§ 45. Sir WILLIAM BULLasked the Prime Minister, having regard to the law of nations that the first duty of a the captor of a merchant vessel is to bring it before a Prize Court where it may be tried, if His Majesty's Government intend to take that course when they detain and take into port ships carrying goods of presumed enemy destination, ownership, or origin; do they intend to ask the Prize Court for the condemnation of such goods as good prize, and to release the ships themselves when neutral, paying them their freight; and, if not, what is it proposed to do, respectively, with such cargoes and such ships?
§ The PRIME MINISTERThe intentions of His Majesty's Government will become apparent when the Order in Council on the subject of the retaliation measures against Germany is published. I cannot make a more definite statement at the moment.