300 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE -XXII 



away entirely with the trouble and expense of a special 

 council. 



This I amended by adding the Netherlands minister of 

 foreign affairs as ex-officio president, there being various 

 reasons for this, and among these the fact that, without 

 some such provision, the Netherlands would have no 

 representative in the council. 



The plan and my amendment were well received, and I 

 trust that our full and friendly discussion of these and 

 various matters connected with them will produce a good 

 effect in the committees. 



Count Nigra expressed himself to me as personally 

 most earnestly in favor of arbitration, but it was clear 

 that his position was complicated by the relations of 

 his country to Germany as one of the Triple Alliance; 

 and the same difficulty was observable in the case of 

 Count Welsersheimb, the representative of Austria, the 

 third ally in the combination of which Germany is the 

 head. 



In the course of our breakfast, Baron d Estournelles 

 made a statement which I think impressed every person 

 present. It was that, as he was leaving Paris, Jaures, 

 the famous socialist, whom he knows well, said to him, 

 &quot; Go on ; do all you can at The Hague, but you will labor 

 in vain : you can accomplish nothing there, your schemes 

 will fail, and we shall triumph, &quot; or words to that effect. 

 So clear an indication as this of the effect which a fail 

 ure of the conference to produce a good scheme of ar 

 bitration will have in promoting the designs of the great 

 international socialist and anarchist combinations can 

 not fail to impress every thinking man. 



Dined in the evening with the French minister at this 

 court, and very pleasantly. There were present M. Leon 

 Bourgeois, the French first delegate, and the first dele 

 gates from Japan, China, Mexico, and Turkey, with sub 

 ordinate delegates from other countries. Sitting next 

 the lady at the right of the host, I found her to be the 

 wife of the premier, M. Piersoon, minister of finance, and 



