The final act of the conference was signed by the delegates under
reservation of the approval of their respective governments, nor could
it be otherwise. After this approval the convention, which constitutes
the essential part of the act, shall, if approved (as the King’s
Government does not doubt it will be), assume the character of an
obligation on the part of the nations which shall have adhered to it
through the signature of plenipotentiaries appointed for the
purpose.
It is important that the announcements of adherence shall reach my
government as early as possible, in order that the initiative taken by
the King may suffer no delay in being put into actual and effectual
execution. I am accordingly directed to remind the Federal Government of
the imporance and appreciation which the Italian Government would attach
to the prompt appointment of a plenipotentiary to affix his signature to
the convention and thus sanction the work of the conference as far as
the United States are concerned.
As is seen from the final act, the prearranged convention bears the fixed
date of June 7, 1905. The original, which is alone intended for
signature, is preserved in the ministry of foreign affairs.
[Inclosure—Translation.]
final act of the international
conference.
In a series of meetings held from May 29 to June 6, 1905, in which
the aforementioned delegates were constantly animated by the desire
to realize to the greatest possible extent the idea which inspired
the initiative taken by His Majesty the King of Italy, the
conference agreed on the following text of a convention which shall
have the fixed date of to-day, June 7, 1905, and which shall be
submitted to the approval of the respective governments to be
signed, in case of acceptance, by plenipotentiaries appointed for
this purpose:
Article 1.
There is hereby created a permanent international institute of
agriculture, having its seat at Rome.
Article 2.
The international institute of agriculture is to be a government
institution, in which each adhering power shall be represented by
delegates of its choice.
The institute shall be composed of a general assembly and a permanent
committee, the composition and duties of which are defined in the
ensuing articles.
Article 3.
The general assembly of the institute shall be composed of the
representatives of the adhering governments. Each nation, whatever
be the number of its delegates, shall be entitled to a number of
votes in the assembly which shall be determined according to the
group to which it belongs, and to which reference will be made in
article 10.
Article 4.
The general assembly shall elect for each session from among its
members a president and two vice-presidents.
The sessions shall take place on dates fixed by the last general
assembly and according to a programme proposed by the permanent
committee and adopted by the adhering governments.
Article 5.
The general assembly shall exercise supreme control over the
international institute of agriculture.
It shall approve the projects prepared by the permanent committee
regarding the organization and internal workings of the institute.
It shall fix the total amount of expenditures and audit and approve
the accounts.
It shall submit to the approval of the adhering governments
modifications of any nature involving an increase in expenditure or
an enlargement of the functions of the institute. It shall set the
date for holding the sessions. It shall prepare its regulations.
The presence at the general assemblies of delegates representing
two-thirds of the adhering nations shall be required in order to
render the deliberations valid.
Article 6.
The executive power of the institute is intrusted to the permanent
committee, which, under the direction and control of the general
assembly, shall carry out the decisions of the latter and prepare
propositions to submit to it.
Article 7.
The permanent committee shall be composed of members designated by
the respective governments. Each adhering nation shall be
represented in the permanent committee by one member. However, the
representation of one nation may be intrusted to a delegate of
another adhering nation, provided that the actual number of members
shall not be less than fifteen.
The conditions of voting in the permanent committee shall be the same
as those indicated in article 3 for the general assemblies.
[Page 563]
Article 8.
The permanent committee shall elect from among its members for a
period of three years a president and a vice-president, who may be
reelected. It shall prepare its internal regulations, vote the
budget of the institute within the limits of the funds placed at its
disposal by the general assembly, and appoint and remove the
officials and employees of its office.
The general secretary of the permanent committee shall act as
secretary of the assembly.
Article 9.
The institute, confining its operations within an international
sphere, shall—
- (a)
- Collect, study, and publish as promptly as possible
statistical, technical, or economic information concerning
farming, both vegetable and animal products, the commerce in
agricultural products, and the prices prevailing in the
various markets;
- (b)
- Communicate to parties interested, also as promptly as
possible, all the information just referred to;
- (c)
- Indicate the wages paid for farm work;
- (d)
- Make known the new diseases of vegetables which may appear
in any part of the world, showing the territories infected,
the progress of the disease, and, if possible, the remedies
which are effective in combating them;
- (e)
- Study questions concerning agricultural cooperation,
insurance, and credit in all their aspects; collect and
publish information which might be useful in the various
countries in the organization of works connected with
agricultural cooperation, insurance, and credit;
- (f)
- Submit to the approval of the governments, if there is
occasion for it, measures for the protection of the common
interests of farmers and for the improvement of their
condition, after having utilized all the necessary sources
of information, such as the wishes expressed by
international or other agricultural congresses or congresses
of sciences applied to agriculture, agricultural societies,
academies, learned bodies, etc.
All questions concerning the economic interests, the legislation, and
the administration of a particular nation shall be excluded from the
consideration of the institute.
Article 10.
The nations adhering to the institute shall be classed in five
groups, according to the place which each of them thinks it ought to
occupy.
The number of votes which each nation shall have and the number of
units of assessment shall be established according to the following
gradations:
| Groups of nations. |
Numbers of votes. |
Units of
assessment. |
| I |
5 |
16 |
| II |
4 |
8 |
| III |
3 |
4 |
| IV |
2 |
2 |
| V |
1 |
1 |
In any event the contribution due per unit of assessment shall never
exceed a maximum of 2,500 francs.
As a temporary provision the assessment for the first two years shall
not exceed 1,500 francs per unit.
Colonies may, at the request of the nations to which they belong, be
admitted to form part of the institute on the same conditions as the
independent nations.
Article 11.
The present convention shall be ratified and the ratifications shall
be exchanged as soon as possible by depositing them with the Italian
Government.
In witness whereof the delegates who were present at the final
session held to-day have signed the present document.
Done at Rome,
June 7,
1905, in a single original which shall be deposited
in the ministry of foreign affairs of Italy and of which
certified copies shall be delivered to all the nations
represented at the conference.
[Signatures of the delegates follow.]
