811.114/1182
The British Ambassador (Geddes) to the Secretary of State28
Sir: On September 27th last a statement, purporting to be officially inspired, appeared in the daily press to the general effect that the United States Government had decided to restrain prohibition enforcement officials from seizing, outside the three-mile limit of territorial waters, foreign vessels which are suspected of being engaged in the smuggling of liquor. According to the same statement, however, this ruling did not apply to the searching, beyond the three-mile limit, of ships which were known to be in contact with the shore, such as the running of small craft of the ship to some point on the land.
From semi-official correspondence which has since passed between us in regard to individual British vessels arrested outside territorial waters on the charge of liquor smuggling it appears that the United States Government are in fact acting on the principle defined above. The majority of such vessels either have, through your kind intervention, already been released or else are in process of being restored to their owners. The only exceptions to this rule appear to have been made in the case of vessels, notably the Grace and Ruby, in respect of which a charge has been lodged of having been in communication with the shore by means of the ship’s small boats.
In order to avoid the possibility of any misunderstanding, I am desired by my Government to make it clear that His Majesty’s Government are unable to acquiesce in what they understand to be the ruling of the United States Government, namely, that foreign vessels may be seized outside the three-mile limit if it can be shown that they have established contact with the shore for illegal purposes by means of their own small boats. My Government must reserve their right to lodge a protest in any individual case in which action may be taken by the United States Government under this ruling.
I have [etc.]
- Left with the Secretary of State by the British Ambassador Jan. 4, 1923.↩