A dispute having arisen between the Royal Netherlands Government and that of the Portuguese Republic on the subject of the delimitation of a part of their respective possessions in the Island of Timor, the two Governments decided by a Convention signed at The Hague, April 3, 1913, of which ratifications were exchanged in the same city on July 31 following, to refer its solution, as a last resort, to an arbitrator, and have accordingly with mutual agreement designated the undersigned. To understand the meaning and significance of the compromis of April 3, 1913, it is necessary to succinctly explain the negotiations which have preceded that compromis.