OCR Text |
Show _‘l(i 2|; of eight years most of them have been ptit into actual practice. and the remaining two have received the unanimous indorsement loner series of other treaties of obligatory arbitration have been concluded between various states. This is genuine progress. and the credit of it is due. incontestably. to the l'irst l'eace Con- ferencer" and are within the determined acquisition of the large majority of the nations_ A large munber of international differences were submitted to voluntary arbitration during the century preceding the con- tut for the first time at The Hague the nations unan- ferences. imously indorsed this peaceful and rational method of settling (litterences. and even went so far as to declare that when a serious dispute threatens to occur between two or more nations it is the duty of the other nations to remind the disputants that an easy recourse to arbitration is open to them. and to advise them. in the higher interest of peace, to resort to it. \nm‘ ‘40 JUW IMMM The assertion of this duty was re-enforced by the further statement that the disputants shall consider such reminder and advice only as an exercise of good ofi‘iees and by no in *ans an unfriendly act. The advance registered by the conferences in the direction of obligatory arbitration may be recorded in the words of llaron yon fiieberstein. of Germany: who said in the Second Conference: "At the First Peace Conference. the German delegate declared in the name of his government that experience in the field of arbi- tration was not of a kind to permit an agreement at that time in favor of (.yblig'atory arbitration Eight years have passed since that declaration. and experience in the field of arbitration has accumulated to a considerable extent. The question has been. on the other hand. the subject of profound and continuous study on the part of the (ierman government. In view of the fruits of this examination, and under the influence of the fortunate results flowing from arbitration. my government is favorable today. in principle. to the idea of obligatory arbitration. it has confirmed the sincerity of this opinion by signingr two treaties of permanent arbitration. one with the l‘iritish government, the other with that of the United States of America. both of which include all judicial questions or those relative to the interpretation of treaties. \Ve have. besides. inserted in our commercial treaties concluded within recent years an arbitrational agreement for a series of questions and we have the firm intention of continuing to pursue the task in nhieh we are engaged in concluding these treaties In the course of our dtba‘tes the fortunate fact has been mentioned that a ()ur great American Secreta y of State Klr. lClilui Root. also, in his instructions to the Linited States delegation to the Second thuitreiice. alluded to the many separate treaties of arbitration between individual countries. and said that "This coin dition, which brings the subject of a general treaty for obligatory arbitration into the field of practical discussion. is undoubtedly largely due to the fact that the powers generally in the l'irst Hague Conference committed themselves to the principle of the pacific settlement of international questions in the admirable coir ventiou for voluntary arbitration then adopted." The Second Conference did not succeed in agreeingr upon a world-treaty of obligatory arbitration. but thirty-tire of the nations Voted for such a treaty, and those \\ ho opposed it did so on the ground that it might retard the growth of obligatory arbi- tratiou treaties between the nations separately: while forty-two of them declared their conviction that certain classes of international differences are capable of being submitted to obligatory arbitration without any restriction wh.'itsoe\'ei'. 'l‘he principle of obligatory arbitration was strikingly applied by the Second t'onterencc in its adoption of the l‘orter propou tion. which requires the suluuissiou to arbitration of disputes relating to contractual indebtedness bet-ore the use of force for its collection is permissible. 'l‘llis was one oi the greatest achieve mcnts in the history of diplomacy. and rellccts undying luster upon its chief advocate, our own illustrious general and diplo inatist. lloracc l'orter. 'l‘he advance registered by it is especially appreciated by l.Jl[l[| .\nicric:t. which has been too often the prey of unscrupulous tori-ten promotcis. and by \\l1ri~it‘ [u-ticctnl enforcement of lllt' Monioc faci‘iuaiul by It. 'lhc tu-rnian lit'lipw"tl[4rtl to establish an (hurt ill-i'tritii-il the .‘wccirnil ('onicri-ntc b\ it- our own ly'cpublit‘. Doctrine is greatly lntci'iuitloual l‘rirc novelty and signitiv eancr. but. dr-pitc tlu- knotty [lltrltlt'lll‘w oi ~-o\cii-ij,;iit_\ and equality involvcd u: it. tlzv- innit-trum- I'ltllltl~til illt‘illl\ and. with tlu~ exccp~ tion of Hllt' w Ii‘. nuazunwu l, adopted it. The c-talilisluncnt of an |