2
We think that the presence on board the "Haimun" of a Japanese officer as an official censor would, from the Russian point of view, naturally tend to aggravate the case, and even if his presence is unofficial, it could not fail to give rise to sus- picions. We think it open to serious objection that a British vessel so employed should have on board a Japanese officer in any official capacity.
The Marquess of Lansdowne, K.G.,
&c.,
&c.,
&c.
R. B. FINLAY.
EDWARD CARSON.
We have, &c.,
21986.
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
།
Reference :-
། ?། །། 「 ། wwimmimC.O. 885
No. 226.
(GENERAL..)
FOREIGN OFFICE TO LAW OFFICERS.
Russo-Japanese War: conditions on which coal should be supplied to Russian public vessels visiting British ports
Gentlemen,
Foreign Office, June 3, 1904.
I HAVE the honour, by direction of the Marquess of Lansdowne, to transmit to you
the pupers noted in the accompanying list with reference to the terms and conditions on which, during the continuance of the present hostilities between Russia and Japan, coal should be supplied to Russian public vessels visiting British ports.
On the outbreak of war between the two Powers His Majesty issued a Proclamation of Neutrality (Paper (A)), dated the 11th February, 1904, together with Rules and Regu- lations for its observance, to Rule 3 of which I am to invite your especial attention. That rule runs as follows:-
"No ship of war of either belligerent shall hereafter be permitted, while in any such port, roadstead, or waters subject to the territorial jurisdiction of His Majesty, to take in any supplies except provisions and such other things as may be requisite for the subsis- tence of her crew, and except so much coal only as may be sufficient to carry such vessel to the nearest port of her own country, or to some nearer named neutral destina- tion; and no coal shall again be supplied to any such ship of war in the same or any other port, roadstead, or waters subject to the territorial jurisdiction of His Majesty, without special permission, until after the expiration of three months from the time when such coal may have been last supplied to her within British waters as aforesaid."
On the 28th February last the Emperor of Russia issued a Proclamation declaring every kind of fuel, such as coal, naphtha, alcohol, and other similar materials, to be absolute contraband of war ("combustibles de tout genre, tel que: charbon, naphte, alcool, et autres matériaux semblables").
Hitherto Russia had-so far, at any rate, as her most recent public declaration is concerned—not only not regarded coal as absolutely (as distinguished from conditionally) contraband, but had declined, in the most positive and clear terms, to consent to its treatment even as an article ancipitis usûs.
Count Kapnist, the Russian Plenipotentiary at the West African Conference held
at Berlin in 1884, made the following declaration :—
Je
"Je dois faire une réserve toute spéciale quant au troisième alinéa de l'Article XIII, qui a trait aux objets considérés comine articles de contrebande de guerre.
dans laquelle la houille se trouverait veux parler de la proposition Anglaise rangée parmi les articles devant être considérés, en vertu du droit des gens, comme contrebande de guerre.
Je dois déclarer, pour me conformer à mes instruc-
tions, que le Gouvernement Impérial de Russie n'accepterait en aucun cas une telle interprétation.
"Sur ce point mes instructions sont péremptoires. Le Gouvernement que j'ai l'honneur de représenter ici refuserait catégoriquement son assentiment à l'Article d'un Traité, d'une Convention, ou d'un Acte quelconque qui impliquerait la reconnaissance de la bouille ou du charbon comme contrebande de
guerre.
"Il n'y adhérerait pas même sous la réserve d'une limitation de la portée d'un tel (Protocole Article aux régions qui nous occupent, ou à n'importe quelle autre localité.” No. 5, séance du 18 Décembre, 1884.)
Up to the present time coal has, so far as is known, always been treated in modern wars as an article ancipitis usûs, and has been so regarded during the present hostilities by Japan, the other of the two contending nations.
I am next to invite your especial attention to the report by the Senior Officer at Portland of his interview on the 28th April last with the agent of Messrs. G. N. Collins and Co., with regard to the supply of coal to the Russian squadron, which is expected at Portland towards the end of June on its way to the Far East (Paper (13) ), and to tl e correspondence between this Department and the Admiralty (Papers (C), (D), and (E) ), in which is discussed the question of the supply of coal to a whole fleet of war vessels, as
25 Wt 416 7,04 D&S
5 18613
15 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO