The record-union., 1899-06-16
The Formal Meeting Of the Arhitra-
tion Commission
Opened Yesterday Morning at the Foreign
Office at Paris.
Met in the Same Room Used by the
Spanish American Peace Con-
ference and the Behring Sea Ar
bitration-Sir Richard Webster
Opens the Argument for Great
Britain.

PARIS, June 15.-The formal meet
ing Of the Venezuela Arbitration Com
mission opened this morning. The ar
bitrators, counsel and others began as
sembling at the Foreign Office shortly
before II o'clock. They were received
by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, M.
Del Casse, in the apartment in which
the tribunal will sit. These are the
rooms used at the meeting of the Span
ish-American peace conference and
during the Behring Sea arbitration. On
raised daiS at the end of the room,
facing the entrance, are five massive
gilt arm chairs for the arbitrators,
with table in front of them. Below
the dias are half a dozen long tables
placed across the room for counsel and
clerical staff. A large colored map Of
the disputed territory hangs on the wall
to the right of the arbitrators, with
smaller map of the whole of South
America, beside it.
Altogether there were about forty
persons connected with the tribunal
present The arbitrators and most of
their staffs We're dressed in frock coats.
L
tors in that portion of the apartment
roped off for the general public and
half a dozen ladies' including Mrs. Ben
jamin Harrison and others belonging
to the American party
The arbitrators took their seats soon
after III o'clock; Chief Justice Melville
Fuller and Richard Hem Collins, Lord
Justice of Appeals, sitting on the right
of Professor De Martens, the umpire,
and Baron Russell of Killowen, Lord
Chief of England, and Justice David
c. Brewer, sitting at his left hand. For
mer President Benjamin Harrison and
General Benjamin F. Tracy and the
remainder of the Americans sat at the
tables at the left side facing the court.
and the other British Representative
were seated at tables on the right side.
A feature of the proceedings was that
counsel used the desk which served
during the Bering Sea tribunal proceed
ings.
The proceedings opened at 11:20.
when M. Del Casse briefly addressed the
tribunal in French. The Foreign Min
lister said it gave him special pleasure
to welcome the high commission in be-
half of the French Republic, which, he
added, was greatly pleased at the fact
that Paris had been chosen for the
sitting Of the tribunal, among whom
he saw such eminent men, some Of
whom had occupied with distinction
the highest positions. Under the Pres
idency of M. De Martens, who was uni
versally acknowledged as an authority
on international law, he continued. the
labors could only result happily in the
interests of the dispute and in the
interest of humanity. for it would con-
stitute another step toward the real
ization of the noble project which
launched from an illustrious throne,
was making way into the hearts and
consciences of the people and had thus
imposed itself with singular force on
the solicitude of those who govern
them.
Del Casse concluded with thanking
the arbitrators for having accepted
the hospitality of France.
Professor Martens replied, thanking
the French Foreign Minister for his
welcome and for the hospitality ex-
tended to the arbitrators. The speak
er recalled the fact that he came here
seven years ago to attend the Bering
Sea arbitration.
Referring to the work being done at
The Hague in the matter of arbitration,
he said the peace conference sought not
merely to arrange a settlement of con-
f1icts, but the avoidance of conflicts,
and expressed the hope that the pres
ent tribunal would have the result of
promoting the welfare and prosperity
of the two countries interested
The Professor announced the rule of
procedure agreed upon at yesterdays
conference, and said the arbitrators
would meet every day excepting Sun
days.
Captain Webster thereupon said in
order to meet the views of former Pres
ident Benjamin Harrison and the 9TH
er American counsel in which the Eng
lish representatives concurred. he pro-
posed that they only meet four days
in the week, in view of the extremely
heavy work before them. =
Mr.. Harrison said he thought there
would be in four days work enough
for ordinary men, and he evoked
general smile as. looking around on
the general gathering of the most emil
nent jurists of Great Britain and Amer
ica he added: "And we are ordinary
men," The work before them. he add
ed, would be tremendous strain upon
the counsel.
Professor De Martens thereupon
agreed that four days meeting week
would be sufficient, arranging that the
arbitrators would not meet on Fridays,
50 md C11p6avc
Sir Richard Webster asked: "As the
learned Professor Martens is going back
to The Hague tonight, what days does
he propose to give us next week."
The Professor replied that he hoped
to give them two days during the latter
half of the week, and that he would
write from The Hague on Sunday fixing
the day of his arrival
After this, Sir Richard Webster an
nounced that counsel had arranged that
he should speak first. then two Venezu-
elan counsel, next Great Britain, with
possibly two counsel, then Venezuela,
and next Great Britain. The final
speech was to be made by Venezuela.
Sir Richard then opened the British
case and spoke until 2:15 D. M, when
tho com mission adin,rrrod for l,,v,chnoy1s