of Central and exclusion of the South African republics, as well as Chapter I the Holy See would have to be based upon surmises. The government of the United States regretted the absence of delegates from the sister republics of Central and South America very sincerely, and with good reason, for the Conference was in consequence deprived of the valuable assistance among others of The absence M. Calvo, of the Argentine Republic, certainly one South of the most eminent authorities on International American Republics. Law, a science to which he and other South American scholars have made such notable contributions. The American commissioners at The Hague did not fail to remember that, with the exception of the Mexican delegates, they were the sole representatives of the Western Hemisphere, and in the entire course of the Conference, and especially in the discussions in the Comité d'Examen, careful efforts were made to safeguard the peculiar interests of Central and South America. With reference to the other Powers who were not invited, it seems unquestionable that the course of the Russian Government was not only wise and just, but that it was, in fact, the only possible method of avoiding questions which would most certainly have led to an absolute and unqualified failure of the Conference itself. The merit of having successfully averted this danger, with notable tact and in perfect good will, is certainly one of the greatest achievements of modern Russian diplomacy. CHAPTER II THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE ON Thursday, the 18th of May, 1899, the beautiful Netherlands Capital of The Hague presented a stirring and picturesque spectacle. From all of the public buildings, the principal hotels, the various embassies and legations, and from many private houses, éspecially in the neighborhood of the public squares of the Lange Voorhout, Vyverberg, and Plein, the flags of nearly all civilized countries were thrown to the wind. The delegates of twenty-five Powers had arrived in order to attend the opening of what has since been officially known as the International Peace Conference. It was a perfect spring day, and it had been chosen for this interesting ceremony because it was the birthday of the Emperor of Russia. The birthday At ten o'clock in the morning the Russian delegation, Emperor of together with the members of the Russian Legation to the Netherlands, proceeded in full uniform to the small Orthodox chapel near Scheveningen, where a solemn Te Deum was chanted in honor of the Czar. The representatives of the United States of America had requested permission to participate in the service, but the request was withdrawn when they were informed that the chapel was scarcely large enough of the Russia. to hold all of the Russians who were present in an Chapter II official capacity. in the Wood " The opening ceremony of the Conference itself was The "House set for two o'clock in the afternoon in the Oranje and the Zaal of the famous House in the Wood (Huis ten meeting room. Bosch), or Summer Palace of the Dutch royal family, situated about one mile from the city in the beautiful park known as the Bosch. This palace, and more. especially the meeting room of the Conference, has been made the subject of numerous descriptions.1 Uniting the qualities of beauty and simplicity to a striking degree in its exterior, the palace in its interior presents a series of magnificently decorated rooms, the finest of which is the Oranje Zaal, or ballroom, which was finished in 1647, in honor of Prince Frederick Henry of Orange by Jordaens and other pupils of Rubens, by the order of his widow. For the purposes of the Conference the room had Arrangement been arranged in the form of a parliamentary hall of the room. -four rows of concentric semi-circular tables, covered with green baize, affording just one hundred seats, from all of which the chair could be readily seen and addressed. The presiding officer's chair itself had been placed in the bay window, flanked on either side by seats for the Russian delegation, or, as the case might be, for the members of a committee making a report; and directly in front and between the chair and the body of the hall there was ample room for 1The best general description of the House in the Wood is perhaps to be found in an article by Mrs. W. E. H. Lecky, in the Nineteenth Century for May, 1890. Chapter II Exclusion of all outsiders. The members of the the secretaries and attachés. The seats were allotted to the respective States in alphabetical order, in the French language, and the United States of America having been classified as " Amérique," under "A" shared with Germany (Allemagne) the seats of honor along the centre of the room and directly in front of the chair.1 There was no room either for spectators or for journalists, except only a narrow gallery in the cupola, to which a very few invited guests were admitted on the opening and closing days of the Conference. At all other times, outsiders of every kind were strictly excluded, and visitors were not permitted even to inspect the palace during the sessions of the Conference or of any of its committees. No guaranty was thus lacking for complete privacy and freedom of deliberations. The following is a complete list of the members Conference. of the Conference with the committee assignments of each, arranged alphabetically according to the names of countries in the French language. GERMANY (Allemagne) Count George Herbert Münster Ladenburg, since created Prince Münster Derneburg; Ambassador for Hanover at St. Petersburg, 1856-1864; Member of the Prussian House of Lords, 1867, and of the North German and German Reichstag, 1867-1873; 1 This arrangement gave rise to an amusing incident on the opening day. The veteran Count Münster (now Prince Münster Derneburg) jokingly charged the American delegation with having origi Ambassador of Germany to the Court of St. James, Chapter II 1873-1885; Ambassador of Germany to France since 1885. Count Münster was the senior member of the Conference, and Honorary President of the First Committee. Baron Carl von Stengel; Imperial Landgerichtsrath in Mulhausen, 1871-1879; at Strassburg, 1879-1881; Professor at University of Breslau, 1881-1890; at University of Würzburg, 1890-1895; at University of Munich since 1895. Vice-President of the Second Committee, and a member of the First Committee and of the Committee on the Final Act. Professor Philip Zorn, Privy Councillor; Professor of Law at Munich, 1875, and at Berne, 18751878; Professor at University of Königsberg since 1878. Vice-President of the Third Committee, and member of the Second Committee, as well as of the Comité d'Examen. Colonel, now Major-General, Gross von Schwarzhoff, commander of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, No. 93; Military Expert, Member of the First and Second Committees. Captain Siegel, Naval Attaché at the Embassy of the German Empire at Paris; Naval Expert. Vice-President of the First Committee, and a member of the Second and Third Committees. nated the alphabetical arrangement as part of the new "imperialistic" policy of the United States. On being assured that the American representatives were as innocent of such complicity as a new born babe, the Count smilingly shook his head, and remarked, "American innocence is generally your excuse, and has always been a drawing card in diplomacy." |