Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-19
BRITISH PRIZE COURT
DTSPOSES OF SHIPS
SEIZED DURING WAR
Admiralty Revives Institu-
ton Last Held in 1854.
Fate of Captured Vessels
Rests in Its Hands.

Stib All oNfl llt NVl IVA riil't Aile hfEAil
ming OF the European war has caused tn,
Admiralty to revive that ancient lnstitu
tion, the prize court The captured YES
sells. now held by the Government, mus
be disposed of aud the proceeds, ac.
cording to precedent viii be proratcd
among the men who made the captures.
Not for Go years has prize court sat
IN England. The last was In 1854. in the
Crimean war when the fate of the Leu
cade was decided. In the ears of the
present generation. half forgctful Of the
possibility that this country might once
again be swept INTO huge international
struggle, the expressions prize court
aud prize of war" have remote and
unfamiliar sound To many the an
nouncemcnts of the prize court sittin-s at
the Royal Courts of Justice probably con-
Vev little definite meaning.
Booty means spoil taken from th" eue-
my ON land. rriar means ship or goods
taken ON the water. The first is q sim
pie affair \ Delligerrut is i'm possession
oi certain property; his cuuqu"rcr takes
II from him, ami there is NO NOR" To he
said. Prize is much more complicated.
The capture Of ship may give rise to
all sorts W questions affecting nations
who are not at wal at all. and whose
rights ms neutrals must be respected 1t
is here that the need for adjudication
arises, and II is in order to settle all
such questions and 70 decide in each
instance whether the captive IL or is
not lawful prey that recourse is had to a
prize court
-. ...
RULES FOR SEIZURE.
When a ship belongs to the enemy it is
almost always lawful to take her There
are a very few expcctlous. \ fishing boat
is exempt. and so is a small local trading
vessel, and a mission ship. and a ship con-
veying exchanged prisoners of war. Apart
from such tritling and fairly obvious eX-
ceptions. a shin SAILING under the colors
or pass Of the enemy may always be
taken either In our own waters or on the
hight seas. IL is when a vessel flies a
neutral flag that difficulties begin. Ii the
neutral flag was hoisted aboard an enemy
ship without a bOnafide sale and delivery
to a neutral, completed by the payment
OF the purchase money, there is no trans
fer OF property, and the enemy ship is an
enemy ship still
Again. a ship, the undoubted property
of a neutral. may be violating her neu-
tTality. She may have committed
breach of blockade She may have aoso-
Lutte contrahand on board-goods that is
to say, that are deemed specially adapted
for warliie purposes. or she may be
rendered conuNaaNd pE tho snip "'5f-
nation " h'uIrH. snip J." oo""" ioE an
Ordinary N2iuI''r'a, po'N e. ''T-o "o'
SDeciaiN 'Aflih" M'H o' ir"sNN'" hol 70
ne Wl'hH'H 10 'u" 2, "''IE'F'N'. l"t J..
o. ut"nu'" lor '''II use Vn'N' NH'''"H u
+. inc destination oo h""iaiN OIL nay q.
SlLt.lL = -'''l''-. "hPoS'ls conclusion
- o' "'"''a
SMoiC"'nE ti. neutral Ship NAY lose
''r C"aralt'F OF ooHEtN'"E nIIIl'rE OF
Ea'"! 2'HS'rs "' c'LI'El"s oe",l',SHI
spa .cHeS. ~ a".n eEeuts H"e - I'".e I'"o.e
'iia!IE WIN 'he 't'""sd enemy 90 p' cap
Nreu any nyWheE. eNCepL "I's.l S"' te'''-
rIIa' ""t''S % i'gulI al ot"'y, .
hese are @ lSM oI '"t lo!il1S Ia E ny
coi"ectTd WIN I"e y"P.u't OF SIIP
4 sea ie'ce lue importance Oh tne
'd'e tuat t"e matter sHau ue Drought
IFompt!y INTO court i"r "uI"dlea!on' so
nat the Nesse! ma! De condemned II hei
apture was rlEhuy MADE or that F+'u-
.ulon may De ordered IN the event ot
any mistake HaFlnS peen committed Inc
nearing ltsei Is necessarily quite unlike
any ordinary legal procee"lnss' D''.eT-
ence OF language, distance ana the nm
practicaoi.Itv Of collecting foreign Wit
nesses Tor croSs-eNamln"tlon are all iac-
AccordinrIv series Of sin9Ia t.sts