File No. 763.72112/2566
The Ambassador in France (Sharp) to the Secretary of State
No. 3174
Paris,
May 12, 1916
.
[Received May
23.]
Sir: In confirmation of my telegram No.
1387, of the 11th instant.1concerning amendments to, and modifications of,
the decree of November 6, 1914, relating to the French adoption of
the Declaration of London, I have the honor to enclose herewith, in
copy and translation, the decree upon which the telegram was based,
together with a preliminary statement of the reasons for amending
and modifying the earlier decree.
I have [etc.]
For the Ambassador:
Robert Woods Bliss
[Enclosure—Translation]
Report to the President of the French Republic
concerning the decree modifying the Declaration of
London
Mr. President: The decree of November
6, 1914, prescribed with various additions and modifications for
the duration of the present war the rules of international
maritime law formulated by the declaration signed at London on
the 26th of February 1909.
After an agreement with our Allies it seemed necessary to state
more precisely that merchandise which, by its nature, is either
absolute or conditional contraband of war, is liable to seizure
by the sole fact of its hostile destination direct or indirect,
manifest or concealed.
On the other hand experience has shown that, so far as blockade
is concerned, the rule formulated in Article 19 of the
Declaration of London, exempting from seizure ships transporting
cargo to a non-blockaded port, destined for a blockaded port,
results in authorizing an indirect traffic with blockaded ports
and thus renders a blockade non-effective. The application of
this article is not therefore justified.
[Page 394]
It is under these conditions that we have the honor to submit to
your high approbation the following project of a decree.
We beg you to accept [etc.]
The President of the Council,
Minister of
Foreign Affairs,
Aristide Briand
The Minister of War,
Roques
The Minister of Marine,
Lacaze
The Minister of Colonies,
Gaston Doumergue
[Subenclosure]
Decree modifying the Declaration of
London
The President of the French Republic, on the report of the
President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, of the
Ministers of War, Marine, and Colonies, with reference to the
decree of November 6, 1914.
Decrees:
Article 1
To the provisions of the decree of November 6, 1914, are appended
the following additions and modifications to the rules inscribed
in the declaration signed at London, February 26, 1909, relative
to the law of naval warfare:
I. The rule formulated relative to proof of enemy destination of
articles of absolute contraband in Article 31 of the Declaration
of London is completed as follows:
The destination contemplated in Article 30, in default of proof
to the contrary, is presumed:
- (1)
- When the merchandise is consigned in an enemy or
neutral port to or for an agent of an enemy state; it is
the same if the merchandise is consigned to or for a
person having shipped during the present war articles of
contraband to an enemy country or to a country occupied
by the enemy;
- (2)
- When the merchandise laden on a ship destined for a
neutral European port is consigned to order, or when the
papers on board do not indicate the consignee, or when
they indicate a consignee in an enemy country or in a
country occupied by the enemy;
II. Article 19 of the Declaration of London ceases to be
applicable and no ship and no cargo will be exempt from capture
for violation of the blockade for the sole reason that they may
be at the moment of search en route for a
non-blockaded port.
Article 2
Paragraph 4 of Article 1 of the decree of November 6, 1914, is
completed as follows:
The same holds good if the merchandise is consigned to or for
a person who, during the present war, has shipped contraband
goods to an enemy country or territory occupied by the
enemy.
Article 3
The President of the Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the
Ministers of War, Marine, and Colonies are charged, each in his
own province, with the execution of the present decree.
Done at Paris, April 12, 1916.
Raymond Poincaré
By the President of the Republic:
The President of the Council, Minister of
Foreign Affairs,
Aristide Briand
The Minister of War,
Roques
The Minister of Marine,
Lacaze
The Minister of Colonies,
Gaston Doumergue
