THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 15, 1940
UNRESTRICTED
Page .7
U-BOAT
WAR ON NEUTRAL SHIPS
WASHINGTON
ON NAZI
SINKINGS
THREATS
Washington, To-day.
com-
ย.
Government quarters, menting on the German doctrine Just announced, state that boats could legally Bink an American ship forced into a Bri tish control port only after it had been ascertained that the vessel's cargo exceeded 50 per cent. of contraband destined for Ger- many's onemles.
Little concern is shown by the authorities at the statement by m Berlin spokesman defending the sinking of a Dutch vessel and saying that American ships hold- ing the same status would fair victims.-Reuter.
ba
GERMAN REPLY TO AMERICAS
Berlin, To-day. Germany replied yes- terday to the Note sent to all the belligerents as re- gards the establishment of a 300-mile security zone around the Ameri-
cas.
THE NEW NAZI DOCTRINE TO JUSTIFY MURDER
AMSTERDAM, TO-DAY.
NEW INSTRUCTIONS, THAT MEAN PITILESS WAR- FARE ON VIRTUALLY ALL NEUTRAL VESSELS, HAVE BEEN SENT TO GERMAN SUBMARINE COMMANDERS, ACCORDING TO NEWS REACHING HERE FROM BERLIN.
The Dutch steamer Burgendijk is believed to have been the first victim of these new measures. She was tor- pedoed by a Nazi submarine.
The Berun correspondent of the "Telegraaf," reporting what he was told in the Wilhelmstrasse, formulates the German standpoint as follows:
"If a neutral ship la homeward bound or bound for a neutral country is taken Into a British control port it will be torpedoed If it has contraband on board."
The correspondent believes that the commander of the submarine which sank the Burgendijk could not have acted on his own responsibility, since the action was opposed to all the traditions of the German navy.
BLANK CHEQUE
Hence he must have been acting on an instruction amounting to a sort of blank cheque for destruction.
The Germans say that the British must hold up ships and search them
TRAFFIC OFFENCES
Mr. V. M. Benwell, of the "Bunga- low," Smithfield, Kennedy Town, was summoned before Mr. H. G. Sheldon, K.C., at the Central Magistracy this morning, for falling to stop his car close to the side of the road, at Queen's Road Central on January 13.
A fine of $2 was imposed.
Mr. R. de W. Waller, of the 20th Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery, was Aned $5 for driving without a licence on January 10.
Mr. C. Lauritsen, of the Dragon was cautioned, Motor Car Company
at sea instead of taking them to the when summoned for allowing his car control point in the Downs.
Dutch ships are thus faced with the prospect of being marcilessly torpedoed without explanation if they enter Britain's sphere of sea control, which, practically speak- Ing, extends over the whole world.
Theoretically, American ships touching at Gibraltar are
llable
to
in
to remain longer than necessary Des Voeux Road Central on January
12.
WELSH SOCIETY
ORDINARY INSTINCTS OF HUMANITY
London, To-day. Aaked In the House of Com- mons yesterday whether in vlew of "the murdering of unarmed seamen by German alrmen" we would consider ceasing to send out ships to pick up German alr- men when
ara their planes brought down In the sea,
Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, declared amidet cheers that the ordinary Instincts of humanity required the rescue from the son of drowning men or castaways, and should be observ. ed by His Majesty's ships in the course of their duties.-Reuter,
NORTH SEA
SHIPS TO
BE ARMED
London, To-day. Every British ship in the North Sea will be protected with guns.
This announcement was made by Mr. Churchill yesterday when he was asked in the House of Commons about the machine-gunning of trawlers by Nazi 'planes.
The annual dinner and dance of
He replied that attacks of this kind not Cymdeithas Dewi Sant (St. David's on small, unarmed ships could Society) Hong Kong will be held at have been expected; now that they are the Roof Garden of the Hong Kong being made, however, every ship must of March carry effective arms to resist the mur- be torpedoed under the new Nazi rule, Hotel on Friday, the 1st and feelings in Holland are particu- Reservations ($5 a cover) may be derous attacks. This work will larly bitter that Germany persistent-booked through the Hon. Secretary, carried out in a very short time.-
at-3, Ventris Road, or the Hong Kong Reuter. ly picks out small neutrals for
There will be dancing from tacks and leaves the big ones alone. Hotel.
approximately -10.00 p.m. to 1.00 a.m.
The Nazi reply welcomes the de- sire of the American Republics to maintain strict neutrality, and says the contemplated regulation would represent an amendment of inter-Reuter. national law.
German warships, the reply says, have observed International re- gulations and therefore cannot consider that it is different from the other belligerents, for Britain and Franco have possessions on the American Continent and have oɛ- tablished important bases there. Germany therefore suggests
that
GERMAN FREIGHTER TO RUN GAUNTLET
Rio de Janeiro, To-day.
Britain and France, under the guar- WITH 60 TONS OF COFFEE, lard, cotton and grain on board the German freighter Uruguay (5,846 tons), of the Hamburg-Amerika Line, slipped out of Pernam- buco yesterday.
antee of the United States, should ac- cept an obligation not to use these possessions and islands as starting points or bases for military action. - Reuter.
She is the last of the 10 German vessels lying there to sail
in an attempt to run the British blockade.
...CEABELESSLY ENGAGED.
London, To-day.
be
"We are ceaselessly engaged with plans for putting into execution de- fensive measures and counter-mea- sures. These can only be judged by the results," declared the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill when asked in the House of Commons yesterday whether he
would be
had taken adequate measures for the defence of trawlers and fishing-boats. Mr. Churchill added he hoped a very great measure of protection afforded the men in the North Sea In a very short time.
Naturally, attacks on unarmed and small vessels could not have been ex- pected, but now it appeared that every
At the same time the Koenigsberg The need of slight repairs to the (6,466 tons), a Norddeutscher Lloyd | machinery is given as the reason. small vessel must be effectively arm-
from the Amazon
CONTRABAND freighter, sailed
CONTROL
LONDON, TO-DAY,
Delta but is reported to have stop- ped later at Gaivota Island, some 76 miles down the estuary, presumably awaiting instructions from Germany.
The whereabouts of the La Coruna, the Hamburg-South America 7,000- ton oll-burning passenger ship, still unknown.
NOT INVOLVED
Is
ON FEBRUARY 13 THERE WERE 20 NEUTRAL SHIPS IN UNITED KINGDOM CONTRABAND CON-
Rear-Admiral Harwood, command- TROL BASES, OF WHICH 14 HAD BEEN THERE FIVE DAYS ORing British naval forces in the South LESS.
Atlantic, in a statement to the press,
Reuter.
ed to resist murder. - Router.
BITTER COMMENTS
OF NEUTRALS:
Oslo, To-day. GERMANY'S RUTHLESS WAR on neutral shipping con-
tinues to draw the bitter fire of the neutral press.
During the week ended February emphasised that H.M.S. Hawkins was The leading Liberal Norwegian newspaper "Tidens Tegn"
10 the contraband committee
not involved in. any con- sidered the cargoes of 123 ships which German ships. arrived since February 3 and 32 outstanding from the previous week. In 87 cases the entire cargoes were released on first consideration or after enquiries.
A total of 74 cases were dealt with under, the system of advance copy manifests and in 80. such cases ves- sels were released subject to formal checking of the original manifests, British Wireless.
Incidents with
This rules out the possibility that the cruiser could have been concern- ed in the scuttling of the Wolfsburg which, like the Wakama, is reported to have opened her seacocks off the north coast of Brazil when a British warship was sighted. ›
makes the drastic suggestion.that the Oslo Powers must
น
stop trading with Germany unless the Reich will guar- antee the lives of Scandinavian seamen.
The latest German “excuse"~~~that] have to revise their attitude towards neutral ships may be sunk even when
the Reich,
This German claim was repeated they are being taken compulsorily to
yesterday
rit le learned, unoffiolally that an Allied contraband control harbour the siz H.M., Hawkins with remain in Rio is rejected by the paper, which 48 hours. Instead of 24, as at firet | says that if, Germany cont reported.
T
adopt this attitude the neutrals will