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part05+-第92部分

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I worked until late at night; and then went to Scheveningen



almost in despair。











July 30。







Returned to The Hague early in the morning; and went on again



with the report; working steadily through the day upon it。 For



the first time in my life I have thus made Sunday a day of work。



Although I have no conscientious scruples on the subject; it was



bred into me in my childhood and boyhood that Sunday should be



kept free from all manner of work; and so thoroughly was this



rule inculcated that I have borne it in mind ever since; often



resisting very pressing temptation to depart from it。







But to…day there was no alternative; and the whole time until



five o'clock in the afternoon was given to getting my draft



ready。







At five P。M。 the American delegation came together; and; to my



surprise; received my report with every appearance of



satisfaction。 Mr。 Low indicated some places which; in his



opinion; needed modification; and to this I heartily agreed; for



they were generally places where I was myself in doubt。







My draft having thus been presented; I turned it over to Mr。 Low;



who agreed to bring it to…morrow morning with such modifications;



omissions; and additions as seemed best to him。 The old proverb;



〃 'T is always darkest just before daylight;〃 seems exemplified



in the affairs of to…day; since the kind reception given to my



draft of the report; and the satisfaction expressed regarding it;



form a most happy and unexpected sequel to my wretched distrust



regarding the whole matter last night。











July 31。







The American delegation met at eleven in the morning and



discussed my draft。 Mr。 Low's modifications and additions were



not many and were mainly good。 But he omitted some things which I



would have preferred to retain: these being in the nature of a



plea in behalf of arbitration; or; rather; an exhibition of the



advantages which have been secured for it by the conference; but;



between his doubts and Captain Mahan's opposition; I did not care



to contest the matter; and several pages were left out。







At six in the afternoon came the last meeting of our delegation。



The reports; duly engrossed;namely; the special reports; signed



by Captain Mahan and Captain Crozier; from the first and second



committees of the conference; the special report made by myself;



Mr。 Low; and Dr。 Holls as members of the third committee; and the



general report covering our whole work; drawn almost entirely by



me; but signed by all the members of the commission;were



presented; re…read; and signed; after which the delegation



adjourned; sine die。











August 1。







After some little preliminary work on matters connected with the



winding up of our commission; went with my private secretary; Mr。



Vickery; to Amsterdam; visiting the old church; the palace; the



Zoological Gardens; etc。 Thence to Gouda and saw the



stained…glass windows in the old church there; which I have so



long desired to study。











August 3。







At 8。30 left The Hague and went by rail; via Cologne and



Ehreinbreitstein; to Homburg; arriving in the evening。











August 5。







This morning resumed my duties as ambassador at Berlin。







There was one proceeding at the final meeting of the conference



which I have omitted; but which really ought to find a place in



this diary。 Just before the final speeches; to the amazement of



all and almost to the stupefaction of many; the president; M。 de



Staal; handed to the secretary; without comment; a paper which



the latter began to read。 It turned out to be a correspondence



which had taken place; just before the conference; between the



Queen of the Netherlands and the Pope。







The Queen's letterwritten; of course; by her ministers; in the



desire to placate the Catholic party; which holds the balance of



power in the Netherlandsdwelt most respectfully on the high



functions of his Holiness; etc。; etc。; indicating; if not saying;



that it was not the fault of her government that he was not



invited to join in the conference。







The answer from the Pope was a masterpiece of Vatican skill。 In



it he referred to what he claimed was his natural position as a



peacemaker on earth; dwelling strongly on this point。







The reading of these papers was received in silence; and not a



word was publicly said afterward regarding them; though in



various quarters there was very deep feeling。 It was felt that



the Dutch Government had taken this means of forestalling local



Dutch opposition; and that it was a purely local matter of



political partizanship that ought never to have been intruded



upon a conference of the whole world。







I had no feeling of this sort; for it seemed to me well enough



that the facts should be presented; but a leading representative



of one of the great Catholic powers; who drove home with us; was



of a different mind。 This eminent diplomatist from one of the



strongest Catholic countries; and himself a Catholic; spoke in



substance as follows: 〃The Vatican has always been; and is



to…day; a storm…center。 The Pope and his advisers have never



hesitated to urge on war; no matter how bloody; when the



slightest of their ordinary worldly purposes could be served by



it。 The great religious wars of Europe were entirely stirred up



and egged on by them; and; as everybody knows; the Pope did



everything to prevent the signing of the treaty of Munster; which



put an end to the dreadful Thirty Years' War; even going so far



as to declare the oaths taken by the plenipotentiaries at that



congress of no effect。







〃All through the middle ages and at the Renaissance period the



Popes kept Italy in turmoil and bloodshed for their own family



and territorial advantages; and they kept all Europe in turmoil;



for two centuries after the Reformation;in fact; just as long



as they could;in the wars of religion。 They did everything they



could to stir up the war between Austria and Prussia in 1866;



thinking that Austria; a Catholic power; was sure to win; and



then everything possible to stir up the war of France against



Prussia in 1870 in order to accomplish the same purpose of



checking German Protestantism; and now they are doing all they



can to arouse hatred; even to deluge Italy in blood; in the vain



attempt to recover the temporal power; though they must know that



they could not hold it for any length of time even if they should



obtain it。







〃They pretend to be anxious to 'save souls;' and especially to



love Poland and Ireland; but they have for years used those



countries as mere pawns in their game with Russia and Great



Britain; and would sell every Catholic soul they contain to the



Greek and English churches if they could thereby secure the



active aid of those two governments against Italy。 They have



obliged the Italian youth to choose between patriotism and



Christianity; and the result is that the best of these have



become atheists。 Their whole policy is based on stirring up



hatred and promoting conflicts from which they hope to draw



worldly advantage。







〃In view of all this; one stands amazed at the cool statements of



the Vatican letter。〃







These were the words of an eminent Roman Catholic representative



of a Roman Catholic power; and to them I have nothing to add。







In looking back calmly over the proceedings of the conference; I



feel absolutely convinced that it has accomplished a great work



for the world。







The mere assembling of such a body for such a purpose was a



distinct gain; but vastly more important is the positive outcome



of its labors。







First of these is the plan of arbitration。 It provides a court



definitely constituted; a place of meeting easily accessible; a



council for summoning it always in session; guarantees for



perfect independence; and a suitable procedure。







Closely connected with this is the provision for 〃international



commissions of inquiry;〃 which cannot fail to do much in clearing



up issues likely to lead to war between nations。 Thus we may



hope; when there is danger of war; for something better than that



which the world has hitherto heardthe clamor of interested



parties and the shrieks of sensation newspapers。 The natural



result will be; as in the Venezuelan difficulty between the



United States and Great Britai
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