the Crimean War. Of this Congress, Mr. James Brown Scott says:

"It is memorable in the annals of international law for the fact that it seriously and consciously began the codifiIcation of international law."

Among other principles settled by it were:

1. The abolition of privateering.

2. That a neutral flag covers enemy's goods, except contraband of war.

3. That neutral goods, except contraband of war, are not liable to capture under an enemy's flag.

This Congress also declared in favor of "mediation" by its members in order to prevent recourse to force in case of a controversy between any two or more of them.

The Red Cross Convention of August 22nd, 1864, was the result of the horrors of the Crimean War and the Franco-Austrian War, which led to the meeting of the Geneva Conference, by which, as has been said, "The moral duty to protect the sick and wounded was transformed into an international and legal obligation."

By the Pan-American Congress at Washington in 1899, being, as the name indicates, a congress of American nations, it was declared that arbitration as a means of settling disputes between American Republics was adopted as a principle of American International Law; that arbitration should be obligatory in all controversies except those which, in the judgment of one of the nations involved in the controversy, might imperil its independence; but that, even in this latter case, while arbitration for that nation should be optional, it should be obligatory upon the adversary power.

The foregoing are some of the conferences or meetings of nations by their representatives, which preceded the great Conferences held at the Hague in 1899 and 1907. Of these I shall speak more particularly in referring hereafter to the results accomplished at them in the matter of the establishment of international Courts. In the present connection, suffice it to

say, that at the first of these Conferences, to-wit; the one held in 1899, there were present the representatives of twenty-seven nations, and at the second there were present the representatives of forty-four nations, being practically all of the nations of the civilized world except two small South American Republics, Costa Rica and Honduras. The former of these approved of the Conference, but was not present. The latter, having just passed through a revolution, was tardy in sending its delegates, and they arrived too late to take part in the Conference.

Before taking up the particular subject of the accomplishments of the two Hague Conferences in the matter of the establishment of international Courts, and in connection simply with the general subject of the progress of the society of nations, I may say that not only did the Hague Conference of 1907 declare in favor of holding another similar conference after the expiration of a period not exceeding that which had intervened between the first and second conferences, (eight years), but the idea of periodical conferences of the nations has found expression in the formation of what is called the Inter-Parliamentary Union of which Mr. Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University, in opening the Lake. Mohonk Conference in May 1909 said:

"The Inter-Parliamentary Union, which has within a few weeks adopted a permanent form of organization, and chosen a permanent Secretary, whose headquarters are to be in the Peace Palace at The Hague itself-an occurrence of the greatest public importance, which has to my knowledge received absolutely no mention in the press-now attracts to its membership representatives of almost every parliamentary body in existence. At the last meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, held in Berlin, the Parliament of Japan, the Russian Duma, and the newly organized Turkish Parliament were all represented. By their sides sat impressive delegations from the Parliaments of England, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Belgium, and of the Netherlands and of the Scandinavian Nations, as well as eight or ten representatives of the American Congress.

In this Parliamentary Union, which has now passed through its preliminary or experimental stage, lies the germ of the coming federation of the world's legislatures which will be established in the near future, and whose powers and functions, if not precisely defined at first, will grow naturally from consultation to that of authority of which wisdom and justice can never be divested. Each year that the representatives of a National Parliament sit side by side in the Parliaments of other nations, look their colleagues in the face and discuss with them freely and frankly important matters of international concern, it will be more difficult for them to go back and vote a declaration of war against the men from whose consultation room they have just come. Among honest men familiarity breeds confidence not contempt.'

In a despatch from Washington under date of July 29th, 1911, I see it stated that the Inter-Parliamentary Union is to meet this year at Rome, on October 3rd, and that a large number of Senators and members of the House of Representatives of the United States have indicated their purpose of attending the Session. In the same despatch it is also said that an effort will be made to bring the next meeting of the Union to the United States.

I have thus referred to the progress which the nations of the world have made and are making in the establishment of a Society with fixed principles, because out of such establishment must inevitably come a Court for the decisions of questions of right and wrong between nations. Just as such a tribunal has been found a necessity for the settlement of controversies between individuals in a society of men, so it is an inevitable necessity for the settlement of controversies between individual nations. in a society of nations. With increased facilities for intercourse by methods of transportation whereby men are quickly carried from one part of the world to another, and the increased facilities for the transmission of news by means of telegraph and telephone, whereby all of the thinking world is kept daily advised of the doings of every other part of the world, the relations.

between the different peoples of the world are becoming closer and closer day by day. We read in the morning papers at the breakfast table in parallel columns the proceedings of the day before in the Congress of the United States, in the British Parliament, in the Chamber of Deputies of France, and in the Reichstag of Germany. We are almost as familiar with the names and political positions of Mr. Asquith, Mr. Balfour and Lord Lansdowne as we are with those of Senator Root, Senator Bailey, Mr. Underwood or Mr. Cannon.

Out of this condition of affairs, and of the continuously increasing multiplication of the transactions between the different people of the world, must come an increasing number of questions to be determined between the nations of which these people are the constituents. And from this will inevitably arise the necessity for a Court, composed of Judges who shall have the confidence of the world, and who may decide in such controversies which is right and which is wrong, or how much one party is right and how much wrong, and how much the other party is right and how much wrong.

Having taken this general survey of the growth of the Society of Nations, let us now look somewhat more particularly into the proceedings that have thus far been taken for the establishment of some kind of a Court of Nations.

HAGUE CONFERENCE OF 1899, and the Permanent Court of
ARBITRATION.

On August 12, 1898, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, handed to each of the diplomatic representatives accredited to the Court of St. Petersburg a note, the main purpose of which seems to have been to call a meeting of the nations to consider the subject of the limitation of armaments, which concluded in the following language:

"To put an end to these incessant armaments and to seek the means of warding off the calamities which are threat- · ening the whole world—such is the supreme duty which is to-day imposed on all States.

Filled with this idea, His Majesty has been pleased to order me to propose to all the Governments whose representatives are accredited to the Imperial Court, the meeting of a conference which would have to occupy itself with this grave problem.

"This Conference should be, by the help of God, a happy presage for the century which is about to open. It would converge in one powerful focus the efforts of all States which are sincerely seeking to make the great idea of universal peace triumph over the elements of trouble and discord.

"It would at the same time, confirm their agreement by the solemn establishment of the principles of justice and right, upon which repose the security of States and the welfare of peoples."

This suggestion, or invitation, on the part of the Czar of Russia met with general approval and on January 11, 1899, the Russian Minister issued a second circular, furnishing something of a program for the proposed Conference. This program included the consideration of a number of subjects, such as the decrease of armaments, provisions for lessening the horrors of warfare, both on land and sea; the last subject being:

"8. To accept in principle the employment of good offices, of mediation and facultative arbitration in cases lending themselves thereto, with the object of preventing armed conflicts between nations; to come to an understanding with respect to the mode of applying these good offices, and to establish a uniform practice in using them."

This Conference met by agreement at the Hague on May 18, 1899. It included only those Powers which were represented at the Court of St. Petersburg and three others-twenty-seven in all. It did not include the Latin-American nations. The Conference divided itself into three Commissions, to each of which were assigned certain subjects, as outlined in the program heretofore mentioned. Article 8 of the program, on the subject of peaceful settlement of international difficulties, was referred