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The North Sea as a Zone of War. 299<br />

attempts of England to direct the ships of all neutral nations<br />

through the Straits. This has already been given out as the<br />

official opinion of the Swedish Government. It had been an<br />

accepted rule that these straits were not to be considered as<br />

territorial waters. It will be necessary to recall the reply made<br />

by General Den Beer Portugael, the well-known representative<br />

of Holland at the Second Peace Conference, in answer to the<br />

assertion, "almost bordering upon lunacy," as the press universally<br />

described it,—of Vice-Admiral Germinet, that the<br />

narrows between Dover and Calais were territorial waters<br />

which could be closed entirely to all sea-traffic: The views of<br />

the Dutch deputy were expressed some time during September,<br />

1912:<br />

"The straits of Dover, at the point Dover-Calais, are<br />

35 kilometers broad. Although there is no fixed measure in<br />

international law for the breadth of territorial waters, it has<br />

formerly been reckoned as the distance of a cannon shot, that<br />

is to say, about 4000 m. Now the general decision to regard<br />

it as a breadth of 3 sea-miles, that is 5556 metres, has been<br />

arrived at. The English "Jurisdiction Act" of 1898 expressly<br />

defines it as 3 miles. The assumption that the Straits of Dover<br />

are territorial waters is therefore invalid, and rests upon an<br />

unjustifiable presumption. The French authorities in this<br />

field, Gérard de Reyneval, Ortolan and Pradier Fodéré, hold<br />

exactly the same opinion, and Cabro, an American authority,<br />

is also in accord with them. It therefore appears to me that<br />

the French Admiral's knowledge of sea-law is as defective<br />

as the powder of the French navy. One should remember<br />

that in every war the neutral states must be in the majority,<br />

and it is unthinkable that this majority should allow itself<br />

to be dictated to in matters of law by the minority. Such<br />

a gross breach of justice would suffice to drag them into<br />

the war!"<br />

The principle of the freedom of the open sea, which has been<br />

lamentably left in the lurch by the neutral nations, is to today<br />

championed only by Germany. (See Chapter with regard<br />

to those further developments which arise as a matter of<br />

course from the English procedure in the North Sea.)<br />

"We may await with tense expectancy the answer of the

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