Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-05-19

FERENCE.
The Hague, May 1S.-The peace con-
ference called by the Gar of Russia,
was opened at o'clock this afternoon
in the hall of the Hubs Ten Bosch, or
the House in the Woods" two miles
from The Hague M. DeBeaufort, pres
ident of the council and minister of
foreign affairs of the government of
the Netherlands, delivered the inaug-
ural address and welcomed the dele
gates.
M. De Beaufort spoke on the high
honor of the choice of The Hague as
the meeting place for the conference,
and extolled the noble incentive of
the Gar, saying this would be a red
letter day in the history of the CEN
fury and expressing the hope that his
majesty would be able to look back to
the day as the most glorious day of his
life. He concluded with calling atten-
ton to the allegorical group over the
doorway of the hall, Peace entering to
close the Temple of Janus, and said:
Il trust this beautiful allegory will be
a good augury of your labors and that
after you have completed them you will
be able to say that Peace, whom art
introduced into this hall, left it TO
spread the blessings among the whole
humanity"
The programme contemplates the
appointment of three commissioners 20
arrange subjects for discussion. The
first relates to restrictions of arma-
ments and military expenditures, the
second deals with the laws governing
civilized warfare, and the third with
mediation and arbitration.
Many documents will be submitted
on these subjects, including the mem
orandum of Prince Metternich, of Aus
tria, in 1916, regarding the suggestion
of the prince regent of England, sup
ported by Alexander /. of Russia, for
an International peace conference; the
opinions of David Dudley Field, of the
United States, as to fixing a perma-
nent limit ITO military forces; the argu-
ment Of M. Merignhac, in favor of sim
ultaneous disarmament, and the pro-
posals of Napoleon Ill to convoke
European peace conference at Paris in
1868.
The second commission will consider
The declarations of the congress of
taris of 1850, and the Geneva conven-
ton of 1864, the unratified clauses of
the Geneva convention of 1868; he
acts of the st. Petersburg convention
prohibiting the use of certain projec-
tiles by civilized nations; the minutes
of the Brussels conference of 1874; the
suggestions of the Oxford manual re-
garding the laws and observances of
war; the rules for the bombardment of
cities adopted by the institute of in
ternational law in Venice in 1896: the
declarations of France and Great Brit
ain regarding the unadopted rules of
the Geneva convention; the views of
the Amsterdam chamber of commerce,
approved by successive Netherlands
foreign ministers urging the adoption
Of the minutes of the Brussels confer
ence of 1874; dealing with the laws and
observances of war which did not lead
to the conclusion of any convention,
and the circular of the Dutch minister
of foreign affairs in 1871, relating to the
adoption Of the principle of inviolabil-
ity of private property, and urging a
clearer definition of the term Contra
band of war;
The third commission will consider
the proposals of Lord Clarendon at the
Paris congress in 1856 for the media
tion of a friendly state previous to a
recourse to force; the motion of Signor
Mancini in the Italian chamber of dep
utiSo III 1910 III ldNOT OF drDllraJlOn,
the acts of the Berlin and Zurich con-
ferences on compromise and mediation;
David Dudley Fields plan for an arbi-
tration tribunal; the proposals for an
arbitration tribunal for the North. Cen
trail and South American States adopt-
ed in Washington in 1890; the MARQUIS
of Salisbury's letters to Sir Julian
Pauncefote in 1896, relating to the con
clusion of an arbitration treaty between
Great Britain and tie United States,
and the terms of the ratified Anglo
American treaty, and many similar doc
uments.
The delegates decided to send the fol-
lowing telegram to the Car:
"The peace conference lays at the
feet of Your Majesty its respectful con-
gratulations upon the occasion of your
birthday and expresses its sincere de-
sire to cooperate in the great and
noble work in which Your Majesty has
taken generous initiative, and for
which it begs you to accept its humble
and profound gratitude"
Washington, May 1S.-The following