no question of a belligerent in the neighborhood
of the port of detention."[39] The prize court _did_ decide that there
was no question of contraband involved, and the American representative
pointed out the fact that the seizures not having been made or justified
on account of contraband goods, the only effect of the British decision
would seem to be either that Great Britain possessed the right to seize
neutral and non-contraband goods aboard British vessels trading between
neutral ports, or else the American owners of such cargoes would be
entitled to full compensation for their damages.

[Footnote 39: For. Rel., 1900, p. 611; Hay to Choate, May 24, 1900.]

Lord Salisbury in his reply attempted to correct what he considered the
misapprehension which underlay the statement of alternatives, namely,
that neutral and non-contraband goods were not free in British bottoms
between neutral ports, or else full compensation must be made to the
owners for their seizure. It was asserted that the British Government
had neither exercised nor claimed any such right as that which was
indicated, nor had they _seized_ neutral and non-contraband goods. He
declared that the goods were not seized. Their passage to Lorenzo
Marques was merely interrupted, and by this interruption they were
detained only to the extent that their being on board the ship which had
been arrested made their detention unavoidable. It was further alleged
that had the prize court held that the arrest of the ships was not
justified they would "_presumably_ have awarded damages against the
captors of the ships and the damages would _presumably_ have been so
calculated as to enable the ship to meet the claims of merchants arising
out of the unjustified interruption of the voyage."[40] The fact was
alleged that the court had not so held and that it appeared that the
ships should, therefore, bear the consequences of the arrest and meet
the merchants' claims. By the law of the flag under which the ships
sailed they could not carry goods destined for the enemy. If they
shipped such goods they should bear the consequences. Among those
consequences was the delaying of the goods until such time as they could
be placed on a ship that could legally carry them on to their original
port of destination.

[Footnote 40: For. Rel., 1900, p. 618; Salisbury to Choate, July 20,
1900.]

The result of such a decision is apparent. The American goods, in the
words of Mr. Hay, were "as