The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1915-08-13
REJECT ALL US. CLAIMS
BRITISH NOTE CITES AMERICAN,
ACTION IN CIVIL WAR.
Ensland's Replies to Last American
Note Denies That Orders In
Council Are illegal.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
Washington. Great Britain's re-
plies to the latest American represen-
tations against Interference with neu-
trail commerce reject entirely the con.
tention that the orders in council are
Illegal and justify the British course
rs being wholly within international
law. "Unsustainable either In point
OF law or upon principles Of interna.
tional policy" II the British reply to
the American protest against the
blockade Of neutral ports. with an In.
vitation to submit 70 international ar
filtration any cases In which the
United States Is dissatisfied with the
action Of British prise courts.
Great Britain's reply. embodied In
two notes. one supplemental. was
made public here Tuesday night and
In London simultaneously by agree
ment between the two governments.
With the notes was made public also
the correspondence over the American
steamer Neches. seized by the British
while en- route from Rotterdam to the
United States with goods Of German
origin. All the correspondence aggrs-
gates 1000 words.
Changed conditions Of warfare, the
British note contends. require . new
application of the principles Of inter
national law. The advent OF the sub
marine. the airship and the alleged
atrocities by German troops In Bel.
GUM are cited ~ justification for the
excise OF extreme measures. >
The blockade 10 justified on the COZ
tsntion that the universally recognised
fundamental principle Of Q blockade
ID that . belligerent 10 entitled to cdt
off by effective means the sea bornS
commerce of his enemy"
The note reiterates that Great Bri-
tain will continue to apply the orders
complained Of, although not without
every effort to avoid embarrassment
to neutrals and observes that the
American statistics show that any loss
In trade with Germany and Austria
has been more than overbalanced by
the increase Of other Industrial actiS.
tiles due to the war.
In the general reply to the Amer.
lean representations against the or
'ders in council. Sir Edward Grey, the
foreign minister. addressing Ambasia.
dor Page. begins by expressing the
hope that he may be able to convince
the administration in Washington
shat the measures we have an.
nounced are not only reasonable and
necessary In themselves. but consti
tute NO more than an adaptation 1oi
the old principles of blockade to the
peculiar circumstances with which Va
are confronted" ..t.
Il need scarcely dwell" wrote SiS
Edward. ION the obligations incum.
bent upon the allies to take every step
In their power to overcome their com.
mon enemy in view Of the shocking
violation Of the recognised rules and
principles of civilized warfare OF
which he has been guilty during the
present struggle"
Sir Edward then refers to atrocities
In Belgium. poisoning Of wells in Ger.
man Southwest Africa, use of poison.
Gus gases against the allied troops in
Flanders. and finally the sinking Of
the Lusitania, to show how indispen.
sable It 10 that we should leave un.
used no justifiable method Of defend.
ing ourselves" L'.s.
Dir Edward Grey then refers to the
American Civil War blockade of 5000
miles Of coast with Q small number OF
vessels. and recalls how the United
States finally took recourse to block.
aiding "neighboring neutral territory
which afforded convenient centers
from which contraband could be intro.
duced into confederate territory and
from which blockade running could be
facilitated"
The note then refers to the case of
the British ship Springbok, seized by
United States cruisers during the
Civil War while bound for the British
West Indies. because her cargo, 1t was
charged, was to be transshipped to the
confederate states. The Supreme
Court Of the United States sustained
the seizure against the condemnation
of group Of prominent international
leWyAr6 q,