Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72112/149

The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Grey) to the British Ambassador at Washington (Spring Rice)

September 30, 1914.
[Left at the Department of State, October 1, 1F914.]

[Telegram]

I have proposed to United States Ambassador that we should draw up a new proclamation of contraband to supersede previous ones in this respect: We should not mention Declaration of London [Page 238] as we do not think an unratified document to which great exception was taken in Parliament here should be constituted a new doctrine of international law.

But the proclamation would be on lines of suggestions conveyed in your telegram of September 281 and when the draft is ready we will communicate it to the United States Ambassador and discuss its provisions if necessary before finally settling it.

Meanwhile relying on embargo of Netherlands Government on export of foodstuffs, any foodstuffs consigned to Holland and at present detained will be released and neutral ships will not be detained on ground of containing foodstuffs.

There remain certain cargoes of copper and petroleum, former I believe consigned direct to Germany and to Krupps which we are detaining.

Ambassador asked that to calm public opinion something should be made known by United States Government and I agreed to its being stated that it is understood that British Government intend to revise their proclamation with regard to contraband, and meanwhile in neutral ships goods such as foodstuffs consigned to Holland in respect of which the Netherlands Government have placed an embargo on exportation will not be treated as contraband.

  1. Suggestions for contraband contained in a telegram of the British Ambassador (Spring Rice) to the British Government, September 28, 1914, after a conversation with the Acting Secretary of State (Lansing):
    (1)
    Certain articles like motor oil, wire fencing, motors, etc., which may be shown by recent events as exclusively used for military purposes in the present operations might be added to the list of absolute contraband as contemplated in Article 23 of the Declaration of London.
    (2)
    Articles like foodstuffs, if the Dutch Government prohibits their supply to either belligerent, could be freely imported into Holland if consigned to the Dutch Government or persons designated by them.
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