Mr. Balfour very properly went on to state that in
insist- ing on the duties of belligerents we must not forget the duties of neutrals. " The belligerent of to-day will be the neutral of to-morrow, and the neutral of to-day may be the belligerent of to-morrow; and there are duties incumbent upon neutrals which must be borne in mind by shipowners of this country. Undoubtedly it is the duty of a neutral ship to stop, when summoned to stop by a cruiser of a belligerent; and for the captain to allow at once, and without difficulty, his papers to be examined. That is an obligation on neutrals which we have systematically, consistently, and sternly enforced when we have been in the position of a belligerent, and it would not become us to indulge in any attempt to minimise that obliga- tion on neutrals."
