Office of the Historian

File No. 12655/35.

The British Ambassador to the Acting Secretary of State.

British Embassy,
Washington, September 25, 1908.
No. 195.]

Sir: The invitations which were issued by His Majesty’s Government for a conference in London during the coming autumn with the object of arriving at an agreement as to what are the generally recognized principles of international law on certain questions of maritime war have now been accepted by all the powers to whom they were sent. With the concurrence of all the Governments which were originally asked to take part in the conference, an invitation was subsequently issued to the Netherland Government in view of the peculiar position occupied by their country as the seat of the proposed international prize court and as the meeting place of the first and second peace conferences. This invitation has also been accepted.

2.
The list of subjects enumerated in my official note of the 27th March has met with general approval, though two powers have stated that they assumed the specific mention of the subjects enumerated in the circular was not meant to exclude the discussion of other questions connected therewith if their consideration would be of help to carry into effect the work of the conference. While cordially acquiescing in the desire that no point or question should be excluded which is germane to the work of the conference, His Majesty’s Government are anxious that the subjects for consideration should be limited to those whose elucidation is required in order to facilitate the general acceptance of the scheme for the creation of the international prize court.
3.
Both the Russian and German Governments have expressed doubt as to the feasibility of limiting the work of the conference to formulating the existing rules of international law. The Russian Government stated that they considered the most useful form to give to the memorandum, which His Majesty’s Government had suggested that each Government should prepare on the various subjects in the program, would be that of a draft agreement on the various points, embodying the rules to be laid down for the future, without reference to the divergent practices of the past. His Majesty’s Government have replied that they see no reason why the Russian Government should not, in addition to stating the existing rules, formulate the amendments they desire. Such amendments, if agreed to, could be embodied in an additional instrument, and this would be ancillary to the chief work of the conference, which would consist in the formulation of the existing rules. To this proposal the Russian Government have assented.
4.
The German Government have also preferred to state in their memorandum the existing rules, with such improvements as they consider desirable, urging that the work of the conference should not be limited to laying down the existing law of nations, but should be devoted to the determination of a treaty law which should be binding for the future and be based as far as possible on the existing law. His Majesty’s Government in reply have intimated that while [Page 299] the object of the conference must be first to ascertain the existing law on the heads suggested for discussion and to reconcile, as far as possible the different views of that law, this need not exclude further discussion in the direction desired by the German Government, adding that they had no objection to the German Government preparing their memorandum in such a form as, having regard to the objects of the conference, they deem most suitable.
5.
His Majesty’s Government for their part still think that the form in which the results of the conference would be most usefully expressed would be that of a declaration setting out the rules which the powers regard as binding on themselves at the present time, and which their prize courts would apply in any cases that came before them, irrespectively of the nationality of the parties concerned. It has been suggested that such a declaration would not be binding on the international prize court, and that there would be no obligation upon that court to apply it even in the case of a subject of one of the signatory powers, still less in the case of a subject of another power represented on the court which was not a party to the declaration. His Majesty’s Government can not believe that in actual practice the prize court could or would ignore a declaration which has received the unanimous recognition of all the chief naval powers, and is enforced in the national prize courts of the States who between them appoint the majority of the judges of the international court.
6.
It is, however, essential, for the adoption of the plan, that the rules agreed upon should purport to be what the powders recognize as the existing law, even though it may be necessary to restate some of the old principles in terms more applicable to the altered conditions of modern commerce.
7.
It appears to His Majesty’s Government that the form to be given to the results of the labors of the conference is of less importance than that the plenipotentiaries should cooperate in a determined effort to arrive at some definite and unanimous agreement on the subjects for discussion, so as to facilitate the general acceptance of the convention for the creation of the international prize court. With this view His Majesty’s Government will endeavor to prepare, and hope to lay before the conference on its assembly, as a suitable basis for its deliberations, a draft declaration in terms which shall harmonize as far as may be possible with the views and interpretations of the accepted law of nations as enunciated in the memoranda of the several Governments. They propose to invite the invaluable cooperation of the distinguished French jurist, M. Renault, in the preparation of such a document. The text of any paper drawn up on the lines contemplated may of course have to depart in some respects from the views held by particular Governments, although every effort will be made to reconcile such divergences, and it is necessary to point out, even at the present stage, that the provisions of the proposed draft declaration must not, in the circumstances explained, be taken to command on every point the assent of Great Britain, but will be submitted as a basis for discussion.
8.
With reference to the date at which the conference should assemble, it will be remembered that His Majesty’s Government originally suggested that the first meeting should take place early in October; but I have since learned that it would be convenient to some of the powers if a somewhat later date was fixed upon, in order [Page 300] that the sittings should not clash with the copyright conference to be held at Berlin in October. Moreover His Majesty’s Government would experience much difficulty in carrying through the necessary preparatory work for the elaboration of the bases of discussion in the period originally contemplated. They had hoped to receive the memoranda embodying the views of the several Governments on the 1st August last. It was, however, not until some time after that date that the first memoranda were received, and even at the present time only four such memoranda have reached this department. His Majesty’s Government would therefore now propose that the conference should assemble at the foreign office in London on Tuesday, the 1st December next.
9.
In bringing the contents of this dispatch to the knowledge of the Government to which I am accredited, I am to take the opportunity of assuring them of the pleasure that it will give to His Majesty’s Government to welcome their delegates to the conference, in the confident hope that the spirit of cooperation and good will which has led to its meeting will subsist throughout its deliberations and produce the results which it is the earnest desire of the Governments there represented to attain.

I have, etc.,

James Bryce.