Ambassador Riddle to the Secretary of State.

No. 9.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your cable instructions of the 23d ultimo, and to confirm my cable reply of today’s date.

I communicated your instructions to the imperial ministry for foreign affairs on the 25th ultimo. I send you for your information a copy of my note to the minister for foreign affairs, as well as a copy and translation of his reply, dated 16 February / 1 March, and received to-day.

I have, etc.,

J. W. Riddle.
[Inclosure 1.]

Ambassador Riddle to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Excellency: Referring to the programme of the Second Peace Conference, I have the honor to request your excellency to be kind enough to inform me what signatory powers have acquiesced in the formalities proposed in Baron Rosen’s note to Mr. Root of April 12, 1906, for adhesion of the powers which did not take part in the First Conference at The Hague.

As was stated in Mr. Root’s reply, No. 24, of April 19, 1906, assenting to the course proposed in Baron Rosen’s note, it is the understanding of the United States that should the other signatories assent to the proposal of April 12, that assent in itself will have the effect of making it certain that the adherence of the invited nonsignatories will be accepted and their participation in the approaching conference be assured.

I take this occasion to renew, etc.,

J. W. Riddle.
[Page 1112]
[Inclosure 2.—Translation.]

The Minister for Foreign Affairs to Ambassador Riddle.

No. 118.]

Mr. Ambassador: In reply to your excellency’s note of February 12 / 25th, I have the honor to make the following communication:

In order to give to the powers which were not represented at the First Peace Conference the possibility of taking part in the deliberations of the Second Conference which would refer to the convention relative to the peaceful settlement of international conflicts, the Imperial Government has proposed that at the time of the opening of the future conference the representatives of the signatory powers of this convention should sign the following protocol: “The representatives at the Second Peace Conference of the signatory powers of the convention of 1899 relative to the peaceful settlement of international conflicts, duly authorized to this effect, agree that, in the event of States which were not represented at the first Peace Conference but which have been convoked to the present conference notifying the Government of the Netherlands of their adhesion to the above-mentioned convention, they will be considered thereby as having acceded to it.”

Consequently, should all the signatory powers of the convention relative to the peaceful settlement of international conflicts express their assent to the Russian project, and if, on their part, the representatives of powers which did not participate in the First Conference are provided at the time of the opening of the Second Conference with full powers from their Governments to adhere to the said convention, this adherence will be effected as follows:

The representatives of the powers of the first category, at the opening of the conference, will sign the protocol proposed by Russia. Thereupon, the representatives of the second category will sign the protocol of their adherence to the said convention, after which they will immediately be allowed to participate in all the debates of the conference, without any distinction between them and the representatives of the powers which participated in the conference of 1899.

Upon the receipt of Mr. Root’s note, which your excellency quotes, the Russian Ambassador in Washington was immediately instructed to enlighten him in the sense of the indications given here above.

I have the honor to transmit herewith to your excellency a list of the signatory powers of the convention for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts which up to now have expressed their consent to the Russian project.

I avail myself, etc.,

(Signed)
Iswolsky.

[Subinclosure.]

List of the signatory powers of the convention for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts which have expressed up to February 15 (28), 1907, their assent to the Russian project relative to the adherence to this convention of the powers which were not represented at the conference in 1890:

1.
Germany.
2.
Austria-Hungary.
3.
United States of America.
4.
Bulgaria.
5.
Denmark.
6.
Spain.
7.
France.
8.
Great Britain.
9.
Greece.
10.
Italy.
11.
Japan.
12.
Luxemburg.
13.
Mexico.
14.
Montenegro.
15.
Norway.
16.
Holland.
17.
Persia.
18.
Portugal.
19.
Roumania.
20.
Servia.
21.
Siam.
22.
Sweden.
23.
Switzerland.

Apart from the powers above mentioned, the following also participated at the Conference of 1899: Belgium, China, and Turkey.