We will now set out a list of commodities, of which the importation is pro hibited or restricted, and which therefore come within the definition of contra blind when dealt with against the provisions of the law. The following are absolutely prohibited from being imported :—Books, which were first composed, written, or printed in the United Kingdom, in which copyright subsists, and which have been printed or reprinted in any other country. The proprietor of a copyright, who fears the importation of foreign reprints, should give written notice of his propRietorthip to the Commissioners of Customs, and stating the date when the copyright will expire. The importation of books, the copyright of any of which is protected under the International Copyright Act, 1886, is also prohibited. And coming under the head of books are copyright musical songs or pieces, foreign reprints of which are often imported through the post-office, bound up or enclosed with non-copyrighI compositions. Repetitions, copies, or imitations of copyright paintings, drawings, or photographs are included in the prohibition. Clocks and watches, or any other article of metal impressed with any mark or stamp repre senting or in imitation of any legal British assay, mark, or stamp, or purporting by marks or appearance to have been manufactured in the United Kingdom, may not be imported. Coin, false money, or counterfeit sterling ; also silver coin of the realm, not being of the established standard in weight or fineness, are prohibited. Except coins coined in any foreign country and carried on the person, or in the baggage of passengers, so long as the quantity so carried does not, in the judgment of a customs officer, exceed the reasonable requirements of an individual; but there is no restriction at all upon the importation of foreign gold and silver coins. Coin in imitation of, or bearing a resemblance to British coin, may not be imported, except for the purposes of knowledge or art, or any exhibition or collection, or for any lawful purpose. Coffee, chicory, tea, or tobacco, in essence, extract, or concentrated form, or any admixture thereof. Under this rule, essence of coffee and milk is prohibited ; and also coffee seeds, unless they contain germs, and are intended for use as seed only. Indecent or obscene prints, paintings, photographs, books, cards, lithographic or other engravings, or any other indecent or obscene articles, are kept out of the country. Match-boxes are specially looked for by the customs officers. Infected cattle, sheep, or other animals, or the carcases or parts thereof, are prohibited ; and so also are tobacco stalks, snuff-work, tobacco stalk flour, or tobacco cut and compressed by mechanical or other means. Foreign prison-made goods, and goods made or produced wholly or in part in any foreign gaol, house of correction, or penitentiary, may not enter the country unless such goods are of a description not manufactured in the United Kingdom, or are merely in course of transit, or are not imported for the purposes of trade. Nitro-glycerine may only be imported under the conditions specified in the Explosives Acts. The Merchandise Marks Act, and the Margarine Act, also prohibit the importation of goods where the marking thereof is illegal and in contravention of those Acts. Spirits, wine, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, and snug are also prohibited, except subject to elaborate restrictions interesting to the wholesale importer only. Fictitious posture damps, and any die, plate, instrument, or materials for their manufacture, r.ay not be imported ; nor even studs (unless approved by the Cnstoms officials) which bear a representation of a postage stamp. Lotteries : any advertisement or other notice of, or relating to, the drawing of any lottery, which is sent for the purpose of publication in the United Kingdom, in contravention of the Lotteries Act, 1836, or any other Act relating to foreign lotteries, will be confiscated.
Prohibitions and restrictions on must be ex ported according to the conditions contained in the Explosives Act ; and salmon, in compliance with the Salmon Fishery Acts for the time being in force. British or Irish spirits cannot be dealt with in cask of less capacity than nine gallons each and tobacco may be exported from only certain specified places. Arms, ammunition, gunpowder, military and naval stores, guns, fowling pieces, and stocks, require generally an entryibefore shipment, end inquiry should be made as to the prohibitions and restrictions on their exportation for the time being.
Penalty for a breach is £100, and forfeiture.
• Leaving contraband of revenue, some notice should be ta,ken gf that form of contraband a subject of international law and known as contraband of war. Under this denomination may be classed in general all those things which serve a particular purpose in warfare, and which may be used directly in attack or defence. The conveyance by a neutral of such things to one of the belligerents in a war is regarded as an illicit act. • It is the general custom, at the commencement of a war, for both the belligerents and time neutrals to declare what commodities will be regarded as contraband of war. There is a great divergence of opinion bete een the different states with regard to the classification of articles as contraband or otherwise; so great is this divergence that it is impossible to determine with precision, and as a general rule of law, what goods the traffic in which should be absolutely restricted in time of war: With regard to arms, munitions of war, and in fact all the articles of military pyrotechnic, there is no difficulty—these are always and under all circumstances prohibited and considered to be contra band. Steamers and steam-engines are also generally prohibited ; but coal not always, or by all states. But it is a general opinion amongst interna tional lawy@rs that such commodities as corn and other alimentary goods are not properly the subject of contraband, prohibition of their conveyance being enforced only in cases of blockade and in respect to places blockaded. Troops are in the same category as munitions of war, and consequently a neutral may not transport soldiers, marines, sailors, or others, in order that they may form the forces of a belligerent ; and with very good reason a neutral may not carry despatches or messages for a belligerent. In respect to unmanufactured materials, it is often a difficult question to determine whether such are contraband. The only means of arriving at its solution is to consider the character of the materials and that of the articles usually manufactured therefrom.
A belligerent has the right to capture contraband destined for its enemy. It is not sufficient that the goods are merely the subject of negotiation for conveyance; they must be actually in course of conveyance to the ehemy in order that their confiscation may be regular. And neutral powers are them selves under an obligation not to with a traffic in contraband; but apart from this general obligation upon states as such, the regulation or prohibition of traffic in contraband by these subjects is a matter solely for the domestic law of states. In short, private commerce in contraband is a risk which may be carried on by any individuals ehatever, subject first to any particular laws on the subject imposed in their own state, and secondly to the risk of failure in their enterprise and the consequent suffering of the penalties recognised by international law for engaging in contraband traffic. See BLOCKADE.