DELAYS REDUCED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 November 1939, Page 5

DELAYS REDUCED

EXAMINATION OF SHIPS FOR CONTRABAND DEVELOPMENT OF BRITISH CONTROL BASES. INCONVENIENCE TO NEUTRALS MINIMISED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, November 13. Delay to ships at the British contraband control bases is steadily decreasing. Naturally there are now fewer ships 'carrying cargoes loaded before the war and shipping of all kinds is responding to the advice to send advance manifests to the Ministry of Economic Warfare. Where this procedure is followed it is only necessary to check the cargo against the manifest, and often the delay is no longer than one day. The difference between absolute and conditional control has almost disappeared. because a great many materials can be used cither for military or civil .purposes at option, for instance, during the last war when milk was scarcely interfered with. German children were deprived of milk in order to provide the German army with nitroglycerine. Till the end of October only 16.8 per cent of seized cargoes was foodstuffs’, consisting mainly of fats and other edibles easily convertible into specifically military materials. The ultimate decision whether cargo is contraband rests with the Prize Court, which is not subject to executive control, but administers wellknown, rules of international law. Holland and Belgium suffered acutely from the shipping delay in the early days of the war because their seaports were in the natural gateways to Germany. But the delays are now very considerably loss.