The national committees are charged with the direction and responsibility for the work in their own countries. They must provide resources to be utilized in time of need, take active measures to secure adherents, establish local societies, and have an efficient working force always in readiness for action, and in time of war to dispatch and distribute safely and wisely all accumulations of material and supplies, nurses and assistants, to their proper destination, and, in short, whatever may be gathered from the patriotism and philanthropy of the country. They must always remember that central committees without abundant sectional branches would be of little use. In most countries the co-operation of women has been eagerly sought. It is needless to say it has been as eagerly given. In some countries the central committees are mixed, both sexes working together; in others, sub-committees are formed by women, and in others, such as the Grand Duchy of Baden, woman leads. As a last detail of organization, the Conference of 1863 recommended to the central committees to put themselves _en rapport_ with their respective governments, in order that their offers of service should be accepted when required. This makes it incumbent upon national societies to obtain and hold government recognition, by which they are endowed with the immunities and privileges of legally constituted bodies and with recognition from other nations in time of war, not otherwise possible to them. OCCUPATIONS OF RELIEF SOCIETIES IN TIMES OF PEACE.