c. 20.

Questions were put and objections raised, in the sense of my
criticisms upon the drafting of the "Second Peace Conference
(Conventions) Bill" of 1911, upon several occasions in the
House of Commons, especially in August of that year, and on
December 16 the Bill was finally withdrawn. On the
re-introduction of the Bill in 1914, see the following letter.


THE PRESENT BILL IN PARLIAMENT

Sir,--In reintroducing their Bill "to make such amendments in the law as
are necessary in order to enable certain conventions to be carried into
effect," the Government has justified the criticisms which I addressed
to you upon the way in which this measure was first presented to
Parliament.

I pointed out that neither in the preamble nor elsewhere was any
information vouchsafed as to which of "the various conventions drawn up
at the second Peace Conference" were within the purview of the Bill.
Still less was any clue given to those articles, out of nearly 400
contained in the 13 conventions in question, which are relevant to the
proposed legislation. Members of Parliament sufficiently inquisitive not
to be inclined to take the measure on trust, were left to puzzle out all
this for themselves, but proved so restive under the treatment that the
Bill, which was introduced in June, 1911, had to be withdrawn in the
following December.

As now resuscitated, the Bill is accompanied by a memorandum containing