nt our debt
to the House of Lords for having, four years ago, prevented the British
Government from ratifying either the International Prize Court
Convention or this Declaration, which, while misleadingly professing
that its provisions "correspond in substance with the generally
recognised principles of international law," contains, interspersed with
truisms familiar to all concerned with such matters, a good many
undesirable novelties.

This being so, it was surely unfortunate that our Government, with a
view apparently to saving time and trouble, decided, in the early days
of the war, to adopt the Declaration _en bloc_ as a statement of prize
law "during the present hostilities," subject, however, to "certain
additions and modifications"; to which it, of course, retained the power
of making additions. This power has been so freely exercised, and large
portions of the Declaration, not thereby affected, have proved to be so
inapplicable to modern conditions, as disclosed by the war, that the
document, so far from providing reliable guidance, is now a mere source
of hopeless confusion.

To put an end to this confusion, I venture to suggest that, in concert
with our Allies, the Declaration should be finally consigned to
oblivion. Either let its place be taken by some clear and simple
statement of unquestioned prize law, for the use of commanders and
officials (something like a confidential document in the drafting of
which I had a hand some years ago, but, of course, brought up to date),
or let established principles take care of themselves, certain doubtful
points only being dealt with, from time to time, by Orders in Council.

While heartily concurring in Lord Portsmouth's description of the
unratified "Declaration" as "rubbish," I regret that he seems to
relegate to the same category even those generally ratified "Hague
Conventions" which, as far as they go, mark a real advance upon
previously accepted rules. Still less acceptable is his advice to "sweep
away juridical niceties" in the conduct of hostilities. Did he intend
thus to describe the whole fabric of the rules by which international
law has endeavoured, with considerable success, to restrain barbarity in
warfare?

I must mention that this letter was written before seeing this morning
the letter of Mr. Gibson Bowles, my worthy ally in attacks upon the
Declaration.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
T. E. HOLLAND.
Oxford, December 3 (1915).

THE DECL