ircumstantial Note to London in which they demonstrated that the
English blockade was a breach of international law and definitely
stated that this blockade was neither effective, legal nor defensible.
Further, that the United States could not, therefore, submit to an
infringement of her rights as a neutral through measures which were
admittedly reprisals, and, consequently, contrary to international
law. That she could not with equanimity allow her rights to be
subordinated to the plea that the peculiar geographical position
of the enemies of Great Britain justified measures contrary to
international law.

The conclusion of the Note read as follows:

"It is of the highest importance to neutrals not only of the present
day, but of the future, that the principles of international right
be maintained unimpaired.

"This task of championing the integrity of neutral rights, which
have received the sanction of the civilized world against the lawless
conduct of belligerents arising out of the bitterness of the great
conflict which is now wasting the countries of Europe, the United
States unhesitatingly assumes, and to the accomplishment of that
task it will devote its energies, exercising always that impartiality
which from the outbreak of the war it has sought to exercise in
its relations with the warring nations."

The above programme was in accordance with the proposal of the
American Note of 21st July, which had touched on the subject of
co-operation in realizing the "Freedom of the Seas." It was, however,
clear to me, apart from anything else, that the United States would
not expend energy in championing the rights of neutrals so long as
a conflict with Germany threatened. The settlement of the _Arabic_
question gave grounds for hope that the views of the two Governments
on the question of submarine warfare would coincide. This appeared
to me to be the most important point; the American Government,
however, insisted on the settlement of the _Lusitania_ incident,
which I foresaw was going to prove a very difficult problem. Even
in the _Arabic_ affair it was only by my own independent action
that it was possible to avoid a break. The _Lusitania_ question,
however, was much more unfavorable to us because at that time the
old instructions to submarine captains were still in force. I should,
therefore, have been glad to avoid negotiations on the _Lusitania_
question, but Mr. Lansing insisted on a settlement before he