The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-01-22
BRITAIN WILL mot
ALLOW DACIE TOE
MAKE VOYAGE
Will Seize German Ship Transfer
10 Our Flag
s--s--~-s
OFFERS To BUY SHIPS CARGO
Or viii Forward II to Rotterdam
Free of EXPENSE to the
Owner.
OFFERS TO BUY SHIPS CARGO

Washington, Jan. 22---The British
government announced last night
through its embassy that if the form
er Hamburg-American liner Dacia
proceeded to sea she would be cap
tured and taken to prize court Her
cargo of cotton will be bought by the
British government or forwarded to
Rotterdam without further expense
to the shippers, according as the own
ers may prefer The sta,e depart
ment had communicated this inform.
alton informally to the owners of the
Dacia, as a result Of message from
ambassador Page. and was notified in
reply tht the vessel was loading at
Galveston and would put to sea. not
withstanding the British governments
position 1t was said that the owners
had resolved TO test the issue in a
prize court incidentally, the war
risk bureau of the American govern
ment yesterday issued a policy insur-
ing the cotton cargo at { per cent,
but declined to insure the vessel H.
selt.
The statement from the British EN-
bassy was as follows In connection
with the transfer Of the Dacia from
the German to the American flag, the
British government. while anxious
to avoid causing loss to shippers of
the cargo, have found it impossible to
agree that the transfer. In the circum-
stances in which ft'has been effected.
is yalid in accordance with the accept.
ed principles of international law II.
therefore. the Dacia should proceed
10 sea and should be captured. the
British government will find them.
selves obliged to bring the sip
(apart from the cargo) before the
prize court.
1T is stated that the cargo of the
Dacia is to consist soley of cotton
owned by American citizens. If this
IS so and if the vessel should be cal,
tured, the British government will
guarantee either TO purchase the car
go at the price which would have
been realized by the shippers if the
cargo had reached its foreign destin-
alton. or il preferred. they will under
take to forward the cotton to Rotter-
dam without further expense to the
shippers"
The above announcement concludes
the first chapter in the negotiations
which the American government un-
dertook on behalf of the owners of
the Dacia to secure her freedom from
CAPTURE. Under the declaration of
London. transfer fiag,must be prov
ed to be OF bona fide character and
not made merely 10 escape the cons
equences of war. One of the alleged
suspicious circumstances cited at
first was that the Dacia planned to
traverse her old route from the Unit
ed States to Germany This led to a
proposal by the owners that the ship
take her cargo to Rotterdam, Holland.
The state department asked that IN
view of the change a single voyage by
the vessel be not interrupted
Soon after the war began, holding
that all of the parties to the declara-
tion of London were finding loop
holes in the convention and amend
ing il at their own pleasure, the state
department announced as far as the
United States was concerned it would
not be bound by those declarations.
Consequently the American govern
ment is operating under the general
principles of international law, which
recognizes bona fide transfers of own
gerent power even in time of war.