ARBITRAL DECISIONS.

[To the Editor of CONCORD.] SIR,-In your number for January, page 51, I find the following:

Why, then, have nations referred their disputes to arbitration in the forty or fifty cases since 1816 ? How is it that no such nations have refused to accept the decision?

I beg to point out that the award made in January, 1831, by the King of Holland, on the Maine Boundary, in an Arbitration agreed on by Treaty in 1827, though it was at once accepted by William IV., was rejected by the United States.

After this rejection six Blue Books were published on the subject.

On 6th September, 1841, Sir Robert Peel came into office, and, on 9th August, 1842, the Maine Boundary Dispute was settled by the Arbitration Treaty.

The arbitration of the King of Holland is No. 4 in the Peace Society's list of successful arbitrations.—I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, C. D. COLLET.

GREAT BRITAIN AND VENEZUELA. WITH reference to the serious dispute with Venezuela, referred to at length in our last number, the Committee of our Association has done what it could to draw attention to the points in dispute. On the 20th ult. a meeting was held at our office for the purpose of hearing a statement of the view of the case held by the Venezuelans, and made by Mr. E. D. Mathews, a civil engineer, engaged for many years in the construction of railways in that State. With the assistance of a large map, the information = given was very full and lucid-numerous questions were put and thoroughly answered. The Committee are engaged in bringing this information before Members of the House of Commons in the hope that papers may be called for, and the whole question made fully

known to the British public.

PETITION IN FAVOUR OF AN ANGLOAMERICAN TREATY OF ARBITRATION.

A PETITION in favour of a Treaty between this country and America, by which any disputes occurring between the two countries which could not be settled by diplomatic negotiation would be at once referred to independent arbitration, lies for signature at the Offices of the Association. Several copies have been sent to friends in various parts of England, and a few have already been presented to the House of Commous. We are also in communication with the Chambers of Commerce and various political and religious organisations on the subject.

We shall be glad to send copies to any of our friends who will endeavour to obtain signatures in their respective neighbourhoods. It is suggested that where a fair number of signatures is obtained, the petition should be sent to the local Member for presentation.

THE AMERICAN PEACE SOCIETIES AND THE BEHRING SEA QUESTION.

ACCORDING to the rule of our Association, the Committee has been in correspondence with its colleagues in America on this question, and our readers will be glad to know that the American societies have all urged upon the Government of the United States the desirability of referring the matters in dispute to independent arbitration. It is also encouraging to note that all agree that there is no danger of war with the mother country. Our Pacific coast branch has also brought the question before various religious and commercial bodies, requesting them to petition the Government on the subject. It will be seen also, from a letter published in another column, that our distinguished friend, Mr. David Dudley Field, is of opinion that the question will ultimately be settled by arbitration, if not previously arranged by negotiation.

PROPOSED CONGRESS ON DISARMAMENT.

AT the suggestion of Mr. David Dudley Field, our Committee has prepared the following address to Lord Salisbury, which most of the principal Peace Societies have agreed to sign :

"TO THE MOST HONOURABLE THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY, K.G., &c., &c., HER MAJESTY'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

"My Lord,-The undersigned, officers of Peace and Arbitration Societies of Great Britain and Ireland, on behalf of their respective societies, very respectfully beg to address your lordship on a question which more or less directly affects the welfare and happiness of all European populations. European populations. We refer to the grievous burdens imposed by the enormous and constantly

increasing armaments which the several Governments

think it necessary to maintain.

"We know well that we need not, in addressing your

lordship, say anything of the evils thus occasioned, or as to the injury caused to commerce and industry, constituting, as do these latter, the sources of that national wealth by which this wasteful expenditure is provided. Nor need we say anything of the injury to the best interests of the nations, caused by the with. drawal of large sums from fruitful and beneficent objects.

"We are perfectly aware, from observations made on many public occasions, that no one is more alive than is your lordship to this disastrous condition of things, or more anxious to find a remedy for the same.

"The question whether any practical step can be taken to diminish the loss and suffering thus occasioned has been a subject of consideration by many persons, not only in this country, but in others. It formed, indeed, a prominent subject of discussion at a Congress held in London in July last, attended by delegates from many Arbitration and Peace associations in Europe and America; and the result of these and other conferences is the suggestion which we now venture to submit.

"It is that her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen should invite the Governments of Europe to meet in conference and consider the possibility of concerting measures for a simultaneous and proportionate reduction in the military forces at present liable for foreign service.

"Your lordship is aware that a man so pre-eminent for his sound wisdom as the late Richard Cobden was strongly of opinion that such an agreement was practicable, and ought to be carried out.

"It has in its favour that it would leave unchanged the relative strength of the nations, and that the proposal therefore would not wound the amour propre of any, while the financial relief to all would be great and speedy. Moreover, such a proposal does not entail attempts to interfere with the settlement of the serious questions supposed to justify these arguments. Indeed, the adoption of such an agreement may be the means of delivering one or more States from financial ruin, the effect of which must be felt by many other nations.

"We would also observe that such an agreement is not without precedent, inasmuch as Great Britain and the United States entered into an agreement in the year 1815, whereby neither Government should maintain ships of war on the great lakes.

"The undersigned venture moreover to think that there are strong reasons why the duty and privilege of calling a conference devolve specially on Great Britain.

"Our country, from its geographical position, is relieved to a great extent from the dangers and anxieties which affect most European States. The British people, for the most part, have long desired the privilege of being the hearty friends of all other nations; without distinction, occupying an honoured and honourable neutrality as to the disputes which unhappily divide the latter.

"This gives to Great Britain a unique position, and enables her to render to Continental Europe the great service of mediator.

"It would be difficult for any State directly involved in the international questions which threaten Europe to invite the others to a conference on disarmament without rendering herself liable to misapprehension; but from this difficulty Great Britain is free. None would take umbrage at a course adopted in the interest of all, and her Majesty would, we heartily believe, gain the gratitude of rulers and ruled alike by rendering this great service, a feeling which would still prevail even if the purpose in view failed ultimately of accomplishment.

"We have the honour to be,
"Your Lordship's most obedient servants,
"&c.
&c."

THE New Year's address of our Executive Committee is a proper accounting, timely rendered, of work well done, and will meet with the approval of all friends of peace and philanthropists all over the world.

They say it is for us, the members of the Association, to declare whether the results attained are worth the efforts expended on them, and if we will support them to continue their work in the future.

This is my answer: Brave men, you have done well and nobly, and well deserve the encouragement and assistance of all lovers of humanity and Your progress. efforts have not been fruitless; the weary work of many years not unlike that of the settler who spends years of toil in clearing, irrigating, and preparing the hard soil to receive the seed-has produced beneficial results, and already there are unmistakable and promising signs of a bountiful harvest in the near future. The prospect is encouraging, and-ae, when "Spring has come". '—we see everywhere leaves and blades peep out from the ground, so we can even now notice that all over Europe earnest thinkers, authors, statesmen, and journalists are awakening under the influence of a bright light, and feel urged to expound and propagate peace-doctrines.

The day's literature contains many pamphlets, leading articles, and arguments devoted to this great question which cannot be shirked, but must be met. Ere long "Peace" will be the prominent topic, and when once the public mind gets engaged with this subject, it will be brought to a successful issue. (So it was with the Slavery question in America.)

As a matter of course, progress moves slowly; antagonistic interests, narrow selfishness, and ignorant apathy are still predominant to-day, and look upon the

establishment of "International Peace as unpractical, or, at most, possible of realisation in centuries to come. But it is a natural experience that dull-minded, unpractical people always decry new ideas, and reject practical measures for improvement. The leaven of intelligence is slow in permeating the heavy dough of the masses, and it takes time to produce a healthy fermentation in the mind of the public. Yet civilisation never stops, it constantly advances; and many of the present generation will live to see the time when Gruson towers and Krupp guns will only be preserved as curiosities of the dark past, much the same as are nowadays the instruments of torture of the "good old times," when, in the name of Christ, Christians exterminated each other; when Quakers and Jews were persecuted, heretics burned, and men of science and advocates of human rights banished, imprisoned, or executed.

History teaches that all great missions and enterprises undertaken in the interest of humanity had to overcome many natural as well as artificial obstacles, and the pioneers of civilisation from Christ to Darwin, George Fox and John Howard, Galileo and Columbus, Fitch and Field, Wilberforce and Garrison, and the thousands of other reformers, discoverers, and apostles of faith had to struggle against prejudice, passion, and ignorance before the world acknowledged the truths they had advocated.

Devotion to principle asks for no reward; the workers of our Executive Committee will find recompense for their sacrifices and labours-and for the hours of trial when doubt and difficulty made their hearts heavy-in the knowledge: Reason will triumph.

At the close of a dark and cheerless day we look wistfully in the direction of the setting sun, in hopes of catching a glimpse of light as a promise of a change for the better in the day to come.

So, in a like manner, if the European sky remain yet for awhile obstructed by threatening war-clouds, let us turn to the West, and the magnificent sight that there meets our gaze will remove from our minds all doubt about the coming morrow, which will be all aglow in sunshine, full of warmth, and serene in peace.

The ideal inspires us to originate, and stimulates action; but the work itself must be done by practical methods and with proper instruments.

"WANTED A POET?"-OH, NO! Instead of collecting peace-phrases, let us collect material FACTS to convince obtuse minds that WAR is RUIN !

Solid arguments, sustained by proof, are the best weapons, and they must be constantly and energetically used till victory is achieved. Peace-poems are no more efficient against war, than Cologne water to heal caries of the bone; only the surgeon's steel and carbolic acid can cure the latter.

Our friends, the Quakers, have practised a peacepolicy in a passive way for centuries, with no tangible result; their method was like a lantern which only illumines itself, but does not throw light in the dark distance.

The tactics of Fabius Cunctator won't do for us; we must imitate the example of Scipio Africanus, and, adopting an aggressive policy, carry the campaign into the dark continent of Europe!

It is not enough to declare our faith in peace; we must force the world's attention to the subject, by continually pointing out the danger of the present political condition to all the individual and national interests, till the European people and statesmen constantly have before their eyes the dread warning-" Mene Tekel Upharsin."

The impending war hangs over Europe like the "Sword of Damocles"; it is suspended by a frail thread which the wear of time or a slight oscillation may cause to snap at any moment. Don't depend on the thread! Remove the sword; for when it falls it will mangle Europe!

Let us rouse Europe out of its cataleptic state of apathy, which is the worst form of Nihilism, not the Russian sort, which pulls down and destroys, but of the Turkish sort, which in its consequences is far more destructive to the existing state in this: that it allows ruin and devastation to go on, without raising a hand to stay or counteract it. The passive Turk looks listlessly on while the conflagration deprives his family of their shelter, and satisfies his dull conscience by mumbling verses from the Koran, and saying "Kismet." Inundation or pestilence do not rouse him to activity, for to this fatalistic spirit all evils seem ordained by Allab, and the power that governs may not be thwarted. "Allah is great!"

The American War (Southern Rebellion, 1861-65), cost the nation 500,000 men, killed in battle or died from wounds, in confinement or from exposure; 1,000,000 more men became invalid-pensioners. These men were the flower of manhood, and the fittest in propagating the race and in producing wealth. The average increase of the population of the United States, which previously had amounted in each decade to 34 per cent., was reduced by the effects of this war (according to United States Census reports, covering the period 1860-70) to 22-63, causing a diminution of the regular increase for that single decade of more than 4,000,000 of people.

This war cost the nation three milliards of dollars, and checked the advance of the Great Republic for many years.

Let competent accountants compute on above basis what the losses of Europe will be when the irrepressible European War of Extermination breaks out.

Let them calculate the numbers of combatants that will be engaged in it. (The five great Powers alone will place over 12,000,000 soldiers in the field, and the neutrals-some of whom will be drawn into the vortex -will furnish at least 5,000,000 more.)

Then take into consideration the immense advancestrides made during the last twenty years in the perfection of arms and the military system in general (skill to kill).

Then give the sum total in killed, cripples, paupers, and loss of property.

Based on the result of former war-times, and making due allowance of the immensely greater devastation of the coming war, approximate the shrinkage of Government Stocks and all money values that rest on the productive results of agriculture, commerce, and industry.

The result will show that these values will be reduced to one-third-one-half of present standard, and many Stocks that are now above par will range close to 0 after that war.

Statistics and calculations of this sort based on good sources will have more influence on the public mind in favour of peace, than all peace-poetry ever published. SIMON W. HANAUER.

Correspondent of the I. A. and P. A., Frankfort,
of Philadelphia.

P.S. As the spiritual is dependent on the material, I enclose £10 to keep the dynamo in motion.

Washington, in October, 1887, with the memorial for a Treaty of Peace. The memorial, as our readers well know, was sent by the President to the Senate and House of Representatives, who, on April 4th, 1890, adopted the concurrent resolution" requesting the President to invite negotiations with other Governments, so that disputes which cannot be settled by diplomatic agency may be referred to arbitration. Has any such invitation yet been made; and it not, why not? Our Association has, for some time past, sent out to various bodies of English citizens, forms of a Petition to Parliament, suggesting an address to the Queen, praying that negotiations may be entered into with the President of the United States, for an Anglo-American Treaty of Arbitration. How slowly good men move!

THE MESSIAH'S KINGDOM.-Such is the title of a monthly journal from which we have appropriated the above extracts. It has for its object to advocate the cause of Peace, as being the law of Christ. It is interesting and well edited; and is the organ, we believe, of a new organisation, the Christian Union for Promoting International Concord. It seems to us identical with the old Herald of Peace in its aims and opinions. If it finds new readers whom the Herald does not reach, that is, of course, a gain to the cause. We cannot but regret, however, the multiplication of societies which might, we think, amalgamate. Our Association has repeatedly made efforts towards that end, but in vain. There are at least two undesirable results: waste of money in an unnecessary number of offices and of officers; and a certain spirit of jealousy which leads one Society to ignore the other's existence. That is not good for any of us.

FALSEHOODS DIE HARD.-At the Plymouth Conference, Sir Edward Clarke, speaking of the Crimean War, said that attempts to settle the difference broke down, "partly, as I believe, through the mischievous activity of members of a similar organisation to this which Mr. Pratt represents to-day, which, by an ill-judged and illtimed mission to St. Petersburg, succeeded in making the Emperor of Russia believe that there was a public feeling in this country which would allow him to do what he pleased in Turkey." With reference to this, Mr. William Pollard, the esteemed Secretary of the International Arbitration Association of Manchester, sends us a copy of an article written by him in Fraser's Magazine, under the title of "the Peace-at-any-price Party." It is therein shown, for the hundredth time: (1) That the Peace Society sent no deputation; (2) that the three persons who did go were sent by a religious body, the Society of Friends, "in the name of Christ"; and (3) that their deputation took place two months after the war had commenced. They arrived in St. Petersburg on the 10th February, 1854, and the war was begun by the entry of the English and French fleets into the Black Sea on 3rd December, 1853. What has always struck us as the most absurd part of this story is, that the Emperor could possibly have supposed that these three Friends represented public opinion in England at that time. Had he not an ambassador in London, who must have kept him well informed of the excited hostility of the English Parliament and press? Were no newspapers and no letters sent to him which told him, week by week, of the true state of feeling in this country?

BALES versus BALLS. La Paix quotes a recent article, by M. Frédéric Passy, with the above heading, suggested by a speech of Richard Coblen. The latter, when opposing a vote for fortifications said that instead of works of defence, built with the sweat and blood of nations he would have a better defence-that of bales

of wool and cotton, with ship-loads of grain, duty free. M. Passy rightly says that this doctrine is more needed now than even forty years ago; for more than then does "Europe bristle with guns and fortresses, cultivate the arts of destruction, and devote to its ruin the forces which should create wealth and prosperity. She must quickly make her choice-there is not a day to losebetween bales and bullets." "Everything, however slight, such as the French Exhibition in London, which tells in favour of the former against the latter, must be encouraged. It is by the thousand ties of commerce and industry, like those which bound Gulliver in the kingdom of Lilliput, that the war monster must be fettered, until at last he shall be forced to confess himself powerless."

OUR GUNS.-"The life of a gun of this size [110 tons] is, we are told, seventy-five rounds only. Fourteen have already been fired, with the unpleasant revelation that if any more are used to practice the officers and men who are to fire the gun in war, then with each round we are not only wearing out the lining but rendering the gun more and more certain not to hit the enemy when eventually we have to fire at him." "The gun costs over £18,000" !-Times.

...

BULLETIN TRIMESTRIEL.-We are glad to receive the second number of the quarterly journal of "the Young Friends of Peace at Nimes," which we introduced to our readers in the December number of CONCORD. We are glad to learn that their new publication has received the heartiest welcome on all sides. The paper has brought them many new adherents, we presume among French students. It appears that by means of a fortnightly "Circular-letter," communication respecting church work is kept up between the various members throughout France.

PEACE MOVEMENT IN SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE.— Our friend, Auguste Desmoulins has opened a campaign in the Department of the Dordogne, and has unfurled his Peace banner at Bergerac. The new

society, of which he is president, is entitled L'Union de la Paix, and takes, as its principle, "international justice, and mutual respect between nations." The "objects," as stated in the programme, are similar to those of our own association. Its funds will be devoted to the cost of meetings, lectures, and corre spondence. Subscription :-One franc per annum. Truly, facts every where bear witness to the rapid growth of opinion in our favour, especially in France and Italy. All success to our veteran colleague.

THE PEACE CONGRESS REPORT, 1890.-In the name of the Congress Committee, we invite our friends to circulate copies of this valuable collection of facts and arguments. They may be obtained gratis for public bodies and institutions; if sixpence for unbound, and a shilling for bound copies are thought too much, Charles Lemonnier has purchased 180 copies for distribution; and we hope others will follow his example. The Phare de la Loire, Il Secolo, La Paix and other papers have published very favourable notices. More such help from foreign and English journals is wanted.

THE BEHRING SEA QUESTION.-The decision of the Supreme Court at Washington that it has jurisdiction to review the decision of the Alaska Court is satisfactory, as a step towards the decision of a great question of international law by a Court of Law instead of by the Executive power, or by "higgling" of diplomacy. A Canadian ship (the W. P. Sayward), having been seized for seal-fishing in Behring Sea, beyond the three-mile limit, is condemned by an American Provincial Court

at Alaska. The Canadian Government, with the approval of the British Government, appeal from that decision to the Supreme Court. How any public man in America can regard such a course as an act of disrespect to the United States Government passes our understanding. Perhaps no public man did so consider it ; and that that view had its origin only in the brains of some journalist desirous of doing a great wickedness,that of creating ill-feeling between two kindred peoples. Thus, as Sir Julian Pauncefote was reported (incorrectly or not, we do not care) to have said to one of Dalziel's scouts on a car, "The question as to the extent of United States jurisdiction which Congress may lawfully exercise over the taking of seals in the Behring Sea will be considered by the Supreme Court." Our representative is reported to have added,-we hope he did:"An international question is thus brought before a Court of high authority and world-wide reputation, whose decision will be binding on our Government, and respected by the other Governments of the world. It is especially gratifying that the decision should be invited voluntarily by Great Britain. No higher compliment could be paid to any judicial tribunal."

SIGNOR CRISPI'S DEFEAT. The burdens of Italy are so intolerable that the powerful man who is considered responsible for the yearly deficit and the growing expenditure for army and navy has been obliged to retire. This result must have come sooner or later. We are all friends of the noble Italian people, and we all pray that a sounder policy than that of the past may enable them to rise speedily above the sufferings and dangers of the present time.

THE BISHOPS AND THE PEACE SUNDAY.-The Peace Society recently sent a deputation to the Archbishop of Canterbury in reference to the proposal that on a given day of the year the clergy should preach sermons on the subject of peace. The subject has been brought before the bishops, who, the Archbishop savs in his reply, "are anxious to do all in their power to hasten the time at which unity, peace, and concord shall be given to all nations."

ADDRESS TO THE WORKING CLASSES OF ITALY.We have received from S. Arnaud on, President of the Italian League of Peace and Liberty at Turin, a very powerful address to the workmen of Italy; and our friend, Miss Mangan, has translated it for CONCORD. If we cannot find space for it in this number, we shall certainly do so in our next.

THE PROPOSED INTERNATIONAL BUREAU OF PEACE.Meetings continue to be held at Paris, under the presidency of M. Charles Lemonnier, of the committee formed to take the initiative in this matter. We understand that they are in communication with the various Parliamentary Committees; and that a scheme for the consideration of the latter and of the Peace Societies has been drafted. This is for the purpose of enabling the Peace Congress and Parliamentary Conference to have a definite project before them when they hold their annual meetings in Rome next Autumn.

AN AMERICAN REVIEWER ON THE CONGRESS.

By some accident the Unitarian Review (Boston, U.S.A.) for September last has only just reached our hands. It contains from the pen of its editor, Mr. Joseph Henry

Allen, a pleasant and thoughtful notice of the Peace Congress in London. Although a delegate from the Peace Society at Boston, he writes in a perfectly "detached" spirit; and, indeed, he admits that in the past he had regarded the peace people with some degree of intellectual distrust.

It is a real advantage to hear what such a man thinks about us, with his calm judgment, equally removed from cant or cynicism. It is then very encouraging to find him saying that "my experience in attending this Congress has very considerably increased my respect for the advocates of universal peace, and for the methods of their action." May the same impression have been produced upon other neophytes, if there were any present!

Mr. Allen found the "management of the Congress, arranged in advance with great skill and labour," was admirable, "and praises the thoroughly generous and hospitable welcome" accorded to all visitors.

Mr. Allen evidently thinks that the peace workers have grown stronger from the fact that, while still adopting a moral and religious basis of action, the peace movement seeks to enlist itself "among the forces actually at work in directing the march of politics, and controlling the mutually hostile forces of modern society."

May we venture to say that this encomium applies rather to the Continental than to the English societies? Indeed, he says that in "such very practical topics as methods and prospects of disarmament; international tribunals of arbitration, and courts of international law; the neutralisation of territory "-the lead in the discussion was taken by the foreign delegates."

We conclude with the following remarkable passage, in which, after referring to the fact that he had, the month before, travelled above two thousand miles upon the Continent, he says he had "watched, mile after mile, week after week, the steps of that intelligent and busy industry which has so fast healed the old scars, and is covering those gracious landscapes with increasing prosperity and beauty. It is impossible, in such a view as this, to avoid the impression that the humane and kindly temper of those nations grows with their growing wealth, that the ambitions and animosities which lead to war are steadily weakening under those kindly influences with every month of respite from the horrors of battlefield and siege." Amen!

A CURSE ON WAR.

PHIL.

THE above words are perhaps the best English rendering of "ANATHÈME A LA GUERRE!" Such is the title of an excellent collection of "extracts from ancient and modern authors," on war, which appeared a short time since at Brussels. The extracts occupy 128 8vo. pages, and are followed by 25 pages of valuable war statistics. The work is due to the intelligent labour of a Vice-President of the Brussels Committee of the International Arbitration and Peace Federation, who adopts the nom de plume of ANDROCLES. We owe many apologies to our esteemed fellow-worker for having so long delayed to draw the attention of our readers to this valuable and interesting work. The recent proposal of Herr Gustav Maier that we should associate ourselves for the publication of such a work as this has reminded us of the "ANATHÈME A LA GUERRE." It goes a great way to supply what is wanted; and even if any larger work is attempted, it will provide an important contribution to the "Arsenal of Peace." Its price is only one franc, and we shall be glad to receive orders from those who desire to obtain copies.