In 1881 Mr. Blaine, the then Secre tary of State of the United States, put out the suggestion in his instructions to the United States ministers in Central and South America that delegates of all the American republics should participate in a Congress for the purpose of preventing wars on the American continent. Out of this policy has eventually resulted the Pan-American Union whose headquarters are at Washington where also was held in 1889 the first of the Pan-American Con ferences which ended in the declaration that "arbitration consti tuted the public law of the American nations." The other outstanding Pan-American Conferences are those held:—(a) at Santiago in 1923 when a Convention for the settlement of dis putes was adopted and (b) at Havana in February 1928 when two anti-war resolutions were unanimously agreed to by the twenty-one American republics, the first of which contains the declaration that the parties "adopt compulsory arbitration as the means they will employ for the peaceful settlement of their international disputes of a legal character," and the second of which that "every war of aggression is considered illicit and as such declared prohibited" and that "all the American nations must employ peaceful means for the settlement of all conflicts which may arise between them." In pursuance of these resolutions, another Pan-American Conference was held at Washington in December 1928 to draft and adopt appropriate treaties of com pulsory arbitration and conciliation.
It was Jeremy Ben tham who first advocated the codification of international law as a basis for an everlasting peace between civilised nations. Since then, many attempts have been made to secure peace by the enactment of universal rules binding on all the States of the world. The two Hague Peace Conferences have endowed nations with several Conventions each of which is a model of its kind. The Pan-American Conferences of the various nations on the American continents similarly have adopted many Conventions toward the same end. The subject has also attracted the serious attention of the League of Nations which, through its "Com mittee of Experts for the progressive codification of Interna tional Law," is now working at the gradual development of an international code. Such a code constitutes an absolute necessity now that a Permanent Court of International Justice is in existence.
It is being increasingly realised that the ex isting rivalry in armaments and military preparations is a real threat to the preservation of peace. There is considerable force in the argument advanced by pacifists that the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy and the simultaneous building of more instruments of war are in reality incompatible. The plea that such armaments are necessary for a nation's security leads to a vicious circle since no nation can make itself secure without at the same time making neighbouring States in secure. Reliance on military weapons by one nation inevitably creates the necessity for similar preparation in other nations. This process of emulation in armaments is a policy from which no State can free itself without the co-operation of the other States. Article 8 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, recognising that the maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments, invites the Council of the League to formulate plans for such a reduction and also to advise as to the best means for preventing the effects attendant on the private manufacture of munitions and implements of war which is open to serious objection. The work is being now carried on by the "Preparatory Disarmament Commission" of the League which met at Geneva on April i 5, 1929, for the purpose of discussing a general plan of disarmament. The "necessity of accomplishing the reduction and limitation of armaments with as little delay as possible" formed the subject of an important resolution adopted by the Assembly of the League Sept. 1928. Another step was taken by the Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armaments signed at Washington Feb. 6, 1922, by Great Britain, France,
Italy, Japan and the United States binding themselves to scrap a number of warships and to limit construction and acquisition of battleships and the calibre of guns. This agreement is further completed by the "International Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament" signed in London, April 22, 1930, which limits the number of cruiser, destroyer, submarine forces of the British Empire, the United States and Japan. But no treaty has been concluded for the reduction of military or air forces.
The progress registered remains small nor is it possible to anticipate that nations will ever con sent to a general disarmament before a feeling of security is established in the international sphere. And the essential con dition for such a feeling of security can only be created when the same principle which maintains peace inside the State is extended also to the mutual relations of the States, viz., what Hobbes calls the "social contract," that in no case recourse to violence or force will be made for the settlement of disputes. The Paris Peace Pact is a great step in the right direction. But, of course, what is required is, in the first place, a renunciation of war for all purposes without any qualification or restriction. In the second place, States must surrender the right which they claim at present to decide, at their own discretion, whether an international controversy should be submitted or not to peaceful means for its settlement. Submission to a judicial settlement or arbitration for all disputes of a legal character and to conciliation for all other disputes ought to be made compulsory. Meanwhile, there are many hopeful signs that the world is tending more and more towards the attainment of peace. One of them is the growth of modern democracy. Resort to wars for the .purpose of gratifying the ambition of heads of the State or of increasing their territories or wealth appears difficult, if not impossible, under a democratic system of government where the choice of life and death for thousands of people can no longer depend on the arbitrary wishes of one man or a group of men. Another important factor of great influence is the spread all over the world of Societies bound by their articles to promote peace and understanding amongst the various nations. Prominent examples of such societies are the League to Enforce Peace in the United States and the innumerable League of Nations Unions in the British Empire. A further factor of peace is the modern develop ment of the Press and also of the means of transport which tend to bring the peoples of the world more and more together and to increase their mutual knowledge of each other. The whole of mankind is now more linked together than it has ever been before and reciprocal influences for peace, order and justice are bound to react strongly in the community of nations. Although war still remains possible and much more remains to be accomplished, the possibility of its breaking out has been reduced to the lowest limit. The progress that the world has made in the cause of peace in the last ten years surpasses every previous effort. There is a "common conscience of mankind" intent upon avoiding war and realising that peace is necessary for human progress. (C. J. C.) See J. S. Bassett, The Lost Fruits of Waterloo (1919) and The League of Nations (1928) ; F. S. Marvin (editor), The Evolution of World Peace (1921) ; C. C. Morrison, The Outlawry of War (1927) ; J. T. Shotwell, The Pact of Paris (1928) and publications of the American Peace Society, World Peace Foundation and Carnegie En dowment for International Peace ; A. H. Philipse, Le role du Conseil de la Societe des Nations dans le regkment pacifique des differends internationaux (192.9) ; Henri Pensa, De Locarno au Pacte Kellogg (193o) ; Christina Phelps, The Anglo-American Peace Movement in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (193o). F. B. Boeckel, Between War and Peace (1928) contains a comprehensive bibliography.