The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-05-27

eea-bcrne mails for any other pur
pose than to. discover whether the.
contain articles of enemy ownership
carried on beliigerent vessels ol
articles OF contraband transmitted
under sealed cover as letter mail
though they may intercept at sea all
mails coming out of and going into
ports of the anemy's coasts which are
effectively biockaded The govern
4 ments OF the United States. Great
Britain. and France. appear 10 he in
substantial agreement as to principle.
The method OF applying the principle
ts the chief cause Of difference
Sclzc Mails In Port.
Though giving assurance that
they consider genuine correspond
ence" TO be 'invioiable." and that
they will true TO their engage
ments,' refrain ON the high seas
from selling and confiscatng such
correspondence. the allied govern
ments proceed TO deprive neutral
governments of the dement's of these
assurances by seiziug and confiscat-
ing mail from vessels in port instead
OF at sea They compel neutral ships
without just cause 10 enter their own
ports or they induce shipping lines,
through some form OF duress to send
their mail ships VIA British ports, or
they detain all vessels merely calling
at British ports, thus acquiring by
force o. un5ustlhable means an IL
legal Jurisdiction. Acting upon this
enforced Jurisdiction. the authorities
remove all mails. genuine correspond
ence as well post parcels, take
them TO London where every piece
even though OF neutral origin and
destination. is opened and critically
examined to determine the sincerity
OF their character" IN accordance
with the Interpretation given more
undeNnc3 phrase D. the British and
French censoTs.
i"vq'. ~ ,rreptrabiy Delayed.
Finally the eXpurgated rena nder
!s forwarded frequently after ire
parable delay. "a its destination. Ships
ARE detained en- route 10 or from the
United states or 10 or fcom other
neutral countries and mails are held
and delayed for several daYS and, in
some cases for weeks and even
months. even though not routed TO
ports of North Europe va British
IoTts. This has been the procedure
wn h has her l. acti1ed since the an
nouncomCnt Of February ! D. i4l6.
To some extent the same practice
"as followed before THAT date, call
Ing forth the profess OF this govern
n,eut on January 4. 1916 But to
that protest the memorandum under
r. ~ te,4 e444t-4tt ft44s 49, reference
and is entirely unresponsive, The
government ~ the nited states must
Asa.n insist With emphasis that tne
British and French governments do
not Obtain riEhtfni jar. sdiction OF
ships by forcing ar inducing them 20
visit their ports for the purpose Of
geizing Their mails. or thereby obta n
greater he+l+ee seH; rights as 10 such
ships than they could arrest on the
high seas for there is, in the opinion
Of the government OF tn" United
States no legal distinction between the
selzarc II mails at rea which is an
nounced as abandoned, and their
seizure from vessels voluntarily or
Involuntary L port. The British and
French practice amounts to an unwar-
fanted limitation on the United States
y - ag"ts nf he worlds highway
''" t- tyu1 sion OF correspondence.
The practice actually followed by
tho allied pomers must be said 10
Justify The conclusion therefore that
The 8npOuU37eWenf or February ! ) was
merely notice that one illegal practice
4a spe.a aisa4aAoned 30 make place
for the developments for another more
,3lo. ,as ahd veXat.ous tn character.
ttf Spsra of Announcement.
The present practice IS a violation
~ ~l g. Z me spirit Of the announce
Of The Hague convention upon which
.adh based Aside from
-}F o40:&tion Of the prior prac-
tee Of nations which Great Britain
ana ner a|Tics have m the past ass5s
ed 10 tabhsh and maintain, notwith-
standing tho statement in the memo
randum that as late as 1907 the let
iers and dispatches them selves could
be seized and contiscated " During
and Mexico the United States forces
allowed British steamers To enter and
t'tt a ~. ttpin . the port of Vera Cruz
without molesttng the mails intended
for inland points
During the Civil War. Lord Russell
endeavorca to induce the United states
that Her Majesty's mails on boa rd
a private vessel should be exempted
from visitation or detention This ex-
emption OF mails was urged October
z 1852, in the case of British mails on
board the Adeia. On October al
Secretary Seward announced that
'prhlic mails OF any friendly Or neu-
trial power duly certified or authenti-
Gated as such shall not he searched
or opened. but he put as speedily as
may he convenient on the way TO their
designated destination" In accord
anee with this announcements the gov
eminent OF The United States in the
Ease OF the British steamship Peter
snu which ha@ been seized with her
mails against the protest of Her
+ NaJesiy's government had her ma is
forwarded 10 destination unopened
The same rule was followed bv
France, ar ! am advised In the Fran
cc-Prussian war in 1870. by the
United States in the Spanish Ameri-
can war Of 1896 by Great Britain
in the South African war; In the case
OF the German mail steamers Rundes-
rath and General; by Japan and SUB
stsnually by Russia in the Russo
japanese war Of 1904, And even in
the present war, as the memorandum
OF Great Britain and France states
the enemy. Germany, has desisted
from the practice of interfering with
neutral mails even on board befiig-
erent steamers This ia illustrated by
the case of the French steamer Flor
ide. captured by the auxiliary cruiser
Prinz Eitel Friedrich. cited by the
British and French governments in
support Of their argument regarding
parcel mails In this case the letter
mails. Of the Fioride, amounting to
la sacks, were forwarded to their
destination by the commander at the
I first opportunity upon Irr,ving in the
United States II would seem, there
fore. 70 be conclusively established