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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

in the sense of a readjustment of themselves to a new standard of life and thought. When whole armies were converted en masse, as in the days of Clovis, there seems to have been no question of exchanging their arms for the weapons of spiritual warfare. It was the church, as an organization, that throughout the Middle Ages uttered the sole remonstrance against the practice of private war. When in France the atrocities of feudal warfare became so great as to threaten the very foundations of society, it was the church that came to the rescue with the “ Peace of God,” and, five years later, the “Truce of God,” by which fighting was forbidden from Thursday morning to Monday morning of each week, on all feast days and in Lent, leaving, practically, about eighty days in the year when war was allowable. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries numerous associations were formed, which were the prototypes, on a small scale, of modern peace societies. There was not as yet, however, any conception of international peace. The word international could hardly have had any meaning.

To the Pope, the head of the church, the world looked for judgment in political quarrels. Although the sacredness of their high position would seem to have pecu­liarly fitted them for the position of universal arbiters, the Popes lacked one indis- pensible qualification of an umpire—impartiality.

Mediaeval methods of grappling with the war problem ended then in practical failure; and the cause of universal peace was forgotten in the horrors of the Inquisition and the bloodthirsty wars of the Reformation. The conception of Henry IV. of P'rance, of a grand Christian Republic of fifteen states, and his scheme of international arbitration were too far in advance of his time not to have been regarded either as the dreams of a visionary fanatic or as a subtile attempt at the aggrandizement of France. Here it will be observed that the character of the peace movement has changed. It is no longer religious, but political in its aims. Efforts toward recon­ciliation no longer originate with the church, but with monarchs and statesmen. The opening of the nineteenth century brought with it a return to the religious point of view, and to the primitive notion that Christianity is the basis of all international law. Europe entered upon the century worn out with conflict, and in desperate need of peace. Russia, Austria and Prussia accordingly in 1815 formed what is known as the Holy Alliance, agreeing by sacred compact to respect the great principles of right and justice, and to repress violence—promises which fell far short of fulfilment.

In 1818, at the conference held at Aix-la-Chapelle, the four nations that had con­quered Napoleon, joined later by France, formed themselves into the Great Pentarchy, in the interests of permanent peace. The Holy Alliance forms a link between the peace policy of the past and that of the present. The unsatisfactory results of the Grand Alliance dealt the death blow to the theory of the balance of power as an efficient and practicable system. Henceforth all efforts toward amicable adjustment of international affairs are to be based upon other principles. The work of the nine­teenth century in view of this end takes on three forms:

1. The organization and work of peace conferences and associations for the pro­motion of arbitration. 2. Legislation favoring arbitration. 3. The practicable application of the principle.

Peace societies began to be established early in the century. Their object was to unite all the advocates of peace for concerted action. Conferences have been held from time to time at London, Brussels, Geneva, Paris and elsewhere, for the inter­change of sympathy and the discussion of plans.

About 1873 efforts were made to bring the subject of arbitration before the legislative bodies of the different countries. Signor Mancini presented a similar resolution to the Italian Parliament the same year. P'rom time to time petitions and memorials have been presented to the various governments of Europe and America.

More attractive to the practical observer is the record of actual cases of settle­ment by arbitration during the present century. Their number is surprising. I have carefully examined the records of seventy-five cases, and there are half a dozen more of which I have hitherto been unable to find more than a statement of the dates and