ALABAMA CLAIMS. 77 



cupiod by the Society for the Succor of tlic AVouiuled ; 

 n room of moderato dimensions, but adc<]uate to the 

 purpose, fitted up with elegance and good taste, not, 

 however, specially for the Commission or Trilninal, 

 but for ordinary uses of the City or Canton, indicated 

 by its title "Salle des Conferences." 



The Hotel de Yille is a structure in the Florentine 

 style of architecture, situated on the sunuuit of the 

 old (ieneva, and which is occu])ied both by munic- 

 ipal ollicers of the City and by the executive and leg- 

 islative authorities of the Canton. 



COUNT FREDERIC SCLOPIS. 



Here, then, in the "Salle des Conferences" of the 

 Hotel de Villc, at Geneva, the Tri])unal assembled to 

 listen to the opening discourse of the Pj-esideut, Count 

 Sclopis, and to take up the business remaining for the 

 consideration of the Arbitrators. 



Count Sclopis, in this discourse, expressed belief 

 that the meeting of the Tribunal indicated of itself 

 the impression of new direction on the public policy 

 of nations the most advanced in civilization, and the 

 commencement of an epoch in "which the s])irit of 

 moderation and the sentiment of equity were begin- 

 ning to prevail over the tendency of the old routines 

 of arbitrary violence or culpable indlfterence. lie 

 signified regret that the pacific views of the Congress 

 of Paris had not been seconded by events in Europe, 

 lie congratulated the A\orld that the statesmen who 

 directed the destinies of Great Britain and the United 

 States, with rare firmness of conviction and devotion 



