In the Lords on Tuesday the Naval Prize Bill, comprising
the Prize Court Convention and the Declaration of London, was rejected by a majority of 145 to 53. Lord Beauchamp moved the second reading and the rejection was moved by Lord Selborne. Lord Selborne admitted that the existence of an International Prize Court would be greatly preferable to the present chaos of international custom and law, but it did not follow that any Court could be accepted. The proposed Court of Appeal was to have fifteen judges. Who ever heard of such a thing ? And the inadequate representation of Great Britain in the Court was absolutely preposterous. Great Britain would have only the same voting power as a small South American State. The Lord Chancellor, defending the Bill, said that with its alleged defects it would still be much superior to the present law. A right of appeal, non-existent now, would come into being. As for the food supply, that must depend upon the Navy in any case, and the situation would not be changed. We ourselves had invited other countries to come to an agreement, and if the compromise were disavowed by its authors we should stand very badly with other nations.
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