the view expressed by the English Government with
reference to the conditions under which flour and other foodstuffs might
become contraband of war, nor in the doctrine of continuous voyages as
applied by Great Britain to trading with the enemy. It was preferred at
Washington to follow the usual rule and avoid passing upon hypothetical
cases until occasion had called them into actual existence. The problem
which had been before the Department of State was, not to force Great
Britain to declare herself finally upon broad questions of international
law, nor to express the final attitude of the United States upon
questions which were not immediately at issue, but to meet the demands
of American shippers and secure their immediate interests by some
equitable agreement with Great Britain. The arrangement agreed upon,
therefore, met only the necessity of the case immediately in view. The
United States Consul-General at Cape Town was to arrange with Sir Alfred
Milner, the British High Commissioner in South Africa, for the release
or purchase by the British Government of any goods owned by citizens of
the United States, which, if purchased, were to be paid for at the price
they would have brought at the port of destination at the time they
would have arrived there had the voyage not been interrupted.

Against certain articles, especially the oil consigned to the
Netherlands South African Railway, an allegation of enemy's property was
justly made and the oil confiscated.

In the end most of the American claims were withdrawn or paid in full.
In the former event the American owners threw the burden of proof of
ownership upon the consignees, who were instructed to present their
claims through their respective governments. But it should be noted that
in acceding to the American demands by purchasing the goods, the British
Government emphasized the fact that the act was purely _ex gratia_ on
the part of England. The British representative clearly stated that the
goods had been legally detained and that it was open for the owners to
come and take them upon proof of ownership before the prize court. It
was pointed out that the fact that none but British ships ran between
Cape Colony and Delagoa Bay, although an unfortunate circumstance, was
one which could hardly be held to be a fault of the English Government.
The enforcement of the English law was the right of Great Britain no
matter upon whom the inconvenience might happen to fall.