43849.
(Confidential.)
SIB,
142
No. 217.
FOREIGN OFFICE TO COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received December 11, 1905.)
1
Foreign Office, December 9, 1905. I AM directed by the Marquess of Lansdowne to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2nd instant, enclosing the draft of a despatch which it is proposed to address to the Governor of Hong Kong on the subject of the claims pending against the Russian Government in respect of British vessels detained or destroyed during the course of the late war.
I am to state, for Mr. Secretary Lyttelton's information, that his Lordship concurs in the terms of the proposed despatch, subject to the addition of the words suggested in paragraph 2. The statement that a neutral vessel must in no case be sunk before adjudication is not correct, without qualification. In cases, for example, where a neutral vessel, having been summoned to heave to, disregards the summons, and endeavours to escape; or where, having been stopped and placed in charge of a prize crew, the latter is subsequently overcome, and the vessel tries to make off; the capturing man-of-war would be justified in resorting to force, if necessary, even to the extent of sinking the ship, to prevent her escaping. A neutral vessel must not, how- ever, as in the case of the "St. Kilda," be sunk, even if it be clear that she is carrying contraband, merely because it is inconvenient or even impossible to take her into a Prize Court for adjudication.
With regard to the violation of the mails on board the "St. Kilda," I am to observe that no representation has hitherto been made to the Russian Government in the matter, and that Lord Lansdowne, as at present advised, does not think that any useful purpose would be served by such representation at the present stage of the case.
I am, &c.
F. A. CAMPBELL.
143
Communications in this sense have been addressed to Messrs. Rankin, Gilmour, and Co., the owners of the "St. Kilda," and to Messrs. Parker, Garrett, and Co., who are the representatives of cargo owners and others interested in the vessel. It is desirable that the claimants should make common cause in instituting proceedings before the Russian Court, and should employ the same lawyer to represent their several interests, and you should advise Messrs. Robert Jack and Co. to this effect.
4. It is believed that the Prize Court at Libau will be the competent Court to deal with the case, and a Petition should be addressed to it in conformity with Rule 88 of the Russian Naval Prize Regulations, of which a copy is enclosed for communica- tion to Messrs. Robert Jack and Co.
5. The original claim forwarded in your despatch under acknowledgment is returned herewith.
• Not printed.
I have, &c.
ELGIN.
43849.
No. 218.
HONG KONG.
THE EARL OF ELGIN TO GOVERNOR SIR M. NATHAN.
(Confidential.)
Downing Street, December 15, 1905.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your confidential despatch addressed to my predecessor of the 27th September last, forwarding a claim sent in by Messrs. Robert Jack and Co. in connection with the sinking of the "St. Kilda" by a Russian cruiser, and to inform you that His Majesty's Government are advised that, as a matter of policy, it is desirable that this case should, in the first place, be put forward before a Prize Court in accordance with the Russian Prize Law Regulations.
2. It must, however, be clearly understood that, as the Russian Government will be distinctly informed, His Majesty's Government will, irrespective of the finding of the Prize Court, insist upon compensation on the principle that the destruction, in circum- stances such as those attendant on the sinking of the "St. Kilda," of neutral vessels— without adjudication--is opposed to recognized doctrines of international law and entails in every case liability for the damages sustained. It will, however, strengthen the hands of His Majesty's Government if the claimants in the first place exhaust their legal remedies. If it be decided in the Prize Court that the cargo was innocent, the question will be settled and compensation awarded; if, on the other hand, it should become necessary ultimately to press for payment through the diplomatic channel, the costs incurred by the owners in Prize Court proceedings will be added to their claim. 3. I shall be glad if you will explain this view to Messrs. Robert Jack and Co., and urge them to take immediate steps for the prosecution of their claim.
• No. 216.
The words added were "in circumstances such as those attendant on the sinking of the 'St. Kilda"" ↑ No. 214.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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