Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-03-25 | Page 27 | Expedition is Given to Ocean Shipping

EXPEDITION IS GIVEN " TO OCEAN SHIPPING No Avoidable Delays Permitted, According Ac-cording to Report Made by Government Committee. LONDON, March 24. The government govern-ment committee appointed to inquire "whether anv avoidable delay is caused bv the methods adopted for dealing with shipping" in exercising the belligerent bel-ligerent right of search and inspection has just made its report. The general conclusion is: '"We have been unable to discover that, consistenly with the effective exercise of belligerent rights, there is anv avoidable delay caused by the existing methods of dealing with ships and cargoes brought into port under un-der the order in council of March 11, 1915, and we have no suggestions to offer for the improvement of ' those methods." The report tells just how the machinery machin-ery of search and inspection works in the case of neutral ships. Most of this machinerv is in the hands of the admiralty ad-miralty committee for the diversion of ships "in wartime. This committee is notified promptly of particulars concerning con-cerning the arriving ships and of the nngnhtv and nature of file Varrm to be discharged or examined, and assigns the bhip to the most suitable port. "The system, though elaborate and complicated, in practice works smoothly," smooth-ly," says the report of the investigating investigat-ing committee. "It originated in the fact that methods of search sanctioned by usage in the past are now impracticable," imprac-ticable," and that the evidence which, in W the shape of documents carried on the ships, the neutral ship owner and trader " were required to provide has been s-obbed by changed conditions of much tjt its value. Other evidence or guarantees, guar-antees, therefore, must be forthcoming if the rights of the belligerent are to be preserved. ''The svstem has been so constructed construct-ed as to furnish facilities by which, if he is disposed to avail himself of thorn, the neutral can provide such evidence or guarantees and so be assured of the minimum disturbance of his trade. "It was not to be exported that a system which has developed as the necessity ne-cessity arose should have worked well from the beginning. Until it was complete com-plete there were undoubtedly stages at which delay took place. The congestion at the ports of discharge which is a persistent source of delay, is consequent upon a state of war. So long as that congestion exists its effect must be felt by ships brought in under orders in council, as by all others; but they arc dealt with in their turn and given at least equal facilities."