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

104 APPENDIX III.

an attempt has been made to perpetrate a fraud upon the | association, and to pass the goods ultimately through to Germany. The first of these agreements was made with the. Netherlands Oversea Trust, and similar agreements, either

general or dealing with particular commodities of special

importance, such as rubber and cotton, have been made with

bodies of merchants in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and

Switzerland. The details of these agreements it is impossible

to give more fully, but the general principle is that the asso-

ciations, before allowing goods to be consigned to them,

require the would-be receivers to’ satisfy them, by under-

takings backed by sufficient pecuniary penalties, that the

goods will not leave the country, either in their original shape

or after any process of manufacture, and notwithstanding any

sales of which they may be the subject.

In some cases these agreements provide that the associations shall themselves be bound to detain or return goods believed by His Majesty’s Government to be destined for the enemy ; so that it does not follow that cargoes allowed to proceed to a neutral port will necessarily be delivered to the consignees.

24. The existence of such agreements is of great value in connection with the right of seizure, because the fact of articles not being consigned to or guaranteed by the association, or being consigned to it without the necessary consent, at once raises the presumption that they are destined for the enemy.

VI.—AGREEMENTS WITH SHIPPING LINES.

25. Delays caused by the elaborate exercise of the belligerent right of visit and search are very irksome to shipping ; and many shipping lines who carry on regular services with Scandinavia and Holland have found it well worth their while to make agreements with His Majesty’s Government under which they engage to meet our requirements with regard to goods carried by them, in return for an undertaking that their ships will be delayed for as short a time as