34 MOORE— CONTRABAND OF WAR. [February 2, 



and munitions of war and machinery for their manufacture, salt- 

 peter, military accoutrements and equipments, and horses. The 

 " conditionally contraband " were : 



Coal, when destined for a naval station, a port of call, or a ship or ships 

 of the enemy ; materials for the construction of railways or telegraphs, and 

 money, when such materials or money are destined for tlie enemy's forces; 

 provisions, when destined for an enemy's ship or ships, or for a place that is 

 besieged. 



In the early stages of the Boer war a question arose between the 

 United States and Great Britain as to the seizure of various articles 

 shipped at New York, some of them on regular monthly orders, by 

 American merchants and manufacturers on the vessels Beatrice, 

 Maria, and Mashona, which were seized by British cruisers while 

 on the way to Delagoa Bay. These articles consisted chiefly of 

 flour, canned meats, and other foodstuffs, but also embraced lumber, 

 hardware, and various miscellaneous articles, as well as quantities 

 of lubricating oil, which were consigned partly to the Netherlands 

 South African Railway, in the Transvaal, and partly to the Lourengo 

 Marques Railway, a Portuguese concern. It was at first supposed 

 that the seizures were made on the ground of contraband, and with 

 reference to this possibility the government of the United States, on 

 January 2, 1900, declared that it could not recognize their validity 

 " under any belligerent right of capture of provisions and other 

 goods shipped by American citizens in ordinary course of trade to 

 a neutral port." It soon transpired, however, that the Beatrice and 

 Mashona, which were British ships, and the Maria, which, though a 

 Dutch ship, was at first supposed to be British, were arrested for 

 violating a municipal regulation forbidding British subjects to trade 

 with the enemy, the alleged offense consisting in the transportation 

 of goods destined to the enemy's territory. The seizure of the 

 cargoes was declared to be only incidental to the seizure of the ships. 

 As to certain articles, however (particularly the oil consigned to the 

 Netherlands South African Railway in the Transvaal), an allega- 

 tion of enemy's property was made; but no question of contraband 

 was raised, and it was eventually agreed that the United States 

 consul-general at Cape Town should arrange with Sir Alfred Milner, 



