The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-22
Result of Hague Conference is
 Made Public
CONTRABAND OF WAR NOTED
Principles Set Forth in the Declaration Are to Act As Guide to Inter- national Prize Court to Meet
 At The Hague.

Washington, March 21.-The declaration of principles regarding the law of mar time war agreed upon by the confer ence of ten of the principal maritime nations of the world held in London during the past winter, and known as the maritime conference was made pub lie at the state department today Prob ably the most interesting features from the American standpoint are the declar- ations regarding what constitutes condi- tional contraband and what Is free of contraband
 The principles enunciated in the declara- ton are.to act as a guide for the govern mentfof an international prize court to be# established at The Hague. Under the head of conditional contraband, ex- ports approximating at this time $sO0. 900 a year will be affected in the event of war, and under the head of free con traband, exports approximating s400O OO0
 The essence of the declaration on blockade is that 1t must be confined to the ports and coasts belonging to or occupied by the enemy and that the blockade to be binding must be effective The Anglo American doctrine of notice of hrockade was adopted. This is that notice through diplomatic channels of the es- tablishment of such blockade is suffi- cient.
 The main features of the Anglo-Amer- ican doctrine that the ultimate destina- tion of the contraband shall determine whether such cargo is subject to seizure as contraband is retained in the case of absolute contraband; but is given up in the case of conditional contraband
 On the question of contraband the con ference adopted three classfcations, viz :: Absolute, conditional and not contra band.
 Absolute contraband included generally articles and implements of war and those that may be used in war Conditional contraband includes food supplies, fodder and grain, clothing suitable for military use; gold and silver, coined and in bars, and paper representing money; airships and flying machines, fuel, lubricants, powders and explosives, not specially de- signed for war use, barbed wire, horse shoes and shoeing outfits
 The following articles cannot be de- clared contraband of war: Raw cotton raw wool, silk jute, flax and hemp and other raw materials of textile industries as well as fabrics woven therefrom; ele- aginous nuts and seeds, copra India rub Der, resins, gums and lac, hops, raw hides, horns, bone and ivory natural and artificial fertilizers, comprising ni- trates and phosphates susceptible of use in agriculture; ores earths, clays, lime chalk and stone, including marble brick slate and tile; chinaware and glassware paper and substances prepared for it's manufacture, soaps, paints, including sub stances intended solely for their produc- ton, and varnishes; hypochlorite or lime. soda ash caustic soda, sulphate of soda in cakes, ammonia. sulphate of ammonia and. sulphate of copper, machinery used in manufacture textile industries and printing: precious stones, fine stones, mother of pearl peatils and coral, cloaks and watches except ohronometers; mill linery and fancy articles, feathers of all kinds, horse hair and bristles articles of furniture and ornament and office furni- ture and accessories.
 Article AT provides that any person be- longing to the armed forces of the enemy and found on board of a neutral war ves- sel may be made prisoner of war even though there be no ground for seizing the vessel. This principle conforms to the at titude taken by the United States in tho famous Mason and Slidell cases during the civil war, when these men were taken from the British steamer Trent.
 To meet the situation arising during the Russo-Japanese war when neutral vessels were seized by the Russians and were sunk on the high seas because the latter had no nearby ports to which to take them, the conference decided in ar ticle 48 that neutral vessel which has been seized cannot be destroyed by the captor but must be conducted into the proper port in order that the validity of the capture may be determined upon.