January 28.
Tae outcry being raised in London against the ratification of the famous Declaration that takes its name from the capital city of the Empire cannot be disregarded as a mere party protest. Although it is suggested in the telegram on this subject published on Wednesday that the agitation was begun by the Unionist organs, it will probably be found that the objectors to ratification comprise an even more comprehensive body of British opinion. Nor is the agitation sur-rising. Great Britain has for so long held the supremacy of the sea that it has appeared to her that, if she were not to be a law to herself in connexion with naval warfare, she should take especial care to prevent any of the powers that supremacy gave her from being weakened by concessions, for which no compensating return could possibly be given. Approaching the matter in this spirit in 1874, the British
admit the right of any International Government sbeolataly: ssteoed to Conference even to discuss the question of naval war. At the first Hague Conference in 1899, " code of law and customs of land war was drawn up, bat a naval code was not attempted. The second Hague Conference, held in 1907, adopted a vow inviting the Powers, pending the adoption of special regulations, to apply as far as possible to naval warfare the principles of the convention adopted at the conference in 1899 regarding land wars. A convention for the establishment of an International Prize Court of Appeal was also adopted, bat as was pertinently pointed out at the time, the agreement that such a Court should be established was of little value, as there were no universally recognized laws of maritime warfare upon which such a tribunal could base its decisions. However, Great Britain was one of the thirty-' seven Powers who favoured the establishment of the Court, and having gone so far, it was only logical that she should take steps to endeavour to arrange with the other principal sea Powers a fundamental code for the rej mn of maritime warfare. With this end in view Great Britain invited representatives of other Fowers to a Naval Conference in London in December, 1908.
the Hague (conferences, which necessarily had no basic constitution,—as occurs elsewhere when circum-_ stances prevent a common-sense arrangement—inconsequential States, had for the occasion as much weight as the Great Powers. At the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.