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the board of trade may cause to be served hereunder may be signed by any person or persons from time to time authorized for such purpose, either generally or specially by the president of the board of trade.

And the president of the board of trade is to give instructions and directions accordingly.

ALMERIC FITZROY.

[Inclosure 2.]

[Extract from the second supplement to the London Gazette of Tuesday, Nov. 9, 1915.] CARRIAGE OF CARGOES ON BRITISH VESSELS BETWEEN FOREIGN PORTSORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the court at Buckingham Palace, the 10th day of November, 1915.

Present: The King's most excellent majesty in council.

Whereas a state of war exists between His Majesty and the German Emperor, the Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, the Sultan of Turkey, and the King of the Bulgarians; and

Whereas His Majesty holds it to be his prerogative duty as well as his prerogative right to take all steps necessary for the defense and protection of the realm; and

Whereas it has been made to appear to His Majesty that it is essential to the defense and protection of the realm that, in the exercise of his prerogatives as aforesaid, he should prohibit, as from and after the 1st day of December, 1915, the carrying of cargo from any foreign port to any other foreign port by any British steamship registered in the United Kingdom exceeding 500 tons gross tonnage and whether or not such ship while carrying such cargo calls at any intermediate port within His Majesty's dominionsunless the owner or charterer of such steamship has been granted exemption by license as hereinafter provided: Now, therefore, His Majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his Privy Council, and in exercise of his prerogatives as aforesaid, and of all other powers him thereunto enabling, to order, and it is hereby ordered, that from and after the 1st day of December, 1915, no British steamship registered in the United Kingdom exceeding 500 tons gross tonnage shall carry any cargo from any foreign port to any other foreign port-and whether or not such ship while carrying such cargo calls at any intermediate port within His Majesty's dominions-unless the owner or charterer of such steamship has been granted exemption by license as hereinafter provided.

And His Majesty doth hereby declare that the expression "foreign port" herein used shall mean and include any port outside His Majesty's dominions.

And His Majesty, by and with the advice aforesaid, and in exercise of his prerogatives and powers as aforesaid, is further pleased to authorize and direct the president of the board of trade to appoint a committee of persons to carry out and give effect to the provisions hereof, and that the said committee shall have power to grant licenses of exemption therefrom to or in favor of owners or

charterers of such steamships as aforesaid, which licenses may be general in reference to classes of ships or their voyages or special.

And His Majesty is further pleased to authorize the president of the board of trade from time to time to add other persons as members of such committee, and to substitute as members thereof other persons for such members as may from time to time die, resign, or be or become incapable of acting thereon.

And the president of the board of trade is to act and to give instructions and directions accordingly.

ALMERIC FITZROY.

In the beginning of the year 1916 Great Britain extended her restrictions of commerce on the sea by a proposed black list, called "The enemy trading act."

AMBASSADOR W. H. PAGE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

[Telegram.]

AMERICAN EMBASSY,

London, January 19, 1916.

Trading with the enemy (extension of powers) act, 1915: An act is provided for the extension of the restrictions relating to trading with the enemy to persons to whom, though not residents or carrying on business in enemy territory, it is by reason of their enemy nationality or enemy associations expedient to extend such restrictions (23d December, 1915). Be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords spiritual and temporal and Commons in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. (1) His Majesty may by proclamation prohibit all persons or bodies of persons, incorporated or unincorporated, resident, carrying on business, or being in the United Kingdom, from trading with any persons or bodies of persons not resident or carrying on business in enemy territory or in territory in the occupation of the enemy (other than persons or bodies of persons, incorporated or unincorporated, lesiding or carrying on business solely within His Majesty's dominions), wherever by reason of the enemy nationality or enemy association of such persons or bodies of persons, incorporated or unincorporated, it appears to His Majesty expedient so to do; and if any person acts in contravention of any such proclamation he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, triable and punishable in like manner as the offense of trading with the enemy; (2) any list of persons and bodies of persons, incorporated or unincorporated, with whom such trading is prohibited by a proclamation under this act, may be varied or added to by an order made by the Lords of the Council on the recommendation of a secretary of state; (3) the provisions of the trading with the enemy acts, 1914 and 1915, and of the customs (war powers) (No. 2) act, 1915, and all other enactments relating to trading with the enemy shall, subject to such exceptions and adaptations as may be prescribed by order in council, apply in respect of such persons and bodies of persons as aforesaid, as if for references

therein to trading with the enemy there were substituted references to trading with such persons and bodies of persons as aforesaid, and for references to enemies there were substituted references to such persons and bodies of persons as aforesaid, and for references to offences under the trading with the enemy acts, 1914 and 1915, or any of those acts there were substituted references to offences under this act; (4) for the purpose of this act a person shall be deemed to have traded with a person or body of persons to whom a proclamation issued under this act applies if he enters into any transaction or does any act with, to, on behalf of, or for the benefit of such a person or body of persons, which, if entered into or done with, to, on behalf of, or for the benefit of an enemy, would be trading with the

enemy.

2. This act may be cited as the trading with the enemy (extension of powers) act, 1915.

66

PAGE.

Six days later, January 25, our Government warned against acts pregnant with possibilities of undue interference with American trade" and reserved the right to make protest:

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THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO AMBASSADOR W. H. PAGE.

[Telegram.]

Your 3601 and 3602, January 19.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 25, 1916.

Department has been given consideration to enemy trading act approved December 23 last, the apparent object of which is to prevent any person doing business in the United Kingdom from trading with the enemies of Great Britain or persons having enemy association in any other part of the world, and the department has reached the conclusion that this act is pregnant with possibilities of undue interference with American trade, if in fact such interference is not now being practiced. As it is an opinion generally held in this country— in which this Government shares-that the act has been framed without a proper regard for the right of persons domiciled in the United States, whether they be American citizens or subjects of countries at war with Great Britain, to carry on trade with persons in belligerent countries, and that the exercise of this right may be subject to denial or abridgment in the course of the enforcement of the act, the Government of the United States is constrained to express to His Majesty's Government the grave apprehensions which are entertained on this subject by this Government, by the Congress, and by traders domiciled in the United States. It is, therefore, necessary to bring these views to the attention of Sir Edward Grey and to present to him a formal reservation on the part of this Government of the right to protest against the application of this act, in so far as it affects the trade of the United States, and to contest the legality or rightfulness of imposing restrictions upon the freedom of American trade in this manner.

LANSING.

Three weeks later, February 16, 1916, the British Government made reply, in which it declared its intention to consider the rights of neutrals not inconsistent with the claims of a controlling belligerent. It reaffirmed the enemy-trading act:

No. 3092.]

AMBASSADOR W. H. PAGE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, February 19, 1916. SIR: With reference to the department's cablegram No. 2774, of January 25, and my telegraphic reply No. 3913, of the 18th instant, relative to the possible effects of the trading with the enemy (extension of powers) act, 1915, on the commerce of the United States, I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the information of the department, a copy of the note dated the 16th instant, which has been addressed to the embassy by the foreign-trade department of the foreign office in this connection.

I have, etc.,

WALTER HINES PAGE.

[Inclosure.]

THE BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO AMBASSADOR

W. H. PAGE.

No. 15404/45.]

FOREIGN OFFICE,

FOREIGN TRADE DEPARTMENT,

LANCASTER HOUSE, ST. JAMES, S. W.,

February 16, 1916.

YOUR EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency's note of the 26th ultimo relative to the possible effects of the trading with the enemy (extension of powers) act, 1915, on United States commerce.

The act was framed with the object of bringing British trading with the enemy regulations into greater harmony with those adopted by the French Government since the commencement of the war by applying in some degree the test of nationality in the determination of enemy character in addition to the old test of domicile, which experience has shown can not provide a sufficient basis under modern commercial conditions for measures intended to deprive the enemy of all assistance, direct or indirect, from national resources.

His Majesty's Government realized, however, that the application of this principle to its fullest extent, while entirely legitimate and in accordance with the practice of other countries, might, if applied at the present time to commercial activities as widespread as those of British subjects, involve avoidable inconvenience and loss to innocent traders.

They were careful, therefore, in devising the necessary legislation not only to avoid any definition which would impose enemy status upon all persons of enemy nationality and associations, but also to take powers of discrimination which would enable them to apply the purely commercial restrictions contemplated only in regard to

those persons from whom it was necessary in British interests to withhold the facilities afforded by British resources.

His Majesty's Government have therefore abstained from a course of action admittedly within their rights as belligerents, which is not only the existing practice of the French Government but in strict accordance with the doctrine openly avowed by many other States to be the basis upon which their trading-with-the-enemy regulations would be founded in the event of war, and have confined themselves to passing a piece of purely domestic legislation empowering them to restrict the activities and trade of persons under British jurisdiction in such a manner and to such an extent as may seem to them to be necessary in the national interest.

His Majesty's Government readily admit the right of persons of any nationality resident in the United States to engage in legitimate commercial transactions with any other persons. They can not admit, however, that this right can in any way limit the right of other Governments to restrict the commercial activities of their nationals in any manner which may seem desirable to them by the imposition of prohibitions and penalties which are operative solely upon persons under their jurisdiction.

In claiming this right, which appears to them to be inherent in sovereignty and national independence, His Majesty's Government desire to assure the United States Government that they will exercise it with every possible care to avoid injury to neutral commerce, and they venture to think that the voluntary limitation of their powers by the terms of the trading with the enemy (extension of powers) act, 1915, is evidence of their desire and intention to act with the greatest possible consideration for neutral interests. I have, etc.,

L. WORTHINGTON EVANS,
For the Secretary of State.

Three days later, February 19, Ambassador Page communicated the following report on the detention of American goods by the authorities of prize courts.

Following this report is a statement of James Flett, consular agent at Kirkwall, detailing procedure there by the authority of the admiralty touching vessels diverted to that port:

AMBASSADOR W. H. PAGE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

No. 3093.]

AMERICAN EMBASSY, London, February 19, 1916. SIR: I have the honor to report to the department the following facts which have presented themselves with reference to goods belonging to American citizens which have been detained by the British Government authorities and placed in the prize court.

The foreign office has undertaken to inform the embassy of the seizure of any vessel carrying American goods and also of the items of these goods which have been detained and placed in the prize court. Upon the receipt of such information as to the vessel or a list of the goods detained and held for prize-court proceedings, the embassy is in the practice of immediately cabling it to the depart

ment.

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