aintained by the British
Government (_Annuaire_ for 1888, t. ix. p. 228; _cf. ib._ pp.
200, 201). (The _Manuel des lois de la guerre maritime_, voted
at Oxford in 1913, dealing exclusively with "les rapports entre
les belligerants," does not deal with the topic in question.)
It was, however, the opinion of the present writer, as will
appear from the following letters, that no rule of
international law, by which the sinking of even neutral prizes
was absolutely prohibited, could be shown to exist. He had
previously touched upon this question in his evidence before
the Royal Commission on the Supply of Food, &c., in Time of
War, on November, 4, 1903, and returned to it later in his
paper upon "The Duties of Neutrals," read to the British
Academy on April 12, 1905, _Transactions_, ii. p. 66. It was
reproduced in French, German, Belgian, and Spanish periodicals,
and was cited in the judgment of the St. Petersburg Court of
Appeal in the case of the _Knight Commander._

The subsequent history of the question, and, in particular, of
the rules suggested in Arts. 48-54 of the unratified
Declaration of London, may be claimed in favour of the
correctness of the opinion maintained in the letters.

RUSSIAN PRIZE LAW

Sir,--The neutral Powers have serious ground of complaint as to the mode
in which Russia is conducting operations at sea. It may, however, be
doubted whether public opinion is sufficiently well informed to be
capable of estimating the comparative gravity of the acts which are just
now attracting attention. Putting aside for the moment questions arising
out of the Straits Convention of 1856, as belonging to a somewhat
different order of ideas, we may take it that the topics most needing
careful consideration relate to removal of contraband from the ship that
is carrying it without taking her in for adjudication; interference with
mail steamers and their mail bags; perversely wrong decisions of Prize
Courts; confiscation of ships as well as of their contraband cargo;
destruction of prizes at sea; the list of contraband. Of these topics,
the two last mentioned are probably the most important, and on each of
these I will ask you to allow me to say a few words.

1. There is no doubt that by the Russian regulations of 1895, Art. 21;
and instructions of 1901, Art. 40, officers are empowered to destroy
their prizes at sea, no distinction bein