The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-06-16
bRNIRAI()RS N PARIS
Venezuela Boundary Commits
sion at Work at Last.
BRITISH COUNSEL OPENS
Sessions viii be Held Four
Days in the Week

Paris, June 15.-The first formal meet
ing Of the Venezuela arbitration commits
sion opened this morning. The weather
was cool and the sky was clouded. The
arbitrators. counsel and others began as
sembling at the nreign oce shortly before
II O'Clock They were received by the
minister of foreign affairs, VI. Delcasse,
in the apartment in which the tribunal
will sit. These are the rooms used at the
meeting of the Spanish-American peace
conference and during the Boring sea ar
bitration. The main room is an oblong
chamber Iuxuriously decorated, having
rich mouldings on the walls and ceilings
and heavy gilt ornamentations relieved by
frescos in light tones. The ceiling Is light
blue and in its center are magnificent gilt
chandeliers. On raised eais at the end
of the room, facing the entrance, are tVe
massive gilt armchairs for the arbltrators,
with table in front OF them. Below the
dais are half-a-doZen ling tables, placed
across the room for counsel and the cler-
zeal staff. All the furniture is upholstered
in bright red with gilt frames. large
colored map of the disputed territory
hangs on the wall to the right Of the ar
bitrators, with a smaller map of the whole
of South America beside it. Altogether
there were about forty persons connected
with the tribunal present. The arbitra-
tors and most Of their staffs We're dressed
in frock coats. There were less than a
dozen spectators in the portion OF the
apartment roped off for the general public
and half a dozen ladies, including Mrs.
BENJAMIN Harrison and others belonging
to the American party.
The arbitratirs took their seats soon
after II O'Clock. Chief Justice Melville Z.
Fuller and Sir Richard Penn Collins, lord
justice of appeals, sitting on the right OF
Professor De Martens, and Baron Russell
OF KiIlowen, lord chief justice Of England,
and Justice David J. Brewer sitting at
his left hand Former President Benjamin
Harrison and General Benjamin +. Tracy
and the remainder Of the Americans sat
at the tables at the left side of the rom,
facing the court, and the other British
representatives were seated at tables on
the right side a feature of the proceed
ings was that counsel used the desk which
served during the Bering Sea tribunal de-
liberations.
The proceedings opened at 11:20, when
NJ. Delcasse briefly addressed the tribunal
in French He said it gave him special
pleasure to welcome the high commission
in behalf of the government of the re-
public, 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 distinc-
ton the highest positions. Under the pres
idency of NJ. De Martens, who was uni
versally acknowledged as an authority on
international law, he continued, their la
bors could only result happily in the in
terests of the dispute and in the interests
of humanity, for it would constitute an
other step toward the realization of the
noble project which, launched from an il
lustrious throne, was making rapid way
into the hearts and cinsciences OF the peo-
pies, and had thus imposed itself with
singular force or the solicitude of those
who govern them. NJ. DeIcasse concluded
with thanking the arbitrator for having
accepted the hospitality Of France.
Professor Martens replied, thanking the
French foreign minister for his welcome
and the hospitality extended. The speaker
recalled the fact that he came here seven
years ago TO attend the Boring Sea arbi-
tration. Referring to the work being done
at The Hague in the matter Of arbitra-
ton, he said the peace conference sought
not merely to arrange a settlement OF con-
dicts but the avoidance of conflicts, and
expressed the hope that the present tri-
bunal would have the result of promoting
the welfare and prosperity of the TWO
countries interested. The professor an
nounced the rules Of procedure agreed
upon at yesterdays conference and said
the arbitrators would meet every day ex-
cepting Sundays.
Sir Richard Webster thereupon rose and
said that in order to meet the views of
Former President Harrison, and the other
American counsel, in which the English
representative concurred, he proposed 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 a general
smile as, looking around on the gathering
of the most eminent jurists of Great Brit
ain and America he added: And We
are all ordiary men" The work before
them, he added. wiu'd be a tremendous
strain upon the counsel
Professor De Martens thereupon agreed
that four days meetings per week would
be sufficient, arranging that the arbftra-
tors would not meet on Fridays, Satur-
days or Sundays.
Sir Richard Webster asked: ''As the
learned Professor De Martens IS going
back 10 The Hague tonisht, 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 net week and that he would write from
The Hague on Sunday, fixing the day Of
his arrival
After ibis ST. Richard Webster an
nounoe3 that counsel had arranged that
he should speak first, then two Venezuelan
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