27/89 The answer to Sir William Harcourt's unanswered question, "Were there no rules settled at the Hague ?" must be as follows. The Hague Convention of 1899, upon "the laws and customs of warfare," ratified by this country on September 4 last, binds the contracting parties to give to their respective armies instructions in conformity with the _Reglement_ annexed to the Convention. This _Reglement_, which is substantially a reproduction of the unratified _projet_ of the Brussels Conference of 1874, does deal, in Arts. It is no doubt highly desirable that, as soon as may be, the drafting of rules in accordance with the _Reglement_ should be seriously taken in hand, our Government having now abandoned its _non possumus_ attitude in the matter. |