This right of examining the cargo of neutral ships to make certain they Contain nothing of contraband nature, destined directly or ultimately for the enemy, as been fully conceded throughout history. Internaional law, however, gives it the additional aus thority of allowing the belligerent the use of force to compel neutral ships to submit to visit and search. While the principle remains the same that applied in the Napoleonic wars, changing conditions of ocean transport have necessitated deviations from, and the development of, the earlier practice, For the same reason the size and complexity of modern' cargoes, examination necessarily involves greater. delays than in former times. The aystem of contraband' control instituted by the British Government in the last war, and renewed in the resent conflict, is designed to enable the authorities' to ce-operate with neutral ship-owners and reduce avoidable delay to the very minimum, Guarantees by Neutral 'The British Contraband Committee has made several suggestions to ship= ping lines whereby delay may be reduced and they have, on every ocean sion, met with complete ce-operation. 'The' chief requests that the ship's manifesto be forwarded to the Contraband Committee before the arrival of the ship.
Again, neutral shipping lines have been invited to give the undertaking. that i a ship is permitted 10 proceed to her destination, owners will agra {o carry out the instructions of the Contraband Committee to hold any part of the cargo or to return it for further examination and or adjudication by the Prize Court, The number of lines coming into this agreement is increasing steadily. Guarantees that the cargo will not be transported to the enemy may be given by competent neutral authori For example, all cereals import= ed by Belgium are guaranteed that Government not 10 be Te-exported to Germany, Such arrangements obviously make for great saving of time for neutral ships—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.