1939-11-20 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 20, 1939.

THE SIMON BOLIVAR DISASTER ·

WIFE OF TRINIDAD BANKER GIVES GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF SCENES ON DOOMED SHIP

FRANCE BACK TO NORMAL TIME

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

Paris, To-day.

France yesterday Daylight Saving Time.

abandoned

The return to normal time was postponed for six weeks in order to effect extra savings in the present circumstances.

The difference between Hong Kong and Paris time is now. again 8 hours-Havas.

HOLLAND ENTITLED TO MAKE VIGOROUS PROTEST

London, To-day.

"The sinking of the Simon Bolivar is clearly a breach of international law," said Mr. Ivor Jennings in the course of a broadcast on the legal as- pects yesterday.

The Dutch Government, he said, would be entitled to make the very strongest of protests to Berlin.

London, To-day.

MRS. SANDIFORD, wife of a Trinidad banker, and a survivor of the Simon Bolivar disaster, paid a high tribute to men of the Navy and other ships which dashed to the rescue.

In an interview in London yesterday Mrs. Sandiford described the scene on board the Simon Bolivar.

ALREADY AN ECONOMIC

WORLD WAR

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

Roma, To-day.

Although the war is at present confined to Western Europe it is nevertheless already a world war economically, stated Signor Mus- solini.

Thanks to italy, he said, the war had not spread to the whole continent but had already upset the economic and social activities of all countries.-Havas.

She said: "I had just gone down to the cabin to get H.K. AIR MAIL

some things for my daughter, Jean.

"I was unable to get the cases open, so I sent Jean for her father. Soon afterwards there was a

terrific explosion.”

Mrs. Sandiford staggered out through the dark passage which was filled with steam and got to the top deck, where she found her husband injured.

"He told me he was twice thrown up into the air by the explosion."

A swift search revealed their daugh- ter Jean, who was dazed, and the three climbed into the same lifeboat. "The sun-deck was awash when chief officer Smit left it.

SCOTTISH NURSE

"In our lifeboat was a Scottish nurse who, in spite of her own back being injured, began in a businesslike manner to attend to the injuries of the others and make them comfort- able."

Mrs. Sandiford believed that a number of people forward and below must have been trapped.

"In the passage | saw several crawling out of a cabin. Some of them must have been stowards. "I don't know how they could

COMMUNAL RIOTS

Bombay, To-day. Six Hindus-and five Moslems were killed in a serious communal riot in the Bombay Presidency yesterday. The disturbance began when Hindu shops were set on fire by Moslems.

Curfew has been imposed in the district.-Reuter.

MISSING

It is understood that the missing Hong Kong air mail, some eight bags, taken by the Japanese from the Dar- danus at Weichow, to Canton, and overlooked when the earlier batch was re-transferred to Hong Kong, is being brought this afternoon or to-

morrow.

Originally, the Japanese promised to send it down on Saturday, but for some reason a further delay has occurred.

Mr. J. W. Brown, of No. 8, Cornwall. Road, has reported the theft of brass window, bolts and hinges from her bathing shed at the 12-mile beach in the New Territories.

INDIGNATION AND SYMPATHY

2

London, To-day.

have escaped because there was no- THE SINKING OF THE Royal Dutch Mail liner,

body down there to pull them out.

some

"After we had landed we were în the waiting-room when an air raid warning was given. Everybody was taken down into the shelters, being carried on stretchers.

GIRL'S JUMP "Among the passengers who jump- The laying of mines is covered by the 8th Hague Convention, which wased into the sea was a girl returning signed by Britain, France, Germany home after finishing her schooling on the Continent. She got into a life- and other powers in 1907. This con-

nobody vention makes a distinction between boat, but told me that as

lowered the boat she decided to jump anchored and unanchored mines.

Unanchored mines must be so made for it." as to render themselves harmless one hour after

Anchored being laid. mines must not be laid unless they renders itself are of a type which harmless on breaking loose.

It is not known what type sank the Simon Bolivar.

One of the problems of the nurses and doctors was the vast with quantities of tenacious oil which the survivors were covered.

had The hospital authorities make an emergency application for the issue of petrol for cleaning them!

If it was an unanchored mine, it-Reuter. was clearly a breach of the treaty. which If it was an anchored mine

broke loose, there was again a breach

of the treaty.

THE LAW

If it was an anchored mine, Hague Convention does not

the apply.

Of course, Germany might argue that the convention does not apply

Poland,

in

means whatever. The British Ad-

NAZI-DUTCH AIR CLASH

Amsterdam, To-day.

to

A clash between a Dutch

Simon Bolivar, has evoked feelings of indigna- tion and sympathy.

The disaster adds more lives and another fine ship to the long list of casualties inflicted upon neutrals by German ruthlessness and disregard for inter- national law.

Among the more recent of these Moreover, all the evidence, and the have been the sinking of the Danish | statement of the master of the Canada liner, Canada, by an unnotified Ger- proved it to have been a German mine. man mine and the torpedoing, with- | If a British warship is, damaged by out warning or attempt to place the one of these illegal minefields, Ger-

the crew in safety, of Norwegian many is only too pleased to claim tanker, Arne Kjode.

it as a great success for German International law demands that if arms. Yet if a neutral ship is sunk a belligerent lays mines he must in this way the German mine- take every possible precaution to field is at once announced ensure. the safety of commercial as British by the German Propaganda

Ministry. navigation and must, for this reason, declared the danger area and warn

The shipping to keep clear.

Allies

area have announced every danger created by them.

CLOSING OF BALTIC

Germany has announced some

MINES WASHED UP

Further proof of the illegal laying of mines by Germany in shipping routes on the west side of the North Sea has been secured by the fact that many German mines have been washed up on the East Coast.

The effect of this ruthless German warfare against neutral shipping is Canal, shown by the following quotation thus submitting to the German Con- from a Norwegian newspaper, refer- Control and bringing to ring to the torpedoing, without warn- Germany much-needed foreign curing of the Norwegian tanker, Arne

force all

any case, since it was not signed by fighter and a German ma- danger areas, notably those designed

But here, customary international chine violating Dutch neu-to close the Baltic and law applies. Neutral passenger or trality occurred yesterday, in neutral shipping passing in or out cargo ships may not be sunk by any exactly the same circum-of that sea to use the Kiel miralty informs neutrals of the pre- stances as the incident re-traband

only lays ported on Saturday.

The Dutch plane was sent up when rency by the payment of canal the Nazi machine appeared. There dues. was an exchange of machine-gun fire before the German plane succeeded in getting away.

become

sence of minefields and those which

harmless on breaking loose.

The indiscriminate laying of mines- in open sea is directly contrary to international law, concluded Jennings, but-in 1914, а German ship, the Konigen Louise was sunk while laying mines in the open sea. Reuter.

Mr.

CASTLE PEAK ROAD ACCIDENT ·

and Mr. A. Malcolm, of Malcolm Compuny, while driving in Castle. Peak Road towards. Laichikok, on accidentally Saturday afternoon, knocked down an 8-year-old Chinese girl, Yuen Hing. The girl was admit- jed to the Kowloon Hospital

The Netherlands Government has lodged a further protest.

used

and

German U-Boats are, making a practice of laying clumps of mines in the channels merchant shipping side of the North Sea.

Kjode: “It is proof of open; warfare excluding the aggressor from, a civil- however, ised community: Such matters can only be resolved when the nation that by has thus raised its hand against all, finds that every man's hand is against her. One cannot exceed the bounds Bri- of humanity even in war." tish Wireless.

traffic on this

The establishment of these danger Belgium is protesting about a clash

areas is not ́ announced, as their on a bigger scale over Belgium in

inflict and whole objective is to

losses which several Belgian pursuits Nazi reconnaissance planes returning before 'the minefields are discovered from France were concerned.-Reuter. ] and swept.

ABANDONED JUNK

The naval authorities report an apparently abandoned junk, dan.

in gerous to navigation

Lat. 21.35 N. Long, 113.32 E.

NONSENSE

In the case of the Danish ship, Canada, Germany__at once averred the ship had struck a British mine. It is hardly commonsense to im agine that a maritime nation should illegally lay mines in channels tensively used by its own shipping!

BRITAIN TO BUY ALL EGYPT'S COTTON

·Cairo"

It is officially announced. British Government' harkeres from Egypt all the cotton ex-fore the war, was sold to Car

Heuter.