shared by popular opinion in this country, has been Chapter I strikingly manifested since the Emperor's proposal has been made generally known by the very numerous resolutions passed by public meetings and societies in the United Kingdom. There are, indeed, few nations, if any, which, both on grounds of feeling and interest, are more concerned in the maintenance of general peace than is Great Britain.

"The statements which constitute the grounds of the Emperor's proposal are but too well justified. It is unfortunately true that while the desire for the maintenance of peace is generally professed, and while, in fact, serious and successful efforts have on more than one recent occasion been made with that object by the great Powers, there has been a constant tendency on the part of almost every nation to increase its armed force, and to add to an already vast expenditure on the appliances of war. The perfection of the instruments thus brought into use, their extreme costliness, and the horrible carnage and destruction which would ensue from their employment on a large scale, have acted no doubt as a serious deterrent from war. But the burdens imposed by this process on the populations affected must, if prolonged, produce a feeling of unrest and discontent menacing both to internal and external tranquillity.

"Her Majesty's Government will gladly coöperate in the proposed effort to provide a remedy for this evil; and if, in any degree, it succeeds, they feel that the Sovereign to whose suggestion it is due will have richly earned the gratitude of the world at large.

Chapter I

Despatch

from the

United States Chargé d'Affaires.

"Your Excellency is, therefore, authorized to assure Count Mouravieff that the Emperor's proposal is willingly accepted by Her Majesty's Government, and that the Queen will have pleasure in delegating a Representative to take part in the Conference whenever an invitation is received. Her Majesty's Government hope that the invitation may be accompanied by some indication of the special points to which the attention of the Conference is to be directed, as a guide for the selection of the British Representative, and of the assistants by whom he should be accompanied.

"You will read this despatch to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and leave him a copy of it."

On November 9, Mr. Herbert H. D. Peirce, Chargé d'Affaires of the United States to Russia, reported his observations on the spot upon the proposed Conference to the Secretary of State in a most interesting and valuable despatch, which is here quoted almost in its entirety:

"The question presents two broad phases:

"1. The humanitarian aspect, looking toward a future universal peace, which, while it has long been the dream of philanthropists, has never before, I believe, been recognized as an attainable end, even in the distant future, in the materialism which governs State policies and international relations.

"2. The purely economic question of the absorption of men and resources for purely military purposes, to the detriment of national wealth and prosperity.

"While both aspects of the question are clearly set Chapter I forth as actuating the Imperial Government in Count Mouravieff's circular, I am convinced that the gravity of its economic side is not lost sight of or obscured by any undue enthusiasm over its humanitarian aspect.

"It is, perhaps, at first blush a little disappointing that this great proposition of the Emperor's does not meet with warmer enthusiasm among the Russians themselves. But it should be remembered that the idea that a vast army is anything but a glory and a blessing is not only new, but is contrary to the traditions instilled into the Russian mind and carefully fostered ever since the time of Peter the Great. To expect them now to at once respond with enthusiasm. to a proposition which involves the belief that this great military establishment, hitherto held up as the bulwark and safety of the nation, is in fact but a drain upon the resources of the country and which threatens to paralyze its development, would be to require an elasticity of temperament which the national character does not possess. Nor does the humanitarian aspect especially appeal to the ordinary Russian mind. The semi-oriental influences and traditions of the people have bred in them a slight regard for the value of human life and an apathetic fatalism which does not admit of the same point of view as exists in Western peoples. But furthermore, as this is essentially a military centre, in which the greater part of society has some near individual interest in the army, any proposition looking to a

C

Chapter I Despatch from the

reduction of the army suggests the possibility of affecting personal interests which could not be comUnited States placently regarded.

Chargé d'Affaires.

"At the same time I do not wish to be understood as implying that there are not large numbers of people, both among the highly educated and among the merchant classes, who enter with enthusiasm into the views promulgated by the Emperor. These there are, and they regard the action with exultant pride in the sovereign, but they do not constitute the majority.

"That the Russian press is silent on the subject is due to the fact that the newspapers have been forbidden to discuss the matter. Naturally officials of the Government are unwilling to give free expression to any opinions they may hold on the subject. But whatever may be the state of public opinion on the question, it is safe to say that it will not in any way sway the policy of the Emperor.

The general consensus of opinion among the members of the Diplomatic Corps now present appears to be that the proposition is visionary and Utopian, if not partaking of Quixotism. Little of value is expected to result from the Conference, and indeed every diplomatic officer with whom I have talked seems to regard the proposition with that technical scepticism which great measures of reform usually encounter. This is perhaps an argument in support of an opinion which has been advanced in certain journals that, diplomatic training and traditions being wholly opposed to the objects in view,

diplomatic officers would be unsuitable representa- Chapter I tives for such a Conference.

"You are doubtless already well informed as to the attitude of the European press on the subject, and as the Russian journals contribute nothing to its literature I hesitate to attempt any summary, but yet a few observations concerning what has come under my notice may not be deemed amiss. Here also, in the absence of any other modus vivendi than droit de force, scepticism as to the possibility of arriving at any results characterizes the greater part of the utterances, although nearly all unite in paying high tribute to the philanthropic motives of the Emperor in calling the Conference. A few, chiefly of the less serious journals, referring to the recent increase in Russia's army and naval strength, as well as to her attitude in China, cast insinuations upon the good faith of his alleged benevolent intent.

"Many of the French papers bring up the old bone of contention between France and Germany over Alsace-Lorraine as an insurmountable impediment to any halt, on the part of France, in her military progress, while others suggest that a compromise on this question which would forever end it might be reached by Germany's surrendering Lorraine. Nearly all apply some point or other of international politics to the question, pointing to it as an obstacle to be overcome before anything approaching disarmament can be considered, even when grave results are admitted as an inevitable end to a continuance of