Chapter VII labor. The substance of the work, representing all that was attainable, had been finally secured, and there remained but one more question, relating, indeed, entirely to form, but still of far-reaching importance. This was the agreement as to terms upon which Powers not represented at the Peace Conference should be permitted to adhere to the Treaty. Powers not invited. Atten to b いまで 80127 THE QUESTION OF ADHERENCE Of the independent Governments of the world, the Central and South American Republics. the Sultanates of Morocco and Muscat, the Orange Free State, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of San Marino, and the Kingdom of Abyssinia. were the only ones not represented in the Peace Conference. There could be no possible objection to the adherence of any one or all of them to the declarations of the Conference, and to the treaties regarding the laws and usages of war, and to the extension of the Geneva Rules to naval warfare. A very different question, however, was presented with reference to the Arbitration Treaty, for the latter not only imposes obligations upon the Signatory Powers, but also confers certain rights-notably the right to appoint members in good and regular standing of the Permanent Court of Arbitration — thus implying for each appointing State an absolute recognition of its independence and international status. In the Committee on the Preparation of the Final Act, to which was also referred the preparation of the formal part of the various treaties and declarations, an attempt was made to insert a provision into the Arbitration Treaty which would have enabled Chapter VII any Government claiming independence and an international status to further its own ends, even against the consent and without the approval of other Signatory Powers, by simply declaring its adherence to the Treaty, and demanding recognition for its appointees upon the list of judges. It was at this point alone that the Conference was directly confronted with a political question which might easily have become of great and immediate danger. It is needless to say that the interests chiefly affected were those of the Pope, whose claims to temporal power, independence, and an international status, are recognized either explicitly or impliedly by a number of the Signatory Powers, while others cannot consider him in any other light, so far as international law is concerned, than as a private individual, enjoying certain immunities under the municipal law of Italy. Instantly similar pretensions on the part of the Transvaal, and possibly also of an alleged Filipino Republic, might have been involved, and for the future the door would have been left open for most embarrassing questions, arising from revolutions in any country, enjoying various degrees of success. the United States. The point of view maintained by the United States Attitude of of America was that of strict legal propriety, and of an absolute recognition of the great principle of complete sovereignty of all independent States." This 1 The British Government held the same view, as is evidenced by the following despatch from Lord Salisbury to Lord Pauncefote, dated July 27 (Blue Book, p. 221): — Attitude of the United States. Chapter VII involves the almost self-evident truth that no obligation, however slight or insignificant, can ever be put upon a Sovereign State against its own consent, except by an impairment of its sovereignty. The right to recognize other Powers, or to withhold such recognition at will, is one of the fundamental attributes of sovereignty, and it is not impaired but only exercised when a State deliberately enters into a limited federation or union with other States for a particular purpose; for such adhesion implies a mutual recognition on the part of all members of such federation or union. It follows beyond question that this membership cannot be conferred upon any outsider without the consent of all previous members. The veto of one must be as effective as that of a majority, without regard to size or power, otherwise there would have been an abdication of an essential part of sovereignty. This view finally prevailed unanimously. As a partial consolation for what must have been "I authorize you and Sir Henry Howard to sign the Final Act, but if any words are contained in the instrument implying the consent of Great Britain to the subsequent adhesion of other Governments without any general consent, a reservation to the following effect should be made by you. It is impossible for Her Majesty's Government to admit that Great Britain, except with her own consent, formally conveyed in the usual manner by the signature of Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary, can come under conventional obligations to another Government. Unless the consent of Great Britain has been previously obtained, any intimation of adhesion to this Convention by any Government or person but the Plenipotentiaries now signing it will be regarded as non avenue so far as Great Britain is concerned." ment of the a bitter and keen disappointment, the Dutch Gov- Chapter VII ernment insisted upon connecting the name of the DisappointPope with the records of the Peace Conference by Pope. formally requesting the President, at the last session, to read the correspondence between the Queen of the Netherlands and the Pope, at the time of the opening of the Conference. These letters are given below, in full. Coming from the hosts of the Conference, such a request could not, in courtesy, be refused, and the correspondence was therefore spread upon the minutes, although it is difficult to see what other object was attained by this remarkable proceeding, except that of emphasizing, by contrast, the thoroughly secular and eminently practical character of the entire work which was accomplished. THE END OF THE CONFERENCE Ten o'clock in the morning of Saturday, July 29, had been fixed as the time for the signing of the Final Act and the various Declarations and Treaties. The last meetings. On this, a beautiful summer day, the members for the last time assembled in the House in the Wood. The various documents, which had been beautifully engrossed, and to which the scals of the signing Plenipotentiaries had been affixed by the secretaries of the Conference, were spread out upon the large tables of the dining room of the Palace, and the Plenipotentiaries from each country were called from the meeting room of the Conference for the Chapter VII purpose of signature, in alphabetical order. This work consumed the morning; and after the final luncheon, at which innumerable friendly toasts, hopes, and wishes for a speedy au revoir were exchanged, -the closing meeting of the Conference was called to order at three o'clock in the afternoon. To this meeting a limited number of representatives of the press and invited guests had been asked; and the little gallery in the cupola was accordingly crowded. The staff of each delegation was also present, and the meeting room itself presented a more animated appearance than ever before. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, M. Pierson, attended as the special representative of the Queen, together with other officers of the royal household. Report on signatures. Jonkheer van Karnebeek reported upon the signatures as follows: 1. The Final Act of the Conference was signed by all the Powers there represented. 2. Treaties: (A) The Convention for the Peaceful Adjustment of International Differences was signed by sixteen Powers, to wit: Belgium, Denmark. Spain, United States of America, United States of Mexico, France, Greece, Montenegro, Netherlands, Persia, Portugal, Roumania, Russia. Siam, Sweden and Norway, Bulgaria. (B) The Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land was signed by fifteen Powers, to wit: Belgium. Denmark, Spain, United States of America, |