In January, 1916, the Chief of the Swiss Political Department was able to announce to the Federal Council that the negotiations on the subject of the "petits blessés" had reached a practical result, and the Department made a proposal for the immediate internment of 1,000 Germans and 1,000 French by way of trial. The tuberculous were to come first, but if these numbers were not reached, then the balance was to be made up with the sick of other categories. The organization and direction of the internment was placed in the hands of Colonel Hauser, principal medical officer of the Swiss Army, and on the 12th of January, 1916, that officer was able to announce the creation of a special branch of the sanitary service, with a central office at Berne, for internment purposes. Already, by February 14, 883 French, including 104 officers, and 364 Germans, including 7 officers, had reached Switzerland, and had been located in the regions of Montana, Leysin, and the Quatre-Cantons, etc. These first arrivals had been designated by doctors of the captor States, and after a further examination at Lyons and Constance by a Control Commission, had been definitely nominated and passed on to Switzerland. Although in agreement on the principle of Internment, two points of capital importance yet remained to be fixed:— 1. The list of disabilities on which the internment was to be based. 2. The organization of the Itinerant Commissions of Swiss doctors, whose duty it was to visit France and Germany and designate candidates for internment. With regard to 1, the first list of 12 categories drawn up in January, 1916, was increased to 20 categories in February. In June and July, 1916, the list was again the subject of discussion by an International Conference at Berne, and the categories were then finally fixed at 18. With regard to 2, the proposals made by the Council for the appointment of ten Sanitary Commissions for each country, composed of two Swiss doctors reinforced by a third, an officer of the captor States, who should have the place of President, with power to examine and designate prisoners for despatch to Lyons or Constance, as the case might be, for a final inspection by a Board of Control, was accepted by the French and German diplomatic representatives at Berne, in February, 1916. On the 21st of February the Political Department announced the approaching departure of the Itinerant Commissions. On the termination of these negotiations, the Swiss Government invited Great Britain and Germany to become parties thereto, offering to give the same hospitality to their prisoners of war as to those of France and Germany. This offer was accepted, and in May, 1916, the agreement, as drawn up between France and Germany, was also made applicable to Great Britain and Germany.