ossession of information accurate, one may venture to hope, as far as
it goes.

Of the four inconveniences to which neutral trading vessels are liable
in time of war, "blockade" may be left out of present consideration. You
can only blockade the ports of your enemy, and the South African
Republics have no port of their own. The three other inconveniences
must, however, all be endured--viz. prohibition to carry "contraband,"
prohibition to engage in "enemy service," and liability to be "visited
and searched" anywhere except within three miles of a neutral coast, in
order that it may be ascertained whether they are disregarding either of
these prohibitions, as to the meaning of which some explanation may not
be superfluous.

1. "Carriage of contraband" implies (1) that the goods carried are fit
for hostile use; (2) that they are on their way to a hostile
destination. Each of these requirements has given rise to wide
divergence of views and to a considerable literature. As to (1), while
Continental opinion and practice favour a hard-and-fast list of
contraband articles, comprising only such as are already suited, or can
readily be adapted, for use in operations of war, English and American
opinion and practice favour a longer list, and one capable of being from
time to time extended to meet the special exigencies of the war. In such
a list may figure even provisions, "under circumstances arising out of
the particular situation of the war," especially if "going with a highly
probable destination to military use"--Lord Stowell in the _Jonge
Margaretha_ (1 Rob. 188); _cf._ Story, J., in the _Commercen_ (1 Wheat.
382), the date and purport of which are, by the by, incorrectly given by
"S." It would be in accordance with our own previous practice and with
Lord Granville's despatches during the war between France and China in
1885, if we treated flour as contraband only when ear-marked as destined
for the use of enemy fleets, armies, or fortresses. Even in such cases
our practice has been not to confiscate the cargo, but merely to
exercise over it a right of "pre-emption," so as to deprive the enemy of
its use without doing more injury than can be helped to neutral
trade--as is explained by Lord Stowell in the _Haabet_ (2 Rob. 174). As
to (2), the rule was expressed by Lord Stowell to be that "goods going
to a neutral port cannot come under the description of contraband, all
goods going there being equally lawful"--_Imina_ (3 R