tigation to have begun, unless the High Contracting Parties shall limit or extend the time by mutual agreement. The report shall be prepared in triplicate; one copy shall be presented to each Government, and the third retained by the Commission for its files. The High Contracting Parties reserve the right to act independently on the subject-matter of the dispute after the report of the Commission shall have been submitted. ARTICLE IV. The present Treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States of Venezuela, with the approval of Congress; and by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof; and the ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible. It shall take effect immediately after the exchange of ratifications, and shall continue in force for a period of five years; and it shall thereafter remain in force until twelve months after one of the High Contracting Parties have given notice to the other of an intention to terminate it. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty and have affixed thereunto their seals. Done at Caracas on the twenty-first day of March, in the year nineteen hundred and fourteen. [SEAL] PRESTON MCGOODWIN Protocol. The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United States of Venezuela, desirous of removing any doubt or uncertainty that may exist or that may hereafter arise as to the interpretation to be placed upon the second clause of Article III of the Treaty of March 21, 1914, between the United States and Venezuela, looking to the advancement of the general cause of peace; which clause reads as follows: "The International Commission may, however, before taking diplomatic steps or in the course thereof, act upon its own initiative, and in such case it shall notify both Governments and request their cooperation in the investigation;" lows: Have authorized the undersigned Plenipotentiaries to declare as fol It is the understanding of the two Governments that the said clause does not confer upon the Commission the right to act upon its own initiative before diplomatic means of adjustment have been exhausted, but that it shall be understood as meaning that, should the Commission spontaneously offer its services, it shall not proceed to undertake its investigation and report in the matter which is the subject of disagreement between the two Governments, until after they shall have exhausted diplomatic means of adjustment. In witness whereof, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries have signed their names and affixed their respective seals to this Protocol, at the City of Caracas, this twenty-seventh day of February, in the year 1915. PRESTON MCGOODWIN IGN ANDRADE [SEAL] [SEAL] TREATIES AND RESOLUTIONS APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE CONFERENCE ON THE LIMITATION OF ARMAMENT1 Washington, D. C., November 12, 1921, to February 6, 1922 (1) A TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE BRITISII EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY, AND JAPAN, LIMITING NAVAL ARMAMENT February 6, 1922 The United States of America, the British Empire, France, Italy and Japan; Desiring to contribute to the maintenance of the general peace, and to reduce the burdens of competition in armament; Have resolved, with a view to accomplishing these purposes, to conclude a treaty to limit their respective naval armament, and to that end have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries; The President of the United States of America: Charles Evans Hughes, Henry Cabot Lodge, Oscar W. Underwood, Elihu Root, Citizens of the Unites States; His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India: The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour, O. M., M. P., Lord President of His Privy Council; The Right Honourable Baron Lee of Fareham, G. B. E., K. C. B., First Lord of His Admiralty; His The Right Honourable Sir Auckland Campbell Geddes, K. C. B., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America; and for the Dominion of Canada: The Right Honourable Sir Robert Laird Borden, G. C. M. G., K. C.; for the Commonwealth of Australia: Senator the Right Honourable George Foster Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories; 1 Senate Document, No. 125, 67th Cong., 2d sess. for the Dominion of New Zealand: The Honourable Sir John William Salmond, K. C., Judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand; for the Union of South Africa: The Right Honourable Arthur James Balfour, O. M., M. P.; for India: The Right Honourable Valingman Sankaranarayana Srinivasa Sastri, Member of the Indian Council of State; The President of the French Republic: Mr. Albert Sarraut, Deputy, Minister of the Colonies; Mr. Jules J. Jusserand, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America, Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour; His Majesty the King of Italy: The Honourable Carlo Schanzer, Senator of the Kingdom; The Honourable Vittorio Rolandi Ricci, Senator of the Kingdom, His Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Washington; The Honourable Luigi Albertini, Senator of the Kingdom; His Majesty the Emperor of Japan: Baron Tomosaburo Kato, Minister for the Navy, Junii, a member of the First Class of the Imperial Order of the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun with the Paulownia Flower; Baron Kijuro Shidehara, His Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Washington, Joshii, a member of the First Class of the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun; Mr. Masanao Hanihara, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jushii, a mem ber of the Second Class of the Imperial Order of the Rising Sun; Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed as follows: CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE LIMITATION OF NAVAL ARMAMENT ARTICLE I The Contracting Powers agree to limit their respective naval armament as provided in the present Treaty. ARTICLE II The Contracting Powers may retain respectively the capital ships which are specified in Chapter II, Part 1. On the coming into force of the present Treaty, but subject to the following provisions of this Article, all other |