Lord Phillimore has delivered an important judgment in respect of
prize money for the Navy, and it may be hoped that the sailors have come appreciably nearer to receiving their due. The whole question of prize money is •complicated, and we dare say that the public understands little about it. It is safe to say, however, that the whole nation sympathizes with the strong desire of the Navy to have the question settled and the money paid. To state the matter roughly, there are two different sets of rights in prize money ; there are the droita of the Crown and the droits of the Admiralty. The Crown droits have come to be regarded as the property o the Navy and the Admiralty droits as belonging to the State. Whether a droit is that of the Crown or of the Admiralty depends upon *he. part played by the Navy in capturing ships and cargoes. For example, a British ship carrying a neutral cargo which has come into a harbour in the ordinary course of her voyage is condemned as a prize : the money resulting goes to the Admiralty. Another ship —a neutral ship—is demonstrably driven to take refuge in a British harbour by the direct pressure of the Navy : the money goes to the Crown.
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