We also discussed the position taken by the
German Government in one of the _Frye_ Notes, in which the
German expert had taken the position that a cargo of food destined
for an armed enemy port was presumed to be for the armies of
the enemy, and therefore contraband. The Emperor spoke of the
case of the _Dacia_ with some bitterness, but when I went
into an explanation the Chancellor joined in the conversation
and said that our position was undoubtedly correct. I said that
it was not our business to break the blockade--that there were
plenty of German agents in the United States who could send food
ships and test the question; that one ship I knew of, the
_Wilhelmina_, laden with food, had been seized by the British,
who then compromised with the owners, paying them, I believed, a
large sum for the disputed cargo. And in taking up the doctrine
of ultimate destination of goods, i.e., goods sent to a neutral
country but really destined for a belligerent, I said I thought
that during our Civil War we had taken against England exactly
the same stand which England now took; and I said I thought that
one of the decisions of our Supreme Court was based on a shipment
to Matamoras, Mexico, but which the Supreme Court had decided
was really for the Confederacy.
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