THE WORM TURNS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 262, 15 April 1915, Page 8

THE WORM TURNS.

—■ GERMAN SEA COMMERCE TO .ENO. • THE NAVAL STIiANGLE-lIOLD, . London March 3. > "\\ai- is war." Germany has made, that phrase the jurisdiction of innumerable violations of international law ' and crime against humanity, but En"and has "played the game." so far in kid gloves, especially on the sea. Our Navy went into this war—to use the Prime Minister's admirable phrase—"strangled in a network of judicial devices." A large part of this network lias been devised by our own Government after consultation with the Baron Marsehall von Bieberstein. Some of it had been woven 'before the war in the shape of the Hague Conventions; another part, the Declaration of London, bad been rejected by the House of Lords, but had been gratuitously given the force of law at the beginning of the war. The "network of judicial devices" was not, therefore, a binding instrument, and at the very beginning of the war we might with complete propriety have torn the strangling web to pieces. But we have allowed it to remain intact, as though it was something too sacred to be touched in spite of the fact that we recognised that its existence was of material aid to the enemy, crippling as it did to a great extent the powers of our Navy and depriving ourselves and" our Allies of advantages which we could faifly claim. Even when Germany destroyed Belgium, murdered hostages anil massacred civilians we still reverenced the web. When the enemy entered France, and, in defiance of international laws, bombarded public monuments and pillaged vast quantities of civilian property, we were still, to use the Prime Minister's words, "moderate and restrained." When Russia was put under a ruthless blockade in the Bailie and the Bosphorous, we still allowed ships to enter German ports with cotton', iron ore. and other commodities; when the people of . Scarborough, trusting in the "protection" offered bv a Hague Convention, were done to death, we still held on primly to our "moderate" policy. And if Germany bad baited at these crimes she might have gone on importing cotton and foodstuffs to the end of the chapter. But when she declared a blockade of TSritish waters, and began to enforce that blockade bv the sinking of merchantmen —well, that was the last straw. REPRISALS TO PIRACY. So our Navy, after being compelled for six months to loot on helplessly whilst ships by the thousand have heen taking goods from neutral c -lntries to Germany, in now to be allowed to commence in real earnest the worl; of economic pressure. Germany's opponents, said Mr. Asquith, have been "driven to frame retaliatory measures in order in their turn to prevent commodities of any kind from reaching or leaving Germany. . The British and French Governments will, therefore, hold thcim-o'vcs free to detain and take into port ships carrying goods to presumed enemy destination, ownership, oc origin."" Air Asquith spoke as though this was a policy of reprisal, but many learned men prefer to call it a measure of justice to the British Navy, the nation] and our Allies, which breaks no cannon of universally .acknowledged international law, but merely restores to England the full strength of her sea-power grip. ] THE PREMIER'S STATEMEXT. Mr Asquith's statement of the view taken by the British Government of the rights and duties of the Allies in the face of the alleged submarine blockade" of the British coasts is worth reproduction. "Germany," he said, "has declared that the English Channel, the north and west coast of France, and the waters round the British Isles are a wv ' area, and has officially notified that all I enemy ships found in the area will be destroyed, and that neutral vessels may be exposed to danger. This is, in effect, a claim to torpedo at sight, and without regard to the safety of the crew or passengers, any merchant vessel under any flag. As it is not in the power of the German Admiralty to maintain any surface craft in 'these waters, the attack can only b c delivered by submarine agency. BELLIGERENTS' OBLIGATIONS.

'■Hie sinking of prizes is in itself a questionable act, to be resorted to only m extraordinary circumstances, and after provision has been made for the aafoty of all the crow ami baSsclws ! ii were are passengers on board. The responsibility 0 f discriminating between ..uitral and enemy cargo obviously rests with the attacking ship, whoso I duty it is to verify the status and character of the vessel and cargo, and to preserve all papers before 'sink-in" or capturing the ship. So also is the" humane duty of providing for the safety of the crews of merchant vessels, who", I t.icr neutral ov enemy, an obligation on > every belligerent, " I "The German submarine fubils noiie I of the-o obligations. She enjoys «o I .'oc-al command of tl'v waters in 'which I she operates. She does not take her j captures within the jurisdiction of the Prize Court. She carries no prize crow that she can put on board the prize sbo ' seizes. She uses no effective means of liseriminating between a neutral and an ■neniy vessel. She does not receive on lioiird for safety the crew of the vessel she sinks. Her methods of warfare ire, therefore, entirely outside the scope of any of the international instruments regulating operations against I ' lommerco in time of war. I ;

XEUTRAft LIFF, AND PROPERTY SAFK. "The German declaration substitutes indiscriminate destruction for regulated capture, (,'ermany is adopting' those methods against peaceful trailers anil non-combatant crews, with the avowed object of preventing commodities of all kinds, including food for the civil population, from reaching or leaving the British Tslcs or Northern Franco." Her opponents are. therefore, driven to frame retaliatory measures in order in their turn to prevent commodities of any. kind from reaching or leaving oPrmany. ' ° * I

"These measures, will, however, be enforced by the British and French Covcrnmenls without risk to neutral ships or to neutral or non-combatant live-i. m strict observance of the diciates ~f humanity. The British and French Coveinments will, therefore hold themselves free to detain and.take into port ships carrying goods of presumed enemy destination, ownership, or origin. It is not intended to confiscate such vessels or cargoes unless they : .-oul.l be otherwise liable to confiscation.