war." International law has long
abandoned the attempt to define a "just cause of war." That must be left
to the appreciation of the nations concerned. So to announce would be,
in effect, to say: "Although by acting as you propose you would violate
no rule, yet the consequences would be so injurious to me that I should
throw my sword into the opposite scale." We should be acting in the
spirit of the "Armed Neutralities" of 1780 and 1800. The expediency of
so doing depends, first, upon the extent to which the success of our
action would obviate the mischief against which it would be directed;
and, secondly, upon the likelihood that the benefit which could be
obtained only by imposing a new rule of international law _in invitos_
would counterbalance the odium incurred by its imposition. On the former
question it may be worth while to remind the mercantile community that,
even under the Declaration of Paris, neutral trade must inevitably be
put to much inconvenience. Any merchant vessel may be stopped with a
view to the verification of her national character, of which the flag is
no conclusive evidence. She is further liable to be visited and searched
on suspicion of being engaged in the carriage of contraband, or of enemy
military persons, or of despatches, or in running a blockade. Should the
commander of the visiting cruiser "have probable cause" for suspecting
any of these things, though the vessel is in fact innocent of them, he
is justified in putting a prize crew on board and sending her into port,
with a view to the institution of proceedings against her in a prize
Court. A non-signatory of the Declaration of Paris may investigate and
penalise, in addition to the above-mentioned list of offences, the
carriage of enemy goods. This is, no doubt, by far the most important
branch of the trade which is carried on for belligerents by neutrals,
but it must not be forgotten that even were this branch of trade
universally indulged, in accordance with the Declaration of Paris
neutral commerce would still remain liable to infinite annoyance from
visit and search, with its possible sequel in a prize Court.

The question of the balance between benefit to be gained and odium to be
incurred by insisting upon freedom to carry the goods of belligerents I
leave to the politicians.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND.
The Athenaeum, April 16 (1898).

OUR MERCANTILE MARINE IN WAR TIME

Sir,--To-day's debate should