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During the week ending the 27th January the Contraband Committee dealt with the cargoes of 107 ships which had arrived since the 20th January and 21 outstanding cargoes from the previous week. In 84 cases the entire cargoes were released, either on first consideration or after enquiry.

The period of stay to which a neutral ship must submit under the British Contraband Control has been considerably reduced since the beginning of the war, and compares very favourably with the delay encountered in the German courts, where a stay of anything up to two months is possible.

German Merchant Shipping.

13. Since the middle of January German merchant ships in Spanish ports have displayed a considerable amount of activity. There are still over twenty ships at Vigo and others at Huelva, Bilbao, Seville, Cadiz and Las Palmas.

In their journey from Huelva up the Guadalquiver River to Seville on the 28th-29 January the Helios, 3,821 tons, Porto, 2,185 tons, and Sevilla, 1,995 tons, are said to have been escorted by Spanish gunboats.

14. There is a possibility that the German iron ore ships making their way in Norwegian territorial waters are leaving the coast in the neighbourhood of Christiansand in order to pass into the Kattegat. A further report states that, owing to Belts being closed by ice, these ships proceed from the Naze to the Skaw and thence to Hantsholm.

During the night of the 23rd January a large German ship was reported to have passed Oslo Fjord loaded with a cargo of guns and ammunition for Murmansk in Russia. Later, two ships of 11,000 tons, similarly loaded, were reported in Helsingborg, where Swedish pilots refused to meet them. A report from Haugesund received to-day confirms the refusal of the Norwegian pilots, although the German Consul at Haugesund is said to have offered "any money. A large, loaded German ship was observed off the coast near Arendal, bound northwards, on the night of the 26th January, and is now believed to be off the coast near Christiansand without a pilot.

Western Front.

MILITARY SITUATION.

15. The week under review has been very quiet. Hard frost and deep snow, followed by a thaw, have presumably been responsible for the lull in German. patrolling. Most of the 50th Division and about half of the 51st Division have completed disembarkation in France.

Germany.

Distribution of the German Army.

16. The distribution of the German Army was last reported on the 7th December in Résumé No. 14. At that time between ninety-three and ninety-seven divisions were believed to be on the Western Front. The latest estimate is as follows:-

it

AFA OH

U

С

a

1

t

(

T

t

1

Western Front

German Poland and East Prussia

Moravia and Bohemia

Austria

Baltic Coast

Central Germany

Total

Divisions.

100

17

7

4

6

4

138

In addition to the above divisions, whose formation is complete, there are believed to be another 35-40 divisions in training camps and barracks in Germany.

17. There have been no recent changes on the Dutch and Belgian frontiers, where the number of troops is about the same as in November. Reports state that certain points on the Polish-Roumanian frontier have been occupied by German troops, who are believed to consist chiefly of engineer and railway personnel.

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