AT THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE: V-1899 345 



To-day appears in the London &quot; Times&quot; the interview 

 which its correspondent had with me yesterday. It de 

 velops the reasons for our declaration, and seems to give 

 general satisfaction. Sir Julian Pauncefote told Holls 

 that he liked it much. 



The committee on forms of the &quot; Final Act,&quot; etc., has at 

 last, under pressure of all sorts, agreed that the question 

 of admitting non-signatory powers shall be decided by 

 the signatory powers, hereafter, through the ordinary 

 medium of diplomatic correspondence. This is unfor- 

 turate for some of the South American republics, but it 

 will probably in some way inure to the benefit of the 

 Vatican monsignori. 



July 29. 



The last and culminating day of the conference. 



In the morning the entire body gathered in the great 

 hall of the &quot; House in the Wood,&quot; and each delegation 

 was summoned thence to sign the protocol, conventions, 

 and declarations. These were laid out on a long table in 

 the dining-room of the palace, which is adorned with 

 very remarkable paintings of mythological subjects imi 

 tating bas-reliefs. 



All these documents had the places for each signa 

 ture prepared beforehand, and our seals, in wax, already 

 placed upon the pages adjoining the place where each 

 signature was to be. At the request of the Foreign 

 Office authorities for my seal, I had sent a day or two 

 beforehand the seal ring which Goldwin Smith gave 

 me at the founding of Cornell University. It is an an 

 cient carnelian intaglio which he obtained in Borne, 

 and bears upon its face, exquisitely engraved, a 

 Winged Victory. This seal I used during my entire con 

 nection with Cornell University, and also as a member 

 of the Electoral College of the State of New York at 

 General Grant s second election, when, at the request 

 of the president of that body, Governor Woodford, it 

 was used in sealing certificates of the election, which were 



