In both Houses on Thursday statements were made as to
(1) the passage of the Dardanelles, (2) contraband of war, and (3) the case of the ' Knight Commander.' The Turkish Government appeared to have successfully insisted that in, future the volunteer ships passing the. Dardanelles will fly a during their whole voyage " the commercial. flag, will not contain either munitions of war or armaments, and will not be changed into cruisers. As to contraband, we have drawn the attention of the Russian Government to the gravity of the matter, and have protested that it is not for belligerents to decide, "regardless of the well-established rights of neutrals, that =tan articles are contraband." As regards the ' Knight Commander,' we are unable to admit that •the destruction of the vessel was justified. Though Lord Lansdowne's comments on the situation generally were of a very grave nature, he ended by expressing his " impression" that a reasonable solution would be found ; he guarded this, however, by the declaration that the Government would deem it its duty to insist strongly on our rights as a neutral Power. We do not POSTAGE ABROAD 1D. desire to say a word which may inflame opinion or embarrass the Government in its difficult and delicate negotiations, but we must say here, as we have said elsewhere, that the essential• point at issue is the attempt on the part of Russia im- mensely to enlarge the definition of contraband. Such an enlargement we cannot accept.
