Preamble [The vertical rule indicates treaty text.] THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, FRANCE, ITALY and JAPAN, These Powers being described in the present Treaty as the Principal Allied and Associated Powers, BELGIUM, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, CHINA, CUBA, ECUADOR, GREECE, GUATEMALA, HAITI, THE HEDJAZ, HONDURAS, LIBERIA, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, PERU, POLAND, PORTUGAL, ROUMANIA THE SERB-CROATSLOVENE STATE, SIAM, CZECHO-SLOVAKIA URUGUAY, and These Powers constituting with the Principal Powers mentioned above the Allied and Associated Powers, And GERMANY, Note to Preamble of the one part; of the other part; This arrangement of the high contracting parties determines the treaty of peace to be a bilateral instrument of which the party of the first part is plural and divides the 32 components of the first part into two groups, whereas the party of the second part is the single party of Germany. This bilateral treaty type is unusual but not unprecedented, appearing in a much more complex form as early as the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück which constituted the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. At Paris this form was chosen as a practical matter rather than by reference to precedent. It stemmed from the rules of procedure of the preliminary peace conference which were adopted on January 18, 1919. By those rules the "representatives of the Allied and Associated belligerent" states were distinguished as those with general interests and known as the "Principal Allied and Associated Powers", whose representatives should attend all sessions and commissions. Note to Preamble-Continued Representatives of states with special interests should attend "sessions at which questions concerning them are discussed". In addition, states having broken off diplomatic relations with the enemy were admitted to sessions at which questions interesting them were discussed; and neutrals and "states in process of formation" were heard orally or in writing on being summoned to those parts of meetings in which their direct interests were discussed. The five largest states, which were able to bear the brunt of the war, took at Paris the responsible leadership and their assumption of various assignments under the treaty as the "Principal Allied and Associated Powers" was a significant feature of the settlement. The idea of the "Principal Allied and Associated Powers" took form in the year before the armistice as the Supreme War Council. In the preliminary peace conference they sat as the Council of Ten, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Council of Five, and the Council of Four, according to the makeup of a particular meeting. In one or another of those forms they managed the preliminary peace conference, decided upon the functions of the peace conference, and were the chief spokesmen in the peace congress. The other "Allied and Associated Powers" identified in the treaty's party of the first part included belligerent states which had broken off diplomatic relations with Germany, and states which were still in process of formation. The bilateral form of the treaty with its plural party of the first part carried out the plans of the victors. In all their countries, when the Germans called for an armistice, there was a latent feeling that the German authorities were not to be trusted, even after a revolution, in the joint fabrication of a durable peace. The victorious belligerents came together at Paris in a preliminary peace conference and undertook to agree upon the terms and conditions which should be laid before the German Government for acceptance. In the case of Germany, these tentative decisions were drawn up in a document significantly entitled "Conditions of Peace With Germany" and submitted to the German delegation to the peace conference on May 7, 1919 in French and English versions. Until June 16 written negotiations with the German delegation took place, with considerable effect in detail on the final conclusions. From June 16 to June 28 delegates to the peace conference perfected the French and English versions of the text of the treaty of peace that was signed on the latter date. Notwithstanding the special position assigned to the "Principal Allied and Associated Powers" and to their continuing diplomatic Note to Preamble-Continued body, the Conference of Ambassadors, developments under the treaty of peace with Germany in large measure became dissipated among Germany and the individual states of the first part. The bilateral relations of Germany and many states were dealt with throughout the treaty of peace in such terms as to call for decisions by the Conference of Ambassadors. Once such decisions were taken, the continuation of relations was understood to be remitted to the parties in interest. In many instances, however, a state with a direct interest did not have an exclusive interest in the matter. The broader interest was occasionally asserted by submission of a question to the League of Nations on the initiative of the Conference of Ambassadors or by inclusion of a clause providing for third-party review of disputes over the application or interpretation of decisions or ensuing treaties. In principle, the multilateral action of the multiple party "of the one part" was devolved into a series of bilateral relations between the states constituting it and Germany, the party "of the other part" to the treaty of peace. As against the text of the treaty, this practice gave Germany a technical advantage in subsequent developments. Multilateral obligations were avoided by bilateral negotiations, and unilateral action became eventually possible against the beneficiaries of particular provisions. Bearing in mind that on the request of the Imperial German Government an Armistice was granted on November 11, 1918, to Germany by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers in order that a Treaty of Peace might be concluded with her, and Note to Preamble Germany's request for an armistice on October 4, 1918 resulted in the granting of an armistice on terms fixed and signed by the principal "Allied and Associated Powers" on November 11, which was prolonged by conventions of December 13, 1918, January 16, 1919, and February 16, 1919 (Treaties, Conventions, etc., 1910-23, III, 3307). With certain modifications the armistice conditions controlled relations with Germany until the entrance into force of the treaty of peace on January 10, 1920. However, many clauses of the treaty of peace itself were put into execution upon the delivery by the German Government of its ratification at Paris on July 12, 1919. The Allied and Associated Powers being equally desirous that the war in which they were successively involved directly or in directly and which originated in the declaration of war by AustriaHungary on July 28, 1914, against Serbia, the declaration of war by Germany against Russia on August 1, 1914, and against France on August 3, 1914, and in the invasion of Belgium, should be replaced by a firm, just and durable Peace, Note to Preamble It appears from this paragraph that the German Government acknowledged that the war of 1914-18 originated in the declarations of war which it made against Russia and France in August 1914 and in the invasion of Belgium. For this purpose the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES represented as follows: THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, by: The Honourable Woodrow WILSON, PRESIDENT OF THE The Honourable Robert LANSING, Secretary of State; The Honourable Edward M. HOUSE; General Tasker H. BLISS, Military Representative of the Note to Preamble The plenipotentiaries are listed as representatives of the chiefs of the states, which is characteristic of a treaty of the most formal type. The listing follows the order of the state names at the beginning of the Preamble. As the President of the United States of America accredited the delegation of that state and the President was a member of it, an unusual accrediting problem arose. In as much as his powers were included among those "found in good and due form", the text notes that he was "acting in his own name and by his own proper authority". That is an exact statement of the case. The United States did not ratify the treaty. HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM The Right Honourable David LLOYD GEORGE, M.P., First The Right Honourable Andrew BONAR LAW, M.P., His The Right Honourable Viscount MILNER, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., The Right Honourable Arthur James BALFOUR, O.M., M.P., The Right Honourable George Nicoll BARNES, M.P., Min- And for the DOMINION of CANADA, by : The Honourable Charles Joseph DOHERTY, Minister of The Honourable Arthur Lewis SIFTON, Minister of Customs; Text of May 7: The Right Honourable Sir Robert Laird BORDEN, G.C.M.G., The Right Honourable Sir George Eulas FOSTER, G.C.M.G., for the COMMONWEALTH of AUSTRALIA, by: The Right Honourable William Morris HUGHES, Attorney The Right Honourable Sir Joseph Cook, G.C.M.G., Min- for the UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA, by : General the Right Honourable Louis BоTHA, Minister of Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Jan Christian for the DOMINION of NEW ZEALAND, by: The Right Honourable William Ferguson MASSEY, Minister of Labour and Prime Minister; |