Arizona republican., 1915-12-02
Is T DECLARATION IF LONDON
 OR SEA LAWS IF ANCESTORS

would find said the minister, that the operations of the foreign office had not been so unsuccessful as he supposed. | He pointed out that it was to be re- ! membered that the country had other 1 interests than those of a belligerent,
 and other people had to be thought of. l It was mistake to treat the question ] as though there were no neutrals. 1 Lord LansdoWne was followed by 1 Viscount Bryce, the former British am l bassador to Washington, who pointed out that England had already agreed ! with the United States to submit ques- | tions such as those raised to arbitra | ton, and it was therefore superfluOus i to inquire whether any recent assur- | anCes of this nature had been given 1 While England was entitled to press ] te the utmost against the DeIigerents all the rights which international law 1 allowed her, he contended that she could not ignore the rights of neutraIs I The country might easily lose a great deal more than it could possibly gain | by pressing them to the furthest point which might involve the greatest in 1 jury to neutral countries, he said, ad- | ding that great deal of the fabric of | international law had been shattered and the great task of the future would | he to rebuild that shattered fabric. It would be most unfortunate said NiscOunt Bryce. if Great Britain were to go beyong what had been consid- cred to be settled international law and
 make her own will and her own neces-
 sities the judge of her actions.
 We come forward as the champions | of international rights and the de lenders Of international law" said Bryce, and it would be a misfortune l if We were to depart from that posi- ton
 The Marquis of Crewe, lord presi- ] dent of tEe council said the paramount l object was not that goods should be
 : confiscated, but that they should be prevented from reaching the enemy. He said it was a hopeless task of att tempting to draw up list of articles of contraband and conditional contra 1 band, or articles which under other | circumstances would become contra | band. If they could conceive of the | existence of a fully informed and ab- solutely impartial international court | of arbitration in perpetral settlement. something might be said for an attempt | to frame such list, he said but with | the war conditions changing. it was | hopeless to pursue an attempt to frame a code which would be at once uni versal and lasting.
 What, therefore, they had done was to adapt the code to the absolute ne cessities of the existing situation, while remaining in this, as in other matters. scrupulOusly careful to infIict as little | injury as possible on neutral powers He said he thought the country was entitled to ask ncutrals to consider it impossible, simply in order to save their trane from loss, to allow goods to pass to the enemy. the possession of which must prolong the War. He thought the country entitled also to | ask neutrals to consider that the straining Of the international code. which might involve inconvenience and pecuniary loss to individuals, was not
 the same thing. and ought not to be compared with infractions of interna- | tional codes which were contrary to ! humanity and involved personal suffer | ing and cruelty to individuals