ENEMY CHARGES OF BRITISH BRUTALITY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3092, 24 May 1917, Page 6

ENEMY CHARGES OF BRITISH BRUTALITY

~» ALLEGATIONS DISPROVED. The Secretary of .the Admiralty recently made the following announcement:— The German Wireless Press message o£ March 6 quotes an article in tho "KorthGerman Uazette" headed "A 'Baralong' case in the Cameroons." This article purports to give a description of an action between the armoured German Government steamer Nachtigall and H.M.S. Dwarf in 'the Cameroon River on tho night of September 16-17, 1914, and alleges that, after the officers and crew of the Nachtigall had abandoned their vessel, the Dwarf opened firo upon them whilst they were swimming in the -water. In view of the fact that this is a repetition of the version given in the "Berliner Tagcblatt" on September 11, 1016, the officer in command of the Dwarf at . the time of her action with the Nnchtigall' has been called upon for a further report, in which he categorically denies the German charges, and which, for the sake of clearness, is hero reproduced verbatim :— 1. There is no truth whatever in the statement that the' Dwarf's guns were fired at men in the water. 2. From the time that the "Nachtigall was first sighted until the "cease £rc" was sounded the \TO». VftVt. \ VfSVWieo. on the ship, and the lite of ma (\jin\s w Avcccteu at the ship only. .?. The searchlight was then 'trained oa tha water to assist ttaa ©waif's l)oats in picking up survivors. i. A T o }x>at was seen to leave tho tigall, and if one did so it must have been fvoin tbo opposite side, from where it could not be seen from the Dwarf.

5. Lieutenant Wendling's siateiiient iti Hie last paragraph of his letter that he "charged ihg wiih liavins ordered fire to be opened upon German sailors adrift" is also absolutely without truth. Neither did I make use of the expression "T couldn't stop, the boys in the excitement of action." 0. Lieutenant Wcndling was put on his parole on board the pwarf and treats! aa a guest in my cahiu. Hβ was afterwards sent on board Tt.Jt.S. Cumberland, and when leaving the Dwarf he shook hands with me. T do not consider it likely that He would have done this had he at the time been under the impression that I had Riven orders for his men to bo fired at in the water. 7. Lieutenant WendliiiK received a wound in the head on the night of September 1C for which he wns attended. by Hie, surseons of Dwarf and Cumberland. It would appear that this wound must have affected his memory.