Some Questions of International Law. To this list raw cotton was added by Im perial Order on April 21, 1904. In the publication of this extensive list oí articles (all of which she seems to have re garded as absolutely contraband) and still more in her subequent conduct, Russia not only showed that she intended to ignore the doctrine of Conditional or Occasional Con traband, but she included in her list of things absolutely contraband many articles of ancipitis iiSHS, such as coal, rice, horses, provisions, telegraph and railway material, etc. These have always hitherto been re garded either as not contraband at all, or, if so, as subject to preemption or confisca tion only in certain contingencies or under certain circumstances, c. g., when destined for a blockaded port, a place besieged, or when obviously intended for, or liable to fall into the possession of, the army or navy of the enemy. Russia will thus be seen to have gone farther than any belligerent has ever gone, at least since the time of the Napole onic wars, in the direction of a real or threatened attack upon the rights and inter ests of neutral commerce. "The Russian Government, which more than a century ago was the foremost champion of the free dom of neutral commerce, put forth for, we believe, the first time in the history of civil ized warfare the amazing pretension that .ill such goods should be considered contra band regardless of destination or circum stances. 1 The publication of this list drew forth moved by the inclosure in your dispatch of the note from Count Lamsdorff, stating tersely and simply the sentence of the prize court. The com munication of the decision was made in unquali fied terms, and the department is, therefore, con strained to take notice of the principle on which the condemnation ¡s based and which it is impos sible for the United States to accept, as indicat ing either a principle of law or a policy which a belligerent State may lawfully enforce or pursue toward the United States as a neutral."— Re printed from the Washington Star for September 22, 1904. 'From an editorial in the New York Tribune for August 9. 1904.
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some severe criticism on the part of the English and American press, and what ap pears to have been an informal or semi official protest on the part of our State De partment at Washington,2 but it was not before the month of June that the Ameri can and British Governments took formal action. The British Government appears to have entered its first formal protest against Russia's inclusion of rice and other food stuffs in her list of contraband early in June.3 On June ю, 1904, Secretary Hay sent the following circular 4 (which we re produce in full because of its importance and because it serves to set forth the Amer ican position on the subject of contraband, together with the main arguments with which this view has been supported by one of our greatest statesmen) to American Ambassadors in Europe: Department of State, Washington, D. C., June ю, 1904. To the Ambassadors of the United States in Europe: Gentlemen: It appears from public doc uments that coal, naphtha, alcohol and other fuel have been declared contraband of war by the Russian Government. These L"Jn regard to the Russian declaration of food stuffs as contraband, it is said at the State De partment that the destination of such goods must determine their character. If they are intended for either army they are contraband and subject to seizure. It they are intended for the use of civilians, except in the case of besieged towns, they must not be seized, or if seized, they must be paid for." See New York Times for March i, 1904. "See e. g., St. Petersburg dispatch of June 12, in New York Times. 4This circular was not, however, made public before August 9, 1904. The British protest, which has not been published, so far as I am aware, is stated by the Associated Press to have been along the same lines as the American Circular. But the British protest appears to have been di rected mainly against the inclusion of foodstuffs as contraband, whereas Secretary Hay confines himself mainly to coal and cotton. For his rea sons, see his note of August 30, 1904.
