erlands
South African Railway, a thousand cases of lubricating oil, eighty-four
cases of picks, twenty cases of handles, was seized as enemy's property,
since there was sufficient evidence, it was thought, to show that these
goods belonged to the railway company, the consignees, and not to the
New York shippers, the consignors. This opinion was held on the ground
that the Netherlands South African Railway was owned by the South
African Republic.

All of the Delagoa Bay cargo including the flour and other foodstuffs
was landed and the _Maria_ put to sea. But on November 3 the authorities
at Durban were instructed by the British Foreign Office that foodstuffs
were not to be treated as contraband, and the captain of the British
cruiser _Philomel_ warned the customs that the flour should no longer be
detained. It was released and measures were at once taken for reshipping
it on the British steamer _Matabele_, when it seems for the first time
to have occurred to the customs authorities that the flour might thus
find its way to Pretoria by means of an English ship. According to the
official report: "It was then provisionally detained again. But on it
being found that the flour was _bona fide_ a part of the _Maria's_ cargo
the agents and all parties concerned were told that no further
restrictions would be placed on the shipment, but it was at the same
time pointed out that the flour was going direct to the enemy. The
Governor's proclamation against trading with the enemy was then studied
in connection with the above-mentioned permission, with the result that
agents, shippers, and shipowners all refused to ship or carry the flour
and nobody would have anything to do with it," although no objection was
made by the naval authorities to the cargo being forwarded to its
destination.[10]

[Footnote 10: For. Rel., 1900, p. 575.]

For the detention of the _Maria_ her owners, upon the protest of the
Netherlands Government, were awarded L126 sterling as indemnity. The
consignment of flour "detained" at Durban was purchased by the English
Government at the price it would have brought at Delagoa Bay on November
2, the day on which it would presumably have reached there had no
interruption occurred.[11]

[Footnote 11: For. Rel., 1900, p. 610.]

It was pointed out in the report upon the case that the _Maria_ was
undoubtedly a Dutch ship and that her agents had introduced an element
of confusion in the dealings with her by speaking of