the "permanent subjects", mentioned in the report, should be referred to a special Commission of the Preliminary Peace Conference.

It had further been agreed that the five Signatories of the report of the Drafting Committee should meet to consider and report as to the procedure and method of work of the Economic Commission, and on its composition, having in mind Lord Milner's request that the Dominions and India should be accorded separate representation and that the small Powers should also be represented. In accordance with that decision the members of the Economic Drafting Committee had met together and prepared the following report:

"As regards the composition of the Economic Commission it was stated on behalf of the British Empire Delegation that they did not press any suggestion for separate representation of the British Dominions and India. We accordingly recommend that the Commission should be constituted of two members for each of the five Powers, together with five members selected by the remaining States. We consider, moreover, that it is essential that the members of SubCommittees dealing with technical subjects should not necessarily all be members of the main Commission. We think it desirable that the Commission, when established, shall have freedom to set up any SubCommittees which they think necessary, as is the case with the other Commissions of the Conference, and we consider that, in the interests of speedy work, all the Sub-Committees should be as small as possible. As regards the work of the Economic Commission we attach the programme already approved by the Delegates of the Great Powers at their meeting on Friday 21st, February, after excluding the transitory measures which have been transferred to the Supreme Economic Council."

TERMS OF REFERENCE TO THE ECONOMIC COMMISSION OF THE PEACE CONFERENCE (AS AGREED BY THE ECONOMIC DRAFTING COMMITTEE)

I. PERMANENT COMMERCIAL RELATIONS.

To consider what common measures are possible and desirable with a view to the removal of Economic barriers, and the establishment of an equitable basis of the principle of Equality of Trade Conditions in International Com

merce.

Under this heading will arise such questions (among others) as Customs regulations, duties and restrictions; the treatment of shipping, including Port facilities and dues, unfair methods of competition, including false trade descriptions and indications of origin “dumping” etc., and the exceptions and reservations, transitory or otherwise, which may be found necessary to meet special circumstances.

II. CONTRACTS AND CLAIMS.

To consider :

(1) What provision should be made with regard to pre-war contracts, agreements or commercial obligations to which subjects or citizens of belligerent States were parties;

(2) Whether claims should be admitted on either side for damage or injury arising out of the requisition, liquidation, sequestration or sale of enemy property or businesses, or the treatment or use of patents, trade marks, trade

descriptions, or designs or copyrights, or regulations relating to trading with the enemy; and, if so, on what basis.

III. EX-ENEMY ALIENS.

To consider what common action, if any, should be taken by the Allied and Associated Governments to prohibit or regulate the carrying on, either individually, or through companies, of certain businesses and occupations by ex-enemy aliens during the period immediately following the war.

IV. ABROGATION OR REVIVAL OF ECONOMIC TREATIES.

To consider what Treaties and Conventions of an economic character to which enemy States were parties should be revived or abrogated respectively. (Under this heading will be considered, among others the Conventions relating to Industrial Property, Copyright, Posts and Telegraphs etc.)

NOTE:

The Economic Commission, before formulating proposals as to any economic questions having a special aspect in regard to which other Commissions have been or may be set up by the Peace Conference, should consult the competent Commission; and on the other hand such other Commissions should, in the same circumstances consult the Economic Commission before formulating any proposal relating to one of the above classes of questions which fall within the scope of the Economic Commission.

(It was agreed to approve the recommendations of the Economic Drafting Committee and the Terms of Reference to the Economic Commission of the Peace Conference, as above given.)

On the proposal of MR. HOUSE, the following resolution was adopted :

"The Economic Commission is instructed to report not later than March 15, on all matters which it is necessary to include in the Preliminaries of Peace."

(It was agreed that the Financial [Economic?] Commission should be constituted of 2 members for each of the five Great Powers, together with 5 members selected by the remaining States.

It was agreed that the members of the Financial [Economic?] Drafting Committee should form part of this Commission and that the names of the remaining 5 representatives of the Great Powers should be handed in to the Secretary General on or before Monday

next.

It was also agreed that the Secretary General would invite the small Powers to meet on Monday next to elect 5 representatives to serve on the Economic Commission, as well as 5 representatives to serve on the Financial Commission (see item 2 (c) above).) (The Meeting then adjourned.)

PARIS, 2nd March, 1919.

Paris Peace Conf. 180.03101/50

BC-43 SWC-10

Minutes of the Meeting of the Supreme War Council Held in M. Pichon's Room at the Quai d'Orsay, Paris, on Monday, 3rd March, 1919, at 3 p. m.

1. M. CLEMENCEAU asked whether the Powers were ready to nominate their delegates for the Financial and Economic Commissions. MR. LANSING, on behalf of the United States, asked for a day's delay for decision.

Nomination of
Delegates for

Financial and
Economic
Commissions

(It was agreed that the names of the delegates should be communicated to the Secretary-General and that the Commissions should meet forthwith, without

awaiting the nomination of all the members.)

2. M. CLEMENCEAU said that Marshal Foch had summarised the report of the Military Commission in a short document, which he would read to the meeting.

Military, Naval
and Air Condi-
tions of Peace:
(a) Summary of
Marshal Foch
Relating to
Germany

MARSHAL FOCH then read the following document:— (distributed in English as here recorded.)

"I have the honour to forward herewith the Regulations concerning the definitive military and aerial

Statutes of Germany.

These regulations have been formulated by the Inter-Allied Committee comprising three representatives of each Government designated in the report of February 12th, 1919,1 and working under me as president, and are based on the decisions of the Supreme Allied Council which met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on February 12th, 1919. The decisions were arrived at after consulting the Commanders-in-Chief.

These regulations provide for the military and aerial statutes of Germany, under the principle that Germany will only keep the forces necessary to ensure order and to police the interior of her territories. They decide therefore:

(1) The maximum aerial and military strength.

(2) The staffing of this strength within a certain number of large units: Infantry divisions, Cavalry divisions, Army and Army Corps H. Q.

(3) The method of recruiting of this strength (officers and men). (4) The armament, the war machines and the ammunition that the Germans will be authorised to keep, to maintain and to manufacture. (5) The controlling measures which should be taken in view of the limitation of the strength and of the armament of the Germans. (1) Strength.

All the delegations agreed to admit:

(a) that the land forces of Germany shall not exceed a strength of 200,000 men (officers not included)—that the number of officers and those assimilated from the land forces shall not exceed 9,000; (b) that the air forces shall not exceed 1,000 men (officers in1 See BC-29 (SWC-6), vol. I, p. 971.

cluded) and that these forces shall not be maintained after October 1st, 1919.

(2) Staffing of large units.

All the delegations agreed to fix the maximum number of the large units and staffs for the above strength at 15 Infantry divisions and 5 Cavalry divisions, 5 Army Corps H. Q. and one Army H. Q. (3) Method of recruiting the strength.

The principle of permanent armies is applied to the officers and to the non-commissioned officers of the land forces; they are recruited voluntarily under the obligation to serve a long term, i. e. 25 years for the officers and 15 years for the non-commissioned officers.

The men of the land forces are, on the contrary, taken exclusively in each class of recruiting by drawing numbers, or by any other method chosen by Germany, under the reserve:

(a) that the total length of these men's service shall not exceed one year and that the service shall be continuous;

(b) that the number of trained men, in each class of recruiting shall not exceed 180,000.

The British delegation was of opinion that a voluntary service for a long period would have been preferable; but they accepted the above conditions in order to arrive at a decision.

(4) Armament, war machines and ammunition.

The armament, the war machines and the ammunition left to the Germans are settled according to the quantities that are necessary for an army of 200,000 men staffed as indicated in paragraph (2), taking as a basis the armament of the German divisions shortly before the armistice.

The surplus armament, war machines and ammunition shall be handed over to the Allied and Associated Powers to be destroyed or rendered useless.

All the delegations agreed upon these questions.

(5) Controlling measures.

All the delegations also agreed to establish a Committee of Control with the object of supervising the execution, of the reductions imposed upon Germany as regards her strength and her armament within the prescribed period.

It has been unanimously admitted that this Committee will cease its duties at the end of such period, it being understood that in future the control will be continued by such means and such body as the League of Nations may deem necessary."

MR. BALFOUR said that he did not propose to criticise the work of the Military Commission. He thought, however, that there were probably some points on which all the military authorities were not agreed,