channels to all the Powers represented in the Peace Conference at The Hague. ARTICLE LIX. The Powers which were represented at the International Peace Conference, but which have not signed this Convention, may become parties to it. For this purpose they will make known to the Contracting Powers their adherence by means of a written notification addressed to all the other Contracting Powers. ARTICLE LX. The conditions under which Powers not represented in the International Peace Conference may become adherents to the present Convention shall be determined hereafter by agreement between the Contracting Powers. ARTICLE LXI. If one of the High Contracting Parties shall give notice of a determination to withdraw from the present Convention, this notification shall have its effect only after it has been made in writing to the Government of the Netherlands and communicated by it immediately to all the other Contracting Powers. This notification shall have no effect except for the Power which has made it. In faith of which the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention and affixed their seals to it. Done at the Hague, the 29th July, 1899, in a single copy, which shall remain in the archives of the Netherland Government, and copies of it, duly certified, be sent through the diplomatic channel to the Contracting Powers. (Signatures.) THE CZAR'S RESCRIPT. Issued by Count Muravieff, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the 24th of August, 1898. The maintenance of general peace and a possible reduction of the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations present themselves, in the existing condition of the whole world, as the ideal towards which the endeavors of all governments should be directed. The humanitarian and magnanimous spirit of His Majesty the Emperor, my August Master, is wholly convinced of this view. In the conviction that this lofty aim is in conformity with the most essential interests and the legitimate wishes of all the Powers, the Imperial Government thinks the present moment would be very favorable for an inquiry, by means of international discussion, as to the most effective means of insuring to all the peoples the benefits of a real and durable peace, and, above all, of putting a limit to the progressive development of the present armaments. In the course of the last twenty years, the longings for general appeasement have been particularly marked in the consciousness of the civilized nations. The preservation of peace has been put forward as the object of international policy. It is in its name that the Great States have concluded between themselves powerful alliances. It is the better to guarantee peace that they have developed their military forces in proportions hitherto unknown, and still continue to increase them without shrinking from any sacrifice. But all these efforts have not yet been able to bring about the beneficent results of the pacification desired. The financial burdens, constantly increasing, strike at public prosperity at its very source. The intellectual and physical forces of the nations, and their labor and capital are, for the most part, diverted from their natural application and unproductively consumed. Hundreds of millions are employed in procuring terrible engines of destruction, which, though to-day regarded as the supreme attainment of science, are sure to-morrow to lose all value because of some new invention in this field. National culture, economic progress, and the production of wealth are paralyzed or checked in development. So, too, in proportion as the armaments of each power increase, do they less and less fulfil the object which the governments have had in view. Economic crises, due in great part to the system of armament à outrance, and the continual danger which lies in this accumulation of war material, are transforming the armed peace of our days into a crushing burden which the peoples have more and more difficulty in bearing. It seems evident that if this state of things continues it will inevitably lead to the very cataclysm which it is desired to avert, the horrors of which, even in anticipation, cause every thinking man to tremble. To put an end to these incessant armaments, and to seek the means of warding off the calamities which threaten the whole world, is the supreme duty resting to-day upon all states. Filled with this idea, His Majesty the Emperor has been pleased to command me to propose to all the governments which have accredited representatives at the Imperial Court the meeting of a conference which shall take into consideration this grave problem. This conference will be, by the help of God, a happy presage for the century now about to open. It will unite, and thus greatly strengthen, the efforts of all those states which sincerely seek to make the great conception of universal peace triumph over the elements of trouble and discord. It will, at the same time, cement them together by a joint consecration of the principles of equity and right on which rest the security of states and the welfare of peoples. THE CZAR'S SECOND CIRCULAR. Addressed by Count Muravieff to the Representatives of the When, in the month of August last, my August Master ordered me to propose to the governments having representatives at St. Petersburg the meeting of a conference whose purpose should be an inquiry as to the most efficacious means of assuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and durable peace, and, above all, of putting a stop to the progressive development of existing armaments, nothing seemed to be in the way of the realization, at a comparatively early date, of this humanitarian project. The cordial reception given to the request of the Imperial Government by almost all the Powers justified this expectation. Greatly appreciating the sympathetic terms in which the acceptance of the greater part of the governments was expressed, the Imperial Cabinet, at the same time, has received, with lively satisfaction, the evidences of most sincere approval which have been addressed to it, and which do not cease to come from all classes of society and from all quarters of the world. In spite of the great movement of opinion which has taken place in favor of the idea of general pacification, the political horizon has materially changed its aspect. In recent weeks, several Powers have determined upon new armaments, taking upon themselves the task of increasing further their military forces. In view of this uncertain situation, one might be led to ask whether the Powers really consider the present moment opportune for the international discussion of the ideas put forth in the circular of August 24. Hoping, nevertheless, that the elements of confusion which are disturbing the political spheres will soon give place to calmer feelings, such as will favor the success of the proposed conference, the Imperial Government is of the opinion that it will be possible to proceed at once to a provisional exchange of ideas between the Powers with this aim in view, and to make an inquiry without delay as to the means of putting a stop to the progressive increase of armaments on land and sea. The solution of this question is evidently becoming more and more urgent, in view of the recent extension given to these armaments, and of the necessity of preparing the way for a discussion of all questions having reference to the possibility of preventing armed conflicts by the pacific means which are at the disposal of international diplomacy. In case the Powers should consider the present moment favorable for the meeting of a conference of this kind, it would certainly be useful for the Čabinets to come to some agreement upon the subject of the programme of its deliberations. The topics to be submitted to international discussion in the conference might be stated in general terms as follows: 1. An agreement stipulating that for a time to be agreed upon the existing armed forces on land and sea shall not be increased; the same agreement to apply to the corresponding budgets. A provisional study of the ways in which, in the future, a reduction of these forces and budgets may be brought about. 2. Interdiction of the use, in the armies and navies, of any new firearms whatever, and of new explosives, as well as of powders more powerful than those actually in use, whether for rifles or for cannon. 3. Limitation of the employment, in land warfare, of the formidable explosives already in use, and prohibition of the hurling of projectiles or explosives of any kind from balloons or in analogous ways. 4. Prohibition of the employment, in naval warfare, of submarine torpedo boats or "divers," or of other engines of destruction of the same nature. Engagement not to construct in the future ships of war with rams. 5. Application to maritime warfare of the stipulations of the Geneva Convention of 1864, on the basis of the additional articles of 1868. 6. Neutralization, on the same terms, of ships or small vessels engaged in saving the wrecked, during or after battles at sea. 7. Revision of the declaration concerning the laws and customs of war made in 1874 by the Brussels Conference, but not ratified up to the present hour. 8. Acceptance of the principles of mediation and voluntary arbitration for cases to which they are applicable, with the view of preventing armed conflicts between the nations; an understanding as to the mode of their application, and the establishment of a uniform practice in their use. It is, of course, understood that all questions concerning the political relations of the states and their treaty rights, as, in general, all questions not directly included in the programme adopted by the Cabinets must be absolutely excluded from the deliberations of the conference. In requesting you, sir, to find out the wishes of your government in regard to the subject referred to in this communication, I beg of you, at the same time, to bring to its attention the fact that, in the interest of the great cause which my August Master has so much at heart, His Imperial Majesty judges that it would be advisable for the conference not to sit in the capital of one of the great Powers, where are centred so many political interests which might retard the progress of a work in which all the countries of the world are equally interested. The Peace Conference at The Hague met on the 18th of May, 1899, in response to the rescript of the Czar of Russia issued on the 24th of August, 1898. The invitation went to all the States having accredited diplomatic representatives at St. Petersburg; and all of the States invited to the Conference accepted the invitation. There were one hundred members of the Conference: a full list of these, arranged by States, may be found in Mr. Holls's book on the Conference. The commissioners from the United States were Hon. Andrew D. White, Hon. Seth Low, Hon. Stanford Newel, Captain Alfred T. Mahan, and Captain William Crozier; and the secretary and counsel of the commission was Frederick W. Holls. Baron de Staal, the head of the Russian delegation, was elected the president of the Conference. The Conference continued until July 29, when the final act and other documents were signed. The arbitration treaty was signed on July 29 by the representatives of sixteen powers, and was afterwards signed and ratified by all the powers represented at the Conference. The United States Senate ratified it unanimously on Feb. 5, 1900. The conclusions of the Conference were embodied in three Conventions and three Declarations. The three Conventions were: I. Convention for the peaceful settlement of international differences; II. Convention regarding the laws and customs of war by land; III. Convention for the adaptation to maritime warfare of the principles of the Geneva Convention of the 22d August, 1864. The three Declarations were: I. To prohibit the launching of projectiles and explosives from balloons or by other similar new methods; II. To prohibit the use of projectiles, the only object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases; III. To prohibit the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope, of which the envelope does not entirely cover the core |