But see now the note at the end of the "Letter" which follows.
THE SINKING OF THE _KOWSHING_ Sir,--The words of soberness and truth were spoken with reference to the sinking of the _Kowshing_ in the letter from Professor Westlake which you printed on Friday last.

Ignorance dies hard, or, after the appearance of that letter and of your remarks upon it, one might have expected that leading articles would be less lavishly garnished with such phrases as "act of piracy," "war without declaration," "insult to the British flag," "condign punishment of the Japanese commander." But these flowers of speech continue to blossom; and, now that the facts of the case seem to be established beyond reasonable doubt by the telegrams of this morning, I should be glad to be allowed to state shortly what I believe will be the verdict of international law upon what has occurred.
If the visiting, and eventual sinking, of the _Kowshing_ occurred in time of peace, or in time of war before she had notice that war had broken out, a gross outrage has taken place.

But the facts are otherwise.
In the first place, a state of war existed.

It is trite knowledge, and has been over and over affirmed by Courts, both English and American, that a war may legally commence with a hostile act on one side, not preceded by declaration.

How frequently this has occurred in practice may be seen from a glance at an historical statement prepared for the War Office by Colonel Maurice _a propos_ of the objections to a Channel tunnel.