Westlake, II. pp. 219-220—Despagnet, No. 696 bis—Bonfils, No. 1475[1]—Ullmann, § 192—Rivier, II. pp. 388-391—Calvo, IV. §§ 2640-2641—Martens, II. § 134—Perels, § 43—Kleen, I. §§ 103-108—Lawrence, War, pp. 83-92, 218-220—Scholz, Drahtlose Telegraphie und Neutralität (1905), passim, and Krieg und Seekabel (1904), pp. 122-133—Land Warfare, §§ 481-484—Kebedgy, in R.I. 2nd Ser. IV. (1904), pp. 445-451.
Pilotage.
§ 353. Since pilots are in the service of littoral States the question as to whether neutrals may permit their pilots to render services to belligerent men-of-war and transport vessels, is of importance. Article 11[697] of Convention XIII. enacts that "a neutral Power may allow belligerent war-ships to employ its licensed pilots." Since, therefore, everything is left to the discretion of neutrals, they will have to take the merits and needs of every case into account. There would certainly be no objection to a neutral allowing belligerent vessels to which asylum is legitimately granted, to be piloted into his ports, and likewise such vessels to be piloted through his maritime belt if their passage is not prohibited. But a belligerent might justly object to the men-of-war of his adversary being piloted on the Open Sea by pilots of a neutral Power, except in a case of distress.
[697] Germany has entered a reservation against article 11.
It is worth mentioning that Great Britain during the Franco-German War in 1870, prohibited her pilots from conducting German and French men-of-war which were outside the maritime belt, except when in distress.
Transport on the part of Neutrals.
§ 354. It is generally recognised that the duty of impartiality incumbent upon a neutral obliges him to prevent his men-of-war and other public vessels from rendering transport services to either belligerent. Therefore, such vessels must neither carry soldiers nor sailors belonging to belligerent forces, nor their prisoners of war, nor ammunition, military or naval provisions, nor despatches. The question as to how far such vessels are prevented from carrying enemy subjects other than members of the forces depends upon the question whether by carrying those individuals they render such service to one of the belligerents as is detrimental to the other. Thus, when the Dutch Government in 1901, during the South African War, intended to send a man-of-war, the Gelderland, to President Kruger for the purpose of conveying him to Europe, they made sure in advance that Great Britain did not object.
The question has been raised[698] as to whether a neutral whose rolling stock runs on the railway lines of a belligerent, may continue to leave such rolling stock there although it is being used for the transport of troops, war material, and the like. The answer, I believe, ought to be in the negative, for there is no doubt that, if the rolling stock remains on the railway lines of a belligerent, the neutral concerned is indirectly rendering transport services to the belligerent. It is for this reason that article 19 of Convention V. enacts that railway material coming from the territory of neutrals shall not be requisitioned or used by a belligerent except in the case and to the extent required by absolute necessity.[699]
[698] See Nowacki, Die Eisenbahnen im Kriege (1906), p. 126.