The protest against the further detention and
search of the _Gaelic_ was made on the ground that the ship did not have
a hostile destination, Sagasaki, a port in Japanese territory, being the
only port of call between Yokohama and Hongkong. It was shown by the
Japanese that ships of the company to which the _Gaelic_ belonged often
called at Amoy, China, a belligerent port, but sufficient proof was not
advanced to show that there was any intention to touch there on the
voyage in question.[47]
[Footnote 47: Takahashi, Int. Law during the Chino-Japanese War, pp.
xvii-xxvii. Note on Continuous Voyages and Contraband of War by J.
Westlake; also L.Q. Rev., Vol. 15, p. 24.]
The British assertion that the neutral destination of the ship precluded
the possibility of a search being made, and that it was immaterial
whether anything on board had a hostile destination ulterior to that of
the ship, appears rather surprising when it is seen to be almost the
opposite of the position taken in the seizures of ships bound for
Delagoa Bay in Portuguese territory. Japan on the other hand maintained
that the proceedings were entirely correct on the ground: (1) of the
probability that the _Gaelic_ might call at Amoy; (2) that the doctrine
of continuous voyages was applicable in connection with contraband
persons or goods if they were destined for the Chinese Government even
by way of Hongkong.
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