preparing to leave before the fixed period has elapsed after the departure of the ship belonging to the other belligerent.

17. Merchant-ships belonging to one of the belligerents which desire to leave the port must give notice in writing twenty-four hours previously to the Commandant of the Naval Station of the day and hour at which they are to weigh anchor. The notice shall state whether they are steam-ships or sailing-ships.

The Commandant of the Naval Station, if he has not received notice of the departure of a ship of war of the other belligerent, shall send an intimation to the respective Commanders that they may not leave the port until the period fixed in the preceding Rule has elapsed. He shall also give the necessary notice to the forts and harbour vessels.

Merchant-ships may not weigh anchor without having received a written answer stating that the proper steps have been taken, and that, consequently, they may leave. The answer shall be given as soon as possible.

In places where there is no Commandant of the Naval Station, vessels shall send their notice to the Captain of the Port, and, failing that officer, to the Commandant of the harbour fort, and, if there is no fort, to any Brazilian ship of war which may be at hand.

The officer to whom the notice is sent in the foregoing cases is the competent person to make the intimation to the belligerent ships of war.

18. Ships of war belonging to the belligerents which do not wish to have their departure prevented by the departure of successive merchant-vessels, or of the enemy's ships of war, must give twentyfour hours' notice to such of the officers named in the preceding Rule as may be the competent person in the case of their wish to leave. The order of leaving shall be regulated by that in which the notices are given.

19. Ships of war may not leave the port until the merchantvessels of the other belligerent have entered, which may be at the bar or have been announced by telegraphic or other means, unless the respective Commanders give their word of honour to the Commandant of the Naval Station, and, failing him, to the competent officer, that they will do them no injury; and if, apart from this, they are not prevented by any other cause from leaving.

20. Neither of the belligerents may make prizes in the territorial waters of Brazil or lie in ambush in the ports or anchorages, or in the islands and at the headlands situated in those waters, on the watch for the enemy's ships which may enter or leave; nor may they obtain information respecting those which are expected or are about to leave; nor, finally, may they set sail in order to chase an enemy's ship which has been sighted or signalled.

In order to prevent captures in the territorial seas, all necessary means, including force, will be employed.

21. If prizes entering the ports of the Republic have been made in the territorial waters, articles belonging to them are to be taken possession of by the proper authorities and restored to their lawful owners, and their sale is always to be considered as null and void.

22. Ships which attempt to violate the laws of neutrality shall at once be ordered to leave the maritime territories of Brazil, and nothing whatever shall be supplied to them.

A belligerent who infringes the Rules of this Circular shall not be again admitted into the ports of Brazil.

23. In order to put a stop to the abuses which may be committed force shall be employed, and failing such force, or failing sufficient force, a protest shall be lodged against the belligerent, who, after due warning and notice, does not desist from violating the neutrality of Brazil, and the facts shall be immediately brought to the knowledge of the Federal Government, who shall be consulted by telegraph by the proper authorities in the cases not provided for bere.

I request you to issue urgent orders for the loyal observation of the Rules of this Circular in so far as concerns your Department by the authorities under its jurisdiction.

Brotherly greeting.

For the Departments, &c.,

DIONYSIO E. DE CASTRO FERGUEIRA.

To the Ministers of State, of Marine, of War,

of Justice, of Finance and Industry, Railways and Public Works.

CIRCULAR of the Government of Colombia, relative to the Observance of Neutrality in the War between the United States and Spain.—Bogotá, April 22, 1898.

(Translation.)

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

(Section 1, No. 9321.)

Bogotá, April 22, 1898.

To the Governors of the Departments of Panamá, Bolivar, Cunea, and Magdalena :

On this date I address to you the following telegram:

"From information of an official character, it is known that war will shortly break out between Spain and the United States of

America. The Republic being bound to one and the other of the said Powers by bonds of perfect friendship and harmony, it is incumbent upon it to preserve, in so deplorable an emergency, the strictest neutrality in accordance with Treaties and international law. Consequently I address myself to you, in order that you may be good enough to communicate to the respective authorities of the Department the instructions which you may judge opportune in this matter, taking into account as a precedent on the subject the Resolution of the 18th June, 1891, "Diario Oficial" No. 8472, in accordance with which one ought

"1. To prevent the dispatch of arms, ammunition, and other materials of war in ships of either one of the belligerent squadrons;

"2. To prevent the dispatch of the same articles in merchantvessels, always provided that an authorized agent denounces the cargo as destined for the forces engaged in warfare;

"3. To prevent the embarkation of coal in vessels of the said forces unless it appears that the ship is not provided therewith, and only receives accordingly the quantity of coal strictly necessary to complete the voyage to the nearest foreign port;

"4. To permit even vessels of war to provide themselves with provisions and other articles except arms, ammunition, coal, and other materials of war;

"5. To notify the inhabitants of the Department of the closing of ports, always provided that it appears that the blockade of the said ports is maintained by forces sufficient to prevent access to the port closed; and in this supposition, not in that of a merely nominal blockade, to warn those engaged in traffic of the risks and penalties to which they expose themselves by violating the closure, penalties against which the Government of Colombia will make no claim."

I also think it pertinent to reproduce the following provisions of the Resolution of the 2nd of June, 1879, which declared that the railway of Panamá shall serve for universal commerce in transit, without any limitation as to the place of origin, class, or destination of the merchandize, that is to say :—

"Neither the transit of belligerent troops across the territory of the Union nor the deposit and sale in its ports of booty, the capture of which is not consummated, nor the disembarkation of prisoners, except in the case of its being for the purpose of restoring to them their liberty, shall be permitted.

"It is absolutely prohibited to assist the belligerents with troops and to consent that the ships should take up a position in Colombian bays, creeks, and gulfs for the purpose of taking by surprise the ships of the enemy or of sending off their boats to capture them."

The said Resolution of the 18th June, 1891, sets forth the doctrines and general practices on which the restrictions rest.

Your obedient servant, &c.,

ANTONIO GOMEZ RESTREPO.

NOTIFICATIONS AND LAW of the Government of Denmark, relative to Neutrality in the War between Spain and the United States.-Copenhagen, April 29, 1898.

(Translation.)

No. 1.-Notification.

His Majesty the King, on the dutiful representation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has been pleased to-day in Council, in view of the war which has broken out between Spain and the United States of North America, to give his Royal approval to a note to be addressed by His Majesty's Ministers at Madrid and Washington to the Governments of the belligerent Powers, informing them that His Majesty's Government will observe a strict and impartial neutrality.

It is only for the Danish West Indian Islands that it has been considered necessary to lay down precise rules for the conditions under which the vessels of war of the belligerent Powers will be permitted to enter and remain in Danish ports and waters. These decisions are contained in the following points :—

1. The vessels of war of the belligerent powers, and the transports belonging to their fleets have permission to enter the ports of the islands and their territorial waters, but may only remain there for twenty-four hours unless they are in distress by reason of storm, deficiency of provisions, sea damage or otherwise. The twenty-four hours are in such cases to be reckoned from the moment when the stress has ceased to exist, and the necessary repairs have been completed.

A period of twenty-four hours must always elapse between the departure of a vessel of war belonging to one of the belligerents, and the departure of a vessel of war or merchant-ship belonging to the other.

Privateers will not be admitted into the ports or territorial waters except in case of manifest distress.

2. Vessels belonging to the fleets of the belligerent Powers have permission to provide themselves in the ports and territorial waters with every description of provisions and articles which they may

require with the exception of such articles as are considered contraband of war.

They may not, however, provide themselves with provisions in excess of the quantity necessary for the use of their crews, or with coal in excess of the quantity required to take the ship to the nearest port of its own country or to another nearer destination.

This facility to take in coal at a port of the islands or in the territorial waters is only to be given to the same ship once in the course of three months, unless by special permission from the Governor.

3. The ports and territorial waters of the islands are closed to prizes taken from one of the belligerent Powers, unless in case of manifest distress.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs, April 29, 1898.

No. 2.-Notice to Danish Merchants and Ship-masters in view of the War which has broken out between Spain and the United States of America.

(Translation.)

By Royal authority of this day's date the Ministry for Foreign Affairs gives public notice that, in consequence of the war which has broken out between Spain and the United States of America, the Provisional Law of this day's date, forbidding Danish subjects to assist the belligerent Powers, comes into force.

For the clearer comprehension by Danish merchants and shipmasters of what they have to observe during the war, in accordance with existing legislation and the provisions of international law, the undersigned Ministry for Foreign Affairs has, by order of the King, to make known and enjoin what follows:

§ 1. When a Danish ship is stopped on the high seas by any ship of war of the belligerents, or by an authorized privateer, it must, without hesitation, on the demand of the officer in command, exhibit the ship's papers required under $ 32 of the Registration Law, viz., the certificate of its nationality and registry, the list of the ship's manning, clearance, and freight papers.

No vessel may by international law be provided with ship's papers in duplicate, or carry any other flag than that of the country to which it belongs.

§ 2. Notwithstanding that neither of the two belligerent Powers have adhered to the Paris Declaration of the 16th April, 1856, official Declarations have been made by both sides that they both recognize that the neutral flag covers the goods with the exception