I9I2.] MOORE— CONTRABAND OF WAR. 25 



2. Goods belonging to the subjects of the said nations at war are, with 

 the exception of contraband articles, free [from capture] on board neutral 

 vessels. 



This definite enunciation of the rule that free ships make free 



goods was incorporated in the Declaration of Paris of 1856 in the 



following term : 



2. The neutral flag covers the enem3''s goods, with the exception of con- 

 traband of war. 



The United States, Spain and Mexico (Mexico acting under the 

 direct influence of the United States) did not adhere to the Declara- 

 tion of Paris, because it undertook to abolish privateering; but the 

 United States and Spain expressly accepted the rule that free ships 

 make free goods, and this was proclaimed by the United States in 

 1898 as a principle of international law and was so accepted by 

 Spain in the war between the two countries in that year. More- 

 over, Spain has since adhered to the Declaration of Paris in its 

 entirety. But, note the exception to the rule. Enemy's goods are 

 exempt from capture under the neutral flag, " with the exception of 

 contraband of war." In other words, the operation of this rule and 

 the protection intended to be afforded by it are wholly dependent 

 upon the definition of contraband. Make the list of contraband 

 long enough, and the rule becomes a farce. 



Secondly, take the present law of blockade. At one time ficti- 

 tious blockades were the bane of neutral commerce. In the twelve 

 years that followed the breach of the Peace of Amiens — the days 

 of the so-called Napoleonic wars — millions upon millions of neutral 

 property were unlawfully confiscated for the alleged violation of or 

 attempt to violate blockades which existed only on paper. 



The declaration of the Empress Catherine above referred to con- 

 tained the following rule : 



4. To determine what constitutes a blockaded port, this denomination is 

 confined to those the entrance into which is manifestly rendered dangerous in 

 consequence of the dispositions made by the attacking power with ships 

 stationed sufficiently near. 



The Declaration of Paris of 1856 provided: 



4. Blockades, in order to be binding, must be eflfective ; that is to say, 

 maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the 

 enemy. 



