314 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XXIII 



a tribunal as is now proposed, so far from being derog 

 atory to sovereignty, really relieves the sovereign and 

 the Foreign Office of the most vexatious fetters and limi 

 tations of parliamentarianism. It is not at all unlikely 

 that such a court would decide in your favor ; and if so, 

 every thoughtful American would say, &quot;Well and good; 

 it appears that, in spite of all the speeches in Congress, 

 we were wrong.&quot; And the matter would then be ended 

 with the good-will of all parties. 



(Sgd.) A. D. W. 



It is indeed a crisis in the history of the conference, 

 and perhaps in the history of Germany. I can only hope 

 that Billow will give careful attention to the considera 

 tions which Miinster and myself press upon him. 



Later in the day Sir Julian Pauncefote called, evi 

 dently much vexed that the sitting of the subcommittee 

 had been deferred, and even more vexed since he had 

 learned from De Staal the real reason. He declared that 

 he was opposed to stringing out the conference much 

 longer; that the subcommittee could get along perfectly 

 well without Dr. Zorn; that if Germany did not wish 

 to come in, she could keep out; etc., etc. He seemed to 

 forget that Germany s going out means the departure 

 of Austria and Italy, to say nothing of one or two minor 

 powers, and therefore the bringing to naught of the 

 conference. I did not think it best to say anything about 

 Holls s departure, but soothed him as much as I could by 

 dwelling on the success of his proposal that the per 

 manent council here shall be composed of the resident 

 diplomatic representatives. 



The other members of our commission, and especially 

 President Low, were at first very much opposed to Dr. 

 Holls s going, on the ground that it might be considered 

 an interference in a matter pertaining to Germany ;, but 

 I persisted in sending him, agreeing to take all the re 

 sponsibility, and declaring that he should go simply as 

 a messenger from me, as the American ambassador at 

 Berlin, to the imperial minister of foreign affairs. 



