Maritime Activities

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 215, 18 February 1915, Page 5

Maritime Activities

GERMANS' WAR ON MERCHANTMEN. >:o NEUTRAL VESSELS SAP!-:. The Hague. February 10. A Not,, has hcc-ii * pr.-t,i-nti-«l to Germany protesting at the declaration (if ;>. var zone and pointing out that neutrals' vessels arc entitled to an examination before hostile action. Holland lias also notified Britain of her objections to H:« use of neutral flaps. Stockholm newspapers announce that the Scandinavian Governments have received a secret Xotc from Germany notifying; neutrals that signs painted on their sides will not save vessels. The Note further warns neutral's that minelaying with lie greatly increascil after the ISth. The German Consul at Bottordam. in a similar memorandum to the Chamb t of Commerce, adds that. English merchantmen arc armed with pins and instructed to ram submitvines or drop bombs if they come alongside, and to slay German searching parties. Amsterdam, February Hi. A vessel which was guiding German torpedo boats in the mine zone stni"k a mine and sank at Borkum Island

"FOULER THAN PIRATES." BKITISH SHIPOWNERS XOT ALABMED. sat ling s~as USUAL. Times and Sydney Sun Services London, February lfi. The Tunes, i n a leader, says: "We expect the Germans' threatened blockade will be as futile as the raids of the French privateers in the oil w."rs Tiecaused us heavy losses and inconvenience hut did not stop our sea trade. Tii • Admiralty's measures m:,v brim.' f| v . blockade to an immediate and humilia'ing end." The German thrca; has not caused alarm, and British shipowners await Thursday with philosophic calm. Sailings are unaltered. Tliev regard the throat as an act of desperation and do not consider it a serious menace. Legitimate "■cans have failed to cripple Britain's sea trade and it is unthinkable thai methods fouler than those of pirates wi'l do so. .Shipowners arc prepared for a certain number of losses, but do not believe that the submarines will be permitted a long career of murder 1!,. niomboring the manner i,, which the : German vessels have |,.- 01 , cleared ciT tVouter seas it is confidentlv expected that a campaign with smaller scope will reMiit in speedy success. It is understood that the number of Jar;-. German submarines suitable for operations distant from the base is limited bv the existence of oil supply s hip s . "

MR CHURCHILL'S VIEWS. GERMANY WILL RE PROPF'tLY DEALT WITH. London, February 10. Mr Churchill added tli.-.t tlie' great strain of distant convoy work in"" the early months of the war bad now diminished. The work included the "reat convoy of sixty Australasia,, shins forty Canadian ships, and (he rcml'ar flow ot Indian cimvovs of forty or'fifd vessels- Now ~-,, v ,.,, r ,. .„ ~;. tl)| . (| ,;' ject of a kind of warfare never iv-„-tised in civilised states. Submarines were to sink mrehuntmen at sMif will, out search or parley, hut it must i-,,t be supposed that because the ntte.-k was extraordinary v. good defence could not be made. He warned the public that losses would be incurred, lint there would be no vital injury if traders L" J 1 "", s P irit <lf «•-' Pliant captain of the Laertes. All losses cou'd be covered by Government insurant Germany could not be allowed to adopt a system of open piracy and murder while she was herself protected by the bulwarks of international instruments wlnel, she _ had utterly repudiated and had respe''t,,r' : lmK ' l ' t0 ° UI " ll< ' trimo,lt ' The House chuckl-l when Mr Churclull recalled that the. laws of ancient Koine did not provide f or the crime or parricide, but the judges were equal to the emergency. Some members v!,r, milled, but Mr Asnuith turned to Mr Hobhouse and explained that they sewed up a parricide in a sack with" a live dog a viper, a cock and an ane ->r,l pitched him into the Tiber ' . Mr Churchill concluded that the BritHi sea power increasingly dominated or ,ff , S i tllat ' <,n im<l in ll " f:l,1,t >f ohe Wilde causes, w0.,1,1 alone have decided the issue of -...V war. [The action of the captain of the Laert... referred to by Mr Churchill is thus ,lesenbed in an Amsterdam cable of Fel. niary 11: "The U2 „„ Wednesday shelli eu the steamer Laertes olf the Maas I.gtsnp. The captain raised the D„teh flag to protect the many neutral na«sengers. and. by steam im| at full si'ced "■raped. The submarine fired a tor pedo fruitlessly."] r GERMAN AIHMLN DROWNED. COPPER CARGO TAKEN. Tl, rn ->""■*"• >! lfi. the lifeboat at Sehiennonnik Tslui.i answered distress siwils and fm'i 1 a German watcrplai.e stranded on a sindbank. The crow of the lifeboat. ,-,.. "'■'"'J ( " t"-»«ii-" lbal the men snooM not be interned and (he airmen decided to await the chance of rescue, 1,.- a. German torpedo boat, and clumr 'for five bours ln a. rising ~torm to their .midline, riiey v,,,-, (he,, again compcll,., to signal for the lifeboat, but she v,-s <■<><> late to rescue th.-m. Lnndnn. February Hi. A "icnfral v ,«sc! was stopped 'i„ f,,, North Sea. H, r ~,„„,, „,,„„,„, ~,,„ '•oUoi, 1,,,!,.,,. Thl . s „ Mli( . i( „ w „ f nilv .,, o.ucers were „,-,„:<.„ ),,, ],,.,. ,„ Te.ugbt. and a sea,-!, revealed ei»b! hui,red tens of copper.

AUSTRIAN NAVAL ACTIVITY. | WHKAT STKAMKI'S CAl>Tn:i;i>. Times iiiu] Svilnr'- Sim Scr-!(v; licceivod IT.' .1.1.-, ~.,„.'" London, r.-hnuii-v 17. Aneoiia reports that Imats seized fwcntv ~.,,,,,4 steamers bound for Itiilv and compelled them to vnload at Trieste. RAIN'S IX TI'K STOMACH. While this ailmen! is not. dan";crun ■.. it is not at all pleasant, and anyone who is subject to attacks of it. will be pleased to learn how quick relief mav he had. A close of Chamberlain"-; Colic 'and TiirI'hoea E cily in ;> 'Mile „-afer is ell that is needed. It, is an ideal Ten,; Jy for this eoe.iplaini, for it always affects immediate relief and is pleasant to take. AH chemists and storekeepers.

THE KARLSRUHE.

' HAS SHE BEEN SUNK.? THE WEST INDIAN STOKY. Ottawa. January T\ A detailed description of a naval battle off Grenada. British West Indies, is ■riven in a letter received here to-day from an eye-witness who asserts that, in his opinion, the Gorman cruiser Karlsruhe took part and was sunk. The letter was dated Grenada, December 3, and the writer asserts that after (lie battle, a lifebuoy came ashore marked "KILN. Karlsruhe." together with wreckage and barrels of foodstuffs. If' fnrlher writes that fislnrmen had brought the news that they had seen dead bodies floating in ihe vicinity of Hibattle, numbers of candles marked "Kaiser Light." boots with feet in them, helmets and other wreckage. WTTNESSES KNO AG EMENT. The loiter was mad' public by the Westminster Gazette and was received bv a member of the Ga/.ette stuff from o»o of his friends in Canada. The lotto says: "While at my house on n ridge overlooking the sea iiorih of Grenada, T witnessed .'. naval on'-Ti'.gev.icnt which was undoubtedly carried on between more than two warships. The action lasted, as far as 1* observed, from 7 o'clock to 11 p.m. As the darkness inever.sed, it was quit" apparent when broadsides of projectiles exploded within seconds of each other on either fide within a range of four io six miles. T did not hear'the explosion of the shells, as the fijdit was ton >«r aw-.w. Nobody in St. Patrick's npwared to have notice] what had ban pcrn-d. Whether ihe Government k.->. ■ ' ~f 1].,, .■•pi.f.igemc-nt or not. they certain! '. "i r.scred all news as regards it. FIND. BEAT) BODIES. ) "'Six' days afterwords T was continue,] in my opinio,, by the fact (hat Sautnn fishermen, fishing i„ the Onrriacon Channel, brought in news that they had found dead bodies floating in the water, logo* her with numberless candles marked "Kaiser Light" (a samp!- of which 1 send you as a Christinas card), and nlso boots with feet in them, helmets, pieces of wreckage, etc "On inv portion of an island called Isle of Bhondre. a life buoy came ashore mark-d 'S.M.S. Karlsruhe.' besides wreckage and barrels of foodstuffs. I an, tin' lucky possessor of an officer's sword I'-hirl. ram» ashore wrapped up carefully >n oil cloth. . "A!! this confirms my conviction that not only did an emrageinent occur, but (but the dreaded Karlsruhe has Bo mi iimk.''

A SUBMARINE WAR ON COMMERCE. GERMANY'S NEW IDEA. Writing on the subject of employing submarines to sink British merchant Vessels, Rear Admiral Schliepner recently contributed a remarkable article to rfh'e Berliner Lokal Anzoiger, in which the following sentences are. of special interest:— "Tile Gorman lias always been a loser Willi regard to England, as he never could overcome a certain sentimental feeling of justice and delicacy which is especially peculiar to him even in cases where other feelings would have been more suitable. We waste too much time 0,, purely humane tilings, which torment and torture us, while our adversaries seize the opportunity and recklessly do us harm whenever and wherever that can be done. So. too, now that England is waging a business war against us and holies to be able to crush us economically, we have been contented tin now with occasional pnrryin;.:. We must without doubt return tit for tat and begin a systematic and reckless war oi retaliation against British commerce. "For this we possess a most efficient tool in our submarines. Here we have a new weapon in our hands which, though only recently and carefully developed by us. lias already proved a splendid success. It has sliown results whieli have not remained unnoticed bv neutral Powers, and which have donmuch to harm the alleged supremacy of Great Britain on the sea. One must, strike while tile iron is hot, and natiuv ally this new weapon must not merely lie employed against hostile battleships but also against all ships under the enemy's flag approaching the English coast. We can announce our standpoint to all neutral Powers, but 'then no mercy. "n those Gorman barbarians!' we already it- ;pr the honest Englishman sav Toward an i-i;. my like England, who knows n o leniency where the question of reaching her aim is concerned, and who with the greatest want of principle ,]isowns the white race and fights shoulder to shoulder with coloured peoples. Inwards such a„ enemy we need know no leniency. England means to crush us, and for that purposefshe will not allow herself to be turned either bv treaties "groouieuts. She also display's iinprec--dented nudiciiv in the harm she does !,., neutral States, all with the one purpose "f crushing us. Have we, then, 'any reason for answering v»|. special delicacy? The German siiiefe-rmo has mined widespread terror: v. In- not at those places where supplies are brought to England'! "The idea of destroying the enemy's commerce, and troop-transports is something convincing and it princes a"reei'ble feeling. [., this woajiu Germany has an advantage which mfst be used ipiickly and with all determination. Anyone under the enemy's flag who thinks this barbarous or inhuman may do so. but our advice inn t be "Up ' an 1 at