the department by the company, it appears that instead of
8,000,000 cartridges having been sold only a little over 117,000 were
manufactured and 109,000 were sold.

The letter further asserts that these cartridges were made to supply a
demand for a better sporting cartridge with a soft-nosed bullet than
had been manufactured theretofore, and that such cartridges cannot be
used in the military rifles of any foreign powers. The company adds
that its statements can be substantiated and that it is ready to give
the Ambassador any evidence that he may require on these points. The
department further stated that it was also in receipt from the company
of a complete detailed list of the persons to whom these cartridges
were sold, and that from this list it appeared that the cartridges
were sold to firms in lots of 20 to 2,000 and one lot each of 3,000,
4,000, and 5,000. Of these only 960 cartridges went to British North
America and 100 to British East Africa.

The department added that if the Ambassador could furnish evidence
that this or any other company is manufacturing and selling for the
use of the contending armies in Europe cartridges whose use would
contravene The Hague Conventions, the department would be glad to be
furnished with this evidence, and that the President would, in case
any American company is shown to be engaged in this traffic, use his
influence to prevent so far as possible sales of such ammunition to
the powers engaged in the European war, without regard to whether it
is the duty of this Government upon legal or conventional grounds to
take such action.

The substance of both the Ambassador's note and the department's reply
have appeared in the press.

The department has received no other complaints of alleged sales of
dumdum bullets by American citizens to belligerent Governments.

_(11) British warships are permitted to lie off American ports and
intercept neutral vessels._

The complaint is unjustified from the fact that representations were
made to the British Government that the presence of war vessels in the
vicinity of New York Harbor was offensive to this Government, and a
similar complaint was made to the Japanese Government as to one of its
cruisers in the vicinity of the Port of Honolulu. In both cases the
warships were withdrawn.

It will be recalled that in 1863 the department took the position that
captures made by its vessels after hovering about neutral ports would
not be regar