Had he been permitted to pursue this policy, von Spee was inevitably bound to touch on the delicate subject of neutrality in arranging supplies for so numerous a squadron. Now, according to the laws laid down by Article 5 of the Hague Conference, 1907, "belligerents are forbidden to use neutral ports and waters as a base of operations against their adversaries." By Article 12 it is laid down that in default of any other special provisions in the legislation of a neutral Power, belligerent warships are forbidden to remain in the ports, roadsteads, or territorial waters of the said Power for more than twenty-four hours, except in special cases covered by the Convention. It is left to the neutral to make regulations as to the hospitality it will afford, and those laid down by Brazil were that a belligerent vessel was only allowed to visit one of their ports once in three months for the purpose of obtaining supplies. Being aware of these conditions, and that neutrality could not be imposed upon to an unlimited extent, it follows that von Spee would have been dependent in a great measure on supply ships which were able to evade the scrutiny of the neutral authorities--a precarious state of existence. Coal would be his prime necessity, and he might have hoped to secure a supply of this from captured colliers, but he could not depend upon it for such a large number of ships. Meanwhile, however, very considerable damage might have been done to our shipping, and it is generally believed the Germans were optimistic enough to hope that England would be brought to her knees from starvation by being cut off from both North and South American ports during this period, although there was really no ground whatsoever for such a surmise. Perhaps we shall in the future be careful not to frame so many laws for the conduct of war, since the Power that neglects these laws rides roughshod over her more conscientious opponent. Such a scheme may have been the natural outcome of von Spee's success at Coronel. On the other hand, it is impossible to state with certainty that he did not intend to go ultimately to the Cape of Good Hope or some other part of Africa, but the pros and cons have already been discussed, and it scarcely appears probable. Von Spee, of course, had no notion of the prompt measure taken by our Admiralty in dispatching two powerful battle-cruisers of high speed to these waters without loss of time and in complete secrecy, though he must have concluded that no time would be lost in sending out reinforcements. Apparently his judgment was here at fault; hence the proposed attack on our colony in the Falkland Islands, the capture of which would have yielded him coal for his squadron's immediate requirements.