After half a year of negotiations, the United Kingdom, France, and Austria finally reached a preliminary agreement. On December 12, 1875, representatives of the three nations signed the Memorandum on Mediating International Conflicts in Paris.
This memorandum could, in effect, also be regarded as a draft international convention. It clearly laid down the rules for colonial competition. The law of the jungle was still unavoidable; it had merely been draped in the cloak of legal principle.
Namely:
1. Actual occupation would be the criterion: first come, first served;
2. Existing colonial spheres of influence would be recognized, with each side acknowledging the other's sovereignty;
3. Mutual interference in colonial internal affairs was prohibited; (Note: specifically, supporting local forces, smuggling weapons, exporting nationalism...)
4. Competition for unclaimed lands would depend on each party's own abilities. Provided that their own interests were not involved, allies were obliged to offer a certain degree of assistance;
The first three clauses were the real focus, capable of easing colonial conflicts among the three nations. As for the fourth, that depended on how it was interpreted.
Assistance would certainly be provided, but just how extensive it would be, and whether it might end up doing more harm than good, would depend on the actual circumstances.
For example, if a colonial expedition encountered an accident and ended up stranded in an ally's colony, everyone would probably be happy to do them a favor and provide supplies.
But if someone wanted to seize a strategic location or a wealthy colony and required an ally's help, they would still have to talk in terms of benefits.
Otherwise, the treaty would not have included the prerequisite of "not involving one's own interests." It was, in itself, an exemption clause, because the concept of interests was simply too broad.
That