The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY. AUGUST 27, 1914. THE DECLARATION OF LONDON.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 8, 27 August 1914, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. THURSDAY. AUGUST 27, 1914. THE DECLARATION OF LONDON.

The Declaration of London, which !.•„.. Allies announced a little while ago they intended to observe, subject to slight additions and modifications, was dratted by representatives of the chici naval Rowers some live years ago, though not formally ratified by all the countries concerned, hut it is the only existing code of naval warfare, and its

observance at this juncture is of very great importance tq neutral nations. The Lyttelton Times explains that the most important clauses of the agreement relate to the contraband of war

and the rights of neutral shipping, and goes on to say: The merchant vessels of belligerent nations are liable to capture at any time by. hostile warships, but neutral merchantmen are in a different position. They may not lie taken unless they arc? engaged in contraband traffic, and the prime purpose of the Declaration was to provide a set of rules governing their treatment.

Under the old system every country has its own prize courts and its own law of capture The national courts decided whether or not a prize was valid and there was no appeal to an independent court. Each belligerent decided for itself what articles it would J regard as contraband, and often neutral ships conducting ordinary trade with a country that happened to be at ' war were made liable to capture by 1 that country's enemy. The Declaration of London set up a universal system of sea law for the guidance of prize ' courts, gave the rigid, to appeal to an international prize court and classified - goods into three classes, contraband, ' conditional contraband and non-contra-band. Munitions of war are contra- ' baud, and any neutral ship carrying r

them to a belligerent is liable to cap ture. Foodstuffs are conditional con traband, that is, they may be captur ed in neutral bottoms if consigned t< the armed forces of a belligerent. Most raw materials are definitely non-con traband. A much-discussed clause o: the Declaration related to the destruc tion of neutral prizes. "A neutra' vessel which has been captured," it stated, "may not be destroyed by the captor; she must be taken intc such port as is proper for the deter-

mination there of all questions relating lo tlitf validity of tke eapturs, As an

exception, a neutral ves*©] which has been captured by a belligerent warship, and which would be liable to condemnation, may be destroyed if the observance of this article would involve danger to the safety of the warship or to the success of the operations in which she is enagged at the time."

This clause may become important at a later stage of the war, if Britain declares a blockade of German and Aus-i Irian ports. The Declaration has other; important clauses. It provides, for; instance, that a blockade, to be binding on neutrals, "must be maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the enemy's coastline," and that neutral vessels captured for breach of blockade must be taken only within the actual area of operations of the blockading warships. Neutral vessels under convoy by warships.of their own nationality are made immune from search, subject to a declaration as to their cargoes from the commander el the convoy. Some of the questions covered by the Declaration may not arise during the present war. But the Allies are putting themselves in the right at the outset by pledging themselves to accept the international code.