The straightforward announcement made by the United States in their Note of January 25 is surely far preferable. It states in plain terms that, "As the Declaration of London is not in force, the rules of international law only apply. As to articles to be regarded as contraband there is no general agreement between nations." In point of fact, the hard-and-fast categories of neutral imports, suggested by the threefold Grotian division, as set forth in the Declaration, are unlikely ever to be generally accepted. Even Grotius is careful to limit his proposals, and Bynkershoek, in commenting upon them, points out that the test of contraband of the most noxious kind must be the, possibly exceptional, importance of objects for hostile use; their being of use also for non-hostile purposes being immaterial ("nec interesse an et extra bellum usum praebeant"). The application of these remarks to the case of cotton is sufficiently obvious. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, T. E. HOLLAND. Oxford, August 23 (1915). JAPANESE PRIZE LAW Sir,--I hope you will allow me space for a few words with reference to some statements occurring to-day in your Marine Insurance news which I venture to think are of a misleading character. Your Correspondent observes that-- "Although the Japanese are signatories to the Treaty of Paris, it should not be forgotten that they haw a Prize Court Law of their own (August 20, 1894), and are more likely to follow its provisions, in dealing with the various captured steamers, than the general principles of the Treaty of Paris." Upon this paragraph let me remark:-- 1. The action of the Japanese is in full accordance with the letter and spirit of all four articles of the Declaration of Paris. ("The Treaty of Paris" has, of course, no bearing upon prize law.) 2. "The general principles" of that Declaration is a phrase which conveys to me, I confess, no meaning. 3. The Japanese have, of course, a prize law of their own, borrowed, for the most part, from our own Admiralty Manual of Prize Law. Neither the British nor the Japanese instructions are in conflict with, or indeed stand in any relation to, the Declaration of Paris. 4. The existing prize law of Japan was promulgated on March 7, 1904, not on August 20, 1894. Your Correspondent goes on to say that the Japanese definition of contraband "is almost as sweeping as was the Russian definition, to which the British Government took active objection last summer." So far is this from being the case that the Japanese list is practically the same as our own, both systems recognising the distinction between "absolute" and "conditional" contraband, which, till the other day, was ignored by Russia. The Japanese rules as to the cases in which ships carrying contraband may be confiscated are quite reasonable and in accordance with British views. The third ground for confiscation mentioned by your Correspondent does not occur in the instructions of 1904.