AT THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE: III 1899 291 



means of delay and of complications which may prove un 

 fortunate. It would certainly be said that if the contes 

 tants were to be allowed to name two or more judges from 

 outside the tribunal, they might just as well nominate all, 

 and thus save the expense attendant upon a regularly con 

 stituted international court chosen by the various gov 

 ernments. 



Later in the day I wrote a private letter to the Secre 

 tary of State suggesting that our American delegation 

 be authorized to lay a wreath of silver and gold upon the 

 tomb of Grotius at Delft, not only as a tribute to the man 

 who set in motion the ideas which, nearly three hundred 

 years later, have led to the assembling of this conference, 

 but as an indication of our gratitude to the Netherlands 

 Government for its hospitality and the admirable pro 

 vision it has made for our work here, and also as a sign 

 of good- will toward the older governments of the world on 

 the occasion of their first meeting with delegates from the 

 new world, in a conference treating of matters most im 

 portant to all nations. 



In the evening to Mr. van Karnebeek s reception, and 

 there met Mr. Raffalovitch, one of the Russian secre 

 taries of the conference, who, as councilor of the Eussian 

 Empire and corresponding member of the French Insti 

 tute, has a European reputation, and urged him to aid 

 in striking out the clause in the plan which admits judges 

 other than those of the court. My hope is that it will dis 

 appear in the subcommittee and not come up in the gen 

 eral meeting of the third great committee. 



June 8. 



The American delegation in the afternoon discussed at 

 length the proposals relating to the Brussels Conference 

 rules for the more humane carrying on of war. Consid 

 erable difference of opinion has arisen in the section of 

 the conference in which the preliminary debates are 

 held, and Captain Crozier, our representative, has been 

 in some doubt as to the ground to be taken between these 



