We have written elsewhere about the excellent proposal. frond Lord
Lee of Fareham, that the next attempt be- tween reRresentatiyes.?f America and Great ,Brit441.4p, settle any naval question should be in conversations, not between experts, but between two highly responsible and experienced statesmen, such as-Lord Balfour and Mr. Hughes. In a leading article on this subject we have not discussed any of the various proposals that have been made for approaching the problem of belligerent rights at sea, but we may call attention here to a suggestion of Mr. Charles P. Howland, the well-known Director of Research for the American Council on Foreign Relations.. He thinks that a possible formula for an agreement would be as follows :— "The contracting parties agree not to interfere with neutral non- contraband commerce at sea in case of a private war. The con- tracting parties will not insist on the traditional rights of neutral trade in case of public war."
* *
