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Show NEUTRALITY RULE OF THE HAGUE QUOTED! Washington. Aug. 19 Officials of the state department were discussing informally today the ruling 01 the collector col-lector of the port at San Francisco who, in interpreting the neutrality laws, held that no prizes of war could be brought into that city. They pointed point-ed to The Hague convention concerning con-cerning the rights and duties of neutral neu-tral powers in naval war which con tains this provision: "A prize may only be brought into a neutral port on account of unseaworthiness, unsea-worthiness, stress of weather or want of fuel or provisions. "It must leave as soon as the circumstances cir-cumstances which justified its entry-are entry-are at an end If it does not, the neutral power must order it to Ieae at once; should it fail to obey the neutral power, the neutra.1 power must employ the means at Its disposal dispos-al to release It with its officers and crew, and to intern the prize crew." TU 1 . . , . ... 1 ue iiuiuage 01 me aoove article is construed by officials to mean that a prize may not be brought into a neu tral port to evade recapture. For it Is pointed out that should a bellig erent bring a prize to a neutral port to evade recapture, the enemy could wait outside the territorial waters until un-til such time as the neutral power should, in accordance with The Hague convention, compel the departure or the prize. The authorities differ somewhat as to the precise Instant when title to a prize passes from the original owners own-ers to the captor's government. The rule known as "cessation of resist ance" my which title is held to pass to the captor when armed resistance ceases and the flag is struck or a voluntary surrender is made, is the one now most generally accepted by international lawyers The title to captured property i indeterminate until adjudication has been made in a prize court of the captor's country. While a prize is In transit to a captor s port or the pert of an ally, it Is liable to recapture recap-ture and in that event it is held bv many authorities that the title of the original owner has been to a certain cer-tain extent revested. But all of these questions are so complicated that h generation of proceedings iu prize courts and before The Hague tribunal probably will be necessary to adjudi eate them. The crews of captured enemy mer chant vesels become prisoners of war. Such as are neutral subjects are exempt ex-empt from capture and entitled to release re-lease on their written promise not to serve on an enemy ship during the continuance of the war As at present pres-ent tendency of neutral states is to close their ports to maritime prizes, the disposition of captors to destroy prize ships. It is believed, is likely to increase in the present struggle |