File No. 300.115/1877
The Consul General at London (Skinner) to the Secretary of State
American Consulate General,
London,
December 4, 1914.
[Received December 15.]
No. 176]
Sir: Referring to several cabled
instructions from the Department directing me to be of assistance to
shippers of goods in the seized ships Alfred
Nobel, Fridland, and Björnstjerne Björnson, I have the honor to
report that I am making active representations to the procurator
general, and also asked the Foreign Office for a statement of the
reasons for the detention of the goods some time ago. Such a
statement is indispensable in order that consignors may protect
their interests. The Foreign Office has replied in the form of notes
to the Embassy, copies of which I enclose. On receipt of the note in
relation to the
Alfred Nobel
, I stated to the Ambassador that, while no doubt the
Foreign Office intended to be as helpful as possible, the Secretary,
perhaps, did not realize that with his brief statement in hand it
would be quite impossible for me to make proper reply to many
inquiries on the subject. I continued as follows:
It is clearly the case that when a ship is arrested and brought into
port, the British authorities possess certain definite grounds for
taking this action, and the disclosure of these grounds is not at
all likely to imperil the ends of justice, or the military
situation. On the other hand the lack of such knowledge renders it
very difficult for American shippers to comprehend their position
and to determine upon an appropriate course of action.
I have never doubted that the prize court would give the owners of
cargo every facility to establish their rights, but unless
information is promptly forthcoming, weeks and months may elapse
before these rights can be determined; and in the meantime shippers
are subjected to heavy losses of various kinds.
In reply to the second note from the Foreign Office relating to the
Björnstjerne Björnson and the Fridland, I have to-day written the
Ambassador as per copy enclosed.
I have [etc.]
[Page 365]
[Enclosure 1]
The British Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs (Grey) to
the American Ambassador (Page)
No. 73180/14]
Foreign Office
November 24,
1914.
Your Excellency: With reference to an
enquiry dated the 18th instant which has reached the board of
trade from the United States Consul General respecting the
intentions of His Majesty’s Government as regards the cargo on
board the S. S. Alfred Nobel
, I have the honour to inform your excellency that
His Majesty’s Government have decided to put this vessel and her
cargo into the prize court where every facility will be given to
owners of the cargo to establish their rights.
Your excellency will be duly informed of the finding of the
court.
I have [etc.]
[File copy not signed]
[Enclosure 2]
The British Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs (Grey) to
the American Ambassador (Page)
Foreign Office,
November 28,
1914.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his
compliments to the United States Ambassador and has the honour
to inform his excellency, with reference to an enquiry dated the
18th instant addressed by the United States Consul General to
the board of trade on the subject of the detention of the
steamships Fridland and Björnstjerne Björnson, that these vessels and their
cargoes have been put into the prize court where every facility
will be given to owners of the cargo to establish their
rights.
The United States Embassy will be duly advised of the finding of
the court.
[Enclosure 3]
The Consul General at London (Skinner) to the
Ambassador in Great Britain (Page)
American Consulate General,
London
,
December 4,
1914.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge,
with thanks, the receipt of your letter dated December 1
transmitting information from the Foreign Office in regard to
detention of the steamships Fridland and
Björnstjerne Bjornson. The Secretary
of State for Foreign Affairs mentions that these vessels and
their cargo have been put into the prize court “where every
facility will be given to owners of the cargo to establish their
rights.” As I stated to you in my letter of the 27th ultimo, this communication is not
particularly informing, as it seems to follow naturally that
neutral ships arrested at sea will be taken before the prize
court eventually, unless, in consequence of informal
representations, they are released. It is believed that in many
cases, if owners of cargo were allowed to know more explicity
why their consignments are under suspicion, they might clear up
the matter promptly and advantageously to a good understanding
on every side.
The expectation held out to them that they must await a formal
decision from the prize court in all instances is most
unsatisfactory. Large amounts of money are involved in these
matters, costs multiply, and it is not unreasonable that prompt
information should be given of all facts, which are not
confidential in their nature, but which would be helpful in
preparing a defense, and in formulating a request for release. A
great many vessels were brought to the United Kingdom at the
beginning of the war four months ago, and their cargoes are
still undisposed of. If the owners of cargo shipped in the
vessels under consideration must also wait four months for a
decision they can scarcely expect to be entirely satisfied with
their treatment. The procurator general is doing everything in
his power to dispose of cases which are taken before the prize
court in the regular way, but the court Is congested, and in the
meantime, in some cases brought to my attention, accumulated
costs equal the value of the goods themselves.
[Page 366]
At the present time the Swift Packing Company, one of the
best-known concerns in the United States, and conscious of the
correctness of its intentions, is asking what proofs or
guarantees the British. Government requires in order that its
goods in these ships may be released, and promises to produce
these guarantees. If no answer is to be made to this appeal, and
if the whole subject must remain in abeyance until the prize
court can pass upon it, they will feel, without any doubt, much
aggrieved.
I mention all the foregoing, not so much in a spirit of
criticism, as because I deem it probable that the Foreign Office
does not fully appreciate the difficulties which confront
traders in these difficult times, and with this somewhat
informal statement before it, might be disposed to lend itself
to a prompt adjustment of pending issues without insisting upon
the terms of its notes, Nos. 73180 and 73177, to yourself.
I have [etc.]
Robert P. Skinner
