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COMMITTEE ON GENERAL WELFARE.

Mr. HENDERSON, of the United States.

Mr. QUINTANA, of the Argentine Republic.

Mr. VELARDE, of Bolivia.

Mr. BOLET PERAZA, of Venezuela.

Mr. HURTADO, of Colombia.

Mr. VALENTE, of Brazil.

Mr. CRUZ, of Guatemala.

Secretary: EDMUND W. P. SMITH.

COMMITTEE ON RULES.

Mr. ALFONSO, of Chili.

Mr. QUINTANA, of the Argentine Republic.

Mr. TRESCOT, of the United States.

Mr. CAAMAÑO, of Ecuador.

Mr. ROMERO, of Mexico.

Mr. CASTELLANOS, of San Salvador.

Mr. VALENTE, of Brazil.

COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS.

Mr. ROMERO, of Mexico.

Mr. QUINTANA, of the Argentine Republic. Mr. COOLIDGE, of the United States.

FAREWELL ADDRESS OF THE DELEGATE FROM

URUGUAY.

SESSION OF FEBRUARY 10, 1890.

Mr. NIN, the Delegate from Uruguay, read the following speech, bidding farewell to his colleagues:

Mr. Chairman, I had the honor of stating in the session of the 7th instant, that I would have to leave for London on the 19th, unless the Conference enabled me to change my mind, by making a declaration concerning a date for the closure or recess of this body, as solicited by the Delegate from Uruguay.

Ere leaving, probably never to return, either because of the completion of the programme of the Conference, or because of the announcement of a recess before my return is possible, or again because my Government may consider the presence of its Delegate unnecessary; ere leaving, I repeat, I beg leave on this occasion to bid my honorable colleagues farewell, and to place my services at their disposal, either in my official capacity in Great Britain or in Uruguay; and, I may be permitted to add, I shall carry with me the most pleasant recollections of their kindness and courtesy.

And I also request that in the journal of this session it be recorded that the nation I have the honor to represent always looked with the deepest sympathy on everything tending to bind more closely the political, social, and conventional ties that, I am happy to say, unite the countries of the continent of Columbus; and that it would always deem it a duty to contribute to the furtherance of such exalted aims.

Still fresh, and I hope enduring, is the memory of the welcome extended by Uruguay to its sister countries of the South when, at its bidding, they met in a Congress at Montevideo, from which resulted, as I have already had occasion to state (when speaking in hospitable and great Chicago), a complete code of international law, which, were it in force all over America, would be productive of peace, concord, and progress.

This single circumstance would of itself sufficiently show with how much interest Uruguay accepted the invitation of the illustrious Government of the United States. It sent a Delegate to this Conference; but as, unfortunately, from the present state of its labors, it is as yet not possible to see what may be achieved towards the realization of the high purposes with which all the American nations have assembled here, Uruguay deems it advisable to set forth, if only in general terms, and with but poor eloquence, the view its Delegate takes of the different points of the programme.

Without following the items in their order, for brevity's sake I shall limit myself to say that it is a recognized axiom that the first conditions to the cultivation of international relations are easy means of communication and transportation; thus Uruguay, which owes a great deal of its prosperity to the almost perfect communication which unites it with the countries of the estuary of "the Plate," the Republic of Brazil, and the principal European centers, assigns great importance to the establishment of inter-American means of communication. Its Delegate has stated before the various committees in charge of these matters, that he was convinced that the greatest facilities. would be given to any company formed with such intent, and that probably provision would be made for the granting of subsidies and privileges not already conceded by the laws of his country, on a basis of reciprocity.

As regards uniformity in sanitary legislation, the Delegate from Uruguay, as a member of the honorable committee to which the study of so important a subject was submitted, has agreed with the views of his learned colleagues, and the project which is to be presented to the

Conference is at the present moment in the translator's and printer's hands. In this report the honorable Conference is advised to recommend to the Governments of the countries herein represented, that they either adhere to the sanitary convention of Rio Janeiro of 1887, or adopt the project of the Congress held in Lima in 1889; which project is a thoughtful and conscientious revision and ratification of the previous one. Either of these protocols may be considered as being as nearly perfect and generally available as any heretofore compiled.

, A Zollverein necessarily requires as a basis intimate relations and commercial ties between the countries therein included, and we must admit that such is not the case, even among the nations represented in this Conference.

While the commerce of America with Europe has attained to considerable importance, that existing among the American nations in general is restricted in scope, being, so to say, local and partial.

To form part of an American Zollverein, Uruguay would necessarily have to transfer her commerce completely, and cancel her commercial treaties with the European powers. The difficulties such an undertaking would present would be insurmountable, and it is therefore beyond the reach of the best wishes and the best laws.

Such extreme and premature measures are fortunately not indispensable for the furtherance of interchange among the American nations; and if it be not possible for my country to enter into a general customs Union, it is, and will always be, disposed to sign any special treaties that may subserve the mutual interests and convenience of the sister nations.

If not the same difficulties that a Zollverein presents for its adoption by Uruguay, there are others which, though transitory in character, would prevent that nation's immediate entrance into a monetary Union, other than one based on monometallism, with gold as the standard and silver as auxiliary, for fractional change, etc.

Uruguay also considers such a monetary Union of great importance to the commercial relations of the American nations, which relations will, no doubt, increase as a result

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