58 
HISTORICAL PART 
the movement, a course which resulted in nothing but the 
interchange of notes. 
„As the creation of an international convention without 
the co-operation of Germany, (especially considering her central 
situation), was impossible, it is quite natural that the hesit- 
ating attitude of the German government hindered further 
development and necessitated the postponement of further 
negotiations until the raising of the German Bill for the pro- 
tection of birds to law, when the cooperation of the German 
government could be reckoned upon. But the passing of the 
German Bill was unexpectedly delayed, for several drafts were 
elaborated without the two Houses of the German Legislation 
being able to come to an agreement. While these negoti- 
ations were going on, any further development of the inter- 
national protection of birds became impracticable". So much 
for the first part of the Report. 
We must inquire at this point: what was the underlying 
cause of the hesitating, vacillating attitude of the States? Not 
one gave an absolutely definite refusal; while three large 
States, Hungary, Austria and Italy — the latter the most 
fastidious of all — were unconditionally in favour of a con- 
vention based on the Declaration. 
The cause was deepseated and prevented the States a 
priori from undertaking, with a quiet conscience or rather on 
the basis of absolutely objective knowledge, a binding con- 
vention. The consciousness of uncertainty, as concerning the 
cause, was not clear in some cases; but it was there and 
made itself felt. 
Today it is easy to solve the riddle, for the development 
of the cause, the moments of which are now well known, 
offers a voluntary solution. 
We know that the International Congress of Farmers and 
Foresters met at Vienna in 1873, at which the question of 
