captured ship to inspect the cargo, and shall, in conjunction with the master of the ship, prepare a detailed inventory thereof.

14. The Judge in charge shall order the clerks to record in detail any statements made by the master of the captured ship, the crew, the passengers and the owners of the cargo, as well as any evidence given by the prize officers who made the capture.

15. The Judge in charge, when he considers it necessary, may order a referee to pass judgment upon any specified matter.

16. The Judge in charge shall, after he has completed his investigation, at once prepare a report which, together with the report mentioned in Article 12 as well as the accompanying papers and documents, shall be forwarded to the Procurators of the Local Prize Court.

17. The Procurators shall prepare a statement of their opinion and shall forward it together with the papers and documents mentioned in the above article to the Local Prize Court.

18. If the Procurators are of the opinion that the captured ship or cargo should be released and the Local Prize Court is of the same opinion, the latter shall at once prepare a decree for its release and forward it to the Procurators.

19. If the Procurators are of the opinion that the captured ship or cargo should be condemned, or that it should be released, while the Local Prize Court is of a different opinion, the Local Prize Court shall take the usual measures for making a public announcement.

The aforesaid public announcement shall comprise the publication of the substance of the case in the Government Gazette" and of an English version thereof in English newspapers published in this country. Any party interested in the case may, within thirty days of the public announcement, submit a written petition to the Local Prize Court.

20. The petition shall state the following particulars to be accompanied by such documents as may be used as evidence:

(a.) The petitioner's full name, nationality, residential address, age and occupation.

(b.) The important reasons for the petition.

21. The petitioner may be represented only by lawyers of the Republic of China.

22. If no interested party has entered a petition on the expiration of the time prescribed in the second clause cf Article 19 the Local Prize Court may at once commence with the trial, and on the Procurators' request the case may ba adjudicated without going through the usual procedure.

23. If a petition is submitted within the time-limit, the Local Prize Court shall set a day for commencing the trial. If the petitioner absents himself without permission the case may be adjudicated in his absence.

24. After the trial the judgment shall be written out and announced within three days.

The written judgment shall be forwarded to the Procurators after its announcement, and a copy of it shall be made and delivered to the petitioner.

25. Either the Procurators or the petitioner may, within twenty days of the receipt of the judgment, file a protest with the Local Prize Court against its judgment.

The protest shall state the following particulars:

(a.) The petitioner's full name, nationality, residential address, age and occupation.

(b.) The judgment of the Local Prize Court.

(c.) The reasons for the protest.

26. On receipt of the protest the Local Prize Court shall forward all the records connected with the case to the Procuratorate of the High Prize Court.

27. If no protest has been filed on the expiration of the time-limit, the original judgment shall be final. But should the filing of a protest have been prevented by the act of God or the public enemy, the Local Prize Court, on being informed thereof, may, if it finds the facts alleged to be sustained by the evidence, permit a petition to be filed out of time.

28. On receipt of the protest, the High Prize Court shall, unless the time-limit has expired, in which case the protest should be overruled, deliver a copy to the petitioner if it is filed by the Procurators, and to the Procurators if it is filed by the petitioner. A reply to the protest shall be submitted within ten days of its delivery.

29. The High Prize Court, when it considers necessary, may on its own account investigate the facts or the evidence of the case, or it may instruct the Local Prize Court to institute another investigation.

30. The High Prize Court shall, after investigation, at once hold meetings to examine the case upon the merits of the documents, but the judgment must be rendered in open Court.

The judgment shall be forwarded to the Procurators of the Local Prize Court and a copy thereof delivered to the petitioner.

31. The case having been adjudicated, the essential points of the judgment shall be published in the Government "Gazette.'

32. During the time when the case is under examination. the Prize Courts shall entrust the captured ship and cargo to the naval authorities for custody.

The regulations for the above-mentioned custody shall be made by the Minister of the Navy.*

33. A condemned ship or cargo shall become the property of the State.

34. The judgment shall be executed by the Procurators of the Local Prize Court.

The Procurators may request the naval authorities and police officers to assist them in the execution of the judgment. 35. Detailed regulations of procedure shall be made by the Prize Courts themselves.

CHAPTER III.-Supplemental.

36. These regulations shall take effect from the day of their promulgation.

CHINESE PRESIDENTIAL MANDATE promulgating Regulations governing Captures at Sea. --Peking, October 30, 1917. t

(Translation.)

WE hereby promulgate the Regulations governing Captures at Sea.

(Seal of the President.)

Peking, 30th day, 10th month,

6th year of the Republic.

(October 30, 1917.)

Countersigned by

[Signatures of Ministers.]

REGULATIONS GOVERNING CAPTURES AT SEA.

(Translation.)

CHAPTER I.-General Provisions.

ART. 1. Warships of the Republic of China may, during the war, visit, search and capture merchant ships in accordance with these regulations.

2. No visit, search or capture shall be made within the territorial waters of a neutral country or in other neutral zones specified by international treaties.

*Regulations "Governing the Safe-Keeping of Captured Property in the Naval Warehouse," by the Ministry of the Navy. Order No. 126. (Not printed.)

+From "Official Documents relating to the War (for the year 1917)" published by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

3. Ships referred to in these regulations as of enemy character are as follows:

(1.) Ships flying enemy flags.

(2.) Ships flying neutral flags, but whose owners or some of whose owners are domiciled in enemy countries,

(3.) Ships employed by enemy countries.

(4.) Ships transferred to persons domiciled in the Republic, or in a neutral country, before the war, but in anticipation of its outbreak or during the war, and whose transfer has not yet been completed and is not shown to have been made in good faith.

4. Goods referred to as of enemy character are as follows:

(1.) Goods owned by persons domiciled in enemy countries.

(2.) Goods consigned to enemy countries, or to enemy subjects, by persons domiciled in the Republic, or in a neutral country before the war, but in anticipation of its outbreak or during the war.

(3.) Enemy goods transferred to persons domiciled in the Republic, or in a neutral country before the war, but in anticipation of its outbreak or during the war, and whose transfer has not yet been completed and has no evidence of its having been made bona fide.

5. The domicile of a person is the definite district where he intends to reside permanently.

The domicile of a legal person is the place where its head office is established.

enemy country includes territory

occupied by the enemy.

7. The ship's papers referred to are as follows:(1.) Certificate of nationality of the vessel.

(2.) Passport.

(3.) Contract for construction.

(4.) Charter party.

(5.) Deed of sale.

(6.) Muster roll.

(7.) Permit for navigation.

(8.) Logbook.

(9.) Ship's journal.

(10.) Clearance papers.

(11.) Agreements for the employment of officers and

crew.

(12.) Health certificate.

(13.) Consignment papers.

(14.) Bills of lading.

(15.) Freight list.

It is not necessary that all the above-mentioned papers

should be complete, but only those which are required to be kept by the law of the country to which the ship belongs.

8. Contraband of war is defined and regulated in the wartime contraband regulations.

These regulations shall be issued separately.

9. Contraband persons are defined to be those persons in the military service of enemy countries.

10. A blockade is defined to be the effective prohibition of communication with an enemy port by a naval squadron. The running of a blockade is defined to be an attempt to enter the area which has been notified as being under blockade.

11. A prize is defined to be that which has been condemned by a Prize Court.

CHAPTER II.—Visit.

12. The following merchant ships are subject to visit:(1.) Ships flying a Chinese or neutral flag, but suspected of being an enemy ship.

(2.) Ships registered in the Republic, but suspected of having embarked on trade with the enemy without special permission from the Government.

(3.) Ships registered in the Republic or in a neutral country, but suspected of carrying contraband of war or contraband persons.

(4.) Ships registered in the Republic or in a neutral country, but suspected of running a blockade.

(5.) Ships registered in the Republic or in a neutral country, but suspected of rendering assistance to the enemy. 13. The Commanding Officer of a warship may order such suspected ships as are mentioned in the above article to stop and await a visit to be conducted.

Orders for ships to stop shall be given by means of flag signals and steam whistles in the day time, while at night time white lantern lights shall be used in place of flag signals.

In bad weather or if a merchant ship fails to obey orders to stop conveyed by means of whistles, flags or lights, two blank shots may be fired.

If, in spite of the blank shots, a merchant ship refuses to stop, then loaded guns may be fired at her masts, and if she still refuses to stop, at her hull.

14. After a merchant ship has stopped in obedience to orders, the Commanding Officer of the warship shall despatch an officer to proceed with two marines in a boat to conduct the visit.

15. After arrival on board the merchant ship, the visiting officer shall demand with courtesy the production of the [1917–18. oxi.]

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