Mr. Balfour turned next to " other questions not connected
with this incident at all," but which must be a legitimate cause of anxiety,—meaning thereby the case of the Knight Commander.' " We hold that it is not proper that, on the authority of a captain of a cruiser, goods alleged to be con- traband of war should be taken from a merchant ship without trial. The proper course, according to international practice, is that any ship reasonably suspected of carrying contraband of war should be taken by the belligerent into one of its own ports, and that trial should there take place before a Prize Court, by which the case would be determined." An even more serious case had arisen, continued Mr. Balfour, " if, as our information leads us to fear, a ship called the Knight Commander' was sunk by cruisers of the Vladivostok Squadron on the ground that she carried contraband of war, her crew having been in the meanwhile removed. In our view, that is entirely contrary to the accepted practice of civilised nations in the case of war; and we have earnestly pressed our view on the Russian Government." The Government were, how- ever, under the strong impression that when the case was brought before the Russian Government they would give orders which would prevent the recurrence of unfortunate incidents of this kind. " I feel confident," he added, " that this will be the case."
