telegraph companies were admitted as advisory members. The conference at St. Petersburg, 1875, recast the constitutional form of the union by distinguishing more carefully between the matters to be dealt with in the diplomatic convention and those to be included in the règlement. The convention was made, in a way, the constitution of the Union, laying down the fundamental principles which were accepted as expressing the essential relations and duties of the members and the permanent basis of the administrations. The règlement, on the other hand, was composed of those administrative regulations by which the details of the international administration were fixed and which were susceptible of gradual modification, corresponding to the change of character of the administrative relations. A similar basis of division had been used the preceding year in the formation of the General Postal Union. Among the matters which were laid down by the convention are the general classification of telegrams, the admission of cipher dispatches, conditions of suspending the service, the right of declining responsibility for loss, etc. The details of the tariff and the application of the above rules are fixed by the règlement. The Telegraphic Union is at present composed of over fifty states and colonies. Its regulations are observed also by the submarine cable companies.

It is a general principle illustrated by the Telegraphic Union, that in such international combinations, the sovereignty of each member demands that an important act of the Union can only be undertaken by unanimous consent; but the members of the Union, of course, remain free to conclude among themselves special agreements, not conflicting with the general treaty, which their special situation and interests may require. Should certain members refuse to accede to the establishment of a proposed reform, those desiring the change may form a restricted union for such special purpose.

The International Telegraphic Bureau began its operations January 1, 1869. It is placed under the supervision of the Swiss government, and its expenses are met by the states in proportion to the importance of their telegraphic intercourse. Its original budget was only 50,000 francs per year, of which, as a matter of fact, only sixty-five per cent. on an average was used during the earlier period. The conference at St. Petersburg increased the budget to

60,000 francs. The attributes of the bureau as determined by the convention are as follows: It is to collect information concerning international telegraphy; to give due form to demands for changes in the tariffs and in the service regulations, and to give notice of such changes; to make special studies and investigations committed to it by the conferences of the Union.

The règlement provides that the various telegraphic administrations shall keep each other informed through the intermediary of the bureau of all changes and improvements of their service and of interruptions in communication. They shall also furnish to the bureau all statistical information, so as to enable the latter to issue a general statistical account of the international telegraphic services. At the periodic conferences of the Union, each state is entitled to one vote. A program, worked out beforehand under the initiative of the state where the conference is to be held in consultations with the other governments interested, forms the basis of discussion. Committees are appointed to consider in detail the various propositions. The resolutions of the conference are not binding until accepted by all the administrations of the contracting states, although for their adoption by the conference only a majority vote of the delegates present is necessary. A change of the fundamental convention would of course require the diplomatic action of all the treaty powers.

The invention of wireless telegraphy raised so many novel problems in international law and administration, that special conferences have met in which these matters have been acted upon. A preliminary conference took place in Berlin in 1903. This was followed by a more formal conference in 1906, which resulted in the framing of a convention. The convention was signed by the representatives of twenty-six powers. It refers especially to the obligatory transmission of wireless telegrams between the coast and ships. The convention was accompanied by a protocol containing subsidiary arrangements, and a règlement. The International Telegraphic Bureau at Berne has temporarily acted as a central office of correspondence and information in connection with this matter,2 but a special bureau for wireless telegraphy is now to be established.

'Fischer, P. D., Die Telegraphie und das Völkerrecht, Leipzig, 1876. Saveney, E., "La télégraphie internationale," Rev. d. Deux Mondes, Sept. and Oct., 1872.

2

The Universal Postal Union. Beginning with the year 1802, a large number of conventions for the purpose of regulating international postal communication were concluded by groups of two or more nations. After the middle of the century, this international interest assumed such proportions that the establishment of a régime of uniform regulations appeared highly desirable. In 1862, the United States government officially took the lead in this matter; the Department of State called attention to the many inconveniences flowing from the lack of unity and suggested the holding of an international postal conference. Such a conference was accordingly held at Paris in May and June of 1863, on which occasion fifteen states were represented. The avowed purpose of the conference was not as yet to produce definite treaty regulations, but, on the basis of full and free discussion, to clear up the general principles which should dominate international postal administration. Many practical difficulties in the way of a unified system revealed themselves, especially in connection with the freedom of transit and of division of the proceeds from mail passing through two or more jurisdictions. In its resolutions the conference declared itself in favor of thirty-one principles, which covered, among other matters, the transmission of letters with declared value and of inferior classes of mail, a uniform system of tariffs, and the establishment of a uniform transit due.

In the subsequent decade, not much progress was made, but in 1869, the German Postal Union began to negotiate with a view to calling a new congress. The Franco-German War interrupted these negotiations, but they were taken up again at its conclusion, and finally Switzerland convoked a conference to meet in September, 1873. Russia and France at first indicated their unwillingness to take part in a conference. The French administration was under the impression that the formation of a postal union would cause it severe financial loss on account of the lowering of transit charges. Renault, L., Rapports Internationaux. La poste et le télégraphe. Paris, 1877. Carmichael, E., The law relating to the telegraph, the telephone, and the submarine cable. London, 1903. Kazanski, P., "L'Union Télégraphique Internationale." Rev. d'droit int., 1897, p. 451. Meili, Die internationalen Unionen, etc. Leipzig, 1889. Journal Télégraphique, Berne, since 1869. Archiv f. Post u. Telegraphie, Vol. XXXII, p. 65-89. Protocol de la Conference prelim. concern. la télégraphie sans fil. Berlin, 1903. Treaties in Arch. dipl.

This consideration, combined with the fact that the movement had been initiated by the German government, led to the reluctant attitude assumed by France. After a short delay, however, Russia and France agreed to meet, and the conference finally came together on September 15, 1874. The points to be considered had been very carefully prepared by the German postal administration under the guidance of Postmaster-General Stephan, and the conference therefore was enabled immediately to enter upon the discussion of specific problems of organization.

Twenty-two states were represented at the conference; the delegates were in most cases the heads of postal administrations or high officials connected with the same. The excellence of the preparatory labors enabled the congress to finish its work in less than four weeks, and in this short time to create the constitution and regulations of the General Postal Union. As in the case of the Telegraphic Union, a convention fixed the general principles upon which the Union and its administrative work are based while details were worked out in a règlement. The leading principles established were the complete freedom of transit from one jurisdiction to another, and the creation of a practically unified postal territory comprising all the treaty states. It is, of course, necessary to distinguish between freedom and gratuitousness of transit. The latter could not under existing circumstances be established, but the share of the fee which the state of transit could claim was regulated. States of central location, like Belgium and France, had a very direct financial interest in this

matter.

The organization of the Union resembles that of the Telegraphie Union. Periodical congresses of delegates are held at which the regulations may be modified. Such modifications must, however, be unanimously accepted in order to become valid. The member states have reserved the right to make special treaties and to form restricted unions with respect to matters of special interest to themselves. Such treaties exist, for instance, between the United States and Canada, Mexico, as well as other states. Should controversies occur between the administrations of two or more members, an arbitration court may be instituted, composed of the representatives of impartial member states nominated by the government concerned.

The administrative organ of the Union is the International Postal Bureau, located at Berne. It is under the supervision of the Swiss government. Its duty is to gather, publish, and distribute information of all kinds on the international postal service; upon the demand of the parties interested to give advice on controversial questions; to give regular form to propositions for the modification of the règlement; to notify the various administrations of adopted changes; to facilitate the operations of international accounting; and, in general, to make such studies and engage in such work as shall be in the interests of the Postal Union. The official language is French, and the bureau publishes a monthly journal, “L'Union postale" in French, English, and German. The postal convention of 1874 was ratified by the action of the diplomatic representatives of the powers at Berne, in May, 1875.

A very important postal congress was held in Paris in 1878. The French representatives favored the conclusion of an entirely new convention. The conference, however, did not go beyond a modification in some details of the convention of 1874. The union at this time assumed the name of Universal Postal Union. The number of states and colonies represented had by this time risen to thirty-two. While the organization of the union was not materially modified, the voting right of colonies was regulated so as to give one vote each to British India, and Canada, and one vote each to the combined French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and Danish colonies. The regular congress meets every five years, but two-thirds of the members may call an extraordinary session. The règlement can be changed at the congress by a simple majority. In the period between congresses, the international bureau acts as intermediary for propositions made to the member states by any government. Such propositions, if affecting the most important parts of the convention, necessitate unanimity of all the member states for their adoption; otherwise a two-thirds vote would be sufficient. These provisions refer to votes given by correspondence in the interval between sessions of the congress.

Subsequent congresses (Paris, 1880; Lisbon, 1885; Vienna, 1890) concerned themselves very largely with the details of administration. The Congress of Vienna, however, instructed the international