The evening times., 1898-05-17
TEE auEsr1on or COAL.
.Es4aee eaA dhe Netheraands 10, Oh
seryr, Heuxrulfty.


.Es4aee saA ihe Netheraanas 10. oh
serve Heussalfty.
For the purpose of .ascertaining how
much coal spain,s men-sf-war took on
board at Willemstad. Curacao. Secretary
OF State Day was IN consuftati6n this
asorniag With, Mr.. @; de Weokherlin. the
Netherlands minister to the United
States.
He was unsuccessful. The minister' had
nc. .infcrmation concerning. the amount
of coal which had been supplied to the
Spanish vessels. but he protested thar
the Netherlands had In no way violated
her neutrality. and that dispatches which
he expected would show this to bel the
case.
Strict neutrality is required from Cn-
racao. according to the Netherlands min
lister. as much ds rom the mother coun-
try itself. The Netherlands was the Sec
ond country in the dHorld to proclaim her
neutrality and her proclamation was
dated. five, days after the commencement
of the war. on April q
The proclamation reminded ''ail ,citi-
zens Of the Netherlands. even those DOM
iciled outside ,of4 Europe. - that they
must refrain from all acts that can be
regarded as contrary to neutrality. and
added that, the government will tpler-
ate no acts thai can, be considered as be-
ing in violation of the duties of a neutral
state .f,.s -
1t was in accordance with this procla-
4 nation that the government Of Guraca 4
informed the commanders OF the InsaIta
Maria !Tenesa and the Vizcaya yesterda.
that twenty-fonr. hours having elapsed
since they anchored In the harbOr he
must request them to depart. 1t will
not now be possible for the Spanish ves-
.sels to return to Willemstad or any other
Dutch port for coal until the expiration
of ninety days. .-.5.,.~- = q
In protesting against the action of Span
iards in Martinique in signaling to Span
ish men-of-war. Consul Darte, at ST.
Pierre. has acted with the full approval
of the. State Department. and 1t is ex-
pected that the Martinique authorities will
see that there are no further exchanges OF
signals. II there should be any further
action of this character this Government
will call the attention of France to the
matter in order that IT may take such
measures as It's neutral position demands.
The proclamation issued by France de-
claring her neutrality announced that
''Frenchmen must refrain from all acts
which, committed in violation of French
or international laws could be considered
oS loStiit ~ ohS VI thC peti tiNS' vi 40 NoiA-
trary to a scrupulous neutrality"
1t Is the expectation and belief of the
Administration that the French govern
ment will live up to its neutrality and will
forbid any assistance being rendered to
the enemy's feet by residents of Martin
ique or Guadeloupe.i
The State Department has been in
formed by its consul at st. Thomas that
the governor of the Danish Islands has
officially announced that no coal would be
supplied to the men-of-war of either bel
ligerent in the future. This measure is
particularly aimed at the American ships.
which have been touching at St. Thomas
for several weeks. sending dispatches TO
Washington and taking on small quanti-
ties Of supplies. The effect on the Span
iards will be NIL the United States re-
Gently purchased all the coal for sale at
st. Thomas and there would be none for
them to buy. The American coal IS in
lighters within the three-mile limit and
in no danger of capture by the Spanish
men-of-war.