contrary to the said Act, and is about to be taken beyond the limits of such Dominions, or that a Ship is about to be despatched contrary to the Act, such Secretary of State or Chief Executive Authority shall have power to issue a warrant authorising the seizure and search of such Ship and her detention until she has either been condemned or released by Process of Law. And whereas certain powers of seizure and detention are conferred by the said Act on certain Local Authorities: Now, in order that none of Our Subjects may unwarily render themselves liable to the Penalties imposed by the said Statute, We do hereby strictly command that no Person or Persons whatsoever do commit any Act, Matter, or Thing whatsoever contrary to the Provisions of the said Statute, upon pain of the several Penalties by the said Statute imposed and of Our high Displeasure. And We do hereby further warn and admonish all Our Loving Subjects, and all Persons whatsoever entitled to Our Protection, to observe towards each of the aforesaid Powers, their Subjects and Territories, and towards all Belligerents whatsoever with whom We are at Peace, the Duties of Neutrality; and to respect, in all and each of them, the Exercise of Belligerent Rights. And We hereby further warn all Our Loving Subjects, and all Persons whatsoever entitled to Our Protection, that if any of them shall presume, in contempt of this Our Royal Proclamation, and of Our high Displeasure, to do any Acts in derogation of their Duty as Subjects of a Neutral Power in a War between other Powers, or in violation or contravention of the Law of Nations in that Behalf, as more especially by breaking, or endeavouring to break, any Blockade Lawfully and actually established by or on behalf of either of the said Powers, or by carrying Officers, Soldiers, Despatches, Arms, Ammunition, Military Stores or Materials, or any Article or Articles considered and deemed to be Contraband of War according to the Law of Modern Usages of Nations, for the Use or Service of either of the said Powers, that all Persons so offending, together with their Ships and Goods, will rightfully incur and be justly liable to hostile Capture, and to the Penalties denounced by the Law of Nations in that Behalf. And We do hereby give Notice that all Our Subjects and Persons entitled to Our Protection who may misconduct themselves in the Premises will do so at their peril, and of their own wrong; and that they will in no wise obtain any Protection from Us against such Capture or such Penalties as aforesaid, but will, on the contrary, incur Our high Displeasure by such Misconduct. Given at Our Court at Buckingham Palace, this eleventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and four, and in the fourth year of Our Reign. GOD SAVE THE KING 4. British Rules of Neutrality promulgated along with the The Most Honourable the Marquess of Lansdowne to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty: FOREIGN OFFICE, February 10, 1904. My Lords, His Majesty being fully determined to observe the duties of neutrality during the existing state of war between Russia and Japan; being, moreover, resolved to prevent, as far as possible, the use of His Majesty's harbours, ports, and coasts, and the waters within His Majesty's territorial jurisdiction, in aid of the warlike purposes of either belligerent, has commanded me to communicate to your Lordships, for your guidance, the following Rules, which are to be treated and enforced as His Majesty's orders and directions: Rule 1. During the continuance of the present state of war, all ships of war of either belligerent are prohibited from making use of any port or roadstead in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands, or in any of His Majesty's colonies or foreign possessions or dependencies, or of any waters subject to the territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown, as a station or place of resort for any warlike purpose, or for the purpose of obtaining any facilities for warlike equipment; and no ship of war of either belligerent shall hereafter be permitted to leave any such port, roadstead, or waters from which any vessel of the other belligerent (whether the same shall be a ship of war or a merchant ship) shall have previously departed until after the expiration of at least twenty-four hours from the departure of such last-mentioned vessel beyond the territorial jurisdiction of His Majesty. Rule 2. If there is now in any such port, roadstead, or waters subject to the territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown any ship of war of either belligerent, such ship of war shall leave such port, roadstead, or waters within such time not less than twenty-four hours as shall be reasonable, having regard to all the circumstances and the condition of such ship as to repairs, provisions, or things necessary for the subsistence of her crew; and if after the date hereof any ship of war of either belligerent shall enter any such port, roadstead, or waters, subject to the territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown, such ship shall depart and put to sea within twenty-four hours after her entrance into any such port, roadstead, or waters, except in case of stress of weather, or of her requiring provisions or things necessary for the subsistence of her crew, or repairs; in either of which cases the authorities of the port, or of the nearest port (as the case may be) shall require her to put to sea as soon as possible after the expiration of such period of twenty-four hours, without permitting her to take in supplies beyond what may be necessary for her immediate use; and no such vessel which may have been allowed to remain within British waters for the purpose of repair shall continue in any such port, roadstead, or waters, for a longer period than twenty-four hours after her necessary repairs shall have been completed. Provided, nevertheless, that in all cases, in which there shall be any vessels (whether ships of war or merchant ships) of both the said belligerent parties in the same port, roadstead, or waters within the territorial jurisdiction of His Majesty, there shall be an interval of not less than twenty-four hours between the departure therefrom of any such vessel (whether a ship of war or merchant ship) of the one belligerent, and the subsequent departure therefrom of any ship of war of the other belligerent; and the time hereby limited for the departure of such ships of war respectively shall always, in case of necessity, be extended so far as may be requisite for giving effect to this proviso, but no further or otherwise. Rule 3. 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 subsistence 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 destination, 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. Rule 4. Armed ships of either belligerents are interdicted from carrying prizes made by them into the ports, harbours, roadsteads, or waters of the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, or any of His Majesty's Colonies or possessions abroad. The Governor or other chief authority of each of His Majesty's territories or possessions beyond the seas shall forthwith notify and publish the above Rules. NOTE. I have, etc., LANSDOWNE. The letter given above was sent from the Foreign Office to the Admiralty, Treasury, Home Office, Colonial Office, War Office, India Office, Scottish Office, and Board of Trade. 5. The Hague Convention concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in War on Land Chapter I The Rights and Duties of Article 1 The territory of neutral Powers is inviolable. Article 2 Belligerents are forbidden to move troops or convoys, whether of munitions of war or of supplies, across the territory of a neutral Power. Article 3 Belligerents are likewise forbidden to: (a) Erect on the territory of a neutral Power a wireless telegraphy station or any apparatus for the purpose of communicating with belligerent forces on land or sea; (b) Use any installation of this kind established by them for purely military purposes on the territory of a neutral Power before the war, and not previously opened for the service of public messages. Article 4 Corps of combatants must not be formed, nor recruiting agencies opened, on the territory of a neutral Power, to assist the belligerents. Article 5 A neutral Power must not allow any of the acts referred to in Articles 2 to 4 to occur on its territory. It is not called upon to punish acts in violation of neutrality unless such acts have been committed on its own territory. Article 6 The responsibility of a neutral Power is not involved by the mere fact that persons cross the frontier individually in order to offer their services to one of the belligerents. |