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THE LANSING PAPERS, 1914-1920, VOLUME 1


authorities of a belligerent power in contravention of the rules of
international law and the treaties to which it is a party.
                                                ROBERT LANSING

763.72/1551
  The Counselor for the Departmnent of State (Lansing) to the
                        Secretary of State

                                  [WASHINGTON,] March 2, 1915.
  DEAR MR. SAiUTARY: The difficulty of determining action upon
the British and French declarations of intended retaliation upon
commerce with Germany45 is the nature of the proposed measures
in their relation to commerce by neutrals.
  While it appears that the intention is to interfere with and take
into custody all ships both outgoing and incoming, trading with
Germany, which is in effect a blockade of German ports, the rule of
blockade that a ship attempting to enter or leave a German port
regardless of the character of its cargo, may be condemned, is not
asserted.
  The language of the declaration is &quot;the British and French Gov-
ernments will therefore hold themselves free to detain and take into
port ships carrying goods of presumed enemy destination, owner-
ship or origin. It is not intended to confiscate such vessel[s] or
cargoes unless they would otherwise be liable to condemnation.&quot;
  The first sentence claims a right pertaining only to a state of block-
ade. The last sentence proposes a treatment of ships and cargoes
as if no blockade existed. The two together present a proposed
course of action previously unknown to international law.
  As a consequence neutrals have no standard by which to measure
their rights or to avoid danger to their ships and cargoes. The para-
doxical situation thus created should be changed and the declaring
powers ought to assert whether they rely upon the rules governing
a blockade or the rules applicable when no blockade exists.
  The declaration presents other perplexities.
  The last sentence quoted indicates that the rules of contraband
are to be applied to cargoes detained. The rule covering non-con-
traband articles carried to [in] neutral bottoms is that the cargoes
shall be released and the ships allowed to proceed. This rule cannot
under the first sentence quoted be applied as to destination. What
then is to be done with a cargo of non-contraband goods detained
under the declaration? The same question may be asked as to con-
ditional contraband cargoes.

45 Foreign Relations, 1915, supp., p. 127.


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