AT THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE: IV-1899 317 



out, some of them and, indeed, one of the best in defer 

 ence to the ideas of Captain Mahan, who, though he is 

 willing, under instructions from the government, to join 

 in presenting the memorial, does not wish to sign any 

 thing which can possibly be regarded as indicating a 

 personal belief in the establishment of such immunity. 

 His is the natural view of a sailor; but the argument 

 with which he supports it does not at all convince me. It 

 is that during war we should do everything possible to 

 weaken and worry the adversary, in order that he may 

 be the sooner ready for peace ; but this argument proves 

 too much, since it would oblige us, if logically carried out, 

 to go back to the marauding and atrocities of the Thirty 

 Years War. 



June 20. 



Went to the session of one of the committees at the 

 &quot; House in the Wood,&quot; and showed Mr. van Karnebeek 

 our private-property memorial, which he read, and on 

 which he heartily complimented us. 



I then made known to him our proposal to lay a 

 wreath on the tomb of Grotius, and with this he seemed 

 exceedingly pleased, saying that the minister of foreign 

 affairs, M. de Beaufort, would be especially delighted, 

 since he is devoted to the memory of Grotius, and de 

 livered the historical address when the statue in front 

 of the great church at Delft was unveiled. 



A little later submitted the memorial, as previously 

 agreed upon, to Count Minister, who also approved it. 



Holls telegraphs me from Berlin that he has been ad 

 mirably received by the chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, 

 and by Baron von Billow, and that he is leaving for Ham 

 burg to see the Emperor. 



At four P.M. to a meeting of the full conference to 

 receive report on improvements and extension of the Bed 

 Cross rules, etc. This was adopted in a happy-go-lucky, 

 unparliamentary way, for the eminent diplomatist who 

 presides over the conference still betrays a Russian lack 



