Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1914, Supplement, The World War

File No. 300.115/512

The Ambassador in Great Britain ( Page ) to the Secretary of State

American Embassy,
London , September 15, 1914.
[Received September 28.]

No. 446]

Sir: Referring to your cablegram of August 29 [28] concerning the treatment of American cargoes on ships of the several countries now at war,² instructing me to present the matter to the Foreign Office with request for an answer at the earliest possible moment, and to my telegram No. 528 of August 31 in acknowledgment thereof,³ I have the honor to enclose herewith a copy of a note from His Majesty’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs dated September 14, in answer to my memorandum dated August 31, ire the premises.

I have [etc.]

Walter Hines Page

[Enclosure]

The British, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ( Grey ) to the American Ambassador ( Page )

Foreign Office,
September 14, 1914 .

Your Excellency: I have had under careful consideration your excellency’s note of August 31 enclosing a copy of a telegram from the State Department on the subject of neutral cargo on enemy vessels which have been captured by His Majesty’s forces.

In reply I have the honour to inform your excellency that His Majesty’s Government, who are bound by Article 3 of the Declaration of Paris, have no intention of claiming the condemnation of neutral goods, not being contraband of war, on a captured enemy vessel, and they are as anxious as the Government of the United States that such cargo should be restored to the rightful owners with the least possible delay.

Your excellency will realize that when such cargoes have, in consquence of the capture of the ship, come into the custody of the prize court, it is impossible for them to be released except by the court. This does not however, necessitate the owners involving themselves in lengthy prize court proceedings. In cases where the proper evidence of title can be produced to the procurator general, as indicated in my note of August 26, the goods are released at once, subject to the adjustment of any questions of freight. His Majesty’s Government realize, however, that in many cases it is not possible at the moment to produce full evidence of title, and they have now made arrangements under which such cargo can be released at once, provided that the claimants can produce some reasonable evidence of title, even though it may not be possible to produce evidence of such a strict and complete nature as would be required by the prize court.

Thus the only case left unprovided for is that in which the claimants can produce no evidence of title at all Your excellency will I am sure understand, that in this case it is impossible for the goods to be released at once without some guarantee that the claimant is really entitled to them; but if, the claimant or his representative is prepared to file a bail bond in accordance with the prize court rules, the goods can be released, and the title can thereafter be proved in the usual way.

I would also remind your excellency that an interested party may enter an appearance by leave of the court at any time before final adjudication.

I trust therefore that the Government of the United States will realize that His Majesty’s Government are doing all in their power to ensure that innocent neutral cargo shall be restored to its owners with as little delay as possible, and that the unavoidable inconvenience to neutral merchants shall be minimized so far as possible.

I have [etc.]

[File copy not signed]

2. Ante, p. 309.
3. Not printed.