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Chapter I

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and less fulfill the object which the Governments have set before themselves.

"The economic crises, due in great part to the system of armaments à l'outrance, and the continual danger which lies in this massing of war material, are transforming the armed peace of our days into a crushing burden, which the peoples have more and more difficulty in bearing. It appears evident, then, that if this state of things were prolonged, it would inevitably lead to the very cataclysm which it is desired to avert, and the horrors of which make every thinking man shudder in advance.

"To put an end to these incessant armaments and to seek the means of warding off the calamities which are threatening 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."

British

Among the representatives who received this com- Chapter I munication on that day was Sir Charles Scott, Her Report of the Britannic Majesty's Ambassador in St. Petersburg, Ambassador. who in his despatch to Lord Salisbury, dated the following day, gives the following substance of the remarks of Count Mouravieff made at the time:

"Count Mouravieff begged me to remark that this eloquent appeal, which he had drawn up at the dictation of the Emperor, did not invite a general disarmament, as such a proposal would not have been likely to be generally accepted as a practical one at present, nor did His Imperial Majesty look for an immediate realization of the aims he had so much at heart, but desired to initiate an effort, the effects of which could only be gradual.

"His Excellency thought that the fact that the initiative of this peaceful effort was being taken by the Sovereign of the largest military Power, with resources for increasing its military strength unrestricted by Constitutional and Parliamentary limitations, would appeal to the hearts and intelligence of a very large section of the civilized world, and show the discontented and disturbing classes of society that powerful military Governments were in sympathy with their desire to see the wealth of their countries utilized for productive purposes, rather than exhausted in a ruinous and, to a great extent, useless competition for increasing the powers of destruction.

"I observed, in reply, that it would be difficult to remain insensible to the noble sentiments which had inspired this remarkable document, which I would

Chapter I

Despatch from Mr. Balfour.

Acceptance of the United States.

Russian explanation of

forward at once to your lordship, and I felt sure that it would create a profound impression in England."

On August 30, Mr. Balfour, then temporarily in charge of the Foreign Office, replied to Sir Charles Scott as follows:

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"As the Prime Minister is abroad and the Cabinet scattered, it is impossible for me at present to give any reply, but I feel confident that I am only expressing the sentiments of my colleagues when I say that Her Majesty's Government most warmly sympathize with and approve the pacific and economic objects which His Imperial Majesty has in view."

The United States of America accepted the invitation contained in Count Mouravieff's circular at once, and the Ambassador at St. Petersburg was instructed to do so orally in the most cordial terms.

The European press having to a great extent misunderstood or misconstrued the meaning of the circular, the following official communication appeared in the Journal de St. Petersburg, on Sunday, September 4:

"All the utterances of the foreign press regarding the Rescript the Circular of the 24 ult. agree in testifying to the and its object. sympathy with which the action of the Russian Government has been received by the whole world. A high tribute of acknowledgment is paid to the noble and magnanimous conception which originated this great act. The unanimity of welcome proves in the most striking manner to what a degree the reflec

tions, which lay at the root of the Russian proposal, Chapter I correspond with the innermost feelings of all nations

and their dearest wishes.

"On all sides people had come to the conclusion that continuous armaments were a crushing burden to all nations, and that they constituted a bar to public prosperity. The most ardent wish of the nations is to be able to give themselves up to peaceful labor, looking calmly to the future, and they perceive clearly that the present system of armed peace is in its tendency peaceful only in name.

"It is to the excesses of this system that Russia desires to put an end. The question to be settled is without doubt a very complicated one, and some organs of public opinion have already touched on the difficulties which stand in the way of a practical realization. Nobody can conceal from himself the difficulties, but they must be courageously confronted.

"The intention of the Circular is precisely to provide for a full and searching investigation of this question by an international exchange of views. Certain other questions difficult of solution but of not less moment have already been settled in this century in a manner which has done justice to the great interests of humanity and civilization. The results which in this connection have been obtained at international conferences, particularly at the Congresses of Vienna and Paris, prove what the united endeavors of Governments can achieve when they proceed in harmony with public opinion and the needs of civilization.

Chapter I

Despatch from Lord Salisbury.

"The Russian proposal calls all States to greater effort than ever before, but it will redound to the honor of humanity at the dawn of the twentieth century to have set resolutely about this work that the nations may enjoy the benefits of peace, relieved of the overwhelming burdens which impede their economic and moral development."

All of the States invited to the Conference accepted the invitation, the last formal acceptance to be received being that of Great Britain on October 24. Lord Salisbury wrote as follows to the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg:

"Her Majesty's Government have given their careful consideration to the memorandum which was placed in your hands on August 24 last by the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, containing a proposal of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia for the meeting of a conference to discuss the most effective methods of securing the continuance of general peace and of putting some limit on the constant increase of armaments.

"Your Excellency was instructed at the time by Mr. Balfour, in my absence from England, to explain the reasons which would cause some delay before a formal reply could be returned to this important communication, and, in the meanwhile, to assure the Russian Government of the cordial sympathy of Her Majesty's Government with the objects and intentions of His Imperial Majesty. That this sympathy is not confined to the Government, but is equally

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