LATE WAR NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1917, Page 4

LATE WAR NEWS.

(PEE PEERS ASSOCIATION. —COPYEIGHTI.

NAVAL SUPREMACY.

Fight to Finish Said to be Coming.

London, March 23 A finish fight at sea between Germany and Great Britaiu, in which all pretence of carrying on tha war according to the practice of civilised nations will be abandoned by the Kaiser’s naval forces, is expected. Great Britain in the opinion of naval men, has virtually won the first round in the' combat before it has bean fought, by her promptness in extending the mine fields to a bow station of the srn arena. Germany will be restricted further in her submarine barrier of the British coast by the action of the Norwegian Government in closing the waters of that kingdom to U-boats. Norway has deolaced that no German U-boats shall enter this area unless injured or forced thifher by stress of weather. Under such conditions the undersea oraft mu9t run on the surface, displaying the German flag. If she fails to comply with these regulations, she will be sank without warning, by the fire of Norwegian naval craft. While this ruling applies to all belligerents, it will afEeot tha British little, or not at all since her submarines rarely move in these waters. The British Governments show of reprisals toward Germany for her declaration that she will Bink without

warning any hospital ships she can reach in the British Channel shows bow bitter the feeling of the nation toward Germany is becoming, as well as the shifting of opinion to the ForeignOffice. Though the press and people of Britain often clamored for reprisals during the Zeppelin raids of the last two years, the Government has refrained from adopting such measures. Lord Balfour, as Foreign Minister, is the last person in the world who can consider reprisals and the fact that the Foreign Offioe now announced them shows oleariy how seriously the Government regards the German threat and how unfounded are the German charges that the British hospital ships are being put to improper use. What form the reprisals will take no one at the Foreign Office would state, and there is mnch speculation as to what line shall be followed. The ordinary reprisal is made as nearly as possible like the original crime, but in this case the Germans have no hospital ships which the British submarines could reach.

The British Navy denies emphatically that any troops or any implements of war have been carried ou their hospital ships. In feet not even officers returning home from the front have been permitted to cross ou them. These ships are totally unarmed. Already Germany is charging that the placing of the new British mine field is an aggressive measure, though when her ships mined the east coast of the channel the measure was not heralded as a means of offence.