r an enemy country and
reasonable latitude of action for this purpose were conceded. But his
Majesty's Government have now provisionally come to an arrangement
with the rubber exporters in Great Britain which will permit of
licenses being given under proper guarantees for the export of rubber
to the United States.

We are confronted with the growing danger that neutral countries
contiguous to the enemy will become, on a scale hitherto
unprecedented, a base of supplies for the armed soldiers of our
enemies and for materials for manufacturing armament. The trade
figures of imports show how strong this tendency is, but we have no
complaint to make of the attitude of the Governments of those
countries, which, so far as we are aware, have not departed from
proper rules of neutrality. We endeavor in the interest of our own
national safety to prevent this danger by intercepting goods really
destined for the enemy without interfering with those which are "bona
fide" neutral.

Since the outbreak of the war the Government of the United States have
changed their previous practice and have prohibited the publication of
manifests till thirty days after the departure of vessels from the
United States ports. We had no "locus standi" for complaining of this
change and did not complain. But the effect of it must be to increase
the difficulty of ascertaining the presence of contraband and to
render necessary in the interests of our national safety the
examination and detention of more ships than would have been the case
if the former practice had continued.

Pending a more detailed reply I would conclude by saying that his
Majesty's Government do not desire to contest the general principles
of law on which they understand the note of the United States to be
based, and desire to restrict their action solely to interferences
with contraband destined for the enemy.

His Majesty's Government are prepared, whenever a cargo coming from
the United States is detained, to explain the case on which such
detention has taken place, and would gladly enter into any arrangement
by which mistakes can be avoided and reparation secured promptly, when
any injury to the neutral owners of a ship or cargo has been
improperly caused, for they are most desirous, in the interest both of
the United States and of other neutral countries, that British action
should not interfere with the normal importation and use by the
neutral countries of goods from the Un