Page:The New Protectionism.djvu/95

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NAVIGATION LAWS
71

It is, of course, possible that we might try to meet this German shipping policy by excluding from our ports neutral ships of German origin, or belonging to companies owned entirely or in large part by Germans. But how can we obtain satisfactory evidence of the ownership of every vessel claiming to enter our ports under a neutral flag? Is every foreign Government likely to obey our behest to give us an official certification of the ownership of every ship which is empowered to fly its colours, including an up-to-date list of the holders of all shares in shipping companies registered in their country? Anyone acquainted with the intricacies of modern finance, with its complication of Trust Companies and Holding Companies, will recognize the absurdity of such a notion. The mad logic of such a navigation policy would, if followed to its end, drive us to exclude on reasonable suspicion all foreign shipping, neutral as well as hostile, and to establish an all-British shipping policy.

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