A similar sentiment inspired the Government of Honduras to invite Nicaragua and Salvador in 1852 to send delegates to Tegucigalpa for the purpose of meeting again as a National Diet, because of an alleged occupation of territory belonging to Honduras by Great Britain. The Diet met October 9, 1852, and provided for the union of the three Republics under the title "Republic of Central America."

These repeated failures to reestablish the Central American Union did not discourage renewed attempts. In 1862 Nicaragua endeavored to bring about a merger of all the states into one single body politic. Honduras and Salvador readily accepted, but Guatemala held aloof, notwithstanding the fact that the City of Guatemala had been selected as the capital of the Union. Again, in 1876 a congress of representatives of the five Central American States met in Guatemala for the purpose of perfecting a union. This new effort was also a failure on account of war breaking out at that time between Guatemala and Salvador.

In 1886 General Barillas, President of Guatemala, still believing in the possibility of forming a Central American union, invited the Presidents of Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica to send their plenipotentiaries to the City of Guatemala, where jointly with a Guatemalan plenipotentiary they were to meet in congress, for the purpose of insuring peace, establishing confidence, and unifying the interests, aspirations, and tendencies of their respective countries. This congress met on January 20, 1887. Its principal work was the conclusion of a treaty of peace and amity among the five republics, a consular convention, and another for the extradition of criminals. It was also stipulated that a similar congress was to meet every two years, to carry on the work for union by peaceable means. This congress was to meet in the different capitals, in turn. The second congress met in San José, Costa Rica, in 1888, and a year after, as previously agreed upon, in the City of San Salvador, where a pact was concluded October 15, 1889, by which a provisional union was arranged looking toward the final merging of all the states into the "Republic of Central America."

This new effort also fell through because of a war between Guatemala and Salvador.

A further attempt was made by the States of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador, by the treaty of union signed at Amapala, June 20, 1895, to form a confederation under the name of the "Greater Republic of Central America," which name was to be changed to "Republic of Central America" should Guatemala and Costa Rica voluntarily join the agreement then made. This treaty also provided for the meeting of a diet, charged principally with the maintenance of the friendly relations with other nations, arbitration of all questions pending among the signatory states, empowered to appoint and receive diplomatic and consular representatives, and finally to propose a scheme of definite union of the signatory powers, and submit such plan to a general assembly within three years after the date of the treaty. The Diet was convened, officials were appointed for the direction of affairs, and on August 27, 1898, the "Political Constitution of the United States of Central America" was approved by the General Assembly of the representatives of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador. The new régime was about to commence when a revolution overthrew the Government of Salvador and the Union was once more defeated.

Another treaty of peace and compulsory arbitration was signed by the Governments of Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Salvador, at Corinto, Nicaragua, on January 20, 1902, creating an arbitration court, composed of a commissioner and a substitute for each contracting power, to hold office for one year. Art. XVIII of this treaty provided that in the desire that the convention might unite all the states of the Central American family, the signatory states. should invite, either jointly or otherwise, the Government of the Republic of Guatemala to adhere to the stipulations of the treaty.

In 1906, the Treaty of the Marblehead (See Editorial Comment in this JOURNAL, I:141) was signed by the representatives of Guatemala, Salvador, and Honduras, in the presence of the representatives of the United States and Mexico. This treaty provided, among other things, that within two months from date of ratification a general treaty of peace, friendship, commerce, etc., was to be concluded between the three contracting parties, designating the Republic of Costa Rica as the place of meeting.

Acting on this provision, the Government of Costa Rica invited the three contracting parties and the Government of Nicaragua to send their respective delegates to meet in the City of San José. The contracting powers accepted the invitation and sent their plenipotentiaries, but Nicaragua did not accept, basing her refusal upon the ground that the arrangements of the treaty of peace and arbitration signed at Corinto January 20, 1902, above referred to, were sufficient and still in force.

The Treaty of San José was signed on September 25, 1906, by the representatives of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Salvador. Among the principal stipulations contained in this treaty is an agreement by the Governments of Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to appoint, for the settlement of all difficulties arising among them, the Presidents of the United States and Mexico as umpires to whom all such questions are to be submitted for arbitration. Other stipulations of this treaty seem to suggest the reestablishment of the Central American Union, such, for instance, as the provision binding the signatory powers always to unite "to foster their moral, intellectual, and industrial progress, thus making their interests one and the same, as becomes sister countries." Furthermore, the signatory states mutually agree to grant "native treatment another's citizens residing within their borders. Merchant vessels of the various contracting countries are likewise favored and provision is made for the extradition of criminals. Finally, in order to "maintain peace and to forestall one of the most frequent causes of disturbance in the interior of the republics and of restlessness and distress among Central American people" the four contracting states agree not to allow "prominent political refugees to reside near the frontiers of the countries whose peace they seek to disturb."

to one

On the same day, September 25, 1906, other conventions were signed by the same plenipotentiaries, providing for the creation of a bureau to be located in the City of Guatemala, and established not later than September 15, 1907, for the purpose of fostering intercourse among the signatory countries, and for the creation of a Central American pedagogical institute, in Costa Rica, as a means of securing "a common educational system, essentially homogeneous,

tending to effect the moral and intellectual unification of the sister countries."

Disturbances have, however, continued in Central America and to such an extent has the peace of that portion of the world been threatened that the friendly mediation of the United States and Mexico became appropriate in the common interest of peace and good will. This tender of good offices was readily accepted by all the Central American states and their common effort to maintain peace and arrive at a definite understanding resulted in the protocol signed at the Department of State in Washington, on September 17, 1907, by the plenipotentiaries of all five of the Central American republics in the presence of the representatives of the United States and Mexico, providing for the Peace Conference which was held at Washington in November and December under the roof of the International Bureau of the American Republics.2

As agreed upon in Article I of the protocol, President Díaz of Mexico and President Roosevelt of the United States invited the five republics of Central America to meet in Washington in order to establish a basis of permanent peace between them. These invitations were accepted and delegates were chosen from the several republics.3

In addition, the Republic of Mexico designated Señor Don Enrique C. Creel, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States, and the United States designated Hon. William I. Buchanan, as representatives from Mexico and the United States

at the conference.

The building of the International Bureau of the American Republics was chosen as the place of meeting of the conference and two preliminary sessions under the presidency of Señor Don Joaquín Bernardo Calvo-Señor Dr. Don Angel Ugarte, secretary-were held on November 12 and 13, at which regulations for the orderly procedure of the conference were adopted.

On the 14th of November the first regular session of the conference

2 The text of this protocol will be found in the Supplement, I:406.

3 For list of delegates see Treaty and Conventions, Supplement for this number

of the JOURNAL.

was held, at which the delegates, the representatives of Mexico and the United States, and the Hon. Elihu Root, Secretary of State of the United States, were present. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Root, who addressed the conference as follows:

Mr. Ambassador and Gentlemen of the Five Central American Republics:

Usage devolves upon me as the head of the Foreign Office of the country in which you are assembled to call this meeting together; to call it to order and to preside during the formation of your organization. I wish to express to you, at the outset, the high appreciation of the Government of the United States of the compliment which you pay to us in selecting the city of Washington as the field of your labors in behalf of the rule of peace and order and brotherhood among the peoples of Central America. It is most gratifying to the people of the United States that you should feel that you will find here an atmosphere favorable to the development of the ideas of peace and unity, of progress and mutual helpfulness, in place of war and revolution and the retardation of the principles of liberty and justice.

So far as a sincere and friendly desire for success in your labors may furnish a favorable atmosphere, you certainly will have it here. The people of the United States are sincere believers in the principles that you are seeking to apply to the conduct of your international affairs in Central America. They sincerely desire the triumph and the control of the principles of liberty and order everywhere in the world. They especially desire that the blessings which follow the control of those principles may be enjoyed by all the people of our sister republics on the Western Hemisphere, and we further believe that it will be, from the most selfish point of view, for our interests to have peaceful, prosperous, and progressive republics in Central America.

The people of the United Mexican States and of the United States of America are now enjoying great benefits from the mutual interchange of commerce and friendly intercourse between the two countries of Mexico and the United States. Prosperity, the increase of wealth, the success of enterprise — all the results that come from the intelligent use of wealth are being enjoyed by the people of both countries, through the friendly intercourse that utilizes for the people of each country the prosperty of the other. We in the United States should be most happy if the states of Central America might move with greater rapidity along the pathway of such prosperity, of such progress; to the end that we may share, through commerce and friendly intercourse, in your new prosperity, and aid you by our prosperity.

We cannot fail, gentlemen, to be admonished by the many failures which have been made by the people of Central America to establish agreement among themselves which would be lasting, that the task you have before you is no easy one. The trial has often been made and