pendent condition; and states which are members of a confederation cannot treat upon subjects which are reserved to the central government by the constitution of the confederacy. In the same manner the agents who are empowered to negotiate treaties may not exceed the limits laid down in their instructions or full powers. Any agreements entered into by them in excess of their authority are void, and ratification of them may be refused.' Such unauthorized agreements have been entered into at different times in the past, usually by military or naval commanders. They are called sponsions, and are invalid unless approved by the sponsor's government.'

(b.) Consent of the Contracting Parties. The consent of the participating states must be expressly and freely given. It must also be reciprocal; and one state, by its ratification or approval of a treaty, cannot constrain another to ratify it, or to regard its provisions as binding. In contracts between individuals, if either party act under constraint, the resulting contract is void. In the preparation of certain treaties, however, especially in treaties of peace and in a class of agreements arising in time of war called cartels and capitulations, one of the contracting parties acts under constraint of the most oppressive and humiliating kind; but this does not have the effect of invalidating the treaty. Private contracts may be set aside on the ground of the influence of fraud and unfair dealing, arising from their manifest injustice and want of mutual advantage. But no inequality of advantage, no lesion, can invalidate a treaty.'

(c) Possibility of Execution. The conduct of states, like

'I Halleck, pp. 227-230; De Martens, Précis, § 48; Vattel, liv. ii. ch. xii. § 156; Klüber, § 142; Heffter, § 84; Bluntschli, §§ 404, 404 bis; II Phillimore, § 48; Pomeroy, S$ 260-263; Hall, § 108; II PradierFodéré, §§ 1058a-1068.

'I Halleck, p. 230; Klüber, § 142; Grotius, liv. ii. ch. cv. §§ 3, 16, 17; Vattel, liv. ii. ch. iv. § 211; Blunt

schli, § 405; I De Martens, § 48; II Pradier-Fodéré, §§ 1066-1068; II Ferguson, p. 20.

II Phillimore. §§ 49, 50: De Martens, Précis, §§ 49–51; Klüber, § 143; Grotius, liv. iii. ch. xx.; Heffter, § 85; Bluntschli, §§ 407-409; Pomeroy, §§ 273-279; Hall, § 108; II Pradier-Fodéré §§ 1069–1079.

that of individuals, is regulated by well-known moral standards, from which they are bound not to depart. They are, therefore, prevented from making that a subject of treaty stipulation the execution of which is physically or morally impossible. Heffter holds those conditions to be morally impossible which are repugnant to moral order, or are opposed to the free development of nations. Such would be stipulations tending to the destruction of a sovereign state, or the establishment of slavery. The same may be said of provisions which are opposed to previous treaties with other powers, or which are prejudicial to the sovereign rights or powers of a third state.

Binding Force of Treaties. Treaties entered into in conformity to these conditions are binding upon all the signatory parties, and they continue in force, whatever changes may take place in the internal affairs of the participant states. Changes of government in no way affect their binding force, and they cease to be obligatory only when states which are parties to them cease to exist. Their inviolability, even when not especially guaranteed, is the first law of nations. Obligations created by treaty are of the most sacred character: their violation operates to release the other signatory party from his obligation, and, if persisted in, or not atoned for, is regarded as constituting a just cause for war.'

Manner of Negotiating Treaties. It has been seen that the right to make treaties is an essential attribute of sovereignty, and that the power to enter into such undertakings is

'Heffter, § 83; Klüber, § 144; Pomeroy, §§ 280-286; Hall, § 108; I De Martens, § 53; II Phillimore, chap. vi.; Lawrence, § 154.

"The faith of treaties-that firm and sincere resolution, that invariable constancy in fulfilling our engagements, of which we make profession in a treaty—is therefore to be held sacred and inviolable between the nations of the earth, whose safety and repose it secures;

and if mankind be not wilfully deficient in their duty to themselves, infamy must ever be the portion of him who violates his faith."-Vattel, liv. ii. chap. xv. § 220.

3 Vattel, liv. ii. ch. xiv. §§ 163, 229-234; Klüber, §§ 145, 153; Heffter, § 94; Bluntschli, §§ 416-424; I Halleck, pp. 237-244; II Phillimore, $$ 52-55; Hall, §§ 114, 115; I De Martens, § 54; Lawrence, Int. Law, § 154.

vested, by the constitution of each state, in some branch of its government, designated for that purpose, called the treatymaking power. It is by this treaty-making power, therefore, acting directly, or by its duly authorized agents, that international agreements are negotiated.' In certain cases, however, the preparation of important treaties is intrusted to international deliberative bodies known as congresses or conferences.

Congresses and Conferences. These are bodies convened for the purpose of discussing questions of general interest, of adjusting international controversies, and of reconciling serious differences of opinion. They are composed of diplomatic agents of appropriate rank representing the states in whose relations the difference has arisen, together with the representatives of those powers whose interests are less directly affected, or compromised, by an existing situation, and who, being to some extent disinterested, are for that reason able to suggest methods of amicable adjustment. Congresses are called when the relations between two or more states have become so strained as to foreshadow the outbreak of war, or, after hostilities have ceased, with a view to effect a settlement of the questions to which the war has given rise. It is their function to ascertain the facts constituting a particular cause of difference, to discuss appropriate methods of relief, to suggest concessions, and, when an agreement has been reached, to make it operative by applying an appropriate remedy to the state of affairs which has given occasion for the meeting of the congress.

The conclusions of a congress or conference are generally embodied in treaties; at times, however, they are expressed in statements of international policy which have become known as "declarations." Of the former class the treaty of Berlin, framed by the Congress of Berlin in 1878, is an example; of the latter the Declaration of Paris, prepared by the Congress of Paris in 1856, in respect to the usages of war at sea, and the

1 Heffter, §§ 86-89; Klüber, § 147: II Pradier-Fodéré, §§ 1061-1065,

1084-1099; II Dig. Int. Law, §§ 130132; Lawrence, § 152; Hall, § 109.

Geneva Conventions of 1864 and 1868, in respect to the treatment of the wounded in time of war, are illustrations.'

Congresses receive their names, in some cases, from the places in which their sessions are held, in others from the subjects submitted to them for deliberation.. If the agree

ment reached is one to which the general consent of nations is desired, so as to give it the force of a rule of international law, a clause prescribing the form and conditions of acceptance is embodied in the treaty or declaration in which it is contained.'

Vattel, liv. ii. ch. xviii. § 330; II Ferguson, Int. Law, § 159. The terms 'congress" and "conference are not quite synonymous, although their powers and purposes are substantially the same. Conferences are somewhat more informal and tentative in character than congresses; if settlements are reached by them they are less frequently embodied in formal treaties or declarations than are those of general congresses. In the early part of the nineteenth century the distinction between the two bodies was believed to consist in the presence or absence of reigning sovereigns; their presence giving to a particular body the character of a congress; this distinction, however, is no longer maintained.

2

Among the more important congresses which have been called in Europe, since the close of the Thirty Years' War, the following are the most important: the Congress of the Pyrenees, in 1659, for the settlement of certain south European questions; that of Oliva, in 1660, for the settlement of differences existing among the north European powers; that at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1668, which terminated the wars between France and Spain in the Netherlands; that of Nimeguen, in 1678, which terminated the war between Holland and its allies against France; that of Rys

wick, in 1697; at Paris, in 1763; and at Vienna, in 1815, which terminated general European wars; that at Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1818, which terminated the military occupation of France, which had been authorized by the treaties of peace in 1815; that at Vienna, in 1822, at which it was decided to intervene in the affairs of Greece. Two important European congresses have been held since 1850; that at Paris, in 1856, in respect to the usages of maritime war, and that at Berlin, in 1878, to effect a settlement of the questions to which the war between Russia and Turkey had given rise. On the American continent two congresses have been called since the beginning of the present century: one at Panama, in 1826, called on account of the declaration of the Monroe Doctrine by the United States; the other, a Congress of American Republics, called by the United States at Washington, in 1889 and 1890, to discuss questions connected with the commercial, administrative, and international relations of the states of the Western continent. Among the more important conferences of recent times may be noted those at London, in 1827 and 1837, for the discussion of the Eastern question and the pacification of the Levant; those held in London, in 1835 and 1839, in connection with affairs in

Preparation and Execution. In former times treaties were frequently negotiated by sovereigns in person;' at present they are usually entered into by ministers or plenipotentiaries, selected for the purpose by the proper municipal authority, and furnished with special full powers to act in behalf of their respective governments in the preparation and signature of the treaty. Preliminary negotiations are usually necessary, to determine the place and time of meeting and the conditions of representation. In the preparation of treaties of peace, or of agreements preliminary to such treaties, the neutrality of the place is secured by proper guarantees, and the personal security of the ambassadors is carefully provided for, not only at the sessions of the conference, but in their journeyings to and from the place of meeting. If the proposed agreement be one of general interest, the questions to be discussed are submitted to the powers in advance, the limits of negotiation are to some extent defined, and the number and character of representatives from each state is determined upon.

At the time appointed the representatives assemble and exchange their credentials and full powers. If several states are represented the conference is usually presided over by the principal minister of foreign affairs of the state in whose territory its sessions are held, or by the representative of the government with which the project originated. If need be, rules of procedure are agreed to at a preliminary session. Each power represented has a right to be heard, at length,