File No. 763.72112/157
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State
London, October 9, 1914, 12 midnight.
[Received October 10, 10:45 p.m.]
[Telegram]
806. Grey has just handed me the following, which is self-explanatory. It is draft, and will not be issued till it has been discussed and, he hopes, approved by you:
Draft Contraband Order in Council
Whereas, on the 4th day of August, 1914, His Majesty was pleased to issue a proclamation specifying the articles which it was His Majesty’s intention to treat as contraband during the present war; and
Whereas, on the 20th day of August, 1914, an order of His Majesty in Council was issued to the effect that during the present hostilities the convention known as the Declaration of London should, subject to certain additions and modifications therein specified, be adopted and put in force as if the same had been ratified by His Majesty; and
Whereas, on the. 21st day of September His Majesty was pleased to issue a proclamation specifying certain additional articles which were to be treated as contraband of war; and
[Page 245]Whereas, it is desirable to amend the provisions of the said proclamations and the said order in council.
Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, is pleased to order, and it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1 [ABSOLUTE CONTRABAND]
The following list is substituted for the list of absolute contraband contained in Schedule 1 to His Majesty’s proclamation of the 14th [4th] August, 1914:
- Article 1.
- Arms of all kinds, including arms for sporting purposes, and their distinctive component parts.
- Article 2.
- Projectiles, charges and cartridges of all kinds, and their distinctive component parts.
- Article 3.
- Powder and explosives specially prepared for use in war.
- Article 4.
- Gun mountings, limber boxes, limbers, military waggons, field forges, and their distinctive component parts.
- Article 5.
- Range finders and their distinctive component parts.
- Article 6.
- Clothing and equipment of a distinctively military character.
- Article 7.
- Saddle, draught and pack animals suitable for use in war.
- Article 8.
- All kinds of harness of a distinctively military character.
- Article 9.
- Articles of camp equipment and their distinctive component parts.
- Article 10.
- Armour plates.
- Article 11.
- Haematite iron ore and hæmatite pig iron.
- Article 12.
- Nickel ore and nickel.
- Article 13.
- Ferrochrome and chrome ore.
- Article 14.
- Copper, unwrought.
- Article 15.
- Lead, pig, sheet or pipe.
- Article 16.
- Warships, including boats and their distinctive component parts of such a nature that they can be used only on a vessel of war.
- Article 17.
- Aeroplanes, airships, balloons, and aircraft of all kinds, and their component parts, together with accessories and articles recognisable as intended for use in connection with balloons and aircraft.
- Article 18.
- Motor vehicles of all kinds and their component parts.
- Article 19.
- Motor tyres; rubber.
- Article 20.
- Mineral oils and motor spirit, except lubricating oils.
- Article 21.
- Implements and apparatus designed exclusively for the manufacture of munitions of war, for the manufacture or repair of arms, or war material for use on land and sea.
SECTION 2 [CONDITIONAL CONTRABAND]
The following list is substituted for the list of conditional contraband contained in Schedule 2 to His Majesty’s proclamation of the 4th August, 1914, and for the additions thereto contained in the schedule to His Majesty’s proclamation of the 30th (?) September, 1914:
- Article 1.
- Foodstuffs.
- Article 2.
- Forage and grain suitable for feeding animals.
- Article 3.
- Clothing, fabrics for clothing, and boots and shoes suitable for use in war.
- Article 4.
- Gold and silver in coin or bullion, paper money.
- Article 5.
- Vehicles of all kinds, other than motor vehicles, available for use in war, and their component parts.
- Article 6.
- Vessels, craft, and boats of all kinds; floating docks, parts of docks and their component parts.
- Article 7.
- Railway materials, both fixed and rolling stock, and materials for telegraphs, wireless telegraphs, and telephones.
- Article 8.
- Fuel, other than mineral oils. lubricants.
- Article 9.
- Powder and explosives not especially prepared for use in war.
- Article 10.
- Glycerine.
- Article 11.
- Barbed wire, and implements for fixing and cutting the same.
- Article 12.
- Horseshoes and shoeing materials.
- Article 13.
- Harness and saddlery.
- Article 14.
- Hides of all kinds, dry or wet; pigskins, raw or dressed; leather, undressed or dressed, suitable for saddlery, harness, or military boots.
- Article 15.
- Field glasses, telescopes, chronometers, and all kinds of nautical instruments.
SECTION 3
Article 1. The additions and modifications numbered 1 and 5 in the order in council dated the 20th August, 1914, relating to the application during the present hostilities of the convention known as the Declaration of London, are hereby repealed.
Article 2. The following provisions shall take effect in lieu thereof:
Sub Article A. The lists of absolute and conditional contraband contained in Articles [Sections] 1 and 2 of this order are substituted for the lists contained in Articles 22 and 24 of the said declaration.
Sub Article B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 35 of the said declaration, a vessel bound for a neutral port shall be liable to capture on the ground that cargo which she is carrying is conditional contraband, if no consignee in that country of the goods alleged to be conditional contraband is disclosed in the ship’s papers.
SECTION 4
One of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, if satisfied that the enemy government is drawing supplies or munitions of war for its armed forces from or through a neutral country, may, by notification in the London Gazette, direct that in respect of ships bound for a port in that country, Article 35 of the said declaration shall not apply, and from and after the date of such notification, and so long as the same is not withdrawn, a vessel which is carrying conditional contraband to a port in that country shall not be immune from capture.
And the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and each of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, the President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Divisions of the High Court of Justice, all other judges [of] His Majesty’s Prize Courts, and all governors, officers, and authorities whom it may concern, are to give the necessary directions herein as to them may respectively appertain.
The following explanatory matter accompanies the foregoing draft:
The order in council has been drafted in accordance with the communication made to the United States Ambassador on October 3. It provides an enlarged list of absolute contraband as there indicated.
The additions consist of: Munitions of war [sic1] and motors, as suggested by the United States Government, certain ores and metals which are largely used in the manufacture of munitions of war and for which our own use must have practically entirely ceased during the present struggle; these are haematite iron, nickel, ferrochrome, copper and conduct [sic], motor tires and rubber.
With regard to conditional contraband, Article 35 of the Declaration of London is left standing and will, therefore, exclude the application of the doctrine of continuous voyage in respect of goods consigned to a neutral firm at a neutral port. The right to seize conditional contraband on a ship bound for a neutral port is maintained by Article 3, 2, B [Section 3, Article 2, Sub-article B], in respect of cases where no consignee in the neutral country is disclosed in the ship’s papers. A great proportion of the cargo shipped to Rotterdam is consigned merely “to order” and may be intended for transit to the enemy country. In such cases, and where the goods are carried with a through bill of lading to the enemy country, Article 35 would not apply.
Article 4 [Section 4] of the draft order is intended to cover the cases where no satisfactory arrangement can be come to with a neutral power to lay an embargo on the export of goods required in the enemy country for use in the war, and there is reason to believe that the country is being used by the enemy as a source of supplies for his armed forces.