"I. That the next Congress be held immediately before or immediately
after the next session of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference, and at
the same place.
"II. That the question of an international Peace Emblem be postponed
_sine die_.
"III. The adoption of the following resolution:
"(_a_) Resolved, that we express our satisfaction at the formal and
official overtures of the Presbyterian Church in the United States
of America, addressed to the highest representatives of each church
organization in Christendom, inviting the same to unite with itself
in a general conference, the object of which shall be to promote
the substitution of international arbitration for war; (_b_) that
this Congress, assembled in London from the 14th to the 19th July,
desires to express its profound reverence for the memory of Aurelio
Saffi, the great Italian jurist, a member of the Committee of the
International League of Peace and Liberty.
"IV. That the Memorial to the various Heads of Civilized States,
adopted by this Congress and signed by the President, should so
far as practicable be presented to each power, by an influential
deputation.
"V. That the Organization Committee be empowered to make the needful
verbal emendations in the papers and resolutions presented.
"VI. That the following resolutions be adopted:
"(_a_) A resolution of thanks to the Presidents of the various
sittings of the Congress; (_b_) a resolution of thanks to the
Chairman, the Secretary, and the Members of the Bureau of the
Congress; (_c_) a resolution of thanks to the conveners and members
of Sectional Committees; (_d_) a resolution of thanks to Rev.
Cannon Scott Holland, Rev. Doctor Reuen, and Rev. J. Morgan Gibbon,
for their pulpit addresses before the Congress, and that they be
requested to furnish copies of the same for publication; and also
to the Authorities of St. Paul's Cathedral, the City Temple, and
Stamford Hill Congregational Church for the use of those buildings
for public services; (_e_) a letter of thanks to Her Majesty for
permission to visit Windsor Castle; (_f_) and also a resolution of
thanks to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, to Mr. Passmore Edwards,
and other friends, who had extended their hospitality to the members
of the Congress.
19. "This Congress places on record a heartfelt expression of
gratitude to Almighty God for the remarkable harmony and concord
which have characterized the meetings of the Assembly, in which so
many men and women of varied nations, creeds, tongues, and races
have gathered in closest coöperation, and in the conclusion of the
labours of the Congress; it expresses its firm and unshaken belief
in the ultimate triumph of the cause of Peace and of the principles
which have been advocated at these meetings."
The fundamental idea of the Congress is this, that it is necessary,
in the first place, to diffuse by all means possible the conviction
among men that war is very unprofitable for people and that peace
is a great good, and in the second, to act upon the governments,
impressing them with the superiority of the international tribunal
over wars, and, therefore, the advantages and the necessity of
disarmament. To attain the first end, the Congress turns to the
teachers of history, to the women, and to the clergy with the advice
that the evil of war and the good of peace be preached to men on
every third Sunday in December; to attain the second end, the
Congress addresses the governments, proposing that they disarm and
substitute arbitration for war.
To preach the evil of war and the good of peace to men! But the evil
of war and the good of peace are so well known to men that, so long
as we have known men, the best greeting has been, "Peace be with
you." What need is there, then, in preaching?
Not only the Christians, but all the pagans thousands of years ago
knew the evil of war and the good of peace,--consequently the advice
given to the preachers of the Gospel to preach on the evil of war
and the good of peace on every third Sunday in December is quite
superfluous.
A Christian cannot help but preach this at all times, on all the
days of his life. If Christians and preachers of Christianity do not
do so, there must be causes for this, and so long as these causes
are not removed, no advice will be effective. Still less effective
can be the advice given to the governments, to dismiss the armies
and substitute international tribunals for them. The governments
themselves know very well all the difficulty and burdensomeness of
collecting and maintaining armies, and if, in spite of it, they
continue with terrible efforts and tension to collect and maintain
armies, they obviously cannot do otherwise, and the advice of the
Congress cannot change anything. But the learned do not want to see
this, and all hope to find a combination by which the governments,
who produce the wars, will limit themselves.
"Is it possible to be freed from war?" writes a learned man in the
_Revue des Revues_. "All admit that when it breaks loose in Europe,
its consequences will be like a great incursion of the barbarians.
In a forthcoming war the existence of whole nationalities will be at
stake, and so it will be sanguinary, desperate, cruel.
"It is these considerations, combined with those terrible implements
of war which are at the disposal of modern science, that are
retarding the moment of the declaration of war and are maintaining
the existing temporary order of things, which might be prolonged for
an indefinite time, if it were not for those terrible expenses that
oppress the European nations and threaten to bring them to no lesser
calamities than those which are produced by war.
"Startled by this idea, the men of the various countries have sought
for a means for stopping or at least mitigating the consequences of
the terrible slaughter which is menacing us.
"Such are the questions that are propounded by the Congress soon to
be held in Rome and in pamphlets dealing with disarmament.
"Unfortunately it is certain that with the present structure of the
majority of the European states, which are removed from one another
and are guided by various interests, the complete cessation of war
is a dream with which it would be dangerous to console ourselves.
Still, some more reasonable laws and regulations, accepted by all,
in these duels of the nations might considerably reduce the horrors
of war.
"Similarly Utopian would be the hope of disarmament, which is almost
impossible, from considerations of a national character, which are
intelligible to our readers." (This, no doubt, means that France
cannot disarm previous to avenging its wrongs.) "Public opinion
is not prepared for the adoption of projects of disarmament, and,
besides, the international relations are not such as to make their
adoption possible.
"Disarmament, demanded by one nation of another, is tantamount to a
declaration of war.
"It must, however, be admitted that the exchange of views between
the interested nations will to a certain extent aid in the
international agreement and will make possible a considerable
diminution of the military expenses, which now oppress the European
nations at the expense of the solution of social questions, the
necessity of which is felt by every state individually, threatening
to provoke an internal war in the effort to avert one from without.
"It is possible at least to assume a diminution of the enormous
expenses which are needed in connection with the present business
of war, which aims at the possibility of seizing the adversary's
possessions within twenty-four hours and giving a decisive battle a
week after the declaration of war."
What is needed is, that states should not be able to attack other
states and in twenty-four hours to seize the possessions of others.
This practical idea was expressed by Maxime du Camp, and to this the
conclusion of the article is reduced.