第一次海牙和平会与于1899年5月18日至7月29日在海牙召开，共26个国家代表团与会。俄罗斯代表团团长兼俄罗斯驻英国大使当选为大会主席。会议共设立了三个委员会，分别为第一委员会、第二委员会和第三委员会。会议共举行了10次全体会议，第十次于7月29日召开。会议最终通过了《最后文件》、《关于和平解决争端的第一公约》、《关于陆战法律与惯例的第二公约》、《关于1864年8月22日的<日内瓦公约>所确立的原则适用于海战的第三公约》和三项宣言。

参加第一次海牙和平会议的中国政府代表团名单：首席全权代表为驻圣彼得堡特命全权公使杨儒，第二代表为陆徵祥，第三代表为胡唯德，副代表为公使馆参赞何彦升；Kreyer博士，代表团顾问兼翻译。

杨儒出席了1899年5月18日的第一次全体会议，本次会议也是本次和会的开幕大会。

参加三个委员会的中国代表分别是：

第一委员会：杨儒

第二委员会：杨儒，胡唯德，陆徵祥

第三委员会：杨儒，胡唯德，陆徵祥

根据海牙和平会议的记录（The Proceedings of the Hague Peace Conferences, Translation of the Official Texts, Oxford University Press, 1920），和会期间，中国代表唯一一次公开被记录下来的发言，应该是在1899年7月27日第八次全体会议上，第二代表陆徵祥以首席代表杨儒的名义所发表的如下声明：

Lou Tseng-tsiang makes the following declaration in the name of the first delegate of China:

At the moment when the work of the Conference is about to be crowned by the signature of the Final Act, the first delegate of China has the honor to state to the Conference his position as the first delegate of China.

Through the intermediary of his colleagues, he has followed with attention and interest the deliberations of the different commissions of which he has had the honor to be a member.

In the purely humanitarian questions on the subject of war with which the commissions have been charged, he has given without hesitation his adhesion to the proposals of the delegates of the Powers invited to this high assembly.

Sometimes, he has believed that the acceptance of one or another proposal would not be to the advantage of China; he has, conformably to his general instructions, given his vote against the form in which it was advanced, but, when the desired form was obtained, he rallied to his colleagues in order to assure unanimity.

Now, at the moment when the Convention is about to take its final form in the Final Act, he can only confine himself, according to his instructions, to having a careful translation made of it, to be sent, with the original text of the Convention, to the Imperial Government with the recommendation to accept it.

In spite of the delays caused by long distance, he hopes that he will receive in good time the necessary instructions to enable him to sign this Convention.