File No. 763.72112/3132
The Consul General at London (Skinner) to the Secretary of State
No. 2931
London,
October 27, 1916
.
[Received November
6.]
Sir: I have the honor to transmit, for the
information of the Department, copies of letters exchanged with the
Procurator Genera] in regard to the position of consignments of
American goods forwarded to Holland in care of the Netherlands
Oversea Trust.
The Department will recollect that on April 27, 1915, the Foreign
Office urged that no objections be raised by the American Government
to the consigning of goods to the Netherlands Oversea Trust, in the
following communication:
The S. S. Segurança was allowed to proceed
on April 22, all the consignees having agreed to receive their
goods through the Netherlands Oversea Trust.
While His Majesty’s Government do not “require” cargoes to be
consigned to the Netherlands Oversea Trust, they do accept a
consignment in that form as proof that the cargo is intended for
bona fide consumption in Holland, and
they find by experience that no objection to that course is
raised by reputable shippers and consignees.
As this practice has greatly facilitated and expedited the
release of vessels bound for Dutch ports when brought in or
calling for examination, it is hoped that the United States
Government will not do anything to interfere with its smooth
working in the future.
In asking the Procurator General to release American goods consigned
to the Trust, I have frequently referred to the above-quoted note of
April 27, 1915. On October 17 he replied to one such letter as per
copy enclosed. I thereupon asked him to state the meaning which he
himself attached to the Foreign Office note of April 27, 1915, and I
have received a reply, dated October 23. As a matter of convenience,
I am enclosing also a copy of the Foreign Office note of May 2, 1915
[1916],1 to which reference has been made by the
Procurator General.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure 1]
The British Procurator General (Mellor) to the American Consul General (Skinner)
Treasury, S. W.,
17 October 1916
.
Sir: I am directed by H. M. Procurator
General to refer to your letter of the 3d instant, enclosing a
copy of a letter from the claimants, and to say that he is
unable to consent to the release of the goods and the claim must
be made in the prize court. It is hoped that this case will be
brought on for trial shortly and I am to invite your special
attention to the proceedings, as it is anticipated that, they
will afford a complete justification for that which throughout
has been the contention of this Department: viz., that the
guarantee of the British Government of the 25th April 1915 was
not intended to give complete immunity to all consignments of
goods which might be made to the Netherlands Oversea Trust, no
matter what evidence of ultimate destination might be
forthcoming, and that full liberty of action was reserved in any
cases in which such a destination could, in fact, be
established.
I am [etc.]
[Page 483]
[Enclosure 2]
The British Procurator General (Mellor) to the American Consul General (Skinner)
Treasury, S.
W., 23 October 1916.
Netherlands Oversea Trust
Sir: I am directed by H. M. Procurator
General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th
instant, relative to consignments of goods to the Netherlands
Oversea Trust, and to say that the meaning which he attaches to
the Foreign Office communication to which you have frequently
adverted is that acceptance by the Trust would be regarded as
prima facie evidence of neutral
destination, but that in cases in which His Majesty’s Government
consider that they have evidence that, notwithstanding the
acceptance by the Trust, goods are intended to be forwarded to
an enemy destination, they are not restrained from exercising
the right of capture which belongs to every belligerent.
While the Procurator General gladly acquaints you with his
interpretation of the note in question, it would perhaps be more
satisfactory if you were to obtain, through the usual channels,
the meaning which the Secretary of State himself attaches to
it.
The matter, however, appears to be comprehensively dealt with in
the note addressed to Doctor Page by Lord Grey of Fallodon on the 2d May 1916 (No.
70508/X), with which you are already familiar.
I am [etc.]
