338 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SEEVICE-XXIV 



July 22. 



Sir Julian Pauncefote called to discuss with us the 

 signing of the Acte Final. There seems to be gen 

 eral doubt as to what is the best manner of signing the 

 conventions, declarations, etc., and all remains in the 

 air. 



In the morning the American delegation met and Cap 

 tain Mahan threw in a bomb regarding article 27, which 

 requires that when any two parties to the conference are 

 drifting into war, the other powers should consider it a 

 duty (devoir) to remind them of the arbitration tribunal, 

 etc. He thinks that this infringes the American doctrine 

 of not entangling ourselves in the affairs of foreign 

 states, and will prevent the ratification of the convention 

 by the United States Senate. This aroused earnest de 

 bate, Captain Mahan insisting upon the omission of the 

 word &quot;devoir/ and Dr. Holls defending the article as 

 reported by the subcommittee, of which he is a member, 

 and contending that the peculiar interests of America 

 could be protected by a reservation. Finally, the dele 

 gation voted to insist upon the insertion of the quali 

 fying words, &quot; autant que les circonstances permettent,&quot; 

 but this decision was afterward abandoned. 



July 23. 



Met at our Minister Newel s supper Sir Henry How 

 ard, who told me that the present Dutch ministry, with 

 Piersoon at its head and De Beaufort as minister of 

 foreign affairs, is in a very bad way; that its &quot;subser 

 viency to Italy,&quot; in opposition to the demands of the 

 Vatican for admittance into the conference, and its dif 

 ficulties with the socialists and others, arising from the 

 police measures taken against Armenian, Finnish, New 

 Turkish, and other orators who have wished to come here 

 and make the conference and the city a bear-garden, 

 have led both the extreme parties that is, the solid 

 Eoman Catholic party on one side, and the pretended vo 

 taries of liberty on the other to hate the ministry 



