THE RIGHT OF CAPTURE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 966, 5 November 1910, Page 5

THE RIGHT OF CAPTURE.

-i BRITAIN'S STRONGEST WEAPON. Dy Telcffrapli—Press Association—Copyriehl.' (Rec. November 4, 9.20 p.m.) , London, November 4. Admiral Mahan, in a letter to "The Times," declares that tho right of maritime capture is the principal, if not tho only, strong weapon of offence Britain possesses against tho Continent. Ho adds that to bring tho pressure of war to bear on a whole population, and not merely tho armies in the field, is the very spirit of modern warfare, and is tho least.inhuman of all tho inevitable inhumanities of war, bccauso it deters war and hastens peace.

The laws of naval. warfare were considerably amended bv the Declaration of London drafted by representatives of tho Chief Powers in London last .year. With r'cgnrd to contraband tho'British delegates admitted foodstuff to the list of articles which, under certain conditions, may bo contraband (i.e., liable to seizure), though in the past British Governments have always resolutely resisted such an interpretation. The importance of tho question is enormous, as upon it may depend tho safety, of Britain's food supply in war. "Conditional contraband" became liable to soizure if. "it wore consigned to the hostile authorities, or to a merchant established in tho, hostile country, and when it is notorious that such merchant furnishes to tho enemy objects and materials of this nature."- The effect of this clause apparently, is that food consigned to any British merchant or trader might be seized,, as he would be established in the "hostile country," and would supply "the enemy," which means the whole hostile people' as well as the British armed forces. A ship is not to be liable to soizure unless the contraband on board reached one-half tho cargo.