Speech of Signor Orlando:

I wish to express my fervent adhesion to the great principles which we are asked to consecrate, and I think that by doing this we shall only fulfil the most solemn obligation we have undertaken towards our people. We asked them to make immense efforts, and the counterpart of the responsibility we took was for them sacrifices, unnamed sufferings, death.

We are only doing our duty by keeping our sacred promise. We must therefore bring into this a full consent of mind and, if I may so, purity of soul.

No people is more ready to accept in its entirety the principles laid down by President Wilson in his speech than the Italian people. It is with no feeling of vanity that I shall now recall the great juridical tradition of the Italian people. The principle of law is not only a principle of protection and of justice against violence, it is the form guarantied by the state of what is the vital principle to humanity, social coöperation, solidarity between men. The plan which will now be laid before us must give us not only guaranties against future wars, but must secure coöperation between the nations. This is a great historical day. Today the right of peoples is born. It is only just that it should be born in this generous country of France which has fought so well by her genius and by her blood to ensure the triumph of the rights of man, and this is a happy omen for the beginning of these debates.

Speech of M. Léon Bourgeois:1

I express my gratitude to the President of the Republic who has appointed me to speak on this great occasion. Was it because of his memory of the part I took in The Hague Conference? Whatever the reason, half of the honor now given to me must go to those of my colleagues present who were at The Hague with me.

The strong expression used by President Wilson that we are not only the representatives of governments, but representatives of peoples, is something we must reflect upon. What do the free peoples of the world wish for? They wish that the terrible experience of the last four and a half years should never be renewed; they wish for the thing so deeply desired by all the victims of this war, all those who died for freedom and the right, 1Reprinted with corrections from Current History, March, 1919.

the men who died fighting not only for their country but as true crusaders for the liberty of the world.

The striking picture drawn by Mr. Lloyd George of what he saw in one of the devastated parts of France is only one instance of a great fact. The devastating effect of an international conflict cannot now be limited to the place near where the conflict started. There is now no possibility of limiting any conflict of this sort. It cannot happen anywhere without putting the whole world in mortal danger. The whole world is interdependent economically, morally, and intellectually.

Another reason makes it impossible for us to face a renewal of such a war. It is the great progress and the great future progress of science, which—against its object, which is all for the benefit of mankind-will be used as it has been used, if we do not find some way out of the difficulty, for purposes.of wholesale destruction.

By thinking of what has been done during this war we can imagine what will happen if another war takes place in another forty or fifty years. We have the right to say that the problem before our consciences-how to assure the future of our own country and the future of our common motherland, the world, while making superior its interest-is the problem of general peace.

We can remember the scruples which at The Hague were felt, even by the representatives of the most free and most peaceful countries, when they said that they were obliged to limit the stipulations to what would preserve the honor and the vital interests of their respective countries.

At present the vital interest of all countries is for a universal peace based upon the prevalence of right, and the rights of all our countries separately are dependent upon it. How can we make a reality of what was thought to be a dream of yesterday? How is it that practical statesmen are now around the table with this common thought that will certainly be expressed by your unanimous votes on what we thought only yesterday to be Utopia?

If we look backward to the history of the last thirty years, and especially, if I am permitted to refer to it again, The Hague Conference, we can see that, in spite of the disappointment we have suffered, such meetings as that of The Hague Conference had results. Such a dangerous conflict as that between France and

Germany at the time of the Casablanca incident could be solved by a decision respecting the honor of both countries by a process of arbitration.

Why was it not possible to apply the same proceeding to the terrible conflict which has caused the world so much suffering? There are two causes for it, one of which you will deal with presently. It is because the map of the world did not show a state of things in conformity with the principles of right. It was impossible for Frenchmen not to remember that some of their old countrymen were under foreign rule. It was impossible for Italy to forget that some of the fair provinces of Italy were not yet members of their own Mother Country; and there were many other questions I need not mention now.

How can you organize international peace by suppressing a just claim for unredeemed countries and populations? This cannot be done. But after you have arrived at a settlement in conformity with the principles of right and the wishes of the populations themselves, then you will have a firm basis to build up what The Hague Conference was unable to establish.

The second difference between that time and the present time is that you will be able to sit and establish a system of sanctions. At The Hague it was impossible because of the division between the nations there, and that division showed already the same classification which had been shown in this war. The same group of nations was then adhering to every proposal against peaceful settlement, which we had seen since destroying the peace and the happiness of the whole world. At present we are in a position not only to lay down principles, but also to establish a system of penalties.

By this you will be able to do a lasting work, and you will be able to enter with a serene mind into the temple of peace. In the name of the Government of the Republic it is my duty to say that we are ready to attempt and to lend our earnest will to everything that can bring us, as far as possible, on the road which has been pointed out by President Wilson's speech. You will see what measures have to be taken, but you can be certain that it is with a deep and sincere fervor that the whole of France will join in the efforts.

President Wilson said that this question is in the heart of all mankind. Well, [it is so. He also said that the League of Nations must be the ever watching eye which shall protect mankind

against the danger. Well, that is what we tried to do years ago before we were in a position to do so. At The Hague we felt the pulse of mankind beating feebly, but now we are sure] that united mankind is born, and we greet its birth.

Conclusion of the Debate:

Mr. Hughes:

I assume that we shall have an opportunity to discuss the scheme when it is finished.

M. Clemenceau:

Without any question.

M. Lou then spoke in French. Translation as follows:

In the name of the Chinese Government, I desire to adhere whole-heartedly to the resolution put before this Conference. China has always been faithful to her obligations, and is deeply interested in the maintenance of the peace of the world. She associates herself entirely with the lofty ideals embodied in the resolution, which is that of creating an international system of cooperation which will ensure the accomplishment of the obligations and will give safeguards against war. It is my duty to give an assurance to this Conference that the Chinese Republic will always be happy to consult with the other states in the establishment of a League which will give all the nations, either small or great, an effective guaranty of their integrity, of their political sovereignty, and of their economic independence, founded upon the noble basis of impartial justice.

M. Dmowski, speaking in French, translation as follows:

I wish to express our deep gratitude for this great initiation, and I am speaking for a nation which has suffered very much in the past, and hopes that such sufferings will be the last ones, and that what has not been destroyed during the past centuries and during the present war shall now be preserved for future generations.

I am now speaking for a country where the danger is greater than elsewhere, and where the danger is permanent, because war

has not come to an end yet in Poland, because danger and fighting continue there on three different sides. If institutions can be established giving the world guaranties of a general and permanent peace, the danger to which Poland is now exposed would not exist. I am speaking in the name of Poland and for the existence of those for which the League of Nations is most needed.

Resolution adopted on the League of Nations:

The Conference, having considered the proposals for the creation of a League of Nations, resolves that:

(a) It is essential to the maintenance of the world settlement, which the Associated Nations are now met to establish, that a League of Nations be created to promote international coöperation to ensure the fulfilment of accepted international obligations, and to provide safeguards against war.

(b) This League should be treated as an integral part of the general treaty of peace, and should be open to every civilized nation which can be relied on to promote its objects.

(c) The members of the League should periodically meet in international conference, and should have a permanent organization and secretariat to carry on the business of the League in the intervals between the Conference.

The Conference therefore appoints a Committee. representative of the Associated Governments to work out the details of the constitution and functions of the League.