"Assembled for the first time in the beautiful Chapter II House in the Woods, the members of the Conference hasten to place their best wishes at the feet of Your Majesty, begging the acceptance of the homage of their gratitude for the hospitality which you, madame, have so graciously deigned to offer them.'

the Honorary

President.

"I propose to confer the Honorary Presidency of Election of the International Peace Conference upon His Excel- President and lency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nether- Vicelands, and to name as Vice-President of this assembly the Jonkheer van Karnebeek, First Delegate of the Netherlands."

Upon the adoption of these propositions, the fol- Secretaries. lowing officers were elected. Secretary-General,

Jonkheer J. C. N. van Eys of Holland; Assistant Secretary-General, M. Raffolovich of Russia; Secretaries: M. Albert Legrand of France, M. Edouard de Grelle Rogier of Belgium, Chevalier W. de Rappard of Holland, Jonkheer A. G. Schimmelpenninck of Holland, M. Max Jarousse de Sillac of France, and Jonkheer J. J. Rochussen of Holland. Assistant Secretaries: G. J. C. A. Pop and Lieutenant C. E. Dittlinger.

After passing a resolution declaring all meetings Secrecy. of the Conference and of its Committees to be absolutely secret, the Conference adjourned at half-past two until Saturday, May 20, at eleven o'clock in the morning.

Chapter II

Telegrams

from the

Netherlands

and the

THE SECOND SESSION

At the second session of the Conference, the President, M. de Staal, read the following telegrams:

Emperor of telegram,

Russia.

HAUSBADEN: May 19, 1899. In thanking Your Queen of the Excellency, as well as the members of the Peace Conference, for the sentiments expressed in your telegram, I take this occasion, with great pleasure, to repeat my welcome to my country. I wish most sincerely that, with the aid of God, the work of the Conference may realize the generous idea of your August Sovereign. (Signed) "WILHELMINA."

Address of President de Staal.

"ST. PETERSBURG: May 19, 1899. The Emperor requests me to act towards the Conference as the interpreter of his sincere thanks and of his most cordial wishes. My August Master directs me to assure Your Excellency how much His Majesty appreciates the telegram which you have sent to him.

(Signed) COUNT MOURAVIEFF.”

The President stated that at the moment of beginning the labors of the Conference, he considered it useful to summarize its objects and general tendencies, and he expressed himself as follows: —

To seek the most efficacious means to assure to all peoples the blessings of a real and durable peace. this, according to the circular of the 12th-24th

of August, is the principal object of our deliberations. The name of Peace Conference, which the instincts of the people, anticipating a decision on this point by the Governments, has given to our

assemblage, indicates accurately the essential object Chapter n of our labors. The Peace Conference must not fail in the mission which devolves upon it; it must offer a result of its deliberations which shall be tangible, and which all humanity awaits with confidence. The eagerness which the Powers have shown in accepting the proposition contained in the Russian circular is the most eloquent testimony of the unanimity which peaceful ideas have attained. It is, therefore, for me an agreeable duty to ask the delegates of all the States represented here to transmit to their respective Governments the repeated expressions of thanks of the Russian Government. The very membership of this assemblage is a certain guarantee of the spirit. in which we approach the labor which has been confided to us. The Governments are represented here by statesmen who have taken part in shaping the destiny of their own countries; by eminent diplomats who have been concerned in great negotiations, and who all know that the first need of peoples is the maintenance of peace. Besides these, there will be found here savants who in the domain of international law enjoy a justly merited renown. The general and superior officers of the armies and navies who will help us in our labors will bring to us the assistance of their high competence. Diplomacy, as we all know, has for its object the prevention and the appeasement of conflicts between States; the softening of rivalries, the conciliation of interests, the clearing up of misunderstandings, and the substitution of harmony for discord. I may be permitted

Chapter II

Address of
President de
Staal.

to say that in accordance with the general law, diplo-
macy is no longer only an art in which personal skill
enjoys exclusive prominence. It is tending to
become a science, which should have its own fixed
rules for the solution of international conflicts. This
is to-day the ideal object which ought to be before
our eyes, and indisputably a great progress would be
accomplished if diplomacy should succeed in estab-
lishing here even some of the results of which I have
spoken. We shall also undertake in a special manner
to generalize and codify the practice of arbitration, of
mediation, and of good offices. These ideas consti-
tute, so to speak, the very essence of our task. The
most useful object proposed for our efforts is to pre-
vent conflicts by pacific means.
It is not necessary to
enter the domain of Utopia. In the work which we
are about to undertake, we should take account of
the possible, and not endeavor to follow abstractions.
Without sacrificing anything of our ulterior hopes,'
we should here remain in the domain of reality,
sounding it to the deepest depth for the purpose of
laying solid foundations and building on concrete
bases. Now what does the actual state of affairs
show us? We perceive between nations an amount
of material and moral interests which is constantly
increasing. The ties which unite all parts of the

1 This phrase was seized upon by the press as an indication of ambiguity, not to say duplicity, and the most unfounded and absurd attacks upon Russian diplomacy were founded on an evident misconception. Nothing could be clearer than that M. de Staal was referring solely to " ulterior hopes" of permanent peace, and not to advan tages of a political nature.

human family are ever becoming closer. A nation Chapter II could not remain isolated if it wished. It finds itself surrounded, as it were, by a living organism fruitful in blessings for all, and it is, and should be, a part of this same organism. Without doubt, rivalries exist; but does it not seem that they generally appertain to the domain of economics, to that of commercial expansion which originates in the necessity of utilizing abroad the surplus of activity which cannot find sufficient employment in the mother country? Such rivalry may do good, provided that, above it all, there shall remain the idea of justice and the lofty sentiment of human brotherhood. If, therefore, the nations are united by ties so multifarious, is there no room for seeking the consequences arising from this fact? When a dispute arises between two or more nations, others, without being concerned directly, are profoundly affected. The consequences of an international conflict occurring in any portion of the globe are felt on all sides. It is for this reason that outsiders cannot remain indifferent to the conflict they are bound to endeavor to appease it by conciliatory action. These truths are not new. At all times there have been found thinkers to suggest them and statesmen to apply them, but they appertain, more than ever before, to our own time, and the fact that they are proclaimed by an assembly such as this, marks a great date in the history of humanity.

"The nations have a great need for peace, and we owe it to humanity we owe it to the Governments which have here given us their powers and who are