"U" BOAT CRIMES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 82, 31 December 1917, Page 11

"U" BOAT CRIMES

SAILORS DEMAND PUNISHMENT

LORD BERESFORD'S SUPPORT

Lord Beresford recently presided at tlio Albert Hall, London, over a very successful meeting called by the National Sailors' aria Firemen's Union to discuss the German U-hoat crimes. The meeting decided to recommend all citizens of the Empire to refuse to employ Germans in any capacity on land or sea, pledged themselves not to buy or use any goods of German origin, and called on all master mariners to refuse to salute or recogniso the German flag on the high seas or in ports abroad, this boycott to continue for two years, plus one month for every crime torn* mitted from now contrary to the Hague Convention. Mitigation was promised if the German people decide to establish full Parliamentary control over their Kaiser and Government. The meeting was most enthusiastic. Ono of the speeches was interrupted by an <.fficia! air-raid warning given to enable . those who desired to do so to leave the hall. It was immediately met by a cry of "Carry on," in which the women of the audience were most prominent. Nobody left the hall. I

Lord Bcresford's Speoch. Lord Beresford, in opening the meeting, said; that was the first meeting to express the opinion of the people as to the necessity of the Germans being punished for their barbarojs atrocities. (Cheers.) The resolutions proposed punishment, and showed how it would be increased in intensity if they_ continued these crimes. What particularly affected that meeting was the irritation and anger in the mind of the people regarding, tlss assassination of British seamen on the high seas, of women and children, as in the Lusitania, the cowardly, cruel murder of the men of the Belgian Prince, and of Captain Fryatt. Why had that feeling been roused? No Minister, nobody in authority, had yet made a clear and definite statement to bring it homo to the German people that they would 1.0 severely punished after this war, or that tho punishment would be increased if the crimes continued. Ministers talked about restoration and reparation. That was all platitudo, all heroics, but itwas not going to bring homo to the' minds of the German people tho anger aroused n.t this country by these atrocities. They must'instil into the minds of the commercial and financial classes that if this went on it meant absolute ruin to them. (Cheers.) Tlio punishment should be proportionate to the crimes. '

At the beginning of this war tbo trade routes were unprotected, and ■here was.no security that the people would receive their food. The. Government were warned for years, but those who warned them were called bluefunkera, scaremongers, and treated with obloquy. The public as a whole were ignorant of the debt they could never repay that ther owed to tho Mercantile Marine. Without their splendid heroism we could .not havo held our own. The Navy appreciated what these men had done, and hoped that after this war there would bo closer union between the Royal Navy and tho mercantile niarino, which they hoped would be called "His Majesty's Merchant Service" (Cheers.) One great servico was useless without the other. At tho beginning of tho war they were told ■ something to the effect that if tho battle fleets were in' posiI tion it would almost secure the trade routes. What that meant no architect had over boon able to understand. Although unarmed, the merchant, seamen faced the danger and did their bit. (Cheers.) Yes; but at what cost? Over 9000 men were now lying' at the bottom of the sea and 4000 were prisoners. No senmon had ever refused to sign 'on. (Cheers.) Many ships ! were missing. ' ("Ah.") They had read what the Germans did to 'the Argentine ships. Thoy did just tho same to ours.- Dead men told no tales. Hundreds of our men were killed in that way. Thoy must not forget thn patrols and tho .sweepers, who faced death every hour.

Seamen's Wight to Demand Punishment. Who had a better right to demand punishment than tho survivors of .thai mercantile marine? . They had giren ' their lives .to., feed us. We were still a long way from starvation, thanks to them. The figures given us with regard to the tonnage sunk were misleading. '' Why should not our people know the truth? (Cheers.) At tho beginning of 1918 British, Allied, ami neutral shipping would be 6,000,000 '■ tons short of what;, they had in 1913. ; Those ■ were net figures. ' The.' loss ! would be 12,000.000 tons, but we had i replaced 5,500,000 tons. That was a, very serious .position..' There was no ; danger -of- famine/ but there'was great' danger of very grave inconvenience iui- ' less wo economised. .At present 10,000 ' tons of- British, Allied, and neutral shipping were lost every day. Ho . Brought theso figures out not only to• show the loss, but the. terrible risks run by the-men. The Allies ought , to be building more ships. We were \ not up to our own estimate. When a ; Coalition Government was in' power : thero was not criticism, and they had I also a muzzled Press. They did not I know, the'truth, and the Government I did not know the mind of tho people. I Wo sTiould beat the submarine. ' (Cheers.) It would take some time, ; but they had run us up a terrible debt, i The enemy, however, did not remember : that the submarine warfare would bring in the great Republic of the West.': (Cheers.) The United States were going to see this thing through, and his opinion was that the war would not be over till the United States could bring an effective force of a million men into the trenches. Here, again, they were up against a question of tonnage. It would be done and we should win, but they must use all the.energy, all tho •patience, and all the comradeship and all the sentiment they had to enablo them to seo the thing through fairly to the end.

Tho Seamen and Firemen's Union represented the officers and men of tho mercantile marine. Ho asked, them to stick it out.. ("We will.") They had.shown their power. They stopped that Pacifist. Congress at Stockholm. (Loud cheers.) What did it matter if all the Governments of the world gave passports when seamen and firemen said, "Give what you like, but we do not take them" ? They were perfectly ablo to carry out what thoy proposed in their resolution. ("We will.'') Thev wore not usurping the functions of tho Government but trying to make tho Government exercise the functions committed to their charge. It was in tho sea and on the sea that they were going to win this war. He was not minimising the bravery of the men in the trenches but was talking about the economic question—tho war after the war, tho commercial question. Do not let them talk about negotiations with tlio Germans. (Cheers.) Tho word was inappropriate. The peace had got to be a peaco ordered by us and made at the point of the bayonet and the muzzle of the machine-gun. What was the use of talking about negotiations with peoplo that had broken every, law, human and Divine, that treated "treaties as scraps of paper, that treated small countries as slaves ?■ Never trust them again. (Loud cheers.) Peaco would be brought about by tho soldier with his bayonet and the' sailor with his power at sea. "Bravo! Seamen's and Firemen's Union," concluded Lord Rcresford. "You have shown us tho way to beat, '

the f'eouans and how to bring tho war to an end quicker by putting out in 'clear and unmistakable language, what that country would suffer for overy ciime when they son vour resolutions." (Loud cheers and "Bravo, Condor.")