ALABAMA CLAIMS. 181 



of fact. When the United States and Great Britain 

 shall, in conformity with the Treaty, bring the new 

 Rules to the knowledge of other maritime Powers, 

 such Powers will of course present for consideration 

 all proper objections or qualifications to those Rules. 



Count von Beust goes on to speak of the declara 

 tion made by Austria, Prussia, and Italy in 1866, 

 which indicates that he was considering the subject 

 in the relation of contraband rather than of simple re 

 fitting in neutral ports. 



But the precise question of the supply of coal in 

 neutral ports is not prejudged by the Treaty of 

 Washington, nor by the opinions of the Tribunal of 

 Arbitration. The United States are quite as much 

 interested in having access to supplies of coal &quot;at neu 

 tral stations in all parts of the world &quot; as Austria, or 

 Prussia, or Italy ; and we may presume that Count 

 Sclopis did not fail to reflect on the interests of Italy 

 in this behalf. 



One of the &quot; Considerants &quot; of the Award had for 

 its special object to prevent misconstruction of the 

 second Rule. We quote it as follows : 



&quot; In order to impart to any supplies of coal a character in 

 consistent with the second Rule, prohibiting the use of neu 

 tral ports or waters as a base of naval operations for a Bellig 

 erent, it is necessary that the said supplies should be connect 

 ed with special circumstances of time, of persons, of place, 

 which may combine to give them such character.&quot; 



Count Sclopis explains the force of the Decision as 

 follows : 



&quot; Quant a la question de 1 approvisionnement et du charge- 

 men t de charbon,je ne saurais la trailer que sous le point de 



