Nelson's history of the war. Vol. XI., The struggle for the Dvina, and the great invasion of Serbia

APPENDIX II. 169

evidence for which a suggestion has not been laid in the preparatory evidence. The result is, as pointed out above, that innocent vessels or cargoes are Now seized and detained on mere suspicion, while efforts are made to obtain evidence from extraneous sources to justify the detention and the commencement of prize proceedings. The effect of this new procedure is to subject traders to risk of loss, delay, and expense so great and so burdensome as practically to destroy much of the export trade of the United States to neutral countries of Europe.

10. In order to place the responsibility for the delays of vessels and cargoes upon American claimants, the Order in Council of the zgth October IQr4, as pointed out in the British note of the roth February, seeks to place the burden of proof as to the non-contraband character of the goods upon the claimant in cases where the goods are consigned “to order” or the consignee isnot named, or the consignee is within enemy territory. Without admitting that the onus probands can rightfully be made to rest upon the claimant in these cases, it is sufficient for the purpose of this note to point out that the three classes of cases indicated in the Order in Council of the 29th October apply to only a few of the many seizures or detentions which have actually been made by British authorities.

11. The British contention that in the American Civil War the captor was allowed to establish enemy destination by “all the evidence at his disposal,” citing the Bermuda case (3 Wallace 515), is not borne out by the facts of that case. The case of the Bermuda was one of “further proof,” a proceeding not to determine whether the vessel should be detained and placed in a Prize Court, but whether the vessel, having been placed in Prize Court, should be restored or condemned. The same ruling was made in the case of the Sir William Peel (5 Wallace 517). These cases, therefore, cannot be properly cited as supporting the course of a British captor in taking a vessel into port there to obtain