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joined in the blockade, and a case could be made out
for stopping Chinese ships also, for, since the present
difficulty is largely due to the fact that the Canton
authorities are taking action in violation of treaties
between China and other countries, and the Central
Government is quite unable to prevent such action, it
would be difficult for the Chinese Goverment to make
an effective protest against the steps taken to bring the
Canton authorities to reason. Where difficulty would arise
would be as regards the ships and trade of States not
participating in the blockade, in particular Russia, but
also probably the United States. The question as to the
right, in the event of a pacific blockade, to interfere with
the ships of third states is one upon which no definite
rules can be said to have been established. It is, however,
safe to say that His Majesty's Goverment could not
maintain that there was an established right to interfere
with the ships of third States, although there are precedents
and arguments which could be invoked in support of such a
claim. A state like Russia, which wanted to make trouble,
would therefore be in a position to maintain, with some
show of reason, that the action of His Majesty's Government
was illegal, and could make it a basis of a claim for
compensation, even if it were not worth her while to go
further and claim that she was entitled to regard it, if
she saw fit to do so, as an act of war. The position would
be the same whichever of the three possible methods of
dealing /
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